A Court of Verity and Lies: A spicy enemies to lovers fae fantasy by Zara Dusk

Author:Zara Dusk [Dusk, Zara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2023-07-23T04:00:00+00:00

Gabrelle

The prince’s blue-black hair shimmered like nighttime in the dim light, making it hard to see where he ended and the forest began.

He wanted to know where I was going and what I was looking for. And I wanted to tell him. Thorne was different from every other fae I’d ever met. Every. Single. One. Including my best friends. They all fawned over my beauty, and even though the other heirs had learned to resist it, they still mentioned it constantly. It was tiring. And after an evening in Erevan’s company, with him admiring me every second sentence, the difference was refreshing.

Thorne had never, not once, admired my beauty. I mean, he despised me, so it wasn’t all good, but I liked having my physical appearance ignored.

So, despite my better judgment, I told him. “I’m looking for a relic called the Stone of Veritas. It is the only thing that can kill a Shadow Walker. Once I find it, we will use it to take back Verda.”

Neela had suggested I tell Thorne the truth, and I’d delayed doing so. I might be curious about why he wasn’t drawn to my beauty and what his true values were, but I didn’t trust him. A barrel of snakes was more trustworthy than Prince Sanctus. But he’d promised not to stop me from finding the Stone, and he couldn’t wriggle out of that.

“To take back Verda?” he muttered. “You said you were looking for something to help all of Arathay.”

“Yes,” I said slowly, like I was talking to an idiot. “When the Shadow Walkers have consumed every fae in the Realm of Verda, they will keep moving west, spreading across Arathay like a plague. It’s just a short trip from Verda across the northeast corner of Brume to your very own Realm of Fen. I’m quite sure the Walkers don’t recognize our borders because they exist beyond Gaia’s will. If they aren’t defeated, they will come here sooner rather than later. So get out of my way so I can go find the Stone of Veritas.”

I turned on my heel and left him gaping, looking more like a shuttlefish than a prince. I stumbled over a low branch and grazed my shin, but I had enough poise not to show my pain.

When he was almost out of hearing range, I heard Thorne start jogging through the bushes, coming after me.

“I don’t need your help,” I called over my shoulder. “Or your warnings. Or your scorn.”

He caught me up, barely breathing hard. “I’m coming with you,” he growled.

“No, you’re not.”

He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. “Listen, if this Stone is as important as you say it is—”

“Look, bud—”

“No, no, I believe you. I’m just saying that given this Stone is so important, you need help. Erevan Reissan clearly isn’t going to help you, so I will. You have a better chance of surviving with me. In fact, if we can go back to the palace and gather some troops, we’ll do even better.

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