“I’m sorry, what?” Brea swayed on her feet, feeling a little dizzy from staring up for so long.
“You’re drunk.”
“No, you’re just stupid-tall.” She turned to leave him, but he grabbed her arm.
“I’ll escort you.”
“I don’t need an escort. I’m perfectly capable of walking these two little feet back to my aunt, thank you very much.”
She moved to pull her arm away from him and managed to trip over her own feet. She knew she was going down the moment she lost her balance. Clutching at Lochlan, she tried to stop the inevitable, but the edge of the fountain hit the back of her calves and wet hands grabbed her legs. Brea toppled over, dragging Lochlan down with her.
Cold water closed over her head and pulled her dress down into the depths of the pool. Immediately sober, Brea scrambled for the surface. Why was this fountain so deep? Dark things under the surface clamored for her attention, clawing at her hands and feet, pulling her down. Strong arms wrapped around her middle, dragging her up to the surface. Just as stars danced in her vision, Brea thought she saw a sea of angry creatures staring back at her.
Then she was spewing water out of her lungs, coughing and sputtering like a fool in front of her aunt’s court. Something hard thudded against her back.
“This damned fool dress almost killed you.” Lochlan’s hand pounded on her back once more.
“Stop.” She tried to wiggle out of his arms to swim to the edge of the fountain, but he stood up with her in his arms. The water barely came up to his knees. The flowers from her dress floated around his feet.
What the hell just happened?
“Are you okay, my darling?” Queen Regan rushed to the edge of the fountain.
“I’d be fine if this brute would put me down.” Brea’s face flamed with heat.
“Lady Brea, are you okay?” Concerned voices rang out around her.
Oh great, I’m a spectacle now.
“I’ll see to the lady,” Lochlan said, stepping over the edge of the fountain and back on solid ground. Brea looked over his shoulder for any signs of the creatures she’d just seen, but the shiny bottom of the fountain winked back at her.
“Griffin will see to her,” the queen insisted. “Please see to yourself, Lochlan, dear, and come join me with your delegation to enjoy the fireworks.”
Reluctantly, Lochlan set her down, but not before he whispered another warning in her ear. “Heed me now, silly girl. You are not safe among this court. There is only darkness here.”
Back on her feet, the weight of her dress and half the water from the fountain weighed her down. Griffin pulled her into his strong arms, and she clung to him in relief.
“Our Lady Brea is a delightful klutz, is she not?” His laughter inspired the crowd to respond in kind. “Show them you’re not embarrassed, Brea. Laugh with them.”
Brea bent into a curtsy, flashing them her most charming smile and shrugged as if to say, I’m a lovable goof—which she’d like to think she was. She’d just rather not make a habit of falling into fountains. And she’d grown quite tired of needing to be rescued.
Chapter Eleven
It took Brea forever to get warm once she’d changed out of her sopping dress into a still-not-her but more comfortable sleeping gown. Her aunt told her she didn’t need to rejoin the festival after the fountain mishap because the night was winding down, and soon only those bent on debauchery would remain.
Debauchery. Brea grinned into the dark. That was her aunt’s fancy speak for the drunks. Though, most of the people at the festival had been pretty far into their cups already by the time she left.
As if she’d never seen drunk people before.
It would probably horrify her aunt to hear about her mom’s frequent nights out or the way her dad crushed entire cases of beer sitting in front of the TV for college football Saturdays.
No, she was no stranger to debauchery.
Rolling onto her side, she stared out the window. Six weeks. That was how long Neeve told her she’d been in the fae world. Six weeks since she set foot on the dilapidated farm she’d called home.
Six weeks since Myles walked the earth.
Her life went from psych wards and high school to adventure and romance in record time. Maybe that was why it still didn’t feel real. She waited for the day the other shoe dropped. Nothing could be this perfect.
No one.
Not even Griff.
She smiled as she thought of the way he’d escorted her through the festival, past performers and scurrying children. Other than the nobles, no one looked directly at her.
Well, except the delegates from Iskalt and Eldur.
The men and women representing the frozen kingdom sat apart from the rest of the crowd, their icy eyes finding her wherever she walked.
And Eldur… She’d tried desperately to free herself from whatever danger lurked in the waters of the fountain, but only found relief in the strong hands of a man she should hate. Lochlan O’Shea couldn’t be trusted. Griff told her as much. But she couldn’t shake the protective look in his eyes, or the way he’d refused to let her go until the queen stepped in.
Why did he care what happened to her?
His queen wanted her, she knew that, but this was… different… more.
She strained to hear wolves howling in the woods, reminding her she was far from home.
But maybe this could be home in a way the little farmhouse in Ohio never was.
A sigh rattled through her chest as she sat up, finding sleep impossible. There were too many questions on her mind, and only one person who might give her any sort of answers.
Crawling from the bed, she slipped her feet into woolen slippers and pulled open her door, cringing when the hinges creaked. She waited for a moment to make sure no one was around. It was ridiculous she had to worry about this when she’d spent the last ten years of her life sneaking out and running across the fields to Myles’ house. But she didn’t want to cause any kind of scandal for the aunt who’d been nothing but kind.
She wound her way through the dark halls until she reached a room she’d been to only once before, hoping the door wouldn’t be locked. Only the queen, Brea, and Griff lived in the royal residence wing at present.
Pulling on the handle, she smiled when she heard it click and slipped into the room before a wandering guard or servant found her out of bed.
Griff lay on his stomach with the sheet bunched around his waist. To her disappointment, a loose white linen shirt covered his torso. Ear-length auburn hair stuck up against the feather pillow.
He looked so different from his brother it made it hard to see how they were related. Where Lochlan was light, Griff was dark. At least in appearance. When it came to personality, they were the exact opposite. Lochlan had none of Griff’s joy, only intensity.
His hard blue gaze would forever be stuck in her mind.
But he didn’t matter right now.
“Are you going to just stand there or come over here?” Griff opened one eye.
Brea shrugged. “I don’t know. I just figured I’d watch you like a creeper.”
He lifted his head. “I have no idea what a creeper is, but I don’t approve.”
“Oh yeah?” One corner of her mouth curved up.