Fifty-Three

We are welcomed back to Pumpkin Hollow with grandness. Townspeople litter the roads and wave as we stroll past them on Major, waving ribbons of blue and gray at us and cheering. Finnian doesn’t respond with waves, but he doesn’t discourage me. 

I force a bright smile and wave at each person, accepting a pink flower from a little girl who ran up to us. Finnian plucks it from my fingers and slides the stem behind my ear before he kisses me so tenderly that the sounds of the crowd blur into just noise, and it’s only us existing in this cruel yet sometimes beautiful world.

And as he kisses me warmly, his lips lush and full against mine, with the seconds of my life ticking away, I decide not to let the impending doom harden my heart against him. I won’t allow it to darken my views on what the world could be once evil is eliminated from this kingdom. I have to plan for leaving this place better than what I was born into.

The king and queen wait for us on the drawbridge, the inches between them indicating how far apart they’ve grown in recent years. But Honora beams at the sight of us, covering her heart and blowing kisses as we approach. Jasper, however, looks upon us with a satisfied grin, still heavily under the impression that Finnian is only pretending to care for me in hopes of procuring an heir.

Finnian searches for Irina, his body tensing against mine.

“Your mother would’ve sent for you if something happened to Irina,” I assure him, keeping a placated smile on my face.

“I haven’t told you everything,” he says under his breath. “Irina crossed the bridge the night we left only after subduing two guards by force. I tied them to a tree and Massimo…. Took care of them.” He looks back and forth, searching the crowd for his sister. “She was supposed to return. He promised he’d get her here safely, but I didn’t think to check⁠—”

Irina strolls out from the castle doors, as bored as usual. I grin, but Finnian sighs in relief. “Hades, I can’t stand her. She knows to be waiting for my arrival.”

Even though two days isn’t a long time to be away, I expected everything to have changed, but every inch of Pumpkin Hollow remains the same—every person naive to the battle brewing just beneath the cliffside.

Finnian slides off Major and assists me, keeping my hand in his as we walk across the drawbridge to greet his mother. Now that I’m a princess, I am unsure if I’m still supposed to greet the king and queen with a bow and curtsy, but when I try, Finnian tugs me back up and shakes his head.

“You’re one of us now. You bow for no one, Elora,” he says, then leans over and whispers in my ear, “but you can kneel for your prince any time you please.”

I scowl and shove his head away.

He grips my chin and clicks his tongue. “Now, little doe, it’s time to resume your doting wife act. Smile.”

I pinch my lips with a raised eyebrow.

With his thumb, he shoves the corners of my mouth up with a smirk. “You can’t make anything simple, can you?”

“Leave her be,” Irina says, pushing past her parents to grab my hand. “I believe she’s had enough of you.”

“I truly have,” I say, squeezing her hand.

The look I exchange with her requires no words, but Irina becomes anxious to steal me away so I can inform her of everything we learned during our time away. I leave Finnian’s side with a subtle grin, bidding adieu to the king and queen as Irina tugs me away. I can’t hear what he says to his parents, but he soon departs to return to Major. Our instructions from Gus were to begin immediately upon return, and Finn is supposed to collect any weaponry, food, or armor he can to stash in Massimo’s wagon.

But first, that requires finding the wanderers.

My first task is to inform Irina of our plan, who can tell by the weariness in my expression that I have many heavy secrets to reveal.

Before we entered the castle doors, I cast one last look over my shoulder at my husband as he and Major took off toward the woods behind the castle to find the note Massimo always leaves behind for Irina.

But when I lower my gaze, my eyes catch on the king’s. I try to disguise the look of desire and love for the prince I’m supposed to hate, but I know I’ve failed when he tips his chin at me with a haughty, calculated grin. He already believes he’s won.

* * *

After loading a tray full of fruits and chocolate, Irina locked every door and threw a handful of blankets onto her terrace. We’re lounging on the plush blankets and pillows while eating strawberries, her finger lazily twisting one of my curls around her finger.

