Coal: A Novel

Chapter 3: Chalcedony Meets Elizabeth

Chapter Three

One kiss couldn't hurt, right? Chalcedony thought as she kissed him, but then she lost herself.

He placed his hand in her hair and the sensation sent tingles through her body.

“Princess!”someone shouted from behind. Chalcedony leapt off Coal. A royal guard stood a few feet away with his sword drawn.

“Are you okay, Princess?”the guard asked, looking from Chalcedony to Coal.
Bren, she remembered. One of Madoc's favorites. He had ash blonde hair with tawny colored skin. Disgust and anger emanated from his pitch black eyes.

Coal slowly stepped in front of Chalcedony. She wanted to tell him to stop. Bren was more likely to hurt Coal than her, but she didn't want to take her focus away from the guard. She placed her hand on the hilt of the second knife she wore underneath her shirt. “What are you doing here?”she asked, looking over Coal's shoulder.

“I was sent to patrol the forest.”His hands shook but he never lowered his sword.

“Are you going to attack me?”she asked with a haughty toss of her hair, hoping to draw his attention away from Coal.  Bren flicked his gaze towards his weapon before he lowered it.

“I'm sorry, Princess. Of course, I would never hurt you.”

Chalcedony relaxed, released the knife, and stepped out from behind Coal. “Since when do we patrol the forest?” she asked.

This forest hid the door to the human realm, but it was not guarded. Only a select few were supposed to know it existed. Patrolling would only bring attract attnention. Instead, an invisible barrier that prevented anyone from entering without permission protected the forest.

“Uhm,”Bren stuttered, his eyes lowered.

“Madoc sent you, didn't he?”

“He . . . uhm, I was sent to patrol the door,”Bren answered. She closed the space between the two of them.

“Look at me,”she ordered. He met her gaze. “Are you lying to me?”

“No, Princess. I was assigned to patrol the forest today. I didn’t know you would be here.”

She studied him, searching for a lie. She was not a mind reader, but Tetrick had taught her to look past a fey's surface to recognize emotions and truth. Chalcedony saw fear, embarrassment, and disappointment, but there was no indication of a lie. Perhaps Madoc had set him up.

“Leave my forest before I have you banished for spying on me,”Chalcedony ordered.

“Princess, I'm sorry. I swear I didn't know you would be here,”Bren said, shaking.

“Leave now!”

“Yes, Princess.”

He placed his sword in its sheath and stalked away. Once Bren disappeared between the trees, she turned and walked towards the bridge.

“Are you alright?”Coal reached for her arm, but she flinched and moved away.

If she wanted Coal to live, she could never let him touch her again.  

****

Coal followed her over the bridge. “Shouldn't we talk about what happened?”

“No. I shouldn't have done that.”

He was about to argue with her, but everything suddenly felt .wrong, different. The air was denser, making it harder for Coal to breathe. The trees, the grass, and even the sun were less vivid. It was as if he was looking through a smudged window.