Free The Seven Year King (The Faerie Ring #3) by Kiki Hamilton Page A

around him. The goblins had become aware of him too, some scuttling to the far side of their carts as he passed. Like a flame that had been snuffed, the cries of the goblins and the music of the market became muted.
    Tiki’s heart clanged a warning in her chest.
    Rieker straightened, eyeing the man with a frown. “Who do you suppose that is?”
    “It’s the man who took Johnny,” Fiona cried in a strangled whisper.
    “It’s the liche ,” Callan said in a grim voice.
    Tiki swayed on her feet, her breath hitching as though her throat had suddenly become constricted. The dapper gentleman walking toward them was the liche? How was it possible? He didn’t look anything like the monster Tiki had imagined. In fact, he looked quite the opposite. Some of the costermongers in Covent Garden were more frightening to gaze upon than this man.
    “Fiona…” His voice carried toward them, not as if the words floated on the wind, but as if they were the wind. “There you are, my dear. I’ve been looking for you since we last met in Hyde Park.”
    Tiki froze. There was something so elemental—so disturbing in the timbre of his voice—like death coated in sugar. In a rush of insight she realized the liche had been near Grosvenor Square not because he’d been looking for Clara or Toots or even herself—he’d been there looking for Fiona. Had she and Rieker led him straight to the girl?
    “Don’t let him take me,” Fiona cried, as she huddled behind Rieker.
    “We should leave, Majesty,” Callan said in an urgent tone. “Don’t let him get too close.”
    Tiki’s mind raced. This attractive man, who appeared to be an upper-class gentleman, was the creature who had taken Johnny and injured him so gravely he lay dying in the Otherworld. He was the killer who had murdered five people of which they knew, including a sixteen year-old girl, and had cut out their hearts. He was the murderer of the Seelie King. He was the creature to whom Donegal intended to feed Dain’s heart—and now he was after Fiona. What power could she draw upon to stop this madman?
    “We need to fight,” Tiki said in a low voice, clenching her fists by her sides.
    “No, Majesty,” Callan cried, taking a step closer. “Their magic is different than ours—it isn’t simply a battle of wits or controlling the weather…”
    “I can smell your sweet skin from here, Fiona…” The man’s voice was silk—undulating, mesmerizing. “Come to me…” He stopped ten feet away and held a hand out. “Come to me now….”
    Fiona peeked from behind Rieker’s back. She slowly straightened. The fear that had twisted her features seconds ago had been replaced with complacency—she moved as though she were in a daze. To Tiki’s horror, she stepped from behind Rieker as if she intended to walk over to the man.
    “No!” Tiki jumped in front of Fiona and stretched her arms wide to stop the other girl from moving forward. “You can’t have her,” she shouted.
    The man snarled and for a second Tiki swore his eyes glowed red and become slitted like a cat’s.
    “Get out of my way, urchin boy. You’re not part of this.”
    Fear was so heavy in Tiki’s chest she could barely breathe, but anger made her voice strong. “I AM part of this and you will not—”
    The blow hit her from the side, knocking her off her feet. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and everything around her began to shimmer. At the last second, Tiki reached out and grabbed Fiona’s wrist.
    THEY LANDED INSIDE the Palace of Mirrors in a room Tiki had never seen before. Though the soaring walls were white, intricate gold trim glittered from every inch of the walls and ceiling, making the room appear to have been spun from gold.
    Callan’s strong arms braced Tiki’s fall as their momentum carried them forward upon their arrival. With no one to catch her, Fiona sprawled awkwardly on the floor, landing on her side with a painful thump . Before Tiki had time to react, Rieker and the other