I gave him one second to object before my lips pressed against his, and I took what I had no business wanting.
Finn kissed me back, and I knew it was time to go. He’d done the opposite of what I’d anticipated. Moving my hands south, I sent the tiniest shock of magic through his ribs to get the reaction I desired.
His hand grabbed on to my braid and yanked my head back. “Lucinda,” he growled against my lips as I smirked.
“Yes, Finn?” I batted my lashes.
“That’s enough.”
That, I wouldn’t argue with.
“I agree. We need some separation and don’t feel too bad, but it’s definitely you and not me.” I inched my wings closer, supporting my body with my knees. Before he could move, I pooled magic into both hands and trapped him with a bit of extra power and feathers I didn’t mind leaving behind if it meant I could get the hell away from him.
“What are you doing, Lucinda?” he snarled, bucking beneath my magic.
“Exactly what you expected of me.”
Neva poked her head out the door, but I didn’t acknowledge her. I couldn’t let anything else stop me.
My wings extended to their full six-foot span, and I took to the sky, heading straight for King Easton Zephyr.
It didn’t matter that I hadn’t settled on a plan. All that mattered was that I was done letting him win.
Chapter 8
Nobody chased after me, and I should have been happy about that, but I wasn’t even close to okay. Since I couldn’t understand why the situation irritated me so badly, I focused on figuring out how best to get close to the king without him knowing.
While I sped away from their farm, I wasn’t exactly watching where I was going, my thoughts too focused on how best to complete my task. I could attack head-on, take out whoever was in my way while moving through the castle like it was mine, but that was reckless. I didn’t know what had changed in the last three years.
Then, there was the option of finding someone to glamor me. Between a glamor and the spell Beatrix had given, I could possibly walk right in, but again, I’d run the risk of being questioned if I tried to go anywhere the public wasn’t normally allowed. One wrong answer could turn into a war within the castle where I’d be severely outnumbered.
Only one option was left, but it was one that wouldn’t provide instant gratification and would require my stay on the islands to be much longer than I wanted, but this last option was definitely the one he wouldn’t expect from me. Not from the Lucinda he thought I was.
By the time I began paying attention to where I was again, I was nearing West Island and considering turning toward South Island. After thinking it through more thoroughly, I knew I wasn’t ready to initiate my plans. I had no weapon, and I still knew nothing about the poison that nearly killed King Zephyr. Though, I also wasn’t ready to go back to Finn’s farm.
I’d only been flying for about ten minutes and was surprised I hadn’t seen anyone else. When I’d last been around, people flew between the lands frequently, but everything around me was quiet. Too quiet.
The islands here were bigger than any I’d seen while on Earth, and they weren’t very far from each other, which was a good thing once I realized nothing was as it should be. I needed to get out of the open.
I headed for an orchard at the edge of South Island. My wings carried me down, and I landed without noise, heading straight for the cover of trees. I’d missed the nature of these lands and reached out for the closest limb, but as soon as my fingers connected with the branch, brittle leaves crumbled to the ground. “What the hell?”
Then, I started paying closer attention and took in a deep inhale of death.
The dirt beneath my feet that used to be powdered and fresh was now hard and cracked. The trees I could see held no food or flowers, and when I pressed my hand against several trunks, there was no life left within any of them.
My feet moved of their own accord as I stared at what was left. Everything was dying, and I was taken aback by the emotions it caused within me.
Up ahead, a little boy darted out from behind a tree. He was maybe six or seven and covered in red grime.