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“Kade went to find the Draconian who tried to take Liana. And Finn is recovering.”
“He’s alive?”
Alaric’s jaw tightened, “Yes.”
It was then I noticed Thana was fully dressed, her hair wound in a sleek knot at the base of her skull—not in her night clothes as she would have been if she’d only just awoken. “Where were you?” I asked her, unable to help myself.
Her lips parted, closed, and then parted again, “I was in my chambers,” she drawled, “I can’t believe I didn’t hear all the commotion when the attack happened. I must’ve been sound asleep,” she finished in a rush.
I wanted to believe her, truly, I did—but Thana was a terrible liar, and had a habit of talking alternatingly slow and then fast when she told a false truth. I said no more, keeping the observation to myself. She deserved her privacy as much as anyone.
“I’m going to go be with Finn,” I told Thana and Alaric, tired and confused and frustrated, wanting nothing more than to be alone with my thoughts, “Come and get me when Kade returns.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Kade didn’t return until well after sunrise, but by then, Alaric was too relieved to see him swoop down onto the terrace to be angry. But I wasn’t, “He said be back before dawn, you inconsiderate oaf!” I had been staring at the terrace for hours, wringing the hem of my shirt until the threads frayed. I shoved him in the chest, hard, and he didn’t even have the decently to feign injury.
“Worried about me?” he asked with a cocky grin I’d have liked to slap right off his smug face.
“Find him?” Alaric asked, but it was obvious he hadn’t.
Kade shook his head, “I picked up his scent in the forest, but I lost it near the foothills of the pass.”
“The Wastes?”
“It’s the only place he’d have been going.”
Finn turned onto his side, wincing. He looked much better. Most of the color had returned to his face, and the bruising had faded. The healer needed to rest and replenish herself but would be back to finish mending his knee when she awoke. “There’s nothing out there,” Finn said, still groggy.
“That we know of,” I said, and the three males shared a thoughtful look.
Alaric’s eyes widened, “The Fae who have been going missing—their scents stopped at the same place, didn’t it?”
Kade nodded, a grave shadow passing over his features.
“Send Jarrod and Quill to check it out,” Alaric said to Kade with a dismissive wave of his hand. Jarrod and Quill were the other two sentries Alaric had chosen to join his retinue. I met them only for a moment before he sent them off to take over shadowing Edris and Selbi two days ago. Tiernan hadn’t accepted my offer of a personal guard, and said he’d be alright on his own.
“Into the Wastes?”
“That’s where the trail ended, isn’t it?” Alaric retorted, stating the obvious. Kade clenched his jaw, muttering something about a waste of time, but left the way he came in to fulfill his captain’s orders.
“I never thanked you,” Finn said when I sat beside him on the bed. He had the covers pulled back, revealing his bare chest. Now free of bruises, the tan skin shone in the light of the rising sun, playing with the contours of his dormant muscle. “I don’t know how you managed to pull me out of the water, but you did. I owe you a debt.”
My eyes pricked at the sentiment in his voice, “You owe me nothing,” I told him, wrapping my hand around one of his, still icy cold, but whether from the ordeal with the water, or from his Grace, I wasn’t sure. “And it wasn’t only me who saved you. Kade is the one you should thank, and the wraiths helped too.”
“Wraiths?” Alaric asked, cocking his head, his brows pulled together. Finn held the same confused stare.
My lips pursed, “I don’t understand it. They tried to drown me only weeks ago, but they were there last night, below the water. They pushed Finn into my arms. I may not have been able to grab hold of him if they hadn’t helped. We owe them our thanks.”
Finn blew out a breath, “I never liked those creatures. And I liked them even less when I heard about the incident you had at sea… But if you think I owe them my thanks, I’ll give credit where its due. I’ll leave them an offering.” Wraiths were known to horde pearl and gemstones. It was said in their domain at the deepest part of the sea, was a treasure trove large enough to rival the one in my own palace.
I pulled a necklace of black pearl and silver from a long drawer in my dressing table and handed it to Finn. “Give them this,” I told him.
He twirled the strand of pearls between his fingers, each one shining with deepest blue and purple when they caught the light just right. He chuckled, “I was thinkingonepearl would be sufficient.”
“Your life is worth more than all the pearls in this palace, Finn. It’s a trinket. You know how I loathe jewelry, anyway.”
Alaric stood at the foot of the bed, shaking his head, “Something doesn’t add up. The wraiths wouldn’t try to harm you and thenhelpyou.”