She went into great detail about how she lured the lookouts close enough to her, which included her baring her shoulders with the promise of more to entice them into removing their helmets. And then, she knocked one out with a rock to the temple before the other grabbed her, managing to rip her earring out before she did the same to him.

Finnian found her shortly after, and Massimo escorted her back to the castle before he handled the men tied to the tree. She hasn’t seen him since but knows he’s all right from the letters he leaves her in the hollowed-out tree trunk.

After warming me up with her scandals, I inform her of ours, though I spare her the naughtiest details. True to herself, she doesn’t give anything away while I detail how we were captured, dragged into an underground bunker, and tortured with dehydration and separation before learning we were sent there to find them by Honora. Her only emotion is from learning I have a half-brother who is somewhat of a jerk but seemingly has a gentle side when he warms up to you.

Much like her brother.

She only speaks to say, “Men,” before gesturing for me to continue.

I dip a strawberry into the melted chocolate and pop it into my mouth. “So, now, Finnian has left to find Massimo. Gus doesn’t need much from us, but Finn hasn’t long to procure food and any weaponry he can spare without drawing questions. He will stash them in Massimo’s wagon and drop them over the cliffside tonight.”

Irina sighs. “I thought I’d be rid of you in my bed.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t have to stay here.”

She dips her finger in the chocolate and swipes it across my cheek. “You do. I can’t leave you alone to scream and thrash.”

My spirit dampens. “The nightmares are killing me, Irina. Finnian is freeing the faeries tomorrow night to locate a Healer to bring back to Ashbury. If the Healer can’t fix the nightmares, then you’ll never have to sleep with me again.”

She raises slowly. “What do you mean?”

I lean my head against the wall and watch clouds pass above us. “I consumed a spell before I came here that I thought was a wishing spell, but it wasn’t. It connected me to a Fae male who has been trapped somewhere for twenty-five years. He’s trying to locate the Cinder Faeries but is using me as a catalyst. I sacrificed my heart for the spell, not realizing it would take it so literally. And now, each time I sleep, he finds me.”

“He’s…. Stealing your heart?”

I shrug. “The faeries aren’t forthcoming with information, but that’s what we took from it. And unless a Healer breaks the spell, I’ll dream of him until I’m dead.”

She switches from worry to anger in a breath. “And Finnian is just…. Gathering weapons? Why isn’t he trying to find a Healer for you?”

“He will,” I assure her, “but he doesn’t want to leave my side right now. Dolfe doesn’t think I have long. The attack on Pumpkin Hollow is happening in two days, Irina. He can’t find a Healer that quick. Our best chance of ridding me of the spell is to free the faeries and trust they’ll return with one.”

She shakes her head. “No, there has to be another solution, Elora. What about your brother⁠—”

“Hogsfeet is desolate,” I interrupt. “It would take Reynold much longer to locate a Healer. And why would a Healer listen to them? I’m human, Irina. It’ll take a faerie to talk one into coming here to save me.” I wave a hand lazily through the air. “I deserve it for drinking from the spring. Azrea tried to warn me. It was Dolfe who assured me it was fine.”

“That bastard!” she shouts angrily, throwing a pillow over the balcony. “Finnian should’ve taken his head!”

I peer over the balcony wall. Gardeners beneath us look up in confusion. The pillow landed on freshly planted flowers. Irina tugs me back down and stuffs a strawberry in my mouth. “If draining you is the asshole male’s main objective, then we’ll continue to re-energize you. I will wake you up every hour tonight. That won’t give you enough time to dream.”

I try to argue, but she shoves a piece of pineapple into my mouth before I swallow the strawberry.

“I don’t want to hear it.”

* * *

Morning turned into afternoon, then afternoon seeped into night. The moon rose and stars burned, but Finn never returned. I haven’t seen him since this morning, and the longer I go without knowing if he’s all right, the madder I become. Irina walked me through town, chose far too many dresses for me after making me try on dozens, fed me so many meals that my stomach hurt, and made me lie with her in the gardens because she believed sunlight would resupply enough energy in me to keep me alive for years to come.

