She still doesn’t believe me.
I let out a sigh, wondering if I and the others should simply leave her be once we get to Halsford, let her make a new life far from these dark memories and from us. It might be best for her. She can be with other humans, take a husband as per their customs, have a family if that’s what she desires.
I hear the Breach and pull her back toward me a little to make sure we aren’t in its way. It’ll only be a small one, but it still packs a wallop if you’re standing too close when it opens. She stiffens when I touch her and I move my hand away as soon as I can.
‘Are you going to ensure you fuck me again as well before you take my memories from me this time?’ she mutters caustically from next to me.
I open my mouth to tell her that’s not what’s happening but then close it again. What’s the point? She won’t believe me until I show her the truth. At least some of her fire is returning. She would never have spoken to me like that yesterday.
Regardless of how much better she seems to be feeling though, I find myself hating what I am, what I’ve become, more with each moment I spend in her company.
Just as I should, I suppose.
What would Nanna say if she knew what I’d done in her and the others’ names?
Doesn’t matter. Nanna is gone. They all are.
Taken and sold into the Dark Realms years ago. Likely dead now. Gods, I hope they are. Thinking of them still suffering there after all this time makes me want to retch.
I let out a calming breath as I walk toward the opening, taking hold of Bryn and keeping her close just in case she tries to run and gets lost in the endless corridors of the ether.
She doesn’t pull away though, and she looks at the passage in front of us the way I know I do, with unease and more than a little fear.
‘It’ll be all right,’ I say over the droning hum.
She ignores me, or at least pretends to, and we enter the Breach.
It’s a very short journey, at least, and we emerge on the familiar hillside on a bright day just outside Halsford. The wind whips up around us and, next to me, Bryn, in her fae disguise, shivers almost imperceptibly.
I take off my cloak and hold it out to her. She doesn’t take it.
‘Where are we?’ she asks instead.
I awkwardly put my cloak back around my shoulders. ‘We’re in the Light, Bryn. You’re safe.’
She huffs, but says nothing.
‘You’ll see,’ I say quietly, setting off down the hill in front of her.
I don’t wait for her, mostly so she understands that there’s no reason for me to keep her close here. There is no slavery. She can come and go as she pleases. Well, once Halsford’s Council has given her leave to remain, which shouldn’t be difficult. I know the head of the Council well, after all.
However, after a moment, I second-guess myself when she still hasn’t begun to follow me and I turn to make sure she’s not going to do something silly like run into the forest. There aren’t any settlements for at least a two-day ride, and she’ll never make it out of the Ranges with no provisions.
But she’s just standing where I left her, staring after me with a mixture of sadness and hope on her face that’s quickly replaced by the mask when she sees me watching.
‘Come on,’ I call. ‘It’s evening here and it’ll be dark soon. It’ll get cold tonight.’
She closes her eyes for a moment and seems to make a decision. She finally begins to walk down the path after me.
I wait and we walk it together toward the village.
‘I’ll need the bracelet back,’ I murmur before we get there.
It would be best if no one equates her with anything other than human from the very beginning.
She takes it off without a word and gives it to me, taking in a harsh breath when her features change back to normal, exposing her true form.
‘You’re safe,’ I tell her again.
