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Consider how you feel with her. She makes you feel complete.
Feeling strange is precisely why you shouldn’t trust her.
I gritted my teeth and shook my head to stall the endless worrying. Lira released me, taking a step away, and I longed to ask her to stay, to allow me to keep an arm around her. Instead, I returned my attention to the letter Elisa had sent. I swallowed hard as I released the scroll and it disappeared with a burst of glittering magic that caused Lira to jump again before asking, “Is everything okay?”
I scratched my forehead. “Another issue. This is normal though. Every mission has bumps.”
Every mission didn’t have some metal that could undo fae powers, though.
Every mission didn’t have the sense of uncertainty that wove through Elisa’s words.
Something wasn’t right there, and I needed to check in with her as soon as we reconvened. This job had to go through, but the well-being of my team mattered more. I snapped my hand out for another thrush, grabbed the quill and tapped it against my chin. To trust Lira or not to trust her? I sighed and scribbled off a quick reply that I’d received the letter and added additional changes to the plan before sending a second missive to Luz.
“There’s something I should tell you about the Naga.” I forced myself to shift thoughts as we wove through the dark rain-soaked forms of the trees. Lira curled her fingers around mine and I clasped her hand without thinking about it. Touching her felt so right, like the purest note of a song I’d never hear again. I never wanted her to leave me, to exist in some country other than the one I lived in.
If her story was true, she wished to go to Madalia where they only allowed humans. My magic was too strong to be subdued by any jewel. I wondered if Lira’s was now, too. Her powers had surely grown in the years since she’d returned. I hadn’t mentioned that possibility to her because there was no benefit to discouraging her. Her magic was incredibly strong.And elemental.That whisper of doubt curled through my mind again.
“What about the Naga?” Lira asked.
“He speaks in your mind. Whatever he does, remember it’s all an illusion.”
She shrank down, her shoulders curling towards her ears. “He’ll speak to me too?”
I tightened my grip and moved closer, so our arms brushed. “He’ll likely speak to both of us at the same time. He can hold hundreds of conversations at once. You’re right beside me, though, whatever happens. It’s not real.”
She licked her lips. Maybe I should have left her at the cabin for her sake, but I wasn’t sure I trusted her enough for that. Also, I’d throw my body in front of hers to spare her from harm. The warring emotions made me want to scream. We reached the river, and I released her hand to drop my pack and pull the bundle of treats out. The river had swollen several feet higher than the previous day, swallowing the muddy bank and washing out over the grass.
The water darkened, its rippling form glistening in the light of the rising sun, before it parted and the Naga rose, droplets trickling down his bare, tawny chest. The intricate forms of tattoos whirled around his sculpted body and the end of his ebony braid rested on his shoulder, breaking one pattern.
The first time I’d met him, I’d found him attractive.
Proof enough that I was a fool who never learned.
Here I was, once again attracted to someone just as deadly and being drawn into her web with minimal hesitations. Goddess I was an idiot.
I bowed, and Lira followed my lead, ducking so that her hair tumbled over her shoulder, revealing the smooth form of her neck. When I rose, I no longer stood at her side on the banks of the river at sunrise. My feet squelched into the silt of the bottom of the river as my clothing flowed in the water. It always sent a pulse of panic through me to take my first breath in this vision, and the Naga grinned as he coiled the lower half of his snake body against a rock. “You had me waiting for you yesterday, fairy.”
I bowed again. “Forgive me. We had delays.”
He snatched the sack of treats and pulled a piece of kaju katli out, twirling the diamond shape of the cake in his hand before popping it into his mouth, closing his eyes, and chewing slowly. “Mmm. My one weakness.”
“Sweets?”
“Fairy foods. And the Prasanna palace has the finest chefs. Pity the Seelie, fairy, they suffer.”
My fingers curled into fists. I would never pity the Seelie. I hoped their food tasted as desperate and miserable as their entire fucking court was.
The Naga chuckled. “You fairies and your whims and wishes.”
I took a long breath to steady myself. “Forgive me. I mean no disrespect.”
“You wouldn’t when you have something you wish to ask of me, would you?”
He tucked his hand back into the sack, bubbles flittering around him with the motion, and I took the opening. “I must retrieve Prince Shaan’s zevar from the Seelie.”
“You meanstealthe zevar.”
“You know theystoleit first.”
