Page 31 of Tell Them That I’m Coming

Not doesn’t happen.

Not we don’t want them.

Noctavara doesn’t allow them.

“And if someone…” I begin.

Thane’s gaze flicks to my mouth. To my throat. To the place on my skin where he held his blade when we first met.

“Don’t,” he says softly.

Again with the don’ts.

I swallow. “Must be lonely.”

His mouth curves faintly. “It’s all I’ve ever known, demoness.”

Then, with an effort that feels practiced, he straightens and rolls his shoulders like he can shake off the weight of that admission.

“Come,” he says, voice returning to the same pleasant tone he uses when he’s not being cocky or demanding. “With all the blood spilled here, it’s a wonder we haven’t tracked any other creatures. We should be going if you don’t want your friend to get too far ahead.”

So fae don’t have bonds. Explain how he’s been able to figure me out so soon already? Using Rafe against me…

I make sure Binx is settled, then nod. “Lead the way, bandit.”

CHAPTER 10

MORGANE

Iwas beginning to think that Thane was the only bandit in this part of the Shadowed Woods. Sure, he keeps leading us to the bandit caches he mentioned—small hideaway tucked beneath the strange grass that he calls moss or in the hole of the silver-barked trees—so that he can replenish our supplied, but even after the goldcaps tried to kill us, I don’t expect to run into another fae male lurking through the woods.

That was my mistake. Like most things in my life, I blame it on being the chosen one back when I was an infant. Somehow, I convinced myself that I’ll always be safe, always be protected, and if I’m not, then there isn’t anything I can’t do.

That’s why I refused to return to Sombra for help. It’s my fault that Rafe was left behind in Brille Rouge to be taken, and I’m going to prove that the gods saw something in me that I never have by rescuing him on my own. Binx could help me, and I don’t think I can shake Thane at this point if I wanted to, but I believed I wasn’t in danger.

Tell that to the bloodstain on my sleeve.

Still, more confident than I have any right to be, I moved on from the goldcap attack believing that was the worst the Shadowed Woods could throw at us. If anything, I’m worried about walking into the Gilded Court, possibly coming face-to-face with Queen Celeste, and appealing to the fae queen for aid in retrieving Thane from a member of her Court. Danger in the woods? With Thane taking the lead, I wasn’t worried about anything happening to me.

At least, not until I understood exactly why he insisted on joining me on my search.

Part of me wants to believe it’s our mate bond at work. Maybe he doesn’t think I understand what it means to experience a fated mate bond; since I’ve done everything I can to ignore it so far, he might not even know that I’m aware who he is. Of course, that’s assuming he knows…

Either way, I’m stuck with him, and I guess it could’ve been worse. If I have to rely on a bandit, if I have to trust him around Binx and believe he’ll help me find Rafe, then it could’ve been worse. At least I know he’s meant to be mine and, just because of that, I feel a sense of trust building thanks to the whisper-thin bond stretching between us.

Okay, and maybe I put a little too much faith into an armed stranger I barely met. I don’t really have a choice. Until my shadows decide to listen to me and allow me to create a portal and escape Noctavara if necessary, me and Binx are stuck with Thane.

Which isn’t really that bad when we finally run into another bandit.

The fae male doesn’t announce his presence so much as he decides to let himself be seen.

That’s the only way I can describe it. One moment, the woods are still like they have been. The next, he’s there. His cloak shadowing him, a soft glow peeking through the seam before he throws back the hood, I have to do a double-take when I see him.

His features are similar to Thane’s at first glance. The same amber eyes, the same glowing skin, the same lithe and limber build. He also had a sword on his belt, and I daring gleam in his eye, but despite being as beautiful as Thane, I notice enough small differences to know that while he’s a Noctavaran fae, he’s not my fae.

He’s a touch taller, giving the impression that he’s been stretched out. His hair—as black as Thane’s—is thick and straight, pulled away from his face. His nose is a little longer. And, well, he’s not my mate which means that I’m nitpicking, but he’s nowhere near as captivating as Thane.

“Well, well,” a voice drawls pleasantly, his fae accent obvious, “this stretch of the Shadowed Woods grows more interesting by the decade.”