The Fae Princess (The Pacific Princesses Book 2) by Ektaa Bali (books to improve english .txt) 📗

the side table and passing over the letter. “I didn’t see you at the spring ritual this morning.”

Nani opened the letter. “No,” she said, “I needed to be here.”

Vidya watched her Nani anxiously as the older lady’s eyes moved back and forth across the page. In moments, she re-folded the paper and placed it on the side table, sighing. She rubbed her eyes and cast her gaze out the window where the Devil’s Fingers were swaying.

“What is it, Nani?” said Vidya in a quiet voice.

“It is worse than I thought,” Nani said. “I heard about the Dawn Ritual, Vidya, and I thought that was bad enough, but now this…” she waved to the letter on the table.

“We heard a commotion this morning during class,” said Vidya, sitting forward in her chair. “But Master Sunny would not tell us what it was.”

“He did not want to scare the children,” said Nani, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “But as Princess, I think you should know. There is a very real risk we are facing here.” Nani leaned forward and looked at Vidya. “There was an attack in the Fae forest today. In the Safe Zone.”

Vidya sat bolt upright. “But that’s impossible!”

Nani nodded. “It should be impossible, yes. The King’s word is Law, and his word was that no creature of the forest within the boundary can harm a Fae. But… this very thing happened. Captain Silver and her patrol were attacked by an unknown beast.”

Vidya’s heart pounded in her chest. Her mind raced, trying to make sense of this new information and trying to add it all up. These things happening together could not be a coincidence.

“I also have news for your father.” Nani continued. “I don’t want to scare you, Vidya, but as crown Princess, I think you should know the truth. I can feel it in the air. In the trees….”

She paused and sipped from her glass. Vidya could not help but stare at her Nani. How could things get any worse?

Nani pointed through the glass to the nearest tree. Vidya could just see it by the dim light of the lantern. It was a sapling—a young tree with thin branches still growing in a pot. The gnarled branches on this tree were still, they were not swaying at all. In fact, they drooped downward and made the little thing look rather sad. Tiny spindly hands rested on either side of it. No, Vidya saw, no hands at all, just one hand. It only had the one.

“My saplings are dying,” said Nani.

Vidya’s head whipped to stare at her. Dying was not a word the Fae knew. Plants, trees, and flowers did not die under their care. The magic that kept them alive was too strong, and they were good guardians of their trees. They knew them in and out, and plants thrived with the Fae.

“I’ve tried everything, my love,” continued Nani. “But the saplings just won’t grow. They get tired and droop, they stop growing and eventually….”

She did not have to finish her sentence because Vidya could see for herself. She had seen plants die in the human realm.

Nani took a deep breath and looked sternly at Vidya. “It is not only my trees, Vidya. I have seen it happening to the other plants in the royal greenhouses.”

Ice trickled down Vidya’s chest, and she stared at her grandmother in disbelief.

“How?” asked Vidya, horrified. “Why?”

“The Fae magic is faltering, Vidya,” said Nani, sighing. “I cannot imagine why, or how. Or even how we can fix it. But that is the truth. Fae magic…. it’s trembling and failing. And I think… Somehow, this beast in the forest is connected to our situation. It cannot be a coincidence.”

Vidya’s mind raced. The beast in the forest was interfering with their magic somehow? What on Earth could it be? Nothing was strong enough to do that. Nothing! The Fae had been here since the earth was new, since the land emerged from the sea, and nothing in that time had ever threatened their magic before. What on earth could it be?

“Your mother is busy with baby Mahiya,” continued Nani. “We will have to pull our weight and work together.”

Vidya agreed, baby Mahi was only a new baby, and with sparks flying from her every other second, she needed great care to look after. Her mother would be busy for quite some time.

“I can help,” said Vidya. “I can research in the library, see if there’s anything there.”

Nani smiled warmly and patted her shoulder.

“That’s a good place to start. You were always my clever girl,” she said, getting to her feet. “Now, I have some work to do of my own. Your father will not have wanted me to tell you all this, Vidya. He might think you are too young. But the thing is, Fae magic is strongest in our children. If it is fading, the children will be the ones we look to for magic. I think it’s good that you know.”

Vidya nodded. She had a lot to think about.

They stood and made their way back toward the entrance of the greenhouse with Vidya’s hand clasped firmly in Nani’s.

“Are they telling you anything?” asked Vidya. “Are the Devil’s Fingers telling you anything about the Fae magic changing?”

The older lady kept her eyes moving between the deadly trees on either side of the path but nodded.

“They feel something, alright. The dark trees can feel it more than the others. They know something is there, but far away and faint. They just can’t tell me anything specific. If I’m honest, I feel a bit off too. Like something is weighing me down, making me tired.”

Vidya sighed, thinking about how useful having a guardian plant would be right now. “I hope I find my guardian plant soon. I’d even be happy if it was the skunk flower right now!”

They reached the entrance, and Nani took her key out again, undoing all three locks. As she opened the door, light spilled through, and Vidya squinted at the sudden brightness.