Page 9 of Why Broken Wings Fray

“The oath he will put you under will mean that he will know when you lie to him. But it doesn’t compel you to offer truths.”

“What do you mean?”

“If he asks you a question, he will know if you lie. But you can tell half-truths, you can twist what you believe, and you can manipulate the question to fit what will pass as a non-lie. For example, if you were to ask me why I sought you out today, I could say to take you to a bar. It’s not a lie, but it’s not the truth either. All that matters is that it’s not a lie. He will know if you lie.”

“Don’t lie. Got it.” I grinned at him.

Brian appeared in the stairwell. “We’re almost ready, Rory.”

I was about to jump up, to sprint over to the stairwell and let them take me deep into Saoghal. But Rory got up first.

“This will be no easy task,” Rory began, staring me down. “You are not being asked to spy on humans. We are sending you far into the depths of a fox den.”

His words meant nothing. They simply floated into my ear and shot out the other just as quickly.

I’m going back to Saoghal.

“You have not yet seen this side of Raegan. You think the ploy that he pulled on his kingdoms was cunning?” Rory shook his head as he chuckled. “The fox has been backed into a corner, and he will not use claws and teeth to free himself. He will use his mind — his slyness and his wickedness to escape.”

My eyes inadvertently pinched as I tried to square my shoulders.

I’m going to see everyone again.

“You will have no friends there. You will have no one around that cares about you. And, most certainly and most importantly, not a single one of them will watch your back. And if they do, understand they do not intend to protect it — instead, they watch for the optimal time to attack it.”

I get to see Raegan.

I gulped as I finally let my eyes meet Rory’s. “When do we leave?”

5

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I was fairly confident I could get in and out of Saoghal within a day for what I needed. Confident enough that I did not go to Urram – I did not tell him my plans, nor did I say goodbye, because I knew what he would say about it.

I would come to regret that.

Rory escorted me – alone – to Marazion. It was strange in that the moment we stepped out of the pub, there was a high sun across the country that I had not seen since winter started. It was radiant and powerful, slipping over my skin and forcing me to remember exactly what it felt like to be in Cluaineach once more. I allowed myself to slip into delusion, to pretend that it was some divine force relieved at my soon-to-be reunion with Saoghal.

Our painful walk into Marazion ended right as we glanced across the stretching causeway, the rocks that built it slowly drying as the tide continued to drop beneath them.

My eyes focused on the blanket of blue to the side of me, that had a name in the human world but I could no longer see as anything other than Uisge.

I looked to Rory, who I knew was starting preparations to shrink us and stumble our way through Cluaineach.

“Why?”

“Why what?” Rory didn’t bother looking at me, but he had a small smile on his face as we walked along, his attention mostly on that of trying to identify the beginning of the border of Cluaineach in the wild grass that bordered the bay.

“Why… Why did you change sides, Rory? I’ve only ever heard it from the opinions of the others. And I’d… Well, I’d like to hear it from one of you.”

His eyes narrowed as he turned his head ever-so-slightly to catch a glimpse of my face. That brilliant, neon-purple hair of his was as bright as ever under that persistent sun, furthering his overall unnatural glow.

He reached a hand out and I nervously accepted it. Once our skin grazed one another, the world shifted just as it had over a year ago. The grass around me elongated, until they were not small, sharp spires against my shoes, but towering masses on all sides of us.

I grunted as he released me, stumbling backwards and managing to catch my balance before I collapsed in the mud. While it should have felt wrong to be in this form again, just as it had the first time I did it, there was a sense of relaxation that spread over my entire body. My chest felt both tight and loose, thrumming with life yet numb to the elements. I swallowed, trying to rid myself of that feeling, and turned my attention back to Rory who was still staring at me.

“You continue to surprise me,” he finally said, adjusting the backpack over his shoulders a few times. “If only the rest of Saoghal saw things as you did – perhaps none of this would have come to pass.”