Page 19 of Tell Them That I’m Coming

“Why doesn’t she?” I ask.

His jaw works, like he’s choosing how he wants to word this. The fae can’t lie, after all, but that doesn’t mean they always tell the truth—and that’s something I must remember while I’m stuck in this world with someone who might have his own motivations to help me.

Finally, he answers me. “Because there’s a prophecy.”

That’s the last thing I wanted to hear.

My stomach sinks. No. Absolutely not. It’s bad enough that I overheard my parents talking about a second prophecy that involves me. I refuse to believe there could be a third.

“A prophecy?” I echo. “About what?”

“It doesn’t concern a simple bandit. But I’ve heard things. There are stories,” he continues. “Warnings. About outsiders who shouldn’t exist in Noctavara, and how shadows cling to them even in the Shadowed Woods. The queen is very interested in their existence.”

I know what he isn’t saying. “She’ll want Rafe.”

“She might keep him. If you come for him, she might choose to keep you, too. And that’s if she hasn’t sensed your arrival in the Shadowed Woods already. The queen and the entire Gilded Court.”

You know what? She can try.

I think of the butterfly in my hair. One of them brought me here. There has to be a way for it to guide me back to Sombra once I save Rafe. Maybe that’s why my portals aren’t working now. Deep down, I can’t leave without him, and Binx agrees.

He bit Thane. If my soul-pet thought that the fae was a danger to me, he’d be flying at him, claws out, aiming for his eyes. He’s not. Sure, Binx is watching Thane unblinkingly, but I can sense how my soul-pet trusts that my one true mate would want to help me, even if he doesn’t know that he’s mine just yet.

I’ll have to tell him. If I agree to journey with Thane, I won’t be able to keep that secret. For now, though, I have to think about how careful he’s been to warn me against going after Rafe without insisting that I shouldn’t.

It doesn’t matter.

He’s right. I need him, and not only because the gods have given me a tricky fae who seems too good to be true. He probably is, but I have to do everything I can for Rafe—including taking on a fae queen and her Court.

I lift my chin and meet his gaze head-on. The mate bond grows a little stronger as I see the honest if somewhat baffling offer of assistance in his amber eyes, and know that my own fear for Rafe and yearning for my one true mate reflect back in my golden ones.

I’m not afraid of this fae queen. I’m loyal to Apollyon and Lilith, the clan leader and clanmother. I obey—for the most part—Mom and Dad. My lieges are Duke Haures and Duchess Susanna of Sombra, not Queen Celeste of Noctavara and the Gilded Court.

They think they can stop me from saving Rafe?

“They might know. The might not. It doesn’t matter. Tell them that I’m coming.”

And when I get there—with Thane or not—I’ll bring Rafe back to Sombra, then figure out what I’m supposed to do about having a fae mate.

CHAPTER 7

EAST

In the end, it’s the mate bond that gets me to agree to stick around Thane.

I could say it’s because he knows this world and I don’t. I could pretend that I could get away from him if he proves to be too dangerous, that he’s the best chance I have to find Rafe. He seems sure that it was slavers, not soldiers, that were searching Brille Rouge for demons they could sell to fae nobles in Noctavara. While we could try to find the caravans that house the slavers on their travels, it’s better if we just assume that they’re bringing Rafe to the Gilded Court—both the name for the nobles that serve her, plus the actual gilded structure where Queen Celeste has her seat of power.

And while all of that has a bit of truth to it, I’d be lying if I said that the fledgling bond that’s taken root in my chest doesn’t have the most to do with it. I didn’t realize until after we were together again that it pulled, it tightened, it stretched as I left him. I’m just grateful that I don’t have enough of my father’s blood to go up in flames when I walk away from my future mate, though that could be because I’m closely guarding my essence.

Until he gives me his, I won’t give him mine. That should save us from any other quirks—like the mate sickness or the fire—while I figure out if Thane can be my mate… and if I want him to.

Binx doesn’t agree with me and my motives. It’s clear that he would’ve rather we’d left Thane behind in the clearing. Since we didn’t, my soul-pet stays perched high on my shoulder, fur bristling at the edges of his shadows, fluffy tail flicking in sharp, irritated swishes that keep brushing the side of my neck. If Thane so much as shifts too quickly, Binx’s tiny claws dig into the fabric of my dress like he’s preparing to launch himself at the fae again.

Thane, for his part, seems to find that amusing. I doubt he will if I stop holding Binx back with softly muttered warnings to behave, but for now it seems like the ungez is listening and the fae is safe from some scratches and bites.

There hasn’t been another butterfly since I agreed to let Thane lead us in the direction he believes the slavers would’ve gone with Rafe. I’m not sure if that’s a good sign or not. If we’re heading the right way, maybe the monarch butterflies don’t need to be a guide. Maybe they’re wary of Thane, like I should be.

Or maybe I’m reading too much into an Earth butterfly that shouldn’t be in this fae realm.