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Finn snickered at me but rubbed the chain with his fingertips as though it were the most precious thing in the world. And was heblushing?
“I really shouldn’t—”
I hushed him, “Yes, youshould. It’s a gift, Finn. You look as though no one has ever given you one.”
“They haven’t,” he said, looking everywhere but at me, “Not since I was a child.”
My heart ached at the darkened expression on his face, “Come on,” I said, taking him by the hand, “Let’s go find the others, they’ll be waiting for us.”
Finn nodded, “Right,” he said, squeezing my hand, “We should go, but Liana…” he trailed off.
“Yes?”
“Thank you,” he said.
I made a noncommittal sound, trying to brush off his thanks, but he wasn’t having it.
“I mean it,” he said more forcefully, “I’ll never take it off.”
“Took you long enough,”Kade said, holding a spear almost twice his height in his left hand.
Alaric spun from where he was standing on the cliff-side, sighing in relief, a quiver of arrows and a bow slung across his back. “We were starting to worry.”
Tiernan narrowed his gaze at Finn, his focus zeroing in on Finn’s neck, “Did a little shopping, I see.”
“If you want a gift, too, all you have to do is ask,” I teased.
“Ok, I’m asking. I want one, too.”
“Done.” I winked at him, stepping up to the cliffs edge to peer over the side. Tiernan pulled me back.
“Maybe don’t lean over the edge of a hundred yard cliff, alright?”
Alaric sighed, “If you’re finished,” he said, giving Tiernan and I a pointed look, “Could we please get this over with?”
Right.None of us wanted to be there. To have to ask the Wraiths for help to find the armed forces of a Mad King who was bent on my destruction.
Godsforbid I get even a moments peace on this damned continent.
“Let’s go,” I said, and stepped into Finn’s arms with Tiernan. Kade sprinted, grabbing hold of Alaric under his arms before he dove from the cliff.
“Ready?” Finn asked, and I held tighter to Tiernan, and tighter around Finn’s waist. Nodded.
He let his body fall from the ledge, and my stomach jumped into my throat. He waited three blissful seconds before he fanned out his wings and soared over the surface of the water, chasing after his brother.
The Wraiths weren’t known to frequent many places except the fathomless deeps where they stored their treasures—though no one knew exactly where that was—but they were seen now and again near a tiny unnamed isle just a few miles from the coast. That was where we headed. Flying low under the cover of night so we didn’t draw attention to ourselves.
Alaric suggested I wait at the palace—that they could handle asking the Wraiths themselves. Thank the gods I had Finn there to back me up. The seas were vast, and yet the Wraiths had found me not once, but twice. If I was right, they could somehowsensemy presence when I was near the water. Finn agreed.
Besides, they were much more likely to aid a request if it came directly from a queen. They were an ungoverned race—without a true leader of their own. They traveled in groups, mostly.Packs.There was an alpha and a beta in each, but no one pack was superior to another. They all lived together in the chasm in the deeps.
So, though Alaric—and Kade, hated the idea.Iwas the one who’d have to do the asking.
The tiny isle came into view moments later. Nothing more than a cluster of rock, moss, and dirt, with a few shrubs and trees speckled near the center.
I swallowed, a miasmal feeling creeping over my skin at the chill in the air and the sight of the hard gray stone bathed in moonlight.
I hoped this was the right thing to do. But most of all, I hoped Finn was wrong—and the Wraiths proved it.
