One thing was certain: Garrin couldn’t introduce Lex to his court. Not with her power level presenting greater than any Fae in the land. Not all Fae could detect power levels with precision the way Amund could, but some did.
They had minutes—seconds, perhaps—until the king’s soldiers discovered their whereabouts. Garrin hadn’t time to talk to his father first. He needed a glamour for Lex, and he needed it now.
Amund portaled them to one of Garrin’s dressing rooms, and Garrin took in the familiar surroundings. Ornate mahogany furniture brought from the Earth realm several hundred years ago filled the space, along with colorful tapestries woven by his people. The tapestries hung from tall ceilings and looked crisp, as though they’d been recently beaten of dust. They depicted springtime in Dark Kingdom before the land became frozen. The scent of magic burning in the massive hearth was sharp and metallic, bringing back memories of the last time he’d entered this room, before he’d journeyed to the Earth realm. A great many months had passed, and yet the room appeared untouched.
Satisfied the chamber was safe, Garrin turned to Lex—and his heart nearly stopped beating.
Her heavy winter hood had fallen back, and locks of dark golden hair tumbled down her chest. Long hair—longer than before—and shimmering like the sap from an allon tree. Her cheeks were no longer hollowed and pale, but rosy with golden hues, her lips full and plump.
Garrin couldn’t catch his breath. Lex was radiant. And far too beautiful.
Amund rubbed a hand down his face. “I must return to the closet,” he said absently, staring at Lex as though thunderstruck. “I’ll take the mother of Lexandra somewhere safe.”
“Yes,” Garrin said on a sigh. “Feed yourself before you return for Zirel.”
Amund peered once more at Lex with a look of wonder, then stepped through the glimmer of a portal and left.
Lex’s eyes were the first thing Garrin had noticed inside the hallway of her dormitory. They were a beautiful golden-brown at the time, but now they sparkled with life in the color of rich amber, so clear and bright that they glowed.
How would he protect her when she stood out so much?
She moved slowly about the space, studying the tapestries. “Is this your bedroom?”
He strode across the chamber to a large wardrobe and shoved clothing on hangers aside. A Fae without Amund’s ability wouldn’t detect anything unusual about Lex’s power level. But once they saw her glowing eyes and beauty… “You must hide in the wardrobe, or your presence won’t be secret for long.”
Lex glanced at the wooden cabinet. “You’ve got to be kidding me. They’ll still know I’m here.”
“Most won’t question whom I’ve hidden. Should someone enter, best not to arouse suspicion by revealing your glowing appearance.” When she didn’t move, he sighed. “Your mother told you to follow my orders.”
Her face turned molten. “My mother hasn’t been my mother for many years, and even Jas doesn’t tell me what to do anymore. Or have you forgotten that I’m a grown woman?”
Garrin snorted. “I assure you, that is the last thing I will soon forget.” He’d tamped down any desires he experienced for Lex while they traveled, and he would do so now. All his focus must be on learning the truth about his father and keeping Lex safe.
He slowly stepped closer. “Please. For now.”
Lex blinked several times as though flustered. Then her mouth twisted in annoyance and she strode to the wardrobe and stepped inside, sending him a scathing look before she closed the cabinet door.
A second later, she opened the wardrobe and tossed out two winter coats—one she’d worn through the Land of Ice, the other Garrin’s coat he’d bundled her in before they crossed the ravine.
Not five seconds later, a light rap sounded at the chamber door.
Garrin looked to ensure Lex was secure and shoved the coats behind the wardrobe before crossing the room.
Anyone with heightened ability would know he’d hidden someone, but as long as they didn’t see that she was different, she would be safe.
He opened the door a crack and let out a mental sigh of relief.
A woman with light green eyes, tan skin, and long, wavy dark hair stood on the other side, and Garrin knew her well. “Amund sent me,” she said, and tried to look past him.
He stepped aside for her to enter and closed the door behind her. “I have a request, Percilla. My friend needs a glamour.”
She quirked her eyebrow. “Indeed?”
Garrin strode to the wardrobe and opened it.
Percilla’s mouth parted as she took in Lex. “My, she is special.” This was not a question.
“And it must not be known. Do you understand?”