And now, we stand in the kitchen, mixing ingredients to bake a pie. I’m trying to help, but every step I follow isn’t good enough for her, and she ends up redoing it. I’ve resorted to taste-testing pie dough and filling while watching her work.

I hop onto the counter. “How did you meet Massimo?”

Irina snorts while kneading the dough. “Finnian was traveling. I needed something…. Someone to entertain me and had exhausted all the dull servant boys in the castle. I snuck out one evening and ended up in one of the seedier pubs that borders the outskirts. It’s one of the places Jasper used to send his men to find a woman for him to fuck for the night.”

She passes me a piece of dough. “I hadn’t slept with a woman yet, but I was curious.” She sighs. “But I was recognized quickly. I ducked behind the bar when one of my father’s men came in. Massimo was at the back door, speaking with the owner, and saw me. He snapped his fingers at me and beckoned me over,” she demonstrated by hooking her finger at me with a grin, “I thought he was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. He’s only a few years older than me, but gods, I could just tell he was experienced.”

I listen with a broad smile. Her face always lights up any time she talks about Massimo.

“He introduced me to Leif that night. I had already fooled around with him by then.” Her laugh is akin to a girlish giggle. “We moved very fast. It was love at first sight.” She rolls her eyes after she says it. “Gods, listen to me.”

I throw a handful of flour at her. “Keep going.”

“At first, I was envious of his relationship with her. I didn’t understand how open they were, but Leif conveyed her interest in me. Since I was already curious and enamored by her beauty, I agreed to try, but I was too nervous to experience everything with her, so she left me alone with Massimo.”

“But you fell in love with both?”

She loosely nods from side to side. “Sort of. I love them both, but with Leif, it’s mostly physical. Leif is completely open. She doesn’t dedicate herself to only us. Massimo, though…” Her timid grin returns. “Massimo proposed to me with Leif’s permission. He wants more with me. He’s willing to dedicate his loyalty to only me.”

I nearly swooned for her. “I could tell how he felt about you the night I met him. He stares at you like you’re a goddess.”

“I am to him,” she says. “And while I love being with women, Massimo satisfies me in ways no one else has. He’s wild and passionate but so gentle and loving with me.”

I declined another piece of dough. “But you’ve stayed here because of Finn? You declined the proposal?”

Her smile falters. “Yes and no. I stayed here for Finn but didn’t decline Massimo’s proposal. I mistakenly told Jasper about it, and he responded as you would expect. I went weeks without seeing Massimo. He thought I had left him. He believed I didn’t love him.”

Her eyes fill with water. “His notes were heartbreaking to read, but I was so terrified for him, Elora. I didn’t want Jasper to choose him for his next beheading. It wasn’t until Finn returned and promised to protect Massimo that I returned to him. It took a long time for him to trust me again, but he forgave me instantly. He proposes to me still, almost every time we’re together. He promises me endless happiness.”

I cover her hand with mine. “Irina, you need to accept.”

A tear slips free, and she wipes it away. “Someday.”

I slide off the counter and stand beside her, keeping my hand on hers. “Irina, I’m going to protect him.”

“You idiot,” she mutters, throwing flour in my face. “I’m not staying for only him anymore.”

I cough from inhaling flour. “Are you trying to kill me quicker?” I grab a rag and wipe it from my face. “Irina, you cannot put your life on hold for me. I have Finn. I’ll be okay.”

“This is my life, Elora.” She pours the filling into the pie dish. “Finn is my brother. You’re my sister. It might not be the life I want, but it’s still my life. I want to see this through.”

I toss the rag at her. “You’re both so godsdamn stubborn.”

Her jaw drops when the rag falls into her pie filling.

“Oh gods, I’m sorry⁠—”

She hurls a handful of apple filling at me. It drips from my face onto my dress while I stare at her in surprise. She raises an eyebrow in challenge, wagging her finger when I scoop two handfuls of flour. “Elora, I swear to the gods…”

She’s unable to finish from the flour that lands in her mouth and chokes her. And then, she lunges, smearing more filling across my face and into my hair. I yelp in protest and grab a bowlful of sugar to pour over her head.

