Page 54 of The Fae Lord
That is something no one else can give her
That is how I will get her back.
I press my fingers to my temples, searching for the bond that will send my voice to her mind. Good girl, I whisper darkly.
Her eyes fly open. Her heart quickens. She searches the air around her.
And that’s when I know she will come to me.
Because there is the smallest hint of a smile on her lips.
Tonight, or the next night, or the one after that. Alana will come back to me because she intends to kill me. But her body won’t let her.
Fate will not let her.
That is not how our story ends.
TWENTY-FOUR
Alana
When I return to camp, I feel as though everyone is watching me. Probably, they are. But not because of what I was doing at the lake.
They are always watching me.
It is Maura who approaches me. She had been standing with Pen, and Raine, and leaves them to stride over. Her legs are thin and shaky, but she still walks with the elegance of an elder.
“What do you think of your boyfriend’s plan?” she asks, barely pausing for breath.
“What do you think?” I ask her, hands on my hips.
“You heard me. I agreed to join him.” She looks behind her and Pen and Raine. “We all did, although it has been three days now and still no more progress. So, the Leafborne are starting to doubt your jester’s credentials as a leader.”
“Finn knows what he’s doing. He will share information when he has it.”
“He is relying on the kindness of elves, I hear.” Maura picks a blade of grass and bites it between her front teeth. “A bad idea,” she says, shaking her head. “You can tell him that from me – elves are always a bad idea.”
“Finn has a contact he trusts. He wouldn’t put us in jeopardy. Look at what he’s done to get us out.”
“From what I remember, it was you who did most of the work.” She quirks an eyebrow at me. “What precisely did the jester do?”
“His name is Finn.” Indignation blooms in my chest. Does she always have to be so objectionable?
“Are you still having the visions?” she asks the question so slowly that I’m not sure I’ve heard her correctly. When she meets my eyes, she lowers her voice and asks the same question again. “I’ve heard you at night.” She tilts her head in the direction of the others, who are gathered in small groups, talking, playing runes, waiting – always waiting. “They think they’re hearing the sounds of a fae and her lover, but I know different. Those are the cries of someone having nightmares. Dreams. Visions.” She fixes her gaze on mine. Her eyes are like cut diamonds. Sharp. Shining. “What do you see, Alana?”
For the first time since the day she told me I could stay in the village after my brother died, I see something verging on empathy in Maura’s eyes. I am tempted to drop my gates and search her to see whether I am right. But this is not the moment to break her trust.
“I see...” My hands are trembling. Could I tell her what I saw? Could I finally release the knowledge that has been kept in my head all these long weeks? Could she help me make sense of it? “I see Kayan.” I lie to her. A brazen, barefaced lie.
And she knows it.
With a sigh, she shakes her head. Then she turns and walks away. Was that it? Was she giving me a chance to bridge the gap between us and did I just waste it?
“Are you all right?” Briony appears at my side, as she always seems to when I’m in need of a friendly face, and offers me a piece of dandelion bread. “I made it this morning,” she says proudly. She seems to be enjoying her turn in the kitchen, and – like several of the others – looks as if she’d be content to stay here in the woods rather than stage the rebellion Finn is hoping for.
“Fine. Things are just tense since Finn showed us those visions.” I accept the bread, take a bite, and pretend that I’m enjoying it even though my stomach is churning.
“You’re going to help us?” Briony asks as we walk away, back in the direction of the lake. Above us, sunlight trickles through the canopy, casting golden freckles on the forest floor.