Page 44 of Facade

Embarrassed, I decided to check on Lyra. As I crossed the camp to the carriage and dusted off my pants, the back of my neck prickled. My feet slowed. One glance around—Malachai leaned against a tree, cutting into an apple as he watched me. Anger simmered to the point I felt I would snap. What the hell did he think I could do with a proximity spell tying me to Aiden?

My brows pinched as I continued my trek across the camp. The ink tingled in my limbs, but it was minor for now. If Aiden went any further than wherever he was, I'd scream, as I did not want to feel the full effects of the stupid spell again. That hurt like a bitch.

The carriage door was cracked, soft sniffles drifting out, and my body stiffened. Shit.

“Lyra?” I called out as I pulled the door wider. “You okay?”

I climbed in and sat across from her. She had her knees pulled up to her chin, her face buried. The knot of guilt tightened in my stomach.

“Go away,” She snapped.

“Lyra, it wasn’t a big secret. I only found out about Dimitri because he changed forms when the skur’s attacked and—“

“Skur’s? Skur’s attacked?” Her head popped up, puffy eyes locking onto mine.

“Uh… yeah. I’m sorry.” I winced. “They attacked in the middle of the night at Thaddeus’s house. I hadn’t wanted to wake you,” I said apologetically, although it didn’t assuage the remorse knocking through me for not waking her.

She shook her head hard enough to cause her loose hair to whip back and forth. “I know I’m younger than all of you, but I’m not a kid. I deserve to know these things.” She swiped at her nose with her sleeve. “I deserve to know if my life is in danger! Or was in danger,” she mumbled the last bit. “And if Werewolves are in our group. They can’t be trusted, you know,” she said, eyes wide. I held up my hands.

“You’re right. I’m really sorry I didn’t share anything with you. Neither of us is here by choice, and it’s not like we’re friends, but we do come from the same place, and that bonds us whether we want it to or not.” I offered her a small smile. She tentatively returned it.

A whistle sounded outside, drawing both of our attention. Another swipe from her dirty sleeve, and she bolted from the carriage with me on her heels.

Aiden and Alaric were back. Following them was Dimitri, with Brax in a headlock, both laughing.

Aiden threw down a bag by the fire.

“We finished a perimeter sweep. Doesn’t appear that we’re being followed, but as we traded goods with a fellow traveler, he gave a warning that word of what happened in Chairn has already spread, and the humans across the land are upset. There’s already been multiple attacks on Fae traveling parties. Not to mention the cloud coverage has brought out more skurs than usual.” Aiden looked around, his attention landing on me. I fidgeted with the end of my braid.

“We cross the border in a few days, and I don’t believe it would be wise to travel with the carriage, advertising the royal crest.” He glanced at the other guards.

“What do you want to do with it?” Slade asked.

“Burn it,” Aiden responded. “Along with any of our court-appointed garments. But pull out the clothing that Thaddeus gifted. Wrap it in the buckskin and strap it to one of the horses,” he added.

Aiden walked over to the horses and began working the traces. I took that as my chance to attempt conversation yet again.

His shoulders stiffened as I approached, but I didn’t let that deter me.

“So you think this will make us more inconspicuous?” I asked.

He hauled off the harness of one horse.

“It should.”

“You don’t think two females with six males are going to send off some warning bells?” A breathy laugh followed my words.

He turned around, amusement playing behind his eyes.

“Are you more concerned about our safety or the fact that you’ll be riding so close with a male?” he challenged. Heat rose to my cheeks as I chewed on his words.

The second harness hit the ground.

“We’ll have to split up. It won’t be for long, though. The journey through this next part of land is fairly quick. Assuming we can get to the next big town with no incident,” he said over his shoulder. “You’ll have to ride with one of us.”

I walked up next to him and reached out to stroke the mare’s mane. She was beautiful—white with patches of brown and ice-blue eyes.

“Why can’t Lyra and I just ride one of these?”