Burned

Chapter Three

     “Please, Amasa!” Bianca whimpered, leaning on my chest. “You have your title. And we’re still engaged! What’s one little kiss?”

     I shoved down on the mass of bright red hair, and threw the girl off my lap. Clingy didn’t even begin to describe Bianca. She went above and beyond when it came to hanging all over someone.

     And the fact that she was still spouting the garbage about our childhood engagement was almost enough to make me laugh. Almost. That promise had been broken off when I’d renounced my title.

     Like I would take that mess back up when I had my title.

     “Bianca.” I blew out a soft sight as her bright red eyes went wide, glazing over with tears. “Come on. I have better things to do than deal with your childhood fantasies. I have to figure out what I’m going to be doing about the war.”

     The Icen Queen was practically knocking on my door. It had been three days since I had regained my title as Prince and I had been working on getting a group of fighters together ever since.

     Of course, I wasn’t alone in that. The Icen Queen had been doing the same thing, only worse. She had started recruiting people from the Earthen Lands. It was quickly apparent that we would have a problem.

     Fire wasn’t that effective against Earth. It got stopped out, for lack of a better phrase. And we would already be facing down against water.

     I’d sent a few scouts to the East in search of any of the Airen people who were willing to help but I wasn’t really surprised when they came back saying they couldn’t find anyone. Going up those mountains was like going through a snow storm in a hundred degree heat with a high altitude. It just wasn’t possible.

     Bianca sat on the floor, her legs tucked under her as she watched me and I knew she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. I could only think of one time she’d ever left me alone when I was home and that had been when Clarity had been here.

     My eyes fell closed and I pictured her in my oversized shirt in my bedroom.

     Her thick black locks were soaked from her bath. Here and there droplets of water still clung to her skin.  Her eyes were downcast as she held a picture frame in her slender hands.

     The too big shirt clung to her skin in places where she was still wet and, since it was white, I had a pretty good view. But I didn’t need to get under her clothes to know what she looked like. I had seen that many times before and she was a model of the original—there wouldn’t be any differences.

     I’d gone behind her and wasn’t really surprised to find her holding the picture of the original her. It was one of the picture’s I’d taken with my camera that I had brought from Earth.

     Clarity had always loved pictures and she’d never been able to leave the fey lands because of how tied to the lands she was. I would bring her small trinkets from Earth whenever I had the chance. Seeing her face light up with what I had brought her was completely worth risking the journey between the planes.

     Back then, going to Earth was frowned upon. It was when the two little girls in London had taken pictures of faeries so people were more than a little on edge of our secret being exposed.

     Even after it had been proven as a hoax, people were still a bit unwilling to return to the other land. I, on the other hand, went there often. I’d always loved the planet because it was so different from the others.

     I threw my legs of the edge of the couch which sent Bianca to her feet as well. She was immediately at my side, arm around my own as she clung to me.