The Battle of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book Two

Chapter Thirteen

We landed in the middle of a small town, but I could not enjoy its quiet, picturesque beauty because I was too busy trying to pummel Ciaran into the ground. 

"Adrian! You left Adrian alone with Aisa! She'll kill him!" He was holding my head to his shoulder and had his other arm around my waist, leaving me plenty of options of where to smack him. I wasted no time exploring all of them. 

"Shhhh... she's not going to kill him. Now, I may be immortal, Princess, but that still hurts."

The calmness of his voice infuriated me more. "It's supposed to, you creep! Let me go and take me back! I didn't even get to hear about the trial! I was supposed to talk to Governor Yolis! What if Duir arrests all my guys for being men alone without an escort?"

He snorted, "She won't do that, Princess. With the Regent's status as your husband, he can travel with the other boys to my realm. They'll be fine."

I smacked him harder. "I knew that was a thing! Why wouldn't it be with the unequal treatment of the sexes here? There are places where that exists on Earth, so why not here? That means you have to let me go, Ciaran!"

"Ouch, Princess. I'm getting a bit peeved here! Don't make me tie you up now!"

I gaped at him in outrage. "You wouldn't dare."

His mouth was in an impatient line. "I would, my Princess."

"Ciaran, if you don't take me back right now..." I narrowed my eyes at him. "We are no longer friends!"

He tried to switch tactics by cajoling me. "I will, Princess... but first, wouldn't you like a tour of the realm? Surely Luke has found out about the new trial. We can stay here a few hours, and I can introduce you to the families of Brin, Rielte, Tylas, and Xavian. They all came from my realm, as you know.  By then, your court should be here."

I was partially mollified. "Well, okay."

He gave me a relieved smile.

My curiosity rose about the fact that my concubines all belonged to that realm. "So, all of them? All the centaurs, pixies, satyrs, and fauns are from the Spring Realm?"

Ciaran's eyes looked like watery pools of rainbows. "Yes... all of them. They all lived within the green valleys and forests of Madewyrd."

"Madewyrd?" My brow lifted. 

"I renamed my realm after you." He smiled at me tenderly.

"Madeline's Weird? I mean, that's true, but it's a little savage."

He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "No... Wyrd is an Anglo-Saxon word for destiny. This realm is called Madeline's destiny." He kissed my mouth, which had dropped open in surprise at the romantic gesture. That allowed him to make his stolen kiss more ardent.

When he'd pulled away, my response was a whispered, "Oh."

He kissed me again,  and I allowed it to distract me a few moments, but with effort I finally pulled away. "Stop trying to charm me away from the fact that my friends might be in danger... again! And if you forget, I need Adrian to keep the blue links from happening!" With each statement, my voice rose higher, which attracted some attention from the townspeople. They glanced around with confusion, then wandered off to do their business.

He was smoothing my hair back, since it had come loose from my bun while he kissed me. The clips were scattered on the ground.  We had little time to get me back into my robe so that I could attend the ceremonies, and I dressed while I was in the carriage. My drab robe was wrinkled. Ciaran fussed with it until I pulled away.