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That was what would have happened to the girl. All beforehehad reached a hand, wrapped his slender fingers around my wrist, and stopped me.
I had never felt anything like it. A decade with only feeling the cold and yet I could feel the boy’s warmth as though he still held me.
“He touched you,” Myrinn repeated for the umpteenth time since returning to our realm. I sensed her own want to try. My sister, kind and glowing like a star, always hoping for the best for everyone.
“Don’t.” I pulled back before her fingers could move another inch towards me.
The rest of my relatives whispered with caution as guards came and swept their humans from them. I could see the confusion creased across the humans’ faces as they overheard the commotion that lasted a moment as they were removed from the room.
“Queen Claria must hear of this immediately,” Frila said. Was that panic I heard beneath her tone?
“Hold your tongue,” Myrinn snapped, turning her attention upon our youngest sister. “Until we understand what has occurred there will be nothing to report. As much as you do enjoy the chaos, little sister, I demand that you keep silent about this.”
I should have told Myrinn that I did not require her help to fight my battles. It had been years since I had even seen her last and I had done fine coping without her.
“For now,” Gildir added, seemingly the most unbothered by the display.
“The Choosing is over,” I reminded them all. “What has happened can be forgotten. It makes no difference for I have still returned empty-handed.”
As I spoke, I could not stop the wheels turning in my mind. The entrance to Tithe waited behind me. I would have until nightfall to visit and return before the veil between our worlds sealed, if only to see him again and inspect his halo of life, to find the answers as to why he could resist the death my touch granted.
How? Why? Only two of the many questions that swam within my pulsing mind.
My relatives, as powerful as they each were, would not notice if I melted into the shadows. They had no domain over the darkness, not like I.
I retreated to the quiet chamber within my soul and waited for the conversation to end. With great effort, I forced a smile at Myrinn, who looked back at me with motherly concern that was almost similar to pity. She then turned with the rest and left me alone.
Perhaps I had decided upon my actions before I truly realised.
Impatient and starved for that warmth once again, I slipped into the shadows, pressed through the base of the Great Tree of Nyssa and entered Tithe with my sights and desires focused on finding the boy again.
Arlo.
7
Iwas being followed as I weaved through the bustling streets of Tithe like a mouse. No matter if I stopped and looked blatantly around, or briefly glanced over my shoulder, there was no one there to see.
I narrowed my stare, searching through the shadows of shops, homes and alleyways, just to find the owner of the eyes that caused prickles across the back of my neck.
Still, there wasn’t anyone noticeable.
Continuing through the narrowed side streets of Tithe was my best option. Tired, old buildings leaned on either side of the crooked passageways. The shadow they cast across the cobbled path was dense. With my hood up and quick feet, I kept pace.
Dameon likely had a price for my head after what I had done. It was best to stay clear from him until things died down.If they ever did. Yes, not all of the fey-kind had left with a Chosen, but four of them did. That was better than nothing. Surely, they would see sense and not punish Tithe for what I had done.
The tickling sensation didn’t cease. It continued to flirt with me, spreading goosebumps across any exposed skin it could find. At one point, seemingly alone in the back alleys of Tithe’s outer reaches, I almost stopped and shouted for the person to reveal themselves.Seeing sense that I was likely crazed, I kept my head down and my feet quick.
I reached Tom’s house to find it empty. The dusty windows were dark and there was not a sound of life from within. I sagged, back pressed against the paint-worn door with the perfect balance of relief and disappointment. He would have likely still been thrown into the throngs of what little festivities were left.
It was not the best choice for me to wait for him to return. So I went to the only place I knew I was welcome.
The Wall.
I needed a distraction, and the ancient oaks couldn’t provide that, but it was my only option. I couldn’t return home to Auriol, not yet. Perhaps things would have cooled down by the rise of tomorrow’s dawn. Until then I would have to wait and play out our argument over and over in my head.
Since I had left Tom’s house, I had not felt the presence following me. It was easy to push it to the back of my mind when I had far too much to worry about.
I sat beneath the trees at the edges of Tithe’s boundary, hidden beneath the foliage from the towering wall and the Watchers who paraded across it. When evening arrived, I would return to Tom and allow him to divert my mind from my reality.
