Fairest 02 - The Frog Prince by Adrianne Brooks

wouldn’t do anything unless it benefited her in some way in the long run. Zaran believed that she was physically incapable of doing so. It was just in her nature. The bitch would fight him for the stone, but that was alright.
    That’s where his secret weapon came in.
    Once the Toadstone was in his possession, he’d be unstoppable. No one would be able to touch Zaran. Not even Him. He was confident that his reward for doing so would give him all the prestige and power that he deserved. He’d be a lord, rather than a lowly peasant. Someone other demons trembled at the mention of.
    Then the real fun would start.
    Zaran chuckled, purple eyes blazing bright as he spun the fae around and around. She tried to run, wings glittering like rainbows in the flickering, uncertain glow of the fire in the hearth, but he pulled her up short. He grabbed her by the chin and pressed his cheek against hers. He grabbed her hand and started to tango. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and he licked the salty trails away with a purr.
    “Keep crying, darling,” he whispered, leaning down to bite her neck. “You won’t have the strength for it once we move past the skinning and start breaking bones.” Her agonized keening was an orchestra’s concerto as he danced with her throughout the night. He chuckled, pleased that he was able to enjoy such a peaceful night at home after such a hard day’s work.
    ***
    “What’s the matter?”
    Chris looked up from the ground. “Hm? Oh. Nothing. Why?”
    “You keep rubbing your head,” Rachel said, concern etched in every line of her face.
    Chris tried to make his grin reassuring, but was pretty sure he failed.
    “It’s nothing,” he told her. “I just have a headache.”
    She looked unconvinced, but dropped the discussion and Chris was relieved. After the failed experiment with climbing the walls, the rest of their day had been uneventful. They’d managed to rest for a few hours after he turned into a frog. It had almost been peaceful, though Chris did remember waking up at one point only to see Rachel’s spirit hovering over her sleeping form. Spirit Rachel stayed asleep, mimicking the actions of her physical form, but it had still been disconcerting. He’d found himself hopping up onto her chest to await the return of the sun. Somehow believing that by doing so, he was helping make sure that her spirit didn’t just fly away. Since she’d merged back together once again at daybreak, Chris decided not to mention it to her.
    All the travel and stress of the last few days must have been catching up to him. His head had been throbbing since the day before and the pressure in his skull had only increased as time passed. He struggled to remember when the headache had taken root, but all he could think of was the incident in the castle when he’d blacked out for that moment before the mini flood. He sighed. It was bad enough that freaky things kept happening around him lately, but now he had some sort of brain malfunction to be the icing on the cake of what had turned out to be an overly productive week. Things had been going haywire ever since he’d met Rachel. They’d been strange before of course, but now they were verging on the edge of ridiculous.
    He winced as agony echoed through his brain. Feeling movement behind him, he turned to look at Rachel as she shied away from something, her eyes growing wide.
    “Did you see that?” It was more of a demand than a question, and Chris glanced about accordingly.
    “I don’t see anything,” he replied honestly. She shuddered, and he couldn’t help but place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
    “What is it?”
    “I thought I saw…” She ran shaking hands down her face and shook her head. “Nothing. Never mind. I think I’m just tired.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” he told her, pulling her into motion once more. “This place can get to you after a while.” He chuckled. “You should have seen it when everything was still on