Prince of the Courts

Prince of the Courts - Chapter 12

Idris? Idris!" Sera shouted. "Are you out of your mind?"

Rayce took a step back from the vehemency in her tone. "The Fey won't follow us here. I can give the crown to the Shadowhunters and they can protect it until we figure out what to do next. It'll be safe here. Maybe they'll even see it as a peace offering."

"A peace offering? I can just hear them right now! 'Oh, what a lovely, angry Faerie army you've brought us!'," Sera threw up her hands in exasperation.

Rayce snatched one of her wrists out of the air and pulled her arm down, bringing their faces together, his teeth bared just a bit. "If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it."

Sera was instantly flooded with regret for her outburst. She'd lost control. It wasn't his fault.

"I just... Everything's moving so quickly. I haven't had a chance to sleep and try to see what could be waiting ahead of us. I'm not used to being so blind. I'm sorry I shouted at you." She turned her eyes down and waited.

He loosened his hold on her wrist, sliding his hand up until it folded over hers and pulled it over his heart. "I'm sorry, too," he said softly.  "I probably should have said something sooner."

"No, you're right. This was the best option." Sera looked back through the trees at the monstrous trunk that served as a gateway to the Faerie realm. "I don't think we should test our luck here, though. Alicante is still a long way away, and the Fey might think it's worth the risk to hunt us across Brocelind Plain."

"Agreed."

Sera swung the pack down to the grass and started pulling out the spare clothes she had packed that morning, tossing Rayce a pair of dark blue jeans, a black tank top and a black button-down shirt. She had just packed the clothes she had had lunch in for herself, and she turned around to avoid the distraction of watching Rayce strip out of his Faerie armour.

She finished before he did and so she dug out her boots and started pulling them on. She left her jacket in the bottom of the bag, though – it was too warm to wear it for what was going to be a long walk. Sera stood up and turned to find Rayce just slipping his arms through the sleeves of the button-down shirt, the glimmer of the enchanted arm band above his right bicep catching the light before vanishing as he shrugged the shirt into place. Rayce slipped his staff's harness over his head and then looked to Sera as he was rolling up the sleeves, nodding that he was ready to go.

They left the stolen clothes on what appeared to be the western bank of Lake Lyn and took their bearings, angling northeast to intercept the river that led to the City of Glass.

"My people call this the Mirror of Dreams," Rayce said as they were walking along the north edge of the lake. "It is said that drinking its waters can grant the Fey true visions."

"Its waters are poison to Shadowhunters, though. I always thought that was a bit rude of Raziel." She looked out across the water where it glittered in the late afternoon sun. "It kind of reminds me of home, though. I grew up in a place just like this."

Rayce reached over to take her hand, giving it a squeeze as they kept walking. They were making good time, and soon came to the place where the river branched off to the north, winding its way through the hills until it reached Alicante.

As they scrambled up and down the grassy slopes, sometimes a manor house would appear in the distance, and Sera looked at them enviously. "You know, there are probably perfectly good horses sitting in a stable, ripe for stealing."

"Sera!"

"Well, I'm just saying..."

"No."

They continued on in silence for a while after that. The sun was dipping lower toward the horizon and its light shifted to a pale orange that brushed the rolling grasses, seeming to set them afire. Sera's legs were starting to ache from all the climbing, but Rayce still showed no signs of tiring.