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“Did you go across the bridge?” he asked quietly.
“No,” I whispered.
“Over the wall?”
“No, I haven’t left. I’veneverleft,” I choked out as he shoved his finger against my aching wound again.
At long last, his hand fell away. I dropped my tunic, and the material brushed against the raw, pounding scars. Before I could catch my breath, he grabbed my shoulders and forced me to face him. Those flashing eyes cut through me like knives. “I know you think about escape. You all do. But if you go outside the safety of this kingdom, you will die.”
He reared back his hand and smacked me in the face. Stars dotted my eyes, the force knocking me sideways. My entire vision went red, rage and helpless terror clashing together inside of me like two cresting waves. The soldier just laughed and wandered off. He’d likely forget about this encounter as soon as he turned the corner, but it imprinted on my mind. I would never forget this day, or any of the others haunted by the fae.
I was done with their viciousness, their disdain toward the mortals of Teine. There had to be something we could do. A way to fight back. A way out.
The rest of the day passed in a blur, and I went through the motions of day-to-day life in Teine. I helped Nellie finish washing the floors and then went into the fields to help my mother carry a bushel of wheat to the gates of the city. After our work was done, Val came over, and we ate a plain meal of grains and root vegetables. It was just like the day before it, and the one before that. Over and over again, nothing ever changed.
I fell asleep with the imprint of the fae’s hand on my face. And in my sleep, I called out, even if I did not realize then what I was doing. I screamed for someone to listen to me. For someone to help. Foranyoneto free us from this horrible, twisted place.
And someone answered.
Familiar woods rose up around me in my dream, the sun beaming down from a cloudless sky. Just before me stood a masked fae. He was tall and muscular with dark hair, and he wore some kind of cape around his shoulders over plain clothing.
“Who are you?” I asked, somehow knowing this was real, even if it was a dream.
He cocked his head. “Do you not know?”
“Should I?”
“Interesting.” He leaned against the nearest tree and scanned me with piercing eyes. “I’m the captain of some rebel fae living in the mists.”
His words startled me. “Rebel fae?”
“Your turn. Who are you?”
I narrowed my gaze. I didn’t trust anyone, especially not some strange rebel fae who appeared in my dreams. “I think I’ll keep that to myself.”
With a chuckle, he folded his arms. “Well, from looking at you, I can tell you’re mortal, and your tan tells me you see a lot of sun. You live in Teine. Oberon is your king. And you wish you could escape. Am I close?”
“It’s time for you to get out of my head.”
“If you live in Teine, you could help the rebels,” he countered, pushing away from the tree. “Do something for us, and you and your people will no longer have to live under Oberon’s rule.”
I stepped back, my heart pounding. “This feels like some kind of trick.”
“No trick.” He held up his gloved hands. “The rebels have no love for Oberon. You and me, we’re on the same side.”
This was completely ridiculous. I shouldn’t even be entertaining this conversation. But the ghost of the soldier’s palm still burned my cheek, reminding me of everything my village had been through in the past ten years—the pasthundredyears and more. We’d been killed. We’d been beaten. We’d had knives in our backs.
Oberon had taken my father from me.
With a shuddering breath, I lifted my chin and said, “I won’t promise to do a damn thing for you, but…tell me what you want and I’ll think about it.”
I could not see his face, but I swore he smiled. “I want you to steal his gemstones from the chasm. And then we’ll use that power to free the mortals from him forever.”
Thirty-Four
Kalen
It seemedno onewanted to dance, and I could not blame them. I’d let my fury get the better of me, and yet I would not take it back. If I hadn’t intervened, Asher would have sliced Tessa’s throat. Anger still burned in my veins at the thought of it.
