Page 109 of A Thief Among Fae

I climb the back of the carriage to fit my luggage alongside the other packs. “You’d rather reason with your enemies than fight?” I ask him.

He startles, then clears his throat. He shifts, his body almost imperceptively turning toward mine. “It takes courage to raise a blade, but even more to lower it.” Then he hops down and pats Enbarr’s flank. “We’re ready. Let’s get going.”

“It is a long journey to Torok,” Min says as she climbs into the carriage.

Desmond mounts Enbarr. “Finnian, take the first shift on Aether.”

I sit beside Min. She’s dressed in her Aedrosian orange robe today and nods at me. The quarters are more snug than I anticipated, with a door on either side and padded seats. The two windows are covered by drapes instead of glass panes, and a small lantern dangles from the ceiling. Auri sits across from us and pulls the drapes back, exposing a view of the forested hills and the talus slope overlooking it all to the south. To the north lie the quilt-like squares of fields and farmland.

Leaving behind the stale cavern air of the hideout refreshes me more than I’d like to admit. Autumn is truly here with a crisp, nippy breeze and golden sunlight. The forest is alive with color, brushstrokes of deep green spruce, and maples with vibrant reds and oranges, their canopies like scattered jewels. If I close my eyes, the whispers of the forest sound like home.

The carriage lurches, the horses accelerating at a pace that makes me throw my arms out to balance myself. I lean out the window, watching the blurred forest as the wind whips my fly-away hairs and stings my eyes. Enbarr and Aether’s hooves thunder, kicking up puffs of dirt.

“Fascinating,” Min says. “It is obvious that Aether is no ordinary horse, but Enbarr is not either?”

“Enbarr was blessed by Danu. She’s immortal unless slain, and she’s the fastest horse in the Hollowlands,” Auri answers. “Even though Aether is half-unicorn, he can’t maintain this speed for long. Maybe an hour.”

I try to sit back, but the jostling makes it uncomfortable. I brace my hands on my knees instead. “And how did Desmond acquire her? She must’ve been expensive.”

Auri scoffs. “Enbarr chose him. It’s an insult to suggest she could be bought.”

“Why him?” Min asks, curiosity rapt in her widened black eyes.

“Why not him?” Auri counters. “He’s the High Court’s prince. Brave, determined, loyal. The only fae who may have been more worthy is his sister.”

I already knew she thought highly of Desmond, but the reminder of their closeness stings.

“And what of you?” Min asks. “What is your life like back in the Hollowlands? We have a long journey ahead and may as well further acquaint ourselves.”

“Me?” Auri looks surprised. “I serve Princess Deitra of the High Court, first in line to the High Throne.” A proud smile lights her face. “She’s the commanding general of the court’s troops and tougher than an orc.”

I remember Desmond’s furtive conversation in the woods about his sister. He had asked how Deitra was faring without her favorite captain. Could that captain be Auri? “And the Hollowlands is ruled by a queen, right?” I ask. “Just like Avedor.”

“Just like Avedor,” Auri mocks. “Our laws are so different than yours that you wouldn’t last a day. They’re capricious, affected by the tides or even the phase of the moon. But yes, the High Court is currently ruled by Queen Tetriona of the Vales. The unseelie have their own court that’s supposed to defer to the High Court.” She wrinkles her nose. “They rarely do.”

I restrain myself from arguing that I could perfectly well survive the Hollowlands. Honestly, I’m not sure that I would, even with the rowan berry necklace. The Hollowlands is one of the few places I haven’t dreamt of exploring, not even after witnessing the bioluminescent beauty of that cave in the barrow. It would be a fate worse than death to be glamoured into mindless servitude or captured and wed to an unseelie fae who’s fascinated with mortals.

Yet Auri said that Desmond has forbidden fae from glamouring humans, maybe because he understands what it’s like, being half-human himself. The more time I spend with him, Auri, and Finnian, the more I question everything I thought I knew about fae. I’ve seen Avedoran guards punish a pixie just for worshipping her goddess. I’ve learned that fae are indentured for generations under the guise of mercy.

Humans learned nothing from fae cruelty except to dole it back in double force. Maybe once, there could’ve been peace between our kingdoms, but. . .

It takes courage to raise a blade, but even more to lower it.

“And what is your favorite food?” Min asks Auri, freeing me from my thoughts.

Auri snorts. “What is this? A first date?”

“Mine is salmon chowder,” Min says.

I laugh. “That seems fitting for a feline shifter, doesn’t it?”

We debate what exactly constitutes a meal befitting a feline shifter until the horses slow to a measured clop. We’ve covered a lot of ground. The forest surrounds us on both sides, golden leaves strewn across the path. At a creek, we stop so the horses can drink, and Finnian switches with Auri when we continue again.

Talking with the thieves, and even Auri, has started to feel normal. It’s a difficult truth to swallow that any one of them could be the traitor who told Gashil how to get through the wards. One of them made a despicable choice that led to Nikolai’s death.

Finnian stares out the window, but his gaze is unfocused, as if his thoughts are far away. “I can’t believe Nikolai is gone,” he murmurs, so quietly I almost don’t hear it over the creak of the carriage. “It’s hard to imagine the guild without him. If I were better at fighting, I could’ve—” His hand squeezes into a fist as his words die off.

Min lays her hand over his. “Nikolai would not want you to blame yourself. You have your own strengths.”