all around, shooting through the openings in the tall stone walls.
I had no idea where we were but it looked as if someone had taken Rivendell from Lord of the Rings and the Woodland Realm from The Hobbit and smushed them together. The walls and floor were made of a pale gray stone but there were vines and weeds covering everything. The cracks between the stones had long, purple flowered vines poking out. Thick green leafy vines covered almost all of the walls.
Trees sprouted from within weedy cobblestone and towered above us like skyscrapers. Vines and moss dangled from each branch. Large, wide stone steps that led to a massive arched doorway were overrun with bushy tall grass. Beside that was a hill thick with green grass and colorful plants. They reminded me of wildflowers growing on the side of the mountains back home.
Where are we?
“Sage, my dear, I sent you for one,” A soft, deep voice purred.
I spun toward the sound and gasped. We weren’t alone. We had an audience. A couple dozen people stood around two people who sat in what I assumed were thrones – they seemed to be made from trees. The two people sitting in them wore elaborate crowns of flowers and bones. The one who spoke sounded like a man but the prettiness in his face made him look feminine. His hair was royal blue and his eyes burned like hot embers. The heat in his stare made my stomach roll.
The woman on the throne to his left had long, bright red hair that fell in loose waves over the side of her tree-throne. The sharpness in her violet eyes made her look sinister and cold.
A gorgeous blue-haired woman wearing a thick flower crown shrugged and flipped her hair over her shoulder and I saw the pointed tip of her ear. She sat on the arm of the red-haired woman’s throne, “A necessary side effect, Father.”
Wait. WAIT. HOLD ON. Pointed ear? Sage?? I knew that name. I’d heard The Coven talking about it. Princess Sage…of the Seelie Court. Oh no. NO, NO, NO, NO. Because if that’s the princess then —
Another man stepped out from behind the throne and my thoughts vanished in a cloud. This guy was tall and lean, with sharp pointed ears and cheekbones nearly as sharp. He had fiery red hair that had more shine than Caroline Davenport’s. The eyes that looked like hot coals on a fire told me he was related to the first guy, the one whose throne he leaned on.
He grinned. “Welcome to Seelie.”
Paulina slid between me and Landy, then took my hand in hers and squeezed tight.
Riah stepped forward and dropped to one knee. “My King, my Queen, Prince Thorne, and Princess Sage…I apologize for my tardiness, there were complications I was not yet prepared for.”
KING? QUEEN? PRINCE THORNE?
OH GODDESS. OH NO.
THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING. WE CAN’T REALLY BE HERE?
My stomach turned and rolled. A cold chill ran down my spine and I shivered.
The Seelie King chuckled and leaned back on his throne, then crossed one leg over the other. He looked just like Lord Thranduil from The Hobbit, sitting in his tree throne and long silky gray gown – except with bright royal blue hair.
This was not fantasy. This was not Middle Earth. And this was definitely not Lee Pace.
I tried to take a deep breath but the air was thick and sharp so it just made me choke on my own saliva until my eyes watered.
“Oh, Zachariah, you have always been a charming liar. Perhaps such is why I liked you.” The king drawled and spun his tall staff between his ring-clad fingers. Then he looked up with fire burning in his eyes. “I commend you. You managed to lie to me much, much, longer than your brother did.”
“My King—"
“Traitor!” The king screamed, his face flushing.
The queen hissed and flicked her wrist. Dark green mist slammed into Riah’s chest and then coiled around him. Riah thrashed and tried to move but his entire body locked in place. A thick piece of green magic covered his mouth and she smirked. “Now your lies will die within you.”
The king visibly calmed and looked at me with a crazy twinkle in his eyes. “…and friends.”
“What a supple sampling, dear sister.” Prince Thorne’s eyes flickered like flames. He cocked his head to the side. “Mind you, do you think we must retain all of them?”
The king narrowed his matching fire eyes. “Sage, dispose of this miniature earthling.”