AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Noel’s sudden turn on his heel made Grey’s head snap back up to watch him pace. “There’s bound to be some fucking iron in this town, right? More of it than what I have on me, considering how it hasn’t been picked clean?”
Cy shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve only searched a single building on my own since I got here. It’s worth a shot, but I’m not completely sure if we can hold this crazy bitch at bay—not if she has some tricks up her sleeve. And seeing how she’s specifically hunting you” —she jabbed a finger at Noel’s chest— “I think it’s fair to assume that she’s more skilled than the average fair folk. A designated hunter for the Wild Hunt could mean we’re fucked here.”
He turned one last time, his footsteps slowing to a stop with his thumb pressed to his lips to go with his furrowed brow. “I think we’re out of options if we want a shot at the master plan.”
“We don’t even know if that’ll work,” Cy sputtered. “As much as I’d like to think it might, we don’t have any proof.” Her hands flew to her hair, tangling chunks in her fingers. “This bitch wants Grey. She even brought stuff to lure him out. What if she’s trying to pick us off with our names? Then we’re fucked.”
Noel’s face screwed up. “We’re not giving up Grey if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
“It’s not what I’m suggesting, it’s what she clearly is here for. I know we can’t see them, but I remember her having a fuck-ton of barguests back in that fucked up town. So, even if we do find more iron, do you know the odds of surviving a barguest attack?”
Grey swallowed. “Well, Noel fought off a small pack of them the other night.”
Her arms fell against her thighs. “You’ve got to be fucking joking.”
Noel glanced away and rocked on his heels. “Look, I know I’m not invincible, but Grey was in danger, and?—”
“Can hemomancers actually heal those kinds of wounds? I thought they were too tainted.”
“It doesn’t matter—” Grey blurted, feeling like a tea kettle screeching that it was done. “Noel, I know you don’t want me to give myself up, but?—”
His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he seized Grey’s arm. “You’re not going to do this.”
“They’re not going to stop! You know they’re not going to stop until they get me, so trade me and save yourself!”
“No!”
“Fuck no,” Cy echoed. “Let’s say we hand you over. She could refuse a deal with us, and then we’ll be double-fucked.”
Grey pushed down the lump in his throat before Noel finally let go.
“We scavenge the buildings and return here in the next thirty minutes. We’re bound to find something to get us the hell out of here.”
34
NOEL
Every piece of random trash stuffed in the back of a closet or crammed under a floorboard turned into a second of hope until Noel unwrapped or dusted it off to reveal nothing of use. His pulse continued thrumming in his ears like a war song, telling him he was at the end of his rope. When he popped open a box, he recoiled at the tinkling music that poured out—an uncanny match to the fair folk’s song used to lure Grey—and hurled it against the floor. He panted while he stared down at the shattered remnants and immediately regretted not considering whether or not the faerie bitch would’ve taken it.
Trade me and save yourself.
Noel’s fingers curled into a fist. What would be the point? What would be the fucking point if he gave up the one person he’d grown attached to—the one person he’d been unable to picture himself without? He fell back against a closet doorframe and stared straight ahead at the peeling paint coating the walls. Noel wished Reign was after him instead. Taunting him. Stalking him. Needling at him each and every turn. Noel knew he could take that, which made his anger settle that much hotter in his gut.
His head fell into his hands. The pain of knowing if they couldn’t escape from this trap that he’d never be able to confess to Grey with the promise of a tomorrow shattered him. Hell, he didn’t even know if Grey would ever look at him the same way. A hug was a hug, despite how Noel wanted to accept it as more.
Seeing him next to Cy might’ve flared his jealousy, but it’d also reminded him of the harsh reality that Grey wasn’t promised to him. Just like how Grey wasn’t promised to Reign either. His head thumped against the frame, sadness welling up in his chest.
Why don’t you come over and face me? A precursor to our dance on the sacred hunting grounds.
She wanted a fight: a taste of what to expect when they clashed again. Noel closed his eyes and drew in steadying breaths. He could do her one better. She couldn’t take Grey, but Noel could hand himself over to buy them both more time. After all, he was the threat. He was the one that still had nothing to give. He couldn’t create like Grey could.
As much as Grey lamented about being a monster, Noel couldn’t help but succumb to that feeling that he might be fueling this false hope they’d all indulged in. Hope that could very well be their downfall. Hope that ate away at what little time they had left without some sort of sacrifice along the way.
His boots dragged against the floorboards, each step piercing his heart as he surrendered to the thought of facing his fate. Not like he could run forever anyway when it relentlessly came to collect everything he’d ever chosen.
Stairs creaked, threatening to break under his weight—poetic, considering how much rested on his shoulders with this single, horrific decision. But the thought that weighed even heavier was whether Grey would stand silent as Noel crossed that bridge or if he’d scream the words he’d secretly tucked away in his own thoughts.
There was a fine line between love and infatuation, and the further Noel went, the more uncertain he felt about which side of that border he stood on. Was it infatuation with someone who always came to his aid? Or was it love for a person he never expected meeting in his lifetime—love for someone that complimented every flawed piece of himself in the same way he believed he complimented the object of his affection?
