“What do we do now?” My eyes roamed over our surroundings.
“We need to keep moving. We got lucky the werewolves are unable to turn. Otherwise, they would have caught up to us,” Rian muttered.
“They were werewolves?” Annie gaped. She turned her wide eyes in the direction we’d fled from. I didn’t answer and let her ruminate on that fact on her own.
“I’m going to pick you up, Annie, we’re going at Fae speed again. I know it feels weird but try to relax,” I told her.
She nodded, distracted. I could tell she wasn’t really there as she hooked her arms around my neck. Since we were about the same size, I struggled to find a way to arrange her without half her body spilling to the side.
“What are you guys?” she said, staring at me.
“I’m Fae.”
She swallowed hard and flicked her eyes away from me, a look of concentration on her face. Worry speared me. What if she didn’t accept me? Or worse, what if she thought I was a monster? But Annie didn’t move as I tried to get a comfortable grip on her without hurting her.
“Would you like my aid?” Rian’s eyebrows inched up his forehead, and I could have sworn there was amusement in his gaze.
Before I could answer, Annie said, “Yeah! Er—yeah, I mean, I feel like that would be the smart thing to do.”
She grinned up at him, and relief flooded me as I closed my eyes. If she could crush on Rian, she could come around to me being Fae. Rian leaned down, thinking nothing of her exuberance as he scooped her up again.
Without another word, we took off running.
3
When the sky began darkening, and Annie had fully passed out in Rian’s arms, I stopped. Rian followed my lead. We’d been alternating between stopping and running for the last hour. Every time Annie looked like she was about to vomit, we’d letup to give her time to recuperate, but when she fell asleep, it was easier to keep up a heavier pace.
“You don’t sense a nearby town yet?” I asked a little desperately. “She needs to rest.”
He tilted his head to listen. I couldn’t hear anything more than the woodland critters surrounding me. In fact, my hearing had narrowed in on a particularly annoying rattle of a cricket.
“We’re getting closer,” he said, looking down at a slack-jawed Annie. The evil sister part of me hoped she drooled on him so I could poke fun at her about it. “About five miles out.”
“How are you so specific?”
He smiled slightly. “It comes naturally.”
I barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes at the arrogance in his statement. “Hopefully, the werewolves gave up on us,” I muttered, looking back into the darkening forest.
“That is highly doubtful, but I think we’ve traveled far enough that it will take them a long time to catch up.”
“Good. Let’s get her settled before we have to take off again,” I said.
My dread mounted with every second closer to leaving Annie behind. But I wanted her to live her life and not have to worry about this new world. If I managed to get magic unbound, she would be involved, anyway. So, might as well make sure she lived as a human for as long as possible.
Rian didn’t say anything as he ran off with Fae speed. My cheeks puffed with air as I leaped and hopped over stones and foliage. I was yards behind him, but at least I was keeping up. Amazingly, I wasn’t tired or sleepy, but if my head hit a pillow, I knew I’d be out.
Soon, the cacophony of humanity invaded my ears. The shuffling sound of shoes, voices, the hum of engines, wheels crunched over gravel. I slapped my hands over my ears as the volume reached a painful level. Grunting, I stuttered to a stop and tried to breathe through the building ache.
Rian was suddenly beside me. “Don’t focus on it. You have to draw in your senses or redirect. Disassociate from the noise, and it will blend into the background.”
I did my best. Time ceased to mean anything as I fell to my knees with my hands over my ears. I breathed in repeatedly, forcing myself to relax. In and out. In and out. I kept up the pattern and forced my attention away from the sounds of humanity. Eventually, the overflow of noise edged away.
As I drew my hands away, I brushed something pointy. My spine shot straight. Reaching up, I caressed the shell of my ear and got to my feet. My wide eyes met Rian’s. Brushing my hair behind my ear, I turned my head so he could see.
He nodded grimly. “Your physical changes look to be gradual.”
Not for the first time, I wished for a manual. According to him, a human with Fae blood had never been flooded with what the Queen passed to me, so this was all new territory.
I continued to fiddle with my ear as he turned and approached the edge of the forest. I stayed back and stared into nothing as I caressed my ears. The changes I’d felt on my body had all been unseen before. But this was different. The first visible change. Closing my eyes, they flicked behind the lids. What other changes would I have to endure?
Panic started to loom over me. I heard my heart race, and the rapid thumping heightened my anxiety. I swallowed hard.
I needed to breathe. In and out. I went through my relaxation breathing. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, but by the time I opened my eyes, stars shone in the sky above, glinting brightly.
Meeting Rian’s gaze a few feet away, I could clearly see the compassion in his eyes. Or was it pity?
I squeezed my lips together. Why hadn’t I gotten a mate like Rian? He was kind, considerate… honorable. I sighed. Instead, I got one
