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Not wanting to think about it anymore, I creep along the leaf-littered path until I’m confident I’m out of earshot, and then I sprint. I can only pray to the wilderness’s gods above—something I’ve never done before—that I’m headed in the right direction. After a minute or two of running, I’m out of breath. I want—no, I need to stop, but the fear keeps my legs pumping.
With the Grove in sight, I hurtle over a log, only to trip on my own feet and land flat on my face. A spray of loose dirt enters my mouth and I sputter. From the sting on my knee and elbow, I’m certain I have multiple scrapes. But I need to keep moving. Scrambling to my hands and knees, I pull myself to a standing position, though my body cries out to remain vertical.
The air is suddenly thick with magic. Unlike the magic in Mafekadi, this has a stranglehold on me. I struggle to free myself from my invisible bindings.
“If you take advantage of the freedoms I afford you, I’ll have to keep you close.” Quinn saunters toward me from beneath the shadow of a large tree. “And I have no option but to punish you. Which do you prefer—a rat’s tail or a pig’s snout?”
I pinch up my face, frustrated to have come so far yet fall just short of my goal. There’s nothing I have to say to Malum.
Take me to your king. Let him do as he pleases. I hope you rot in hell for this, you piece of fairy shit.
“Where’s my wolf?” I grumble. “You’ll have to help me up.”
Quinn’s lips pull into his infamous, evil smirk. “Oh, no, my dear. You’ll walk the rest of the way to the expanse. And if we don’t make it by twilight, you’ll suffer the consequences.” He pats me on the cheek.
An invisible force tugs me along behind him through the forested path. It’s when I’m looking down, counting the square-shaped stones, that I hear something whiz past me, and then the sickening smack of an arrow hitting flesh. I duck, unsure of who or what is attacking us, before looking at Quinn.
Lodged in his chest is a flaming arrow, his beautiful fae face melting away from the heat right before his entire body bursts into flames. My invisible bonds disappear, and I scramble on my hands and knees to the nearest bush, diving into the foliage. I struggle to control my staggered breathing as I try to picture the creature brave enough to take on a fairy. And what other kind of Supe wants me badly enough to risk its life?
Footfalls crunch on the path beside my hiding place. I bite down on my lip, trying not to breathe. Through the leaves, I see heavy black boots. If it’s a vampire or werewolf, I’m sure it can smell me from a mile away.
“Are you going to come out of there or continue your silly game of hide-and-seek?” The deep gravel of Bastian’s voice lifts my spirit and mortifies me at the same time.
I stand, unsure if I should burst forward and hug him or remain in the safety of the bush. “You killed him.” It’s an obvious statement with the fae’s burning carcass catching a nearby patch of grass on fire.
Bastian mumbles one of his favorite obscenities, removes his coat, and uses it to bat down the flames. “And I’ll kill you and Levi once you tell me where he is. You scared the hell out of us.”
“You weren’t supposed to be back for a week,” I say, hanging my head.
“And the two of you thought it might be a good idea to hand you over to the Unseelie Court on a silver plate?” He rakes his fingers through his hair. Bloodstains and jagged rips cover his clothing. A fresh scar runs from his right eye down to the corner of his lip.
Impulsively, I reach out and almost touch his cheek but pull back when he flinches. My heart drops. I repulse him. “What happened?”
“Failed mission,” he grumbles, shrugging his coat back on. “Lost Lyden and could have damn well lost Mav if it wasn’t for Evie’s quick thinking.” Impossible as it seems, his eyes darken, strands of hair falling over them like the first time we met. “And then when we get home, you’re gone. We thought the Miscretes had you.” He cocks his head to the side and crosses his arms. “But no, it was only a powerful fae bounty hunter, and your brother’s still nowhere to be found.”
I stare at my shoes, unable to look him in the eyes. They’re icy fire, able to ignite me like the smoldering corpse on the ground. “Levi’s safe. He’s in Mafekadi.”
“Mafekadi!” He grips my hand, yanking me from the safety of my mulberry bush. Despite the situation, I feel a charge of electricity with his calloused skin against mine. “He exposed you for an entire day. No wonder Cirrus’s pansy sniffed you out. We have wards on the cabin for a reason.”
“Well, maybe I’m tired of you confining me to the cabin. If I’m let out, I need a babysitter.” I drop his hand, balling mine into fists. Yes, the Council controlled my life in Avren, but my situation here isn’t much better.
“You don’t understand.” His eyes drill into mine as if begging me to see his side. “We don’t know the complete prophecy yet, but if you fall into the hands of a Supe leader, they’ll do anything to find the other piece of the puzzle, do away with Avren and the First City, and set up their own dominion. Do you want to see the humans who survive the attack subject to slavery?”
I bite into my lip, chewing on the hypothetical projections he’s thrown at me. “And what’s the alternative?”
He takes a step closer to me, making my hands shake slightly. His palms lightly grip my upper arms as I drown in his lakes of crystal blue. “Peace. No pillars of fear rising as sentinels in the north and the south. The prophecy promises balance once we defeat Avren and the First City.”
With his fingers practically burning through the thin material of my sweater, I swallow, wondering if he feels the tight cord between us. “And your job is to keep me safe and get me in shape for the monumental task ahead of me.”
He drops his hands, and I breathe again. “Exactly. And having you wandering miles to the south, unguarded, doesn’t make my job any easier.”
“Why don’t you trust Levi to protect me?”
He glances at the pile of ashes lying on the ground, a testament to where trusting his brother got me, and I don’t say another word.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Grayson and Evie suit up to travel to Mafekadi and collect Levi, loading their holsters with enough weapons to take down Avren on their own. My gut twists in knots when I realize this will leave Bastian and me alone together in the cabin. Images from my dream rush in from my subconscious, and it’s everything I can do to keep from dropping the dish I’m scrubbing in the sink.
