When Magic Dares (Darkly Fae Book 2) by Tera Lynn Childs Read Free Book Online

his sleep.
    He was just about to switch them a third time, when he realized he had been arranging and rearranging the lunch setting for quite some time. The princess had been gone for far longer than it should have taken her to relieve herself, as she said.
    He set the cup and bottle on the blanket and crossed to the near side of the rock she had disappeared behind.
    “Princess?” he called out.
    No response. Not a sound.
    “Princess Arianne?”
    Still nothing.
    “Princess, if you have a problem…” He held his hands over his eyes and stepped carefully around the rock. He kept his gaze trained on the ground, so he could see where he was walking and not accidentally see something he shouldn’t.
    He expected a shriek of outrage. Maybe even a rock to the head.
    But again, nothing.
    “If this is a joke…”
    Finally the silence overcame his hesitation. He dropped his hand and, much to his lack of surprise, saw absolutely nothing. She was gone.
    He muttered a foul curse.
    “Princess!” he shouted, not caring if the entire mountain heard him. “Princess Arianne, return immediately or face the consequences!”
    He was not quite certain what those consequences would be. It was not as if he could dish out punishment to a royal princess, enemy or not. But he would think of something.
    He squatted down on the ground, searching for any trace of her lighter-than-air footsteps. Now he wished he had allowed Regan to accompany them. She was as skilled a tracker as he had ever known. Her abilities far outstretched his in such things. She could have easily told him if the princess had been here, when she had gone, if she had gone under her own power or—
    Tearloch jerked up. Muttered another curse.
    He had been so concerned about Arianne betraying them, betraying him, that he had not stopped to think that perhaps she had not gone willingly. She had done nothing but cooperate since the moment his clan surrounded her palace. All of their sparring had been of a teasing nature, with no real venom behind the words. He should not leap to the conclusion that she had run off. He should at least consider the possibility that foul play was—
    “Oh, there you are,” her voice sing-songed from right behind him.
    Tearloch spun around.
    She stood there, looking just as well as when she’d vanished behind the rock, a blindingly proud smile on her face.
    He closed the distance between them, looming over her with all the menace his additional height could convey. He was at once relieved to see her unharmed and furious at himself for even caring. His only concern should be her holding up her end of the bargain, getting him to the witch and finding out to where the traitor Ultan had fled. That she might have come to any harm should be the least of his concerns.
    “Where did you go?” he ground out.
    Her smile flickered, but did not fall. She raised a hand between them. “Alpine strawberries.” She waved the handful of red berries beneath his nose. “I can smell them from a mile away. I couldn’t resist.”
    “Strawberries?”
    She nodded. “A special treat for our lunch.”
    She sauntered past him, circling back around the rock to where he had spread out their picnic lunch.
    “Strawberries,” he muttered, following after her. For the first time, Tearloch was not certain he would survive this mountain trek. At least not with his sanity in tact.

Chapter 9
    Arianne’s feet felt like blocks of ice. Their pleasant lunch in the clearing was nothing but a distant memory. The higher they climbed into the mountains, the colder the air. The more she missed the ability to do anything about it.
    She had never resented the curse on her people more.
    What she wouldn’t give to be able to warm the air around her, even a little bit. To send her energy into a stone and use it to heat her shivering skin.
    But there was no point in bemoaning her inability to use her powers for anything short of survival. Wishing wouldn’t change reality.
    Her feet