**DAPHNE**
Ash is angry. I can feel it and see it as we travel upstream, against the river's current and back toward Castle Fury. His magic is pressing forward at a daunting speed, pushing us mercilessly through the resistant waters of the Great Fae River. I can see the tiredness in his gaze and feel the suspicions in his heart.
He refuses to look at me. Refuses to so much as acknowledge my presence, and although I know why, it does not take from the sting of his dismissal.
My chest aches with the oddest pain and I know it is because of him. The way he looked when I declined to answer his questions, the absolute betrayal that I found in his eyes… it has burrowed into my chest and robbed me of peace. Yet I know Ash is simply being stubborn. I have faith that he will forgive me for what I *did not* say. For what I did not share.
When I returned from my visit to the fountain, I didn't speak much. I was in shock. I still am. I have yet to explain to him that I must keep what I have learned secret. He will certainly want to know why, and I do not have an answer. Not yet.
I want to trust him, and I think I could, but Aquini's words ring true in my ears. I can't take the chance. At least, not yet.
My mind is having a difficult time accepting that I am Fae. I think back to those times at Hadimere Palace. When I felt that dark, thick energy dance about the room. Each time that I felt it, I thought it was Ash. But could it have been me? Could I have been the one to cause Hadimere to choke that evening? Could I have been the one that caused my body to glow in the Forgotten Wood? The possibility is mind boggling, yet at the same time, makes perfect sense.
"It was me."
"What was that?" Klyesque asks, sauntering toward me.
Unlike Ash, Klyesque did not seem angered by my decision to keep what I learned at the fountain to myself.
I smile at her as she leans on the railing next to me. "Nothing. I was just realizing a few things," I say.
She smirks, her eyes going to Ash who is watching us with heavy lidded eyes. "Don't worry about him," she whispers. "He shouldn't be angry. His main concern was that you return from the fountain safely and you did. As soon as he realizes that he will be fine."
I swallow thickly before glancing in his direction. My eyes meet his from across the ship for a long moment before he glaringly looks away to speak to Finn.
"I hope you're right," I shudder, thinking that there is more on his mind than what Klyesque knows.
"If I'm not" -she chuckles- "and he decides to act like a brat. I'll spank him with the flat side of my sword."
I laugh, smiling at her and marveling at the pure savage beauty she possesses. I think about what Aquini said, about the witch and about needing to find the Kingdom of Hidden Fae and I realize, I'm going to have to get there without Ash stopping me.
"Is Ash still planning on heading North without me?" I ask, softly.
Klyesque loses her smile and nods. "I believe so. I agree with his decision to leave you behind Daphne. The Winter Realm is hostile territory to say the very least."
I nod, thinking Aquini said much the same thing. I turn, facing the direction of the water we left behind and lean toward Klyesque.
Speaking as low as I can without arousing suspicion of those around us, I say, "Will you be going with him?"
Her eyes narrow, her gaze flitting from me to Ash then back again. "Not if you need me to stay," she says quietly, and I nod.
"I think I might," I tell her. "Though I fear, what I may ask of you may drive a stake through the heart of the friendship you have with him."
She leans in closer, her lips on my ear when she speaks. "Not possible," she says. "He and I have been friends for too long. He may be angry. He may feel betrayed for a while but, in the end he will understand that I only did as I promised him I would."
"Which is?" I ask.
"To protect you at all costs," she says.
My eyes rip toward him for a tiny moment before meeting hers again. "Really?"
She smiles. "Oh yes." She sighs, glancing out toward the river. "Ash adores you, Daphne. God help him he does. He fights within himself about it, I know. However, his suspicions are not unfounded."
I glare at her, about to protest, but she stops me with a squeeze of my arm.
"I know you don't think so, but in truth - you are like a dream come true for him and he's just finding it difficult to accept. I know you weren't with Hayden. It is completely obvious to me and everyone else that you are in love with our prince." I blush and she chuckles. "However, for him, you are almost too good to be true."
I sigh, chancing one more look at Ash before turning my back on him to whisper in her ear. "I may ask you to do things that go against his orders when he leaves."
She smiles, her voice feathering out in a breath, "He is utterly devoted to you, and he has been since the moment he met you." She grins. "And I prefer to think there is more than one cause behind that." Her eyes twinkle. "I'm sure there is a reason you did not speak about what occurred at the fountain. Let me just say, I have had my own suspicions about you, Daphne. And they have nothing to do with Hayden."
I stare at her, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. She nods at me, telling me that perhaps, she has known who I was all along.
So, I whisper, "He says he might lock me in the dungeons when he leaves."
She grins at me, her smile wide and bright. "Then, I suppose it is a good thing that it is I who shall possess the keys."