Chapter 7

You have got to be kidding me.”

The relief was short-lived at the glimpse of the dancing waves, closer than ever and more massive than she had anticipated. Prince Brian only had a second or two to form a clear statement in her blank mind.

Mr. Voice, I’m sorry for doubting you.

Then the first wave was dragging her under.

Wake up and check out this magical world, where all your dreams will come true.

A dreamy haze filled her senses, matching the words that seemed to float endlessly. Prince Brian engrossed herself in it, feeling like she was lying down on the most comfortable feather bed. She didn’t want to stand up. She didn’t want to leave it, not when it hugged her like a lover and made her feel safe, protected, loved…

Wake up.

A prickle came, then another. It formed into pokes, putting holes in the dreamy haze until she heard the voice more clearly.

Wake up!

Prince Brian eyes snapped open, but her vision didn’t grow steady until after repeatedly blinking and shaking her head. The comfortable place became reality as she found herself lying on a mound of dried leaves, with the thick branches and leaves above serving as shade. It was a pretty array of leaf colors, too, and she could admire it forever…but wasn’t she supposed to be drowning at sea?

The poke returned, then another, stemming from her back. She sat up abruptly, shock punching her hard when it dawned that something was poking her insistently. Her magic surged to her hand as her mind already flew to thoughts of body invasion and monsters—and then the poking object popped out and bumped against a tree trunk, allowing her a view of what she had been about to attack.

“Oh, my heavens.”

She gaped, then gaped some more. She watched the flying thing regain his senses as he shook his little body and blinked his little orbs, black as night and peering at her with curiosity. Belatedly, it occurred that she might have almost smothered him if she hadn’t woken up sooner.

“Oh, my heavens,” she repeated, unable to take her eyes off him. “Are you…?”

It was a pixie if her books at home were right: a small creature that could fit in her hands, with flimsy-looking wings that held more strength than expected and a slim, bony body wrapped in glitter to cover the private parts. There was more she had read about them: that they liked to stay in groups to protect themselves from bigger, more dangerous creatures. That they were dangerous as a group, especially when they considered something a threat…and that they lived on an unknown, unexplored island in the Otherworld that other more established creatures didn’t dare seek out, especially with the rumors that no one came out alive.

Her blood ran cold, but she swallowed the initial glimmer of fear and focused on the creature. The exposed chest and short hair indicated a male of his kind, and his expression was more a study of curiosity than a threat. When he didn’t move forward to attack and didn’t fly away, she cleared her throat.

“You were stuck on my back,” she said slowly, waiting for a reaction to the sound of her voice. When the pixie still didn’t move, she continued. “Or I was trapping you with my weight. You were poking me to wake me up. And the only reason for that—and why I am here instead of the sea—is because you probably dragged me here. You dragged me here, didn’t you?”

The pixie didn’t reply, tilting his head in confusion. Deducing he didn’t understand her, Prince Brian frowned. It was a miracle that she had survived that magical storm and had somehow landed here, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still on a precarious course. If she was on the infamous mystery island, then she needed to leave. Now.

“What’s your name?” she asked, trying a different tactic. She patted her chest repeatedly. “I’m Prince Brian. Prince. Prince Brian. Em.”

His eyes lit up in understanding as he pointed at her. A tiny voice came out and spoke in a soft, lilting tone. “Em?”

Progress,her mind rejoiced. She nodded eagerly, then pointed at him until he pointed at himself.

“You?”

“Yu,” he replied.

The eagerness deflated. She repeated the process, saying her name again and again and getting the same answer each time.

“Yu. Yu,” he insisted.

Prince Brian sighed. “Okay. Yu?”

He nodded, then waited.

“Can you take me to the ocean?”

She added gestures and pointed, waiting until the pixie seemed to catch up. Then it was her turn to catch up as the pixie flew away in a jiffy, his gestures indicating that he wanted her to follow him. Hope sparked when he led her out of the forest and into another one, less thick, and signaling that the ground might have been sandier. When the next forest came into view, the leaves were barely there.

“Yu, how far did you drag me away from shore? And why would you drag me away from shore?”

