Princess of Shadows: A Dark Fae Fantasy Romance by Olivia Hart (read me a book txt) 📕

breath. I had two choices here. I could either curl up into a ball of disbelief, or I could run with it. Even if I was batshit, living in my own fairy dreamworld couldn’t be that bad, could it?

“Alright, Tink, I’m in. What do we do now?” I was out of my element. I had no idea what the rules of this game were or who the players were. All I knew was that I was in a field with a unicorn and some weird, sexy assassin, and I happened to be a fairy. I needed some guidance.

“Like I said, I’m going to get you someplace safe. Then I’m going to find a way to deal with the Queen. Somehow. All while trying not to die or get you killed. Does that sound like a good enough plan to you?”

“Hold on. I just walked through my first magic mirror about an hour ago, and that’s the first unicorn I’ve ever seen, but I’ve heard plans before. That one happens to be terrible. No details. No actual plan.”

“I’m being hunted by a magical assassin and the Queen of fairyland. Somehow, you, the other assassin she hired, is going to save me from both of them. I don’t know, I kind of feel like a plan is slightly necessary.”

“Then make a plan. If that makes you feel better, you can plan for the next few hours since we need to stay here and make sure that we’re not being followed.”

I crossed my arms and realized for the first time that I was still wearing what I’d fallen asleep in, a pair of booty shorts and a tank top. How was I getting chased by an assassin while wearing clothes I wouldn’t be caught dead in public in?

I guess that it didn’t matter. Tinkerbell was wearing a death eater cloak, so I wasn’t sure any of my clothes would have been “appropriate” for fairyland travel. I just wished that I had my running shoes. “What happens if we’re being followed?”

“I’ll kill him. He works alone, so if he’s dead, then we’re mostly safe. I’d rather that it didn’t come to that, though.”

Sebastian lowered his hood and walked over to a tree, and I followed him. He sat down and leaned against the trunk, continuing to look to where we’d come through the… what did he call it? A warren?

I sat down next to him and began to pick at the grass. It really was strange stuff. It didn’t have the same stiffness that human grass had. Instead, it was almost like really thick hair. Full of bounciness, but flat like grass. Weird stuff.

A picture of fairyland being on the top of a guy’s head popped into my mind. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud at what he’d look like with weird purple and green hair and little bugs fighting wars on the top of his head. And unicorns nibbling his hair.

Strangely enough, it almost sounded like a plausible myth. Wasn’t there a Greek myth about how we all lived on top of a titan’s body or something? Then there was the Iroquois story about how we all lived on the back of a turtle.

“So, we just hang out and wait to see if a murderer stops by?” I asked.

Sebastian nodded and kept watching the spot.

“We could chat,” I suggested. “You could tell me some more about all of this instead of the ‘I’m annoyed’ version.”

He sighed and ignored me.

“Look. I don’t know how long we have to stay together, but we might as well make this as pleasant as possible. I need to know more stuff. And you look like you’re about to pass out. Let’s chat.”

“What do you want to know?” He turned his attention to me, and I felt those eyes on me, but they seemed different. Were they grayer?

“First off, if I’m a fairy, how do I get my wings?”

He pulled his dagger out of his sheath and began to toss it into the air, letting it spin several times before catching it. He didn’t look at it while he did this. His eyes never followed it or left my face. It was disconcerting to say the least.

“You simply have to say, ‘I, Rose, claim my birthright.’ That’s it.”

I raised an eyebrow in question, but instead of saying anything, I shrugged. What’s the worst that could happen?

“Well, here it goes. I, Rose, claim my birthright.” I waited a few seconds. No flash of light or harp played. No ray of light shining on me like a Harry Potter scene.

“That’s it?” I asked. “No fanfare?”

He pursed his lips and shook his head. “Nope. You’ll notice the changes soon enough though.”

“Okay, next question. Where are we going to after you decide the other stabby guy isn’t going to show?”

“The other stabby guy is named Nyx, and he happens to be a decent guy with terrible orders. We’re going to a safehouse of mine. Then we’ll wait out the night there. Tomorrow, we’re going to get you a new scent.”

“My scent is just fine, thank you.” Sebastian shook his head in annoyance.

“Your magical scent, little girl. You have a very distinct magical scent. It comes from the blending of your bloodlines and your uniquely human experiences. Anytime you use magic, you leave your scent behind, and it’s trackable. Kind of like a dog pissing on a tree.”

I blinked at him. “Did you just compare me doing magic to a dog pissing on a tree?”

He shrugged. “It’s a good analogy.”

“Have you ever talked to a woman before?” I asked, shaking my head.

“I’ve done a lot more than talk, Rose. I learned a long time ago that women really don’t care what you say to them as long as you do things that other men can’t. So I stopped caring about their delicate sensibilities.”

“Well Tinkerbell, I’ve got news for you. Most women that I know care about what men say to them.”

He grinned at me. “Like Sasha? She certainly