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He doesn’t say anything in response. I know he heard me. His nostrils flare, his flawless features getting a kind of pinched look, but he stays quiet.
And I’m suddenly positive that my wild guess is spot-on. It makes too much sense for it not to be.
“No. I’m right. You… you’re the one who’s been helping Rys.”
I think back to the night when I heard Rys whispering with one of the guards. I didn’t recognize who it was, but, hey, it could’ve been Saxon. And then there’s the way he persuaded Dusk to put me in my original cell in the first place. They’d made it seem like it was just another way to taunt Rys, but was it really?
Plus, he’s here. There’s no denying that. He’s here, waiting where Rys is supposed to be, and he has the apples that Rys warned him that I might need.
“Why would you help him?” I blurt out. “Help us?”
“Rys knows why. I’d tell you to ask your questions to him, but…” Saxon pushes his chair away from the table before getting to his feet. It’s a clear signal that our talk is over. And if I want to continue it… yeah. That’s
pretty clear, too, when he adds, “Come with me, Elle. It would be a mistake if you refused. I can tell you more about Rys if you follow me. If you don’t… believe me when I tell you that you won’t last the night.”
That’s all I need to hear really. The promise of learning more about Rys and his motives has me halfway out of my seat, but the reminder that the seemingly friendly faces inside of the inn are just waiting for me to slip up before they pounce has me ready to snag his cloak so he can’t leave me behind.
“Um. I should probably apologize. For the apple core. I didn’t mean to hit you in the head.”
“I’m certain you didn’t. Now follow behind me. Keep no more than a few steps between us. Don’t speak until I tell you you can.”
I have half a mind to flip him the bird once his back is turned. He didn’t say I couldn’t do that. But, since he seems so serious, I settle on agreeing with a soft sound before following directly in his path.
I thought we were heading right outside where it was private. Nope. Saxon leads me on a hike through the woods, moving at a blistering pace. It reminds me of our race through Siúcra’s back hallways, only then Rys kept peeking behind him to make sure I was still with him. Saxon doesn’t seem to care if he loses me or not.
It seems like forever before he slows down, slipping between a column of long, narrow trees that guard an open clearing. It’s so out in the middle of the forest that I’m betting no one will hear us.
Just in case, I wait for the guard to give me some sign that it’s safe. Which he does when he waves at the empty space and asks me, “What do you see?”
I don’t see anything.
Grass?
Dirt?
More trees?
I shake my head.
“Look closer.”
This is weird. I don’t know what he thinks I’m supposed to see, but I squint and shrug. “There’s nothing here. Is there supposed to be?”
“Here. Take this. It might help.”
Saxon pulls something from inside his cloak. He holds out a rock, gesturing for me to offer him my hand. He’s careful not to brush against me as he drops it into my waiting palm.
“What’s this?”
“A seeing stone. It’s charmed to help those without the sight look through glamour. See the hole in the middle of the stone? Lift it to your gaze and stare right through it. You might just see what’s really there.”
I’ve learned better than to second guess the magic in Faerie. I lift the stone up to my face, squinting one eye so that I’m focusing with the other.
An instant later, I gasp.
He’s right. I… I see.
At first, there’s a whisper of something small. Tiny winged creatures—the quintessential fairy—flutter about a foot off the grass. As I watch, though, the scene changes. The tiny critters start to stretch, start to grow, until they’re taller than I am.
