The Faerie Prince

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Later that night, Ryn and I meet at Councilor Starkweather's office along with the four guards who will accompany us to the Seelie Court—to show us the way and to make sure we don't get up to any mischief on the journey. Councilor Starkweather inspects the guards' black and gold Guild uniforms while giving Ryn and me a few parting instructions. Then she opens a wide doorway to the faerie paths on the wall. She steps aside while the six of us link arms—two guards in front, two behind, and Ryn and me in the middle.

"Can't you just tell us which part of the world we're going to?" Ryn says to the guards once we're walking through the darkness of the faerie paths. "You don't have to give us directions or anything."

His question is met by silence.

"You didn't honestly think you'd get an answer, did you?" I say to Ryn. "It's one of the best secrets in the fae realm. They're not about to tell you."

I feel Ryn shrugging. "Worth a try."

We exit the paths to find ourselves amongst trees beside a wide river. Perfectly clear water flows slowly over sand that's whiter than any I've seen before. The trees are slimmer and less gnarled and somehow more ... elegant than the trees in Creepy Hollow. Everything here seems to be lit from within, bringing the quiet forest to brilliant, luminous life. Green moss, purple flowers, blue leaves. Even the white sand at the bottom of the river seems to be glowing.

"The faerie paths can take us no further," says one of the guards. "We'll use the river from here, and then the sky." He gestures to the water. A white boat with a seahorse's head rising from the bow glides toward us. Magic must be directing it because there's no one inside. The boat reaches the bank and sways with the gentle waves.

The guard climbs into the boat and holds his hand out. "Miss Fairdale," he says. Although I'm pretty sure I could get in without help, I take his hand and step into the boat. The interior is simple, with four parallel bench seats covered in cushions. I climb over them and take the seat closest to the stern.

Ryn and the other guards climb in. Without a command from anyone, the boat begins to move. No oars, nothing. It slips silently, peacefully, through the water. I lie back with my shoulders against the edge of the boat and stare at the sky through the overhanging branches. The moon is larger than I've ever seen it, and the stars seem closer than normal.

"Look here, V," Ryn says. I sit up. He's leaning over the side of the boat and pointing at something. I grasp the edge of the boat and peer into the water. A woman with long green hair and a fish-like tail with pearly, iridescent scales weaves artfully between the rocks at the bottom of the river.

"Wow," I whisper. "I've never seen a mermaid in real life."

"They don't like Creepy Hollow," says the guard sitting next to Ryn. "They prefer to keep close to the Seelie Court."

I spend the remainder of the boat journey watching mermaids, mermen, and other water creatures gliding through the river. I think of how calm everything must be beneath the lapping surface. Nothing to fill their ears but a peaceful quiet, and everything moving in graceful slow motion.

"Time to get out," a guard says, interrupting my thoughts. The boat bumps gently against the bank. The river disappears around a corner, and a quiet rushing sound signals a waterfall somewhere in the distance. "We'll travel the rest of the way by air."

We climb out, walk a little way through the trees, and stop in front of a closed carriage pulled by four white pegasi.

"Yes!" Ryn exclaims. "I haven't ridden a pegasus in years."