The next morning, I awoke as soon as the sun ascended over the valley and lit up the Crystal Castle. I washed, then dressed in the clothes laid out for me on the chair by some unknown person. I descended the seemingly endless steps from my room to the main hallway of the palace.
I fidgeted with my new clothes, a basic cotton tunic over a white shirt and green skintight pants with my sword hanging from the leather belt around my waist. I wore my old brown boots, which were still in good condition, and wandered around looking for the kitchen.
I smiled at two fae ladies who passed me in the hallway. They wore loose chiffon gowns, clasped on one shoulder by a gold star. Both sniffed when they saw me, stuck their noses in the air, and hurried on. I moved along quickly, lowering my head and looking at my feet as I walked.
I bumped into a wall. Well, at least I thought it was a wall—it turned out to be Tristan. I looked up through my lashes at him, cringing inwardly. I probably wasn’t supposed to walk the halls of the castle alone.
He glowered at me, his dark eyes flashing. “What part of stay in your room don’t you understand?”
I glared back at him. “No one told me I had to stay in my room.”
Cade came running up. “Oh good! You found her.”
“Didn’t you tell her to wait in her room until one of us came to get her?” Tristan snapped at Cade.
Cade shrugged, his hands in his pockets. “Not in so many words, no. How was I supposed to know she would wake up so early and start wandering around the castle? The high ladies of the Royal Court don’t rise until noonday.”
“She’s not a high lady, she’s one of my novices,” said Tristan.
“Since when do you train novices?” Cade raised an eyebrow.
“Since Izadora commanded me to train her and make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.”
Cade looked me up and down. “She’s fine, so what’s the problem, Tristan? Relax. The only trouble she has right now is you.”
Tristan rolled his shoulders, and the silver swirls in his eyes died out. “Why were you down here anyway?” he asked me, trying to temper his tone. “I was coming to get you—we are to begin your training today.”
“I was hungry,” I said sheepishly. “I didn’t eat last night, so I was looking for the kitchen.”
Tristan turned his head to glare at Cade. “You didn’t feed her?”
“I’m not a dog,” I snapped. “I don’t need to be fed. Just point me to the kitchen and I will get it myself.”
Tristan scowled, but Cade chuckled and linked his arm with mine. “Come on, I’ll take you to the kitchen. I hear the cook is making pastries for tonight’s feast. And no one makes better pastries in all the seven kingdoms than Guido.”
“Fine, I will see you both on the training ground after you stuff your faces,” muttered Tristan as he stalked off.
Cade rolled his eyes as we walked to the kitchen.
Small men and women with big ears and hairy feet bustled around the cavernous room that lay within the mountain. Brownies! Or house sprites, as they were called in Elfi. I had met a few of them in Pixie Bush with Kalen. He had mentioned they were very good housekeepers; I guess they were good cooks, too.
The delicious aromas of freshly baked bread and warm handmade pastries wafted toward me; my mouth watered and my stomach growled loudly.
The whole kitchen stopped working and turned to stare at me.
Cade chuckled. “I guess you weren’t exaggerating when you said you were hungry.”
I blushed all the way from my head to the tips of my toes. How embarrassing.
A house sprite in a white apron, his big ears popping out of something resembling a chef’s hat, came up to us. “Lord Cade, I have your sugar cream rolls ready,” he said, holding out a plate of freshly baked pastries.
Cade took them and popped one in his mouth. “Thank you, Guido, these are my favorites.” He held the plate out to me. “Try one.”
I took one and bit into the golden-brown pastry. A thick vanilla-and-lavender-flavored cream oozed out of the lightly sugar-dusted pastry. “These are amazing.”
Cade nodded, a big grin on his face.
The little house sprites kept coming up to me with samples of all the various cakes and pies. But I knew I couldn’t eat too much, as Tristan probably had a hard training session planned. I hated passing up the rest of the sugar cream rolls and raspberry pastries, but I took one cinnamon swirl to tide me over till later.
I nibbled on it as Cade escorted me down to the training grounds. We traversed the flowering walkways and terraced gardens down the mountain, occasionally passing a satyr or a gnome tending the various plants, flowers, and trees. Foxgloves and daisies dotted the area where marble statues spouted water into shimmering fountains.
The training grounds were situated near the soldiers’ barracks at the foot of the castle, a whole area stretching all the way to the eastern wall of the city. The grounds were already full of young fae-warriors practicing with glinting swords and staffs. At the far end, a group of archers was going about their practice routine with targets set up on one side of the grounds.
A tall fae-warrior who looked much older than Cade and Tristan, his white hair combined with fading gold, stood watching the novices spar, his powerful arms folded across his chest.
“Who is he?”
“That’s Erik, the leader of Izadora’s Elite Guard,” Cade answered. “He usually stops by the training ground every day at this time to watch the novices spar. If he finds one with potential, he takes them on to train them himself. He is our old teacher