She nodded immediately. “Yes, my prince.”
Lex studied Percilla and stepped out of the wardrobe, her expression leery. “Who is she?”
“Someone with the skill to hide your true nature,” Garrin said.
Percilla waved her hand haphazardly across Lex’s body. “What does my prince wish? A different hair color, eye color?”
“Reduce her beauty and make her power level appear Fae.”
“Beauty?” Lex said.
“Indeed,” Percilla replied. “Most beautiful. And if you wish to hide, your unusual power level must also blend in.” She smiled reassuringly. “I will make it look normal. Right now, you are too bright. You shine like a star.”
She turned to Garrin. “Are you certain you do not wish for the king to see the gift you have brought us before I hide her?”
“Lex is a gift some would use against us,” he said. “The king and others will be informed as soon as it is safe. To share knowledge of Lex overly soon would lead to punishment,” he added, and Percilla flinched.
His courtier made one final sweep of her hand across Lex’s body and stepped back. “It is done.”
Garrin narrowed his eyes then grunted. “She is still beautiful.”
“But her power level is normal,” Percilla replied. She cocked her head. “I reduced her beauty, as you requested. What you see shines from within and is harder to mask.”
Lex’s brow pinched. “This is the weirdest conversation ever. And that’s saying something after what I’ve been through these last months.”
Garrin suspected Lex had been undervalued in the Earth realm, which solidified his belief that humans lacked intelligence. Lex had always been striking, and now she was more so.
Perhaps her beauty wouldn’t be such an issue. After all, she’d need to be attractive if his father was to believe Garrin had chosen her for his court. Beauty and power were the only qualities his father prized in women.
Garrin strongly disagreed. After meeting Lex, Garrin had decided that a woman with a strong will and kind heart was more to his liking.
Percilla bowed and quickly made her exit.
Lex watched her leave, then turned to Garrin. “Are all Fae women as gorgeous as her? You were kind of an ass, by the way. She was doing us a favor.”
“It is her job to support her prince.”
“Does everyone support you? Are they your slaves?”
Garrin shot her a look. “Of course they are not slaves. My work protects the realm. The attendants know this, and they do not ask questions. It is in everyone’s interest to protect you from danger if I say it is.”
Zirel entered the room, saw Lex, and stopped abruptly in his tracks, his jaw unhinged.
Garrin glared. “That was fast, even for Amund. Particularly given my express instructions for him to eat before he returned for you.”
“He ate before he came for me, and I healed him once he arrived.”
“And Isle?”
Zirel glanced at Lex and back to Garrin. He shook his head lightly as though to clear it. “Isle is with my mother.”
Zirel’s family weren’t noble, and they did not reside within the castle walls. They were also annoyed with Garrin’s father for some grievance or another. Hiding Isle among Zirel’s family was as good a choice as any.
Zirel continued to stare at Lex. “What, ah, what has happened?”
The woman Garrin believed to be a stubborn Halven was no Halven at all, nor was she Fae—that was what had happened. She was more than Fae. And powerful, if her new appearance was any proof.
“Magic hid Lex’s true nature,” Garrin said. “Likely a spell. The full extent of the spell broke once we entered the kingdom. One of my attendants has placed a glamour over her power level and dimmed her beauty.”
Zirel’s head swiveled to Garrin. “This is the diminished version?”
Lex crossed her arms. Zirel, Garrin, and Amund had been acting weird ever since the closet. “Someone, get me a mirror so I can see what I look like.”
“Lex,” Garrin said. “It isn’t only your face. You cannot see, but it is all of you. You radiate strength and beauty.”
She frowned, and Garrin’s gaze zeroed in on her lips, causing her stomach to flutter.
Damn prince and his Fae hotness. How was she supposed to keep a clear head when he looked at her like that?
Zirel cleared his throat, breaking the moment.
“Are you trying to flatter me?” she said. “You’ve already dragged me to this freezing place. What else do you want?”
Garrin let out a sigh. “This is not merely about your abilities and the initial reason we brought you here. It appears you have…returned to yourself. Physically, at the very least. Your powers may manifest more fully as well.”
