“You stabbed him?” Jareth asked, brow raised.
“I sure did. I feel terrible about it now. But at the time, I didn’t know who they were. I was scared.”
Jareth tilted his head. “Well now I don’t hate you as much as I hate the rest of this group.”
“Because I stabbed Raine?”
“Exactly.”
“I’m honored. Your approval is exactly what I was seeking,” she deadpanned.
“Yes, she stabbed me.” Raine ignored Jareth. “While she screamed and snarled like a feral little kitten.”
“Little kitten?” Ava balked. “How insulting.”
Raine gave her a grin and continued with his story. “Then,she ruined a second pair of my pants I lent her by going and getting herself bitten by a daemon hound.”
“But Aro killed it. Even though Cas hated me,” she teased.
Casimir grabbed her hand and yanked her close. “I’ve never hated you, love. I was just…wary. Confused.”
She tapped him on the nose. “Right.”
The group continued, telling stories and enjoying each other’s company. Even Jareth didn’t say anything cruel, listening closely with a hint of something like envy in his eyes. It was so subtle, Ava had almost missed it. But when another story that caused them all to laugh was told, there it was again. He wanted this. Longed for it. The ease of friendships without political pressure or climbing the ranks. People who loved and accepted each other without any qualms—who would do anything for one another.
And Ava pitied him.
“And then there was the time—” Raine began.
“Stop!” called Imsel, rushing to the front of the group and pulling Raine aside. “Everybody freeze!”
Ava’s heart leaped in her throat as she scanned their surroundings. Nothing looked amiss, the canyon silent aside from the breeze.
“What is it?” someone asked.
Imsel gestured to the path before them. “Jarouki’i trap right in front of us. Raine almost stepped on it.”
Raine muttered a curse under his breath, his eyes wide. “Thank you.”
“Story time is over,” Casimir announced. “How do we handle this?”
Imsel scanned the ground, taking in every detail, their eyes moving along the walls of the canyon. “We can scale the walls and climb that way. Or build a bridge.”
“Ava, can you portal us across?” Casimir asked.
“I’m not sure. It might be too windy for me to draw the symbols in the sand.”
Ava knelt, drawing the first symbol when a gust of wind blew it away. With a frustrated sigh she started again, this time almost finishing the second before it was destroyed. For a solid five minutes she tried, drawing them as quickly as possible, but even when she’d completed all three, a gust whisked them away before she even had a chance to slice her palm.
Ava stood, frustrated.
“It’s alright, love. Build a bridge,” Casimir said to Imsel. “Our animals cannot scale walls.”
The fae captain raised their hands, facing the wall to the group’s left. With a low rumble, rock rose from the ground and along the stone face, stretching across the span of the softer surface. A bead of sweat dripped down their brow as they focused to keep it steady.
With a breath, they released their magic. There was now a narrow bridge running along the stone wall of the canyon, just wide enough to accommodate Aro.
The animals will go first,said Luna, leaping up and trotting across the walkway.
