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“It’s not your call to make!” Sharing my strength with Evelyn made me weak. After all the fighting and the torture and the running, I wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer.
“It’s not yours, either!”
“You don’t understand. We owe her our lives. Just help me,” I begged. “Please?”
“I can’t believe you. You’ve spent too long among the humans. You’ve lost your mind. She’s just a girl. In a hundred years, you won’t even remember she exists.”
I growled, deep and low, in my chest. “You have no idea what she did to save us. You don’t get to decide her fate.”
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll help you get her upstairs. Then we’re calling Fiona to settle this.” She crossed over to Evelyn’s other side and helped me lift her. I stumbled and nearly blacked out as I pushed up onto my feet.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You look like hell.”
“It’s been a long night.”
17
I woke upin my room at my aunt’s house staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. The events of the past few days came rushing back to me. I threw the duvet off and sat up, ready to search my body for wounds and bruising to prove that I hadn’t been dreaming. Dizziness made my vision blur and my head swim. I wobbled, and a strong, dark-skinned arm reached out to steady me. I looked up and met the round brown eyes of a beautiful woman with twisted hair sticking up in short spikes.
“Hello, Evelyn.” She knew my name, but I was certain I’d never seen her before.
“Do I know you?” I asked.
She laughed. “Not yet, though I hope we’ll have a chance to get to know each other better. But first, why don’t you lie down again. Your injuries required quite a bit of healing, and I’m afraid you’re not yet ready to jump out of bed.”
I reclined on my elbows and she pulled the duvet up over me. Then she propped some pillows behind me so we could talk without me straining myself.
“Is Liam okay?” I asked. “And Aunt Vivian and Uncle Oscar?”
“Yes,” she said. “Everyone is well and asking after you. Especially Liam.” She smiled. “But you needed time to heal, and I wanted to have a chat with you before I let the others in.”
I blinked at her and tried to remember what had happened after Liam and I had returned.
“My name is Fiona,” she said.
“You’re Liam’s cousin.”
“Yes,” she replied. “Liam told me what happened with Lord Edric. It sounds like I have much to thank you for.”
“I just—”
“You were very brave, and quick thinking, and helped to put an end to a great enemy of my people. You may have even helped to end a war, though only time will tell that, I’m afraid.”
“Liam said—”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Liam told you that you’d have to die when we found out you know our secrets. That is our way.”
My eyes widened. Had she come to kill me? Would she have let me live just to kill me?
“I am, however, willing to make an exception for you,” she said. “I can see how much you mean to my cousin. He cares for you a great deal. I know he thinks our troubles are over now that the Wild Hunt has ended. But I need him by my side to help me rebuild.”
I didn’t say anything. I worried that, if I spoke, I might say the wrong thing and she might change her mind about letting me live.
“But,” she continued, “if I let you live, I can’t have you out in the world knowing what you know. You’ll need to decide. You can either give up Liam, and I’ll erase your memories of the past few days, or you can accept a place in the Court as one of my Sworn, and I will grant you immortality.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but she held up her hand to stop me.