“What does that mean, I’ve returned to myself?” Lex looked for a reflective surface.
“It means,” Zirel said, while Garrin peered away, seemingly unhappy about the situation, “your true nature has been hidden from the world. You are not only an incredibly attractive Fae, but your eyes glow in a way that is more than Fae.”
Lex let out a bark of laughter. What was wrong with them? “You both know better than anyone that I haven’t showered with more than one of Garrin’s ice loofas in months.” She pointed forcefully. “No one can match your looks, and certainly not me. You still smell good, which is just wrong. Men shouldn’t smell better than women.”
Both Fae turned abruptly to the door. “They will be here soon,” Zirel said.
And what was scarier? Lex heard the sound that had caught their attention too.
Others approached from a distance Lex shouldn’t be able to hear from, but she could.
“Go,” Garrin said to Zirel. “I’ll deal with the guards while you take Lex to my court. Her beauty will stand out, but it will also explain why I’ve brought her here. Tell them she is from the Land of Sun and that I’ve chosen her for my bride.”
“Your what?” Lex said. “I thought I was your girlfriend.”
“Intended, girlfriend, bride—it is one and the same. You must be more than one among my harem or my father will grow suspicious.”
Lex narrowed her eyes. “But I’m not your fiancée, and you can’t lie.”
“Whether or not the ceremony occurs is to be determined—therefore, it isn’t a lie.”
Lex started to speak, but Zirel picked her up bodily and swept her through a side door she hadn’t noticed.
He set her down abruptly, and the door closed behind them.
She dusted off invisible dirt in sharp movements. “Stop manhandling me.”
He shrugged.
She looked around the large, ornately decorated room that appeared to be something straight out of another century, the ceilings at least twenty feet in height. The walls were made of gold, or what appeared to be gold, with polished stones creating stunning mosaics, including the one on the ceiling. And not only images of the snowcapped mountains she’d been subjected to. The mosaics showed imagery of forests and green hills, and people pushing carts of food. And battle scenes. Grisly battle scenes were depicted on one of the walls, with beautiful men and women attacking each other using swords and magic-flecked hands. “What is up with this place? Garrin said we were going to a castle, but I’ve never seen pictures of castles that look like this.” She pointed to a prominent figure at the center of it all. “Is that…”
“The king,” Zirel said, and peered out a door. He lifted his arm and gestured for her to come closer. “They are waiting.”
The door Zirel stood beside was massive. Larger than any she’d ever seen. Then again, Fae were extremely tall, so tall doors probably came with the territory.
Lex had been called a giraffe back home because of her height. But her mother was tall, and Garrin and the others were even taller. She wasn’t a giraffe. She was simply Fae and built like one. Which, sadly, now made sense.
“I’m not ready. What if I panic in front of Garrin’s court?” She’d grown comfortable around Garrin and his men, but in front of an entire castle of Fae? Not likely.
Zirel sent her a gentle look. “You are not the same person you were at the beginning of this journey.”
She shook her head. “You say I look different and that my power level has changed, but I feel the same inside.”
“Who you are and who you will become is something to be discovered. But you will not succeed by hiding away.”
Damn Zirel and his wisdom. Lex closed her eyes and let out a breath. He was right, and it was super annoying.
With her chin held high, she passed over the threshold and walked into another massive interior room. Only this one was crowded.
Over two dozen women in long gowns, their wrists and necks covered in jewels, stood inside the room, staring at her. These women were stunning, with hair in every shade, from pale blond to black, and every skin tone in between.
Lex had managed to keep her pulse steady upon entering the room, but it kicked up now.
“What is this?” one of the women said. She was a tall redhead with bright blue eyes, who scanned Lex from head to toe with a snarl on her face.
One by one, the women took in her appearance—and didn’t seem to like what they saw.
Garrin and Zirel had to be wrong. She should have checked herself in a mirror before agreeing to this.
“Lex, I am pleased to introduce you to His Highness’s royal harem,” Zirel said.
At the same moment, Amund returned through one of his portals. “You are a part of the prince’s court now, where you will live,” he added.
Lex smiled shakily at the strange women and murmured to Zirel and Amund, “You’ve lost your bloody minds if you think I’m living here.”