She slips and takes me down with her in the scuffle of ingredients flying and filling spilling to the floor. We cry out in pain and laughter, trying to clear our eyes of the sticky jelly we created, only to spread it. 

We laugh so loudly from the chaos that we overlook Finnian in the doorway until he shouts our names, drawing our attention away from the mess. He leans against the doorframe, crosses his arms, and lifts an eyebrow. Irina uses the bottom of her dress to wipe her face clean, then lends it to me, our laughter dying out in spurts.

“I can’t leave the two of you alone,” he says.

“All fucking day,” I snap, remembering how annoyed I am with him. “Did you forget you have a wife now?”

Irina clicks her tongue. “You’re in trouble, big brother.”

He scoffs. “What else is fucking new?”

Irina stands and pulls me up, winking at me as she tucks a stray curl behind my ear. She spins on her heels, nearly slips again, then pats Finn’s chest on her way out. “Send her to my quarters when you’re finished with her.”

I remain where I am and cross my arms. He doesn’t change his stance either, though he does study me with an amused smirk. “It doesn’t seem like you missed me too much.”

“I didn’t,” I lied, turning my head away from him.

I see him nearing from the corner of my eye, but I don’t reward him with any attention. Instead, I turn my head further—to the point where if I try again, my neck might snap. He only chuckles and places his hands on my waist.

“Not at all?” he asks, dipping to remove some of the filling from my neck with his tongue.

I jerk my head away, ignoring the shivers that spiral around my spine. “That isn’t how this works, Finn.”

He bends, cups my thighs, and lifts me to sit on the counter. Bracketing his arms on either side of me, he leans in and tries to kiss me, but I lean back. His eyes darken from the rejection. “You know where I was, Elora. Let me kiss you.”

“I don’t know where you were,” I replied with a scowl. “I know where you were supposed to be. You said you would come to me after you found Massimo, Finnian.”

He sighs, brushing his thumb across my cheek to steal some filling and sucking it off. He’s pretending to be doing it strictly for the taste, but I know it’s because he can’t stand not touching me when we’re this close. “I’m not used to this, Ellie. Aside from Irina, I’ve never had to be somewhere for someone. I didn’t think you’d mind, but you’re upset.”

“Of course, I’m upset. What you’re doing is…” I look around and lower my voice. “Treasonous. I was worried you’d be caught and dragged to the gallows. I didn’t want my next conversation with you to be with your severed head.”

That makes him smile, which is the opposite of the reaction I want, but he catches me when I try to climb down. “Elora, stop. I’m sorry. I should’ve considered how you might feel, but I thought about you all day long.”

“Yet you were fine being away from me all day,” I mutter.

“Hades, you’re more possessive than you let on.”

I throw my arms up, flour flying through the air from the swift movement. “You want me to like you, then you complain about it. Forget I said anything.”

He narrows his eyes. “I don’t recall complaining about anything, Elora Jane. I was unaware of how bothered you’d be by a plan you were wholly aware of⁠—” 

“A plan you changed without telling me⁠—”

“You wanted me to stop what I was doing to come tell you? I was a fucking bridge away from you, Elora.”

“Right, right,” I snap, “I forgot you don’t know how to cross those unless forced!”

“One day!” he shouts, “One fucking day, and you’re already back to being a venomous little⁠—”

“Toad?” I try to shove him away. “You were going to call me a fucking toad again, weren’t you?”

“I wasn’t not going to call you a toad.” He opens his arms wide. “But if the fucking shoe fits….”

I glower and slide down, squeezing between him and the counter to walk away. “Excuse me for wanting to know you’re alive! Gods, you can be such a prick.”

His response is to chase after me and toss me over his shoulder. “You want my attention so badly, little doe? Let’s see how loud you can scream for me.”