Page 65 of Hidden

The door swung open, and he glanced into the hall, turning his face toward the fresher air. The diners were drifting between tables and sharing a few last words before returning to their seats for the next course. Lila was across the room by one of the ivy-covered pillars. She was unmistakable in that sparkling cloud of gauze that passed for a dress. As Rafe watched, she cast a cautious glance over her shoulder and slipped outside.

Rafe stiffened. Why was she leaving now, in the middle of the event? Had something gone wrong?

He rejoined the huddle of servers who were waiting to pick up the next round of platters. In one smooth movement, he slid backward and picked up a clear glass decanter of ruby wine from the table to the left of the double doors. Stealing into the banquet hall, he made his way through the hall as if he meant to deliver the drink to one of the far tables. No one gave him a second glance.

Still, he had to be careful. He thought about taking a knife, but without joints of meat to cut, there weren’t any in sight that would serve as a weapon. He was taking a risk as it was.

Instead of following Lila out the same door she had used, he delivered the wine to a table in the far back corner of the hall. His return route took him past another exit that led almost directly into the woods. It was a mark of the fae’s confidence in their superior strength that there were no sentries posted at the exits. Magic would keep a prisoner like him from making an escape from the surrounding trees.

He circled through the woods until he could see the long porch where Lila stood, her hands on the rail and her face lifted to the night breeze. Rafe froze, transfixed by the graceful lines of her posture. He had seen her dancing with Farras, and she had been breathtaking then, but alone and unguarded she was even more lovely. There was no display, no artfulness, only her. It took all his willpower to shake off the spell and keep moving.

When she saw him, Lila ducked under the handrail and jumped to the grass, heedless of the three-foot drop. With a sudden burst of speed, she ran to where he stood in the trees. She grabbed his arm to break her momentum and stood close, panting hard.

“How did you know I was here?” she asked.

He shrugged. The alternative was to say something stalkerish—that he couldn’t stop looking for her, that he was always aware of where she was. There was no way to say that without sounding, well, like the big bad wolf of human tales.

“Why did you leave?” he asked instead.

She looked back toward the house, as if expecting trouble. “I am to dazzle Lord Farras into treating my family as favorites of his court.”

“That should be easy. The dazzling part, at least.” He was dazzled just standing beside her, breathing in the intoxicating perfume of her skin. It acted on him like a happy-making drug. He shouldn’t feel that way about a fae, but he couldn’t help it.

She turned back to him, her gray eyes the shade of smoldering ash. “He might have magic and power enough to seduce half the light fae this side of the Summerlands, but I would rather he forgot my existence.”

Lila started down a path that led deeper into the trees, her arms swinging with determined energy. Rafe followed, not sure what was coming next.

“I take it you disagree with your mother and brother about the value of his favor?” he asked tentatively.

She shrugged. “I question whether someone like Farras would truly value an ally who bought their place in his court by hurling their daughter at his feet.”

“That’s not an uncommon way of striking a bargain, from what I hear,” Rafe replied. “Not just among the fae.”

She stopped, turning to face him. “It’s ridiculous. Regardless of my feelings, there’s no guarantee he would keep a promise, dance and smile as I may. I don’t want to know him, much less accept his gifts.”

Lila pulled out the gem-studded combs that held her hair and tossed them to the ground with a gesture of disgust. The long, pale mass of braids and curls tumbled free.Rafe’s fingers twitched, aching to touch it, to bury his nose in the silk and drink in her essence.

“That’s why I asked you to meet me,” she went on. “Mother wants me to court him and spy on him at the same time.”

“What?” Rafe’s chin jerked up, as if she’d hit him. “What parent does that?”

“She has her reasons,” Lila said quickly. “He’s made threats. But I can’t stay. I tried to play the game like she asked, but it’s not in me. I need to leave. Find help. Somewhere. Somehow.”

Leave. The word hit Rafe like a punch to his chest. She’d believed his story and shielded him from the other fae. She’d even become a partner in his quest for the truth of what happened to his pack. But now he realized there was so much more—she’d become the reason he’d endured this captivity. A bottomless void opened up inside him, even as he admitted she was wise to run.

“I will find help for you and your wolves,” Lila said softly. “Fae of good conscience won’t stand for what’s going on here.”

She drew a long chain from around her neck—so long that most of it hid beneath the neckline of her gown. It was fine, the angles of the links designed to catch the light. Now Rafe saw it held a tiny key. She unlocked the silver cuffs from his wrists, letting them fall to the ground beside the combs Farras had given her.

The surge of his natural power warmed Rafe like a shot of strong liquor. Light-headed, he planted his feet wider on the forest loam. Even rubbing his wrists to chase away the ghost of the chains challenged his balance.

Lila grasped his hands in hers. “I know you can’t leave the forest, but maybe you can hide until I bring help.”

Now he could hide, he could shift, and he could fight. He’d survived missions with less on his side. “Thank you.”

He studied her for a long moment, seeing only Lila, only the woman trying to be true to herself. She’d freed him because she couldn’t ignore what was right. Like him, she wasn’t an easy pack member, always challenging the rules, however much she loved her kin. She deserved his understanding, and whatever help he could give.

“You need to go.” He squeezed her hands. “If what you say is true, Farras won’t appreciate being abandoned in the middle of dinner.”

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