Page 41 of A Lie so Pretty and Poisonous

Darragh shook his head vigorously. “No. I don’t like this idea.”

“Please, Captain Reynault…Darragh.” I looked up at him through my lashes. “It may help me figure out how to get back through the wall. Especially since my one lead with the recipe book was squashed as soon as I got it. I would hate to sit on this if there is evidence. It could disappear if we wait too long.”

He stopped Astorath, and I pulled back Celeste’s reins to do the same. Darragh rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

He let out a deep breath. “Alright.” His voice dropped and became stern. “But I must impress upon you, my lady, that we may find nothing and instead wind up in danger. Dryads do not like us in their forest.”

“I am well aware. A dryad attacked Cora and me when we first crossed the wall.”

“Then you know how deadly they can be. So, if I am going to allow you to come with me, then I need your word that you will do everything I ask of you, no questions asked. Anything I say or ask will be for your safety. Do I have your word, my lady?” Though his face was stern, his eyes remained soft, tracing over my face.

Obeying was not my strong suit, but knowing he would let me come along and had my best interest at heart, I had to agree. I couldn’t leave Cora without a mother. “Yes. You have my word. I will listen to you for my safety.”

He blew out some air and ran his hand down his face. “Alright then.”

I slid my sweaty palms down the sides of my dress, repositioned the reins, and sat tall in the saddle. Focused. Prepared. For what? I wasn’t sure. I had never done anything like this before. I didn’t know what to expect or even what I was doing, but I knew time was precious, and if there was any evidence of humans coming through the wall, we couldn’t wait for it. I met his eyes. “Thank you.”

Without another word, Darragh pivoted Astorath, and we rode westward. His demeanor tightened the further the farm was from our backs and the closer we came to the western woods. I wondered if the thought of letting a human woman talk him into taking her to a forest full of danger coiled around his stiffening muscles.

“What did Lyrik mean about you owing him a favor?”

Darragh stayed quiet for a moment but yielded. “He agreed to arrange the meeting after we didn’t get permission from Lord Toolock, if I would owe him a favor. Favors are as good as currency here.”

My eyes widened. “You didn’t have to do that. Please let me owe him the favor instead. The meeting was for me.”

“Absolutely not!” he practically growled. “A lady ought not barter favors with men. They are not the kind of favors you will want to owe.”

I dropped my eyes to the moving ground beneath Celeste’s hooves. He was right.

I gave him a small smile. “Then I owe you an entire box of honey cakes, though I doubt that will equal what you just did for me. I appreciate you. Did you like it, by the way?”

“What?”

“The honey cake.”

Darragh looked around awkwardly. “Oh. Um. Yes, it was good. Thank you, my lady.”

I sighed. “Rory.”

I should have been more scared than I was. None of what I was doing was safe or smart. I was running Celeste next to a feared seraph, toward a forest filled with dryads and militia, to look for clues that humans were being brought into Tironaill. But I had to go. If humans were being brought into Tironaill, I needed to know why and how. I was certain that the answers to both questions would throw me on a path filled with brambles and thorns. This may be dangerous, but it was the only lead I had to go on. The door back to Edenalee was slammed in my face as quickly as it opened for me at Toolock Estate. A gift from Clotha ripped from me the second she gave it. I was starting to think this was less of a game for her and more of a vendetta.

The dark forest on the horizon was ominous as we approached. I couldn’t tell if it was the nerves from the impending situation I was willingly plunging myself into, or that the trees were denser, crowding out the sunlight and making the space between some kind of fairytale lesson on why we don’t venture alone into the woods.

I peered up to the sky, where a dark bird followed overhead. It felt like an omen.

“Darragh?” I asked shakily. “Is it just me, or has that raven been following us in every direction we have gone since we left Aquila City?”

“Yes. He is mine. He stays close by to send correspondence when needed.”

I blew out a breath. “I was worried he was some harbinger of impending doom for us.”

Darragh scoffed. “Hardly.” His chestnut brown eyes traced the tree line. “I need you to stay hypervigilant and quiet as we enter the forest. No more chatting. Can you do that?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you saying I talk too much?”

“Not at all, my lady.” He dropped his head, fighting a grin.

Oh, he’s trying to be funny now?