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“Is any of this making it clearer for you?”
Yes, actually. But Carolina doesn’t need to know that.
“Not really.”
“It will. It has to.” After carefully folding the note again, she slips it into her jeans pocket. “Besides, it doesn’t matter now. It’s not important. We’re both in the human world together. The Fae Queen never leaves Faerie so, as long as we stay on this side, we can figure this out. The only thing is that the Shadow… that you have to defeat Melisandre. And I’ll do whatever you want me to do to help.”
Wait a second. Hold on. Who said anything about me signing up to kill the Fae Queen? I can barely fight off a Light Fae who’s going easy on me because he’s sure we’re supposed to be bonded or something like that. How am I supposed to be able to defeat their queen?
I don’t care what the prophecy says. Not gonna happen.
“What if I don’t want your help?” I shoot back. “Who says I even want to see the Fae Queen? I definitely don’t want to kill her. Let her stay queen. She’s not hurting me.”
“Now.”
“What?”
“She’s not hurting you now,” Carolina whispers. “And that’s only because a human girl is beneath her notice unless she decides to play with you. And, trust me, you won’t like her games. But you’re not a human anymore, are you?”
My hand lifts up to my new fae ear, the leather smoothing down the pointed tip.
Shit.
I’ve been hoping that, if I forgot about them, they might’ve gotten better.
Nope.
“Carolina—”
“Please.” Her voice drops even lower. I can barely hear the single word as she looks up at me, meeting my gaze straight-on. Tears well in her big, dark eyes, shining in the moonlight. “As long as Melisandre is queen, I’m trapped. Maybe not inside of Black Pine, but I’m still trapped. You’re my only hope.”
Ah, hell. I feel like I’ve kicked a defenseless puppy.
I know what’s it like to be trapped, too. In my foster homes, the kids’ homes, the asylum… this is the first time in my life that I’m on my own, and even now I’m still looking over my shoulder, running from the fae—and my past.
Maybe coming back to this house—actually sneaking inside like I used to do when I was a kid—is messing me up more than I thought it would. Normally, I wouldn’t even bat my eyes at that puppy dog awful look she’s giving me.
Now, though?
Part of me wants to throw open the door and tell her to go. The other part? It wonders if maybe I’ve been looking at this all wrong. You can only run for so long before someone eventually catches up. But if being the Shadow and accepting that the stupid Shadow Prophecy is something bigger than I am means that I can maybe do something to free Carolina, who knows? Maybe I can free myself at the same time.
I failed Madelaine. Carolina thinks that I can help her.
Sure, I can’t even help myself half the time, but I might as well try.
“Okay. Fine. Whatever. I’m not about to start planning how to kill the Fae Queen or nothing, but if you think I can do something to help you with your fae problem, I’ll try. No promises—”
Carolina starts toward me. I go stiff and, sensing my discomfort, she holds up her hands. “I won’t hug you, Riley. I really, really want to, but you’d hate it, and I’m not about to push my luck.”
“Thanks.” I let out a huge sigh of relief. “Appreciate it.”
10
All I want to do is go to sleep. After promising her that we could talk more in the morning, I realize that she’s too hyped up to want to leave me alone just yet. Too bad. I either need food or sleep, and since Carolina is, well, Carolina, sleep is my only option.
When she immediately tries to convince me that I need to leave the empty house, trade it for someplace safer, I start to regret being such a soft touch.
I mean, her arguments make total sense. Not gonna deny that. I’m technically squatting, and what’ll happen if the realtor comes by or a neighbor notices that the for sale sign is gone? Since I’m still hiding the fact that, no matter how long it’s been, I’m a fugitive from the asylum, I’m really pushing my luck, hoping that the cops don’t find me hiding out here.
