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

“Right,” said Pancake, shuddering, glancing at the Bunyip who was impatiently waiting just meters away. “Read this. He made me write it.”

Vidya unrolled the leaf paper and read Pancake’s messy handwriting.

Queen of the Fae filth. Surrender to the Bunyip King now and we shall be merciful. Do not surrender, and we will wage a war on your land like the Fae have never seen. I am giving you back this small animal as a token of my generosity.

Vidya frowned at the note.

“They want us to surrender?” asked Willow, reading over her shoulder.

But before Vidya could reply, the Bunyip interrupted in a rough, jeering voice.

“That’s right,” he said snapping at them. “Invite us in to take over the palace and it make it ours. And we will spare your lives.”

“Are you the Bunyip King?” asked Vidya.

“No. I am his General,” the Bunyip sneered. “What is your answer?”

Vidya didn’t even need to think about it. She scrunched the note in her hand.

“Never.”

The Bunyip General threw his head back and let out a terrifying roar. Vidya clenched her jaw, determined not to clap her hands over her ears. She did not want to look scared in front of her enemy.

“I will meet you on the battleground tonight, Fae children,” he sneered. And with that, he leapt up into the sky, flapping his grey wings powerfully, gaining height more quickly than any Fae ever could, and then he was back into the Fae forest, disappearing into the shadows.

Vidya was fuming. She put Pancake on her shoulder, turned on her heel, and strode back into the palace.

Vidya lifted Pancake from her shoulder and turned him in her arms to look at her.

“War is no place for a quokka,” she said gently. “You need to go to the hidey house with my parents and Mahiya.”

“But I want to help!” he squeaked sadly, looking at his feet.

“You’ve done enough, my friend.” Vidya smiled at him. “And almost died while you were at it.”

Pancake nodded sadly. “Keep the children company, okay?”

She placed him on the ground, and he lumbered away. She had only just gotten him back, and now she was sending him away. It made her heart ache to look at his small form scuttling away into the palace, but it had to be done.

Lobey and the others awaited her just inside the palace entry, wide eyed.

“That was a Bunyip?” asked Lobey, gulping.

“Yes,” said Vidya fiercely. “And tonight, we will destroy them all.”

Mouths dropped around her as Vidya paced up and down the entrance hall, talking out loud.

“Once they cross the bottomless sky tonight, they will kill us all. Our spell didn’t work. The Flower of Awakening is too weak, and we have no choice.”

Vidya pointed at Luna. “We’ll need to collect ideas, everyone. We’re going to booby trap this place to the nines.”

She pointed at Lily. “Lil, collect stink flower bulbs. As many as possible. Take a few kids to help you.”

Lily nodded vigorously.

Then she pointed at Lobey. “Lobelia.” Lobey snapped to attention. “I want to you to release the Devil’s Fingers.”

“All of them?”

“Every single one.”

18

War

Thou Fae must never harm another living being, lest it be to save that being’s own life.

—The Book of the Fae, Queen Mab the First, 3333 B.C.

As the last rays of the sun disappeared for the night, in a tiny back corner of the city, behind a secret door, Toad, Luna, Daisy, and the young children huddled next to each other in a group. Daisy held Pancake in her arms, rocking him like a baby. Together, they sang old songs their parents had once sung to them.

At the front of the city, high on the roof of the palace, Vidya breathed in the night air and shivered. She stood with Lobey, Willow, Toad, Lily, and a few other Fae kids their age, all with bows slung over their shoulders. Over the past hour, they had watched the Bunyips gather on the other side of the bottomless sky, right between the trees that lined the cliff. They were like black, writhing shadows, darkening the landscape of the once peaceful forest. The Bunyips were quiet. They made no extra noise that carried across the bottomless sky, and calmly paced the length of the cliff.

“Is everything else in place, Lobey?” asked Vidya.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Vidya.”

Behind them, and spread out through the whole palace, Devil’s Fingers trees strode about. Somehow, Lobey had named them all. The ones who stood at the top of the castle were the nastiest of the lot and had orders to guard each Fae child with their life. Hers, a fat sturdy black one, was called Timmy, Vidya’s shorter, skinnier tree built for speed, was called Wally, and Willow’s sturdy fellow was Tully.

When the first stars twinkled in the sky, Vidya turned to address the gathered Fae.

“Aim well, everyone. We don’t want to run out of arrows.”

“I don’t feel good about this,” whispered Willow. “I think I already killed one or two last night.”

“Well, none of us are going to feel anything good if we’re dead, either.”

“This isn’t like the last time,” said Lobey reasonably. “Last time, the Fae adults and Queen of the merpeople rounded up the Bunyips and trapped them. We don’t have the same ability.”

“And,” added Vidya, “they’re coming after us this time. They’re out to get us.”

“I can’t believe we’re still arguing about this, to be honest,” said Lobey. “We’re waging war tonight.” She unslung her bow from her shoulder and took out an arrow. “You don’t want to die, Willow,” she said fiercely. “Fight!”

The sky was a deep blue now, tiny bits of orange light just left of the sun in the west.

“Draw your bows,” cried Vidya. “This is it!”

They had prepared two types of arrows. The first was poisoned with the venom of the brown snake. Any Bunyip hit with it would fall to the ground within minutes.

The second type of arrow was not sharp. The end of it was a thin round balloon of a