Page 63 of Fate of the Sun King

“Do you know how far it is?” I ask as he catches up to me, wanting to change the subject and really wishing we had a horse or something to ride. My head still feels woozy, and I should just let him carry me.

“I’m not exactly sure,” he says, scanning the trees.

“It would seem ‘family’ is as loose a term as it’s always been with the Woodlands King,” I say. “Making your ‘flesh and blood’ walk behind you like a captive.”

Nadir smirks. “Welcome home, I guess.”

“Did I imagine how quickly we got here, though? I swear we were in the settlement, and then suddenly, we were here. Though it’s entirely possible I passed out.”

“No, you didn’t. Etienne got us here.” I give him a quizzical look. “It’s his ability. He can shift people and himself from one place to another in the blink of an eye.”

“Wow, that’s pretty useful.”

Nadir nods.

Etienne marches in the line ahead of him, his shoulders hunched and his eyes on his feet.

“He feels terrible,” Nadir says, catching the direction of my stare. “I might have been a little… abrupt with him when you went missing.”

“It was an accident, right?” I say before I look at him. “I know he’s your friend, and I hate to ask this, but you’re sure he’s one hundred percent trustworthy?”

Nadir places a hand over his heart, his expression serious. “Absolutely. I would never ever have brought you to him otherwise.”

I nod at that. “Okay. Then excuse me for a moment.”

I rush forward, matching my steps to Etienne’s long strides, until he finally looks up at me.

“Hi,” I say. He doesn’t reply, instead looking at his feet again as if trying to avoid tripping on an errant root. Or, more likely, avoiding me.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles after a moment, his gravelly voice even deeper than usual. “I fucked up royally.”

“Mistakes happen,” I reply. “I won’t pretend that wasn’t terrifying, but I don’t blame you. I’ve been through much worse than that, and I got out alive. Okay?”

His dark gaze slides to me, and I see so much pain written in the depths of it. What is this man’s story? “I don’t deserve that. It was my job to make sure you were safe.”

“And I appreciate that. More than you can possibly imagine. But that doesn’t mean things always go the way we plan.”

Etienne shakes his head and looks ahead as we continue our march through the forest.

“Nadir won’t forgive me.” He sounds so despondent that I almost want to wrap him in a hug. Something tells me he wouldn’t appreciate the gesture.

“Well, you can ignore him,” I say. “I’m the one in charge.” I wink, and his expression softens, though I can tell he’s still beating himself up about this.

“Really,” I say. “I’m not blaming you for anything.”

He grunts at that, and I guess that’s the best I’m getting for now. I slow my pace to give him some space to process whatever he’s going through.

Nadir catches up to me a second later. “Did that work?”

“Not at all,” I say. “He thinks you’re angry with him.”

“Well, I am.”

I give him a skeptical look, and he blows out a breath before running a hand through his hair. “We’ll work it out. It’s not the first time we’ve been pissed off at one another.”

As we wind through the forest, something catches my eye.

“What is that?” I ask Nadir, pointing to a large black spot on the side of a tree, noticing more of them blooming in the branches.