Vixena is a skilled hunter and excellent tracker, not to mention, she has some kick-ass fighting skills. But when a fairy prince tells her she is his eternal protector, she tries to deny it – she won’t be someone’s babysitter for centuries!
“I’m afraid you saved my life.” He looked at her regretfully.
“Uh … that was kind of the point…” Vixena frowned at the young man. “That beast was going kill you and take you back home for dinner.”
That got a wry smile from him. “I’m sure I’m delicious,” he murmured. He gave her a slight bow of respect. “It’s true what they say about the descendants of the Wolf Guardians. You are a very skilled fighter. Even my magic was no match against it.”
She shrugged. “Well, you made the mistake of trying to use magic against a drake. Surely you know that they are immune, especially to fairy magic.”
He glanced down sheepishly. “I remember something about that fact being said by my tutor a long time ago. I’ll admit – I panicked!”
“I’d noticed,” she said dryly. Retrieving a stray arrow, she turned to leave. “I trust you’ll stay out of trouble on your way back home?”
A shadow crossed his face and she paused. “While I’m grateful that you risked your safety in order to save me,” he began, “I’m afraid the laws of my people are quite strict. You saved my life – you are now bound to me for eternity.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s ridiculous. There’s no way I’m sticking around to babysit you.”
He shrugged helplessly. “You don’t really have a choice. The magical bond will compel you to stay by my side and protect me.”
Vixena knew her scowl must have been fearsome when the fairy cringed away from her. “I’ve never heard of such a bond. The last fairy I saved wasn’t spouting this nonsense. She simply said thanks and let me continue on my way.”
“Not all fairies have the misfortune of being the heir to the entire Realms of Myth,” he said quietly.
She stared at him, shocked. He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot while she processed this information. “You’re telling me that you are the Myst-Born Fae Prince? You’re Prince Edeliard?”
“…Yeah.”
She tilted her head and studied him with narrowed eyes. “You don’t look like I expected. Shouldn’t you have an entourage of some sort? They wouldn’t let you wander around the Shade Lands by yourself, surely. The drake that almost ate you is the least of your worries around here.”
“Yes, I should have a fairy honour guard, but I have been trying to prove to my father that they are not very good at their jobs.” He ruefully glanced in the direction the drake had disappeared. “I guess I came pretty close to proving that permanently…”
“So you ran away from your guards? In the middle of the Shade Lands?”
“I never said it was my brightest idea.”
“Clearly,” she muttered. “I still don’t understand what all this nonsense is about me being ‘bound’ to you.”
“For as far back as anyone can remember, the Myst-Born Fae has always had an eternal protector, an incredibly strong and talented warrior who stays by the prince forever,” the young man explained.
“Well, it can’t be me then,” she told him. “I don’t have fairy blood in my heritage – there’s no way I would live long enough to be your ‘eternal protector’.”
He gave her an apologetic smile. “The bond takes care of that. Once Fae-Bound, the protector gains the same lifetime as the Myst-Born fairy, no matter what their origins.”
Vixena’s patience was wearing thin. She was used to being free to do whatever she wanted. This talk about being at the beck and call of one person forever was making her anxious. “What makes you think I’m this protector?”
“You saved me from certain death. It’s how every protector is chosen.”
She shook her head violently. “Nope. Not happening. I would have left you to be eaten if I’d known this was the thanks I’d get in return.” She spun on her heel and walked away. She’d only taken a few steps when the air seemed to solidify in front of her, stopping any progress.
“Stop this!” she yelled at the fairy prince. “I don’t want to be your stupid eternal protector!”
He lifted his hands helplessly. “I don’t have any control over it. The magic has chosen you. Whether you like it or not, you’re Fae-Bound to me. Forever.”
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