She pulled me over to the far wall, near the library. We were alone. The other Elders had gone with Indra to get land for the Halflings to stay on.
“Indra is making two sets of cuffs. One for you, and the other for Liam. Be careful now. Very. Very. Careful.”
I wanted to say it then—just blurt out that I was the fucking Princess of Spring and Indra had every right to kiss my royal ass—but I needed to plan this perfectly. Especially if Indra was plotting something.
I nodded.
“One more thing.” Rose lowered her voice even more. “I switched out Indra’s snoozeberry juice with sweetberry.” Then she winked and walked away.
The breath stilled in my throat. Rose knew about the snoozeberry juice and was on our side. Sweetberry juice was something we gave kids. It was a mild, sugary drink, nothing more. Rose had just become my ally.
Turning on my heel, I left to find Liam and the others.
“Indra, these are unacceptable living conditions!” I growled.
There was a decaying patch of forest, right behind the cages—a patch of land where the darkness from outside seeped in. It was full of diseased trees that had to be cut down. It smelled like mold, and the earth was always damp. There were about twelve empty huts with caved-in roofs and no plumbing.
Indra crossed her arms. “Do I look like I have any five-star resorts lying around? We don’t just have ten vacant houses.” She put her hands on her hips, her wings snapping stiffly. “Besides, this wasn’t our agreement. When they bring me the final crystal and Faerie is restored, they can make a castle on their own land, for all I care.”
She spun on her heel, and I turned to see Liam and the others looking at me expectantly. “This is bullshit,” one of the guys mumbled. He clutched a broken arm to his chest as Kira wove light around it.
They’d trusted me. I had promised them a better life with no more running, and now they were living in a swamp.
How could I expect them to fight for Faerie if I wouldn’t fight for them?
I had to do something, or we would lose them, and it wasn’t right to treat them this way. Stepping up onto a rock, I cleared my throat. “Our village is small and humble, and I’m sorry we don’t have better accommodations, but I’d like to offer my three-bedroom home to all of you in a revolving schedule.”
A few of the guys who were bitching relaxed.
“I’ll get some bunkbeds put in, and my house can sleep ten people. One night a week, you can stay there, and you can all rotate until Faerie is restored. Does that sound fair?”
Nerves churned in my gut. If they walked out, I was screwed. My gaze fell to Liam. He was looking at me with total adoration. I wasn’t prepared for it; it took me aback.
“That’s fair!” Liam shouted.
One of the guys scoffed, “Is it? Is she gonna sleep in this shithole six nights a week?”
He was right. I needed to make it even.
“Yes,” I piped up before Liam could answer. “I will. We will all be on the rotation schedule.”
I tipped my chin high, but Liam growled, spinning on his men. “Listen to yourselves! Complaining about camping for a week. Do you feel that?” He tapped his chest hard, shaking out his blond hair. “Can you feel the crystals? The magic here…it’s more than we’ve ever had. I feel”—he touched his face—“alive.”
One by one, the men nodded. I noticed that their skin had more color, that their hair shone in a way it hadn’t before. They’d lived their whole lives on Earth, without Faerie’s energy, only stealing bits of it when they could. This must feel heavenly to them.
“Suck it up, pussies!” Cam shouted. “We’re staying here.” He walked over to the hut that looked the least caved-in. “I call this one!”
The men moved quickly, running into the huts in clusters to try to claim the best ones. I hadn’t even realized Jasper was still there until he came up behind me. “Let me know when we go get the last crystal,” he said, then started to walk away.
A frown pulled at my lips. “Where are you going?”
He waved me off. “Farmlands. I have a friend there. I’m not staying here.”
Hah. Figured. He was too good for the swamp with his Gucci bags.
When I looked up, I was face to face with Liam. “I’m sorry, I…this wasn’t how I planned—”
He cut me off with a kiss. When he pulled back, he took my face in his hands. “I’m in love with you,” he blurted before complete fear crossed his face.
My heart stopped, and it felt like everything around me froze in that moment. From the day we’d met, I had never thought we’d get here, to those three words.
A slow grin crept onto my face. “I love you, too.”
Relief relaxed his features, but they quickly tightened again.
“You look like you’re going to be sick,” I said.
He chuckled. “I’ve never said that to a girl before. Besides my mom.”
Most adorable thing ever. Marry me now.
His face fell. “My mom. Shit. Where will she live?”
We were going to get his brothers later that day. We’d dropped Cain off at the New York apartment before coming here. “She can stay in New York. The apartment is paid for, and Mara can take you and the boys there any time you like.”
He sighed, exhaustion pulling at his face. “My dad’s men came for us in Central Park. What if they find her there?”
He was right. “Let me ask Mara,” I said. “We have hundreds of safehouses all over the world. We will put her in the best one.”
Reaching out, he pulled me into a hug. With his arms tight around me, I felt so safe. We were almost there—one more crystal, and we could just be a normal couple. Well, semi-normal. There would always be something different about us.
Liam looked down at
