AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You will get to attend as a normal girl one day,” Leap said. “That’s why we’re doing this, right?”
“Well… yeah,” Mavlyn said, though privately she was still unsure. “But I’ll probably be older than the other first-year students, and I won’t fit in as well.”
“Fitting in is overrated,” Emelie said, tossing a curl over her shoulder. “Besides, activists go hand-in-hand with universities, so you’ll fit right in here.”
She winked, and Mavlyn cracked a smile. But as her friend led them into the campus café, she couldn’t help feeling nervous.
“Emelie,” a handsome male said, rising from a couch by the window to greet them. He was lanky, with long, jet-black hair and skin nearly as dark. His eyes were a startling jade green against all that inky blackness, and his white teeth flashed as he smiled at them. “Are these your friends?”
“Yes.” Emelie gave him a peck on the cheek, then turned to introduce them. “This is my boyfriend, Roylan. Roylan, this is Mavlyn, my childhood friend, and her friend, Leap.”
Roylan invited Leap and Mavlyn to sit with him, and they explained in low voices what they were trying to accomplish. Roylan listened intently, interrupting to ask questions every so often, and when they were finished, his expression was downright grim.
“To be honest, I was a little suspicious when I heard the reports that all the shadow creatures had disappeared,” Roylan said when they’d finished. “It seemed too convenient, and I would have thought the Houses would want to make peace and negotiate, rather than going to war after the losses all three realms have sustained over the years. The idea that the Shadow behind all this is stirring the tensions shines a light on the true nature behind what is going on here… and also gives me hope that we lesser fae might be able to do something about it, rather than just blindly follow the Greater Fae as we have always done.”
“Does that mean you’re going to help us spread the word?” Mavlyn asked, hope rising in her for the first time since she and Quye had parted ways.
“Of course,” Roylan said. “I’m president of the Earth Guardians Club, and my sister Tulia is the editor of the Talamh Tribune. I’m sure she would be delighted to print an article about this, and you can come speak at the next club meeting to see who else we can recruit for the cause.”
“The Talamh Tribune?” Emelie asked, a little nervous. “Roylan, are you sure that’s wise? Nearly three-thousand people read that paper every week. Word will get back to Lady Mossi quickly if we publish an article.”
“We don’t need to run it right away,” Roylan argued, “but time is of the essence. As Mavlyn said, General Slaugh has already struck the first blow in water fae territory—it’s only a matter of time before they retaliate. There are already rumors circulating that a general draft of university fae is imminent, so now is the time to let the students know the truth before they agree to fight a war that’s going to doom us all.”
“I would almost rather publish an article anonymously in the paper than speak to your club,” Mavlyn said. “The last time I tried to speak publicly about this, my fellow villagers tried to arrest me. I had to make a run for it.”
“That won’t happen here,” Roylan said. “I can’t promise that all the members will believe or agree with you, but I’ll be there to make sure you’re given a fair hearing.”
“Come on.” Leap nudged Mavlyn in the ribs when she hesitated. “This is what we wanted, right?”
“It is,” Mavlyn agreed. She squared her shoulders and met Roylan’s stare. “I’ll be at the meeting,” she promised.
She just hoped she would walk out of it in one piece.
16
Adara
“Are you seriously feeling guilty right now?”
I raked a hand through my hair as I paced the main chamber in the suite the High Priestess had given us to sleep in tonight. She had ordered her attendants to fetch our meager belongings from the inn—we couldn’t risk going back there tonight, not when we were wanted by the Crocodile God priests.
“I know I shouldn’t,” I said, staring into the fire. “But I can’t help feeling like I just betrayed the dragons by outing them to the High Priestess last night.” I bit my lip. “I wish there had been a way to get her to help us without exposing the truth about them.”
Quye huffed. “Not unless you wanted to get zapped by a moonbeam,” she said. “I almost told a lie just to see what would happen, but the moment the words formed on my tongue, my skin started heating up. I probably would have lost all my arm hair last night if I’d kept going."
I snorted. “What a tragedy that would have been.”
“Thank you.” Quye sniffed. “I’m glad you agree.”
I resisted the urge to smack her on the shoulder.
We retired to bed not long after that, but I remained up for a long time, tossing and turning and wrestling with my conscience. What would Einar think if he knew what had transpired? Would he be angry with me for exposing the dragons’ fraudulent behavior? I wished he could have come with me—my encounter with that dragon in the garden would have gone very differently if Einar had been by my side. But it wasn’t as if I’d tried to make an enemy of him. In fact, I’d done my best to convince him we were kith. He just hadn’t been willing to listen to reason.
Then again, neither had Einar,I reminded myself. I was pretty sure that if the mating bond hadn’t stopped him, he would have killed me on sight. Had it really only been a few months since I’d stumbled upon his stone form in that tower ruin and accidentally broken the sleeping enchantment Kiryan had placed upon him?
I miss you,I thought, closing my eyes and reaching for the bond. It was thin and fragile as gossamer, but I tried to push the thought down it anyway, hoping he would get the message. The hollow ache in my chest pulsed, and I curled into myself, trying to hold on to someone who wasn’t there.
I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, but I could have sworn phantom arms slipped around my waist from behind.I miss you too,a voice whispered, and that was the last thing I remembered before I fell asleep.
