Page 42 of Faerie Trials

I tugged my pain around me like a garment, ignoring the bright spots of blood dotting the snow and praying none of them were mine. It took my mentor a long time to answer me, her butter-yellow hair looking dull. My gaze dropped to the arm she cradled against her and the smoke rising from the wound on her arm.

She stared at me with her mouth halfway open, as though she couldn’t find the words. Bronwen limped over and stood next to me.

“What’s wrong with her?” Bronwen asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

We stood for a moment longer, our breaths combining in a single white mist in front of our faces. It didn’t look like Juno was even breathing, but I knew she was an air elemental. Things might be different for her. Then there was the smoke.

“I don’t like the look of this. She needs help. Is there any place we can take her? Like a Faerie version of a hospital?”

Bronwen nodded shakily. “There is. Not like we have in the mortal world, but there is a building where the healers gather and tend to the sick. They’ll know how to help her,” she said.

Okay, think. I had to think even when my mind was in spirals. What happened, and what was the plan?

Juno must have gotten injured before Bronwen and I showed up. If we were able, we should take her to the hospital before anyone came to see about the commotion. We were running on the fumes of luck already.

“Okay,” I said to Bronwen, scratching the top of my head and wincing. “You know where this place is? If you’re able to get Juno there, I’ll stay here and clean up. There’s blood everywhere and we don’t need the authorities figuring out the types of creatures who were fighting here tonight.”

“That’s a lot of work. And she doesn’t know me. She won’t trust me. You take her and I’ll stay behind.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t know where I’m going.”

“But you’ll have a better excuse if someone sees you together, since you know each other. Trust me,” Bronwen insisted. Her brown eyes looked like they were on fire. “I can take care of this. I’ve been maintaining a shield around us anyway.”

She had? No wonder we hadn’t attracted an audience.

I didn’t have a choice. With the next step mapped out, and comprehensive directions on how to get to the Faerie hospital, I looped my arm underneath Juno’s uninjured shoulder and gingerly stepped out of the courtyard, supporting her even as my own muscles screamed for rest.

“Come on,” I told her. “We need to go. Now.”

It was hell walking through the snow with my injured tutor and the secret between us. There was fear in her eyes, her teeth chattering, smoke still rising from the gaping wound in her arm. But no blood.

I had a lot to learn about the different species of Fae.

Each step was pure agony, pain shooting up through my ankles through the rest of my body as I picked my way down the steps from the courtyard. According to Bronwen, the healing center wasn’t far off, a few blocks over and down toward the café where Melia often liked to eat, famed for their zucchini blossom appetizer.

Man, when I told Meli what happened tonight…I didn’t know whether she’d be pissed at me or applaud.

“Thank you.”

Juno’s voice came softly and when I glanced at her, her eyes were watering. “Are you hurt very badly?”

She looked feverish and when she spoke again, her voice shook. “Yes,” she said. “I don’t know what happened. He…he took me by surprise. I didn’t see him out there and by the time I caught the scent on the wind, he was on me.”

When I glanced over again, hitching her higher on my shoulder to bear more of her weight, the skin of Juno’s face looked stretched too tightly over her features, making her look fragile. Breakable in a way I didn’t expect of her. She was always up for anything, pushing me to go harder, farther, faster.

At least she was still able to talk. “Thank you,” she repeated, letting her head drop. “For what you did for me tonight.”

I struggled to hold her upright, shifting to better accommodate her weight. “I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. If we’d gone for help, you would be dead.”

“I’m not sure how I can ever repay you.”

I knew how. “You can keep my secret.”

Juno glanced over at that, swallowing. “What?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. I fought for you tonight. You want to repay me? I only ask you to stay silent about what you know,” I said. I tightened my hold on her and ignored my own pain. “Please, Miss Ians.Juno. Please don’t tell anyone about me. I know you’ve been struggling with it and you haven’t made up your mind. Yet. I’m hoping tonight will be a turning point where you…decide to keep helping me.”

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