The pixie didn’t reply, already set on his goal. It occurred to her that maybe she hadn’t come from the shore but somewhere else—an opening that remained a mystery, taking her straight from the ocean to that forest.

“Yu, stop. I know you can’t understand me, but maybe you can answer my questions with some gestures. Yu?” At the lack of response and continuous motion, she raised her voice. “Yu, stop!”

The magic already gathering on her palm made its way toward him, poking twice until he finally did halt. Yu whirled to face her, stunned, as she finally caught up and heaved a breath.

“You fly too fast. I can’t use my magic too much because I might need it later.” She gestured. “Where are we?”

A cold sensation pricked her neck and fluttered downward. She turned her back on Yu…then, froze when she noticed that he was floating away from her. A second later, she saw it: shadows moving from the trees, but only on the upper side in line with her sight. Which meant…

“Em,” Yu sang out. “Yu.”

The pixies circled her, some smaller than Yu but the majority as big as her head. Not that she had a big head, but…this wasn’t good.

Danger,instinct warned, crystal clear and insistent.Dangerous in groups.

As if the books weren’t clear enough, their narrowed eyes cemented that conclusion. Only Yu and a selected few remained confused despite joining the circle seamlessly. She swallowed. She opened her mouth and fisted her hand behind her.

“Hello. I’m Prince Brian. Prince.”

She patted her chest again and repeated what she did with Yu, but the group was unresponsive. Giving up, prince took a step back—and just like that, felt the air shift until she felt positively chilled with tension.

“Well, it was nice meeting you and—”

At the first hiss and baring of sharp teeth, prince Brian ducked and threw her magic in the air. It lit a brilliant green and gave her a head start as she scrambled away from their circle. She stood up—and ducked once more when something zoomed and hit the tree beside her, shattering into powder form. Immediately, she closed her eyes and held her breath, then lunged for the exit as more of those things whizzed her way, intent to catch her.

Magic became her ally as she willed some into her legs, lightening them so she could run faster. Frustration brimmed that she couldn’t use that magic to create a shield around her—her one weakness, just as all her siblings also had one specific weakness. At the sound of more hissing, she glanced back and felt her stomach drop when she glimpsed the pixies going after her like a tornado.

“Oh, no. Oh, Yu, why did I think I could trust you?”

She was so preoccupied with getting away from them, she didn’t even bother looking at where she was going. Her frantic escape jerked to a stop when she slammed into a hard, solid object and tumbled down. Then she was rolling to the ground that sloped downward, too fast for her magic to react and reach for something—

“Damn it.”

The falling sensation stopped and an arm banded around her waist. The voice registered, deep and masculine, with just a hint of melody that piqued her attention. She looked up.

Magenta eyes framed a face of perfect angles, with only soft lips stopping all that sculpted hardness. Black hair streaked with gray curled and fell all over his forehead and ears, covering them.

“Bad word, I know,” those lips mused, the melodic hint growing stronger. Mesmerizing. “Or I heard. We don’t use it, but it feels like the best words to use given the situation.”

Fae,her mind screamed as she took in the rest of him in fancy silk clothes that couldn’t quite hide lean, well-formed muscles and an ethereal quality. Maybe it was his paleness. Maybe it was the way he talked. But one thing she was sure of when it came to Fae was just how dangerous and manipulative they could be—a fact that couldn’t be hidden egg was commonly known as a magical, deadly island.

And a Fae beat you from getting that gemstone.

She pushed his chest out of instinct, then clutched his shirt hard when she started to fall. The arm around her tightened as he eyed her in confusion.

“You don’t speak, little creature?” he asked.

Run.But her mind was working a mile a minute, surmising thathewas the solid object that had just jeopardized her escape before preventing a possibly deadly fall. Trapped, she looked down, the darkness seemingly endless. Then she glanced up and felt the dread building again.

“Can you fly?” she blurted out.

Magenta orbs blinked in confusion. He shook his head. “What? Why are—”

“Let go,” she commanded, a second before she heard the thrum of hissing again and spotted the flurry of wings above.

“Are you insane—”

“Let go!” she yelled, then pushed at him again—this time, with energy infused in her strength.