AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Even having that thought made me scoot closer to Wey’s side and wrap my arm around his strong biceps so I could keep him close. He turned and shot me a very small smile before he went back to staring out the carriage window with his typical stoic expression.
The carriage slowed to a stop, and Kasper opened the door, letting himself out. Wey went to follow, but paused and said over his shoulder, “You should stay here.”
I glared at him. “I’m coming with you.”
“Nica.” He sighed. “I don’t want you getting hurt. If there’s some kind of mage spell on the chest, I don’t want it hitting you.”
“Yeah? Well, I don’t want you getting hurt, either. So either we both stay, or we both go, but you’re sure as shit not going without me.”
His shoulders tensed, and I could hear him grinding his teeth. “Fine.” He got out of the carriage, shifted into his winged form, and jumped on top of the carriage’s roof before I could respond.
Rolling my eyes at his dramatics, I grabbed the bag of keys I’d left on the floor and got out to watch Kasper and Wey untie the chest. Once it was free, they lifted it into the air, flying the thing between them. I followed on foot and met them at least five hundred paces away from the rest of our convoy.
The two of them were staring at the chest like they could open it with only their minds. I’d watched them try to pry the thing open while I was still jogging to catch up—I wasn’t as fast on two feet as I was on four paws.
“Here,” I said, holding the keys out to them. “Try these.”
“Ah, perfect. Thank you, Nica,” Kasper said, taking the keys from me.
It took a while, but he finally found one that fit.
“Get behind me, tiger,” Wey said, pushing me back and protecting me with his wings. His wings were more flexible than I’d realized—I was standing at Wey’s back, and they encased me, the tips of his wings touching to keep me inside them.
Even though I wanted to see what was going on, I let Wey have this. I stepped close to his back, placing my hands on the base of his wings, then leaned in to kiss the back of his neck gently. One wing rubbed my arm in response, and I smiled against his skin while I waited.
Kasper unlocked the chest—I could hear it click—and a moment later, a rush of energy flowed over us, pushing Wey back a few steps. I went with him since I was behind him. The magic smelled even stronger of Florin, and it made me gasp. Why the hell did this chest smell like him? Had he been here? Before he’d been sold to House Natas, maybe? That… didn’t make much sense, but nothing else I came up with did, either.
Luckily, the magic only lasted a few seconds, although the scent of Florin lingered in the air.
“Are you okay?” I asked Wey.
“Yeah, it didn’t hurt.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me, then I pushed his wing and said, “Let me out.”
With a huff, Wey moved his wings so I could step around him and see what was going on.
Kasper kneeled beside the chest, staring at its contents, so I moved forward. Wey came with me, both of us taking a spot around the open chest.
My eyes widened. Inside, there were more gemstones than I’d ever seen in my life. We’d risked our lives for… jewels? I’d thought we were going to find something useful in this chest, something that could help us fight back. We had no use for jewels in the Resistance. Well, unless we sent someone into a kingdom to trade them for weapons and more armor.
“Fuck,” Wey muttered. “What the hell are we going to do with jewels?” He was clearly having the same thoughts as me.
But Kasper smiled widely when he looked my gargoyle in the eye. “They aren’t jewels, Weylyn. They’re amulets.”
I… I had no idea what that meant.
“What does that mean?” Wey asked, and I wanted to snort but held it in.
Kasper clapped us both on the shoulder. “It means we have a way to keep a mage from using their magic.”
Wey and I both glanced back at the jewels—amulets. I asked, “Those things are magic?”
Kasper nodded. “Yes, but not mage magic. They’re fae.”
My eyes widened, and I turned to Wey, seeing the same surprise written on his face. Fae… the fae were real? I’d thought they were only a fairytale told to children.
Wey cleared his throat. “Are you telling me that fae are real?”
