Free King of the Isles by Debbie Mazzuca

warriors gathered. His blade glowed, and she started. It was nothing like she’d witnessed the other day at the council meeting. This time it was fiery red and showed no sign of fading. As tall and broad as he was, he dwarfed whoever had drawn his ire.
    She nudged Aurora out of the way, angling her head to get a better look. Her stomach lurched—it was her father. Morfessa’s tall, lean frame was inconsequential in comparison to Lachlan’s. Her father, as if sensing her attention, pinned her with his dark malicious gaze, his thin lips twisting in a sneer.
    She could feel the color drain from her face. She hadn’t seen Morfessa since their confrontation in the Seelie Court. Had he found evidence of what she’d done? No, there was nothing to find, she’d sealed the tear.
    Aurora’s small hand clasped Evangeline’s. The memory of the little seer’s prophecy came back to taunt her. Prickly heat flooded her limbs. Don’t let her remember , she pleaded silently, don’t let her repeat the damning prophecy now . She steeled herself to look down at the child.
    “Don’t worry, King Lachlan won’t let him hurt you.”
    Her throat too tight to speak, she squeezed Aurora’s hand and attempted a smile. She couldn’t make out Lachlan and her father’s conversation, but neither could she bring herself to move closer. After all this time she should be immune to Morfessa’s hatred, but she wasn’t. She only pretended to be, hoping one day the act would become reality. She lived in fear he saw something inside her she couldn’t or didn’t choose to see. But you have seen it , she reminded herself, and so has Aurora.
    “Don’t let him frighten you, Evangeline. No one believes his spiteful allegations.” Her mind tangled in a web of paranoid emotions, she hadn’t noticed Fallyn approach.
    Evangeline lifted her chin, struggling to project an unconcerned demeanor. She let the heat of her embarrassment that anyone should witness her fear melt the icy tendrils holding her hostage. No one—not even Syrena—knew how much her father and his damnation frightened her. But Fallyn was deluded if she thought no one believed Morfessa’s accusations against her.
    She drew her gaze from the two men to Fallyn, noting the concern in her friend’s eyes. “I’m not frightened, only worried we waste time.” Evangeline winced, her tone more acerbic than she intended.
    Fallyn glanced over her shoulder to the clearing. “We await Broderick.”
    “Oh, I ...” Evangeline didn’t know what to say. Although she considered Fallyn a friend, she never felt comfortable discussing personal matters with anyone but Syrena.
    Overhead the sky darkened. The shadows hovered, then descended in a loud swoosh. Seven black-winged steeds skimmed the treetops before landing in the clearing.
    Fallyn rolled her eyes. “He always did like to make an entrance.” With a shake of her head, she returned her attention to Evangeline. “I brought Bowen for you to ride.” Placing two fingers between her lips, Fallyn whistled shrilly. With a soft whicker, Syrena’s white steed sauntered from a grove of trees.
    “Bowen!” Aurora ecstatically greeted the horse, immediately conjuring a shiny red apple to offer him.
    Evangeline chewed the inside of her bottom lip. “I don’t suppose I could just transport Bowen and myself to the Far North, could I?” she asked, eyeing the big steed with trepidation. She had never ridden before and preferred transportation to any other mode of travel. Depending on no one but herself afforded her a measure of security.
    Aurora, overhearing her question, looked at her askance. “Oh, no, Evangeline, he’d become very ill if you did so.”
    For Fae sakes, the child was right. With the steeds’ sensitivity to sound, the high-pitched vibrations of their magick during transportation, which had no effect on the Fae, rendered the animals insensible. It took weeks for them to recover their equilibrium. She began to think her