“Enough?” She laughs wickedly. “I haven’t even started.”
I leave her and the old witch in the hall, locking the door behind me. I press up against it, breathing heavily. Guilt washes through me. As much as I don’t want to, as much as I try to think of Verity, I can’t help the flush of heat I felt when Erzur ran her body the length of mine. I swallow hard and whirl around, anger flooding through me. My fist slams into the wooden bookshelf nearby, pain searing in my knuckles. I take a deep breath, shoulders shaking, as I relish the pain. I deserve it. I stare at the blood on my knuckles and Verity’s cloak flashes through my mind once more.
Chapter 6
Verity
The pearlescent ring I slipped onto my pinky finger glimmers in the red glow of the sunset. I stare at it, head swirling with questions I can’t answer and emotions I don’t understand. When Altair slipped it into my hand before I left, I hid it instinctively. I know he means it as a replacement for the engagement ring I lost, but why? He’s with another even now. Perhaps even in her bed.
I inhale sharply at the thought, trying to drive it away but all I can see is the two of them tangled together. I feel Serus leap up onto my shoulder, a low purr in his chest. “Don’t think such thoughts,” he says. “You must keep your head.”
I look at him from the corner of my eye, blinking back tears. “I just don’t understand.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” he chides me.
“We’ll be stopping soon to camp for the night,” Thal says, riding to my side.
I nod and force a smile. “Good, I can’t tell you how sore I am.”
He laughs, tossing his head back. “You’ll get used to it in time.”
We ride beside each other, making light, meaningless conversation until the other Fae find a suitable place to camp. Underneath the long shadow of a cliff, besides the beginnings of a forest, we circle our horses. I groan as I dismount, legs aching and bones creaking. Thal offers a hand but I just slip down the side of my horse. I rest against the beast’s warm side, sighing as my legs get used to standing.
“What can I do?” I ask, turning to Thal on shaky legs.
He glances around. “Why don’t you just rest? We can handle it.”
“I don’t want to ‘just rest’ while the others work.” I frown. “Let me help.”
“Find us some firewood, then,” Thal says, looking reluctant to give me a job.
I push past him into the thin trees and start gathering sticks and branches and dry leaves for kindling. I’m not a damsel in distress anymore, I want to scream. I can help. I wonder vaguely if Altair would have had the same reaction; if he would have suggested I let others do the work for me. I grimace. I forced them to take me with them, made Thal my keeper. I won’t be more of a burden on them than I already am.
When I return to camp, the Fae are skinning a deer for dinner. I look away from the blood pooling around the carcass, my mind flashing to the blood I spilled in the ether. I drop the firewood in the center of camp and start building up the flames. Thal joins me and we’ve coaxed the flames to light in minutes.
With the fire roaring and fresh meat, we eat a filling meal under the winking stars. I glance up at them wistfully, noting the patterns that are becoming more familiar to me now than the milky way in the human realm.
“What is it?” Thal asks under his breath, quiet enough that the other Fae won’t hear our whispered voices.
“The stars,” I say, “They’re different than the ones at home.”
“The human world.” He nods, looking up with me. “Do you miss it?”
“I miss the people,” I sigh. “My parents.”
He shifts uncomfortably. “Why didn’t you choose to go back? There’s nothing keeping you here any longer, is there?”
“It never occurred to me,” I say, surprise lacing my voice. “This place is my home now.”
Thal lays a hand on my knee, squeezing it comfortingly. “I’m glad you decided to stay. I know… I know Altair will ensure you’re taken care of.”
I laugh bitterly. “That’s the last thing I want – to be his charity.”
“That’s not how he would see it,” he murmurs.
“It’s what it is,” I bite back, searching for my sleeping roll.
I turn my back to Thal and the fire as the rest of the Fae crawl onto their sleeping mats. One keeps watch, a watch I know they’ll rotate throughout the night, though I was never asked. They know I don’t have the skills to protect them if anything creeps up during the night. I close my eyes, stomach clenching. It’s for the best. I’m exhausted from the ride and my recent healing anyway.
Sleep takes me quickly and I dream.
The ether swirls around me, dark and coiling. Somehow it seems more menacing than it was before. There’s a candle in my hand, a single small flame pushing back against the shadows. I start forward, wishing Serus was on my shoulder or coiling between my feet. It’s silent here and the lack of noise is oppressive. So quiet, I feel as if I can hardly breathe.
I slow, fear coiling in my gut. The hair on my arms and the back of my neck rises and I know something is close. When I hear the wet sounds of chewing, I curl my shoulders as if to make myself smaller. The darkness splits like curtains as I creep forward. Black, shining scales on a back with a protruding spine shines in the faint light. I hiss, recognizing the grotesque beast crouching over a mess of blood and gore. A demon.
Fear nearly paralyzes me, but I inch backward as silently
