to her arms, refusing to let her put distance between us. “I came for you, to rescue from this place.”
The defeated shine in her eyes squeezed at my heart. “I can’t.” She lifted her arm and showed me the black bracelet in her wrist. “Lark put this on me earlier today. I tried escaping after. This bracelet will kill me if I leave the fortress.” I grabbed her arm and tried pulling the bracelet off. She shook her head. “I’ve already tried that and more. The bracelet is enchanted. It won’t come off.”
“There must be a way,” I whispered. “I can’t leave my mate trapped here.”
Her eyes rounded for a moment, then a small smile appeared over her lips. “You felt it too?”
I nodded. “I wasn’t sure if you had.” I pulled her back to me. “Farrah, I love you. I have always loved you. I can’t let you stay here.”
Gently, Farrah cupped my face, and standing on tiptoes, she pressed her lips to mine. I groaned, not content with just a peck. I closed my mouth over hers and kissed her, showing her just how much I wanted her, I needed her, I loved her.
Farrah kissed me back, moving her lips in rhythm with mine, her tongue entwining with mine. I wrapped my arms around her, like a lock that wouldn’t break, no matter what.
But then Farrah stepped back, breaking our kiss before I could take it further. “Wyatt, you need to go. It’s not safe here. You’ll be found out and killed.”
I held to her hand. “I won’t leave you.”
She pressed a hand to my chest. “You need to. Listen to me. Lark lied. He didn’t let Daleigh and my people go. They are imprisoned somewhere in the fae realm. Go there. Find them, free them. Rescue Daleigh. I know he’ll be mad now and will want vengeance. He’ll know what to do.”
A wave of rage coursed for me. That fucking fae prince … I sucked in a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I would lose my temper, but not now. Later, when I faced off the prince. I would put an end to him. But right now, I had to stay levelheaded. Even though I didn’t like it, Farrah seemed to know what she was saying. If she trusted Daleigh for this, I would too.
I nodded. “I hate leaving you, but I’ll go after Daleigh. Then we’ll come back for you.” I leaned into her and kissed her deep and hard one more time. “I promise it,” I whispered against her lips.
“Now go,” she said, pushing me toward the door.
Reluctantly, I let go of her. But as I was turning from her, I remembered something. “Oh, I have something for you.” I pulled the blue pendant Spencer had given me from my pocket and handed it to her.
She took the blue stone “What is this?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just promised I would give it to you.”
17
Farrah
One hour after Wyatt left, I finally stopped crying. Seeing my mate, touching him, and not being able to leave with him was not only heartbreaking, but it was also slowly killing me.
Staying here would kill me.
But if I tried to leave, I would be dead too.
I waited another hour to compose myself before I tried leaving my room. I couldn’t escape this fortress, but nothing could stop me from going to the library and research about this damn bracelet. If there had been books about poison, I was sure there would be books about magical objects. Hopefully, there would be one about this specific one and I would be able to take it off.
But a surprise waited for me when I opened the doors of my chambers. Four guards stood there, blocking my way.
“What is going on?” I asked, alarmed. “When did you get here?” Had they seen Wyatt leaving?
One of the soldiers turned to me and gave me a slight bow of his head. “Just a few minutes ago, your highness. Prince Lark asked us to keep you safe in your chambers while the investigation goes on.”
I frowned. “So I can’t leave my room?”
“For your own safety, no.”
I scoffed. For my own safety—what a freaking lie. Lark was keeping me prisoner in here, probably another punishment since he knew I had been the one to slip poison into his wine. He might not have proof, but he knew.
Seething, I retreated into my chambers and closed the doors again. Damn it. I couldn’t even wander inside the fortress.