“It was certainly a day that it would have been very noticeable I was missing.” I pressed the bandage against my arm, watching the blood pool against the fabric. “Who are you? I told you. It’s only fair you tell me.”
He shifted in his spot beside me on the ground. “Lioran.”
Tattoos adorned his sun-kissed skin. Three black bands. Each one held my gaze for a moment too long. If he noticed, he pretended not to.
He could have left me to bleed to death, or die of infection, but he stayed with me. Lioran scanned the land around us, as if he was waiting—or watching for something.
Dizziness crept back in faster than before.
“You need to rest,” he said.
He placed his hand out, his eyes closed. The leaves on the trees rustled as the winds picked up. Dust flew as a beautiful, black stallion glided over the hill, floating like a shadow. His mane glittered in the sunlight, and his metallic eyes reminded me of Lioran’s. The horse nuzzled its head into his hand.
“Veylar will take us to the village of Evyn. You can rest there,” he said.
How could I trust him? What if going with him was worse than staying?
“I will walk.”
“You can barely stand,” he grumbled as I stumbled pasthim. I fell back into him. He stumbled with me, his hands braced my waist for a moment, before he pulled back.
Veylar was massive. He would have towered over Briar. I couldn’t slide my foot into the stirrups. My arm burned with each movement. I winced, fighting back tears.
His arm hovered near me. “I can help you,” he said softer than he spoke before.
I nodded.
Lioran effortlessly lifted me onto Veylar. As he climbed up onto the powerful stallion, I felt his warmth behind me. I pulled myself upright.
The land bowed to Veylar. Branches swayed from the path.
My eyelids grew heavier. Veylar’s steady rhythm lulled me. As I slipped, Lioran held me tighter. My body slumped back into his—I leaned into the darkness.
“We’re here.” He spoke softly. Beams of sunlight collided with my blurry vision. As I rubbed my eyes, a magnificent village built into the trees came into focus. Nothing in Bailoc looked like this. Nothing I ever saw, at least.
Stairs ascended toward wooden homes that wrapped around colossal trees. Their dense trunks supporting the weight of an entire village. He jumped down from the stallion. A fae taller than Lioran approached, his skin glowed with a golden tan I had never seen before.
I slumped in the saddle, too weak to dismount Veylar. The fae lowered his head—his body lowered, too. Lioran flexed his hand in front of him, before he gestured toward me. The other fae rose, squinting in my direction.
I tried desperately to focus—to take my new surrounding in, but the burning pain made it impossible.
Lioran lifted me out of the saddle. “Neena, we need herbal tinctures for an open wound,” he told a woman as she sped toward us.
She nodded before disappearing into one of the low-lying buildings.
“Fyn, this is…” Lioran started.
“Aelira,” I said.
“She had a run in with a sylkren,” Lioran said.
The fae took a step toward me. His olive eyes widened as I leaned back into the stallion. Veylar was a gentle, swaying wall behind me. With each movement exhaustion claimed me more.
Fyn tugged Lioran away from me. Their words floated away on the breeze. Lioran wiped his brow, rolling his eyes at Fyn.
“You can’t just bring her here.” Fyn’s voice grew louder.
Lioran looked over his shoulder, and I glanced away.
