Page 155 of A Thief Among Fae

“No,” Desmond says, too quickly, and my anger instantly throttles my concern.

“You got what you wanted.” I glare at the arrow Desmond holds as if my gaze could disintegrate it. Then I look at him, my frown no less severe. “So if you don’t mind, I’d like to go home.”

Desmond nods. No amount of reticence can hide the sorrow in his eyes. “Finnian, give her the crown.”

“But it looks so swell on me,” he pouts.

“I promised her everything in the tomb except for the arrow. It’s hers.”

Finnian snorts. “Seriously, Dez? You didn’t leave a single thing in your vow for me? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you didn’t love me.” He hands me Olin’s crown with a reluctantly strong grip at the end. I shove it into the rucksack, along with every piece of jewelry he takes off and every coin from his pockets.

When he notices my anguished frown, he falters, guilt pinching his face. I want to throw his own words back at him—everything he said at the guild about friendship and trust. How could he smile and ask for my trust when he never intended to give me his?

I can’t bring myself to speak. Neither can Finnian. He looks away first, dipping his head in a silent apology. I almost reach out to comfort him. Almost.

Despite knowing she’ll have nothing, I look at Auri.

She huffs. “Freedom is a greater treasure than anything inside this tomb. The moment Queen Orla’s heart stops beating, we’ll have it.”

“Perhaps, but at the cost of Desmond’s heart stopping, too.” I force my shoulders to rise in a blithe shrug, but I feel so far from cheerful that it’s laughable. I heft my pack over my shoulder and stride toward the doorway that leads to the chasm, leaving them behind me. I won’t stop them from using the bridge when I fix it, but the sooner I can go home, the better.

Everything hurts. My head, my body, and worst of all, my heart.

Chapter 44

Min waits for us atop the barrow, over a hundred braided strands of grass littered around her. “How did it go?” she asks. Her black eyes scan us, taking in our wounds and torn clothes, but worst of all, our surly moods. “Apparently not well. You did all survive, though. That must suffice as a minor cause for celebration.”

“I’ll be celebrating,” I grumble. “With a full night’s sleep and a drink.”

“You won’t be celebrating come morning,” Finnian says. “The drinks at the inn are as unsavory to your body as they taste to your tongue. Learned that the hard way.”

“Did you find Olin’s treasure?” Min asks me.

“We found it, alright.” I roll my eyes. “But we only got out with half of it, thanks to those three. If they hadn’t⁠—”

Auri stomps on my foot.

“Hey!” I shove my shoulder into hers.

“Oh, my bad. I’ll watch where I’m stepping.” Her pointed glare tells me one thing: Min doesn’t know, and the fae don’t want her to.

Since Finnian was in on it, I really thought that Min would be, too. The realization is a warm spark of kinship with Min. We’ve both been misled. But the warmth withers as soon as I realize what it means. I have to lie to her. I made a promise not to tell anyone, and that includes Min.

Damn promises. Damn secrets.

Min blinks. “If they had not what?”

“If they hadn’t triggered a trap, the treasure room wouldn’t have flooded,” I lie. It doesn’t sound believable. I’m too bitter to put any conviction behind it.

“Unless we want to camp here for the night, we need to get going,” Desmond says.

I hadn’t noticed we only have an hour or two of daylight left. The last thing I want to do is sit inside the barrow and stew in my thoughts. “Let’s go to Vekhara. If you can handle the walk, Min.”

She nods, so we start our trek down the hill’s spiraling steps.

No one says much on our walk through the necropolis, the towering mounds to the west blocking out the rays of the sun. I shiver. It’s already colder here than Nettlerock, but winter is approaching, too. I’m lagging behind the others, my head pounding from the exhaustion of my magic. They’re far enough ahead now that Finnian’s bumbling story is just a blur of sounds, though less animated than usual.

Their spilled secret has cleaved a gaping wound between us all.