Page 37 of Faerie Hunted

“The ones I gave you,” I filled in. Permanent damage.

He nudged me with his shoulder, our forearms brushing together. “Chronic pain is a small price to pay for what you did.”

“I hurt you!” Shit, was I going to cry again?

“You saved me. I’m grateful. Technically, at this point, you’ve saved me twice.”

I stared sideways at him. “I didn’t realize we were keeping track.”

In which case, it didn’t matter if our fight had broken the spell on him or not. If he lived in constant pain, then I’d be aware of it for the rest ofmylife.

Onyx sagged into the rock at his back, staring out through the rain past the mouth of the small cave. “We need to figure out our next step. It’s fine to stop for a while and recuperate but we can’t stay long.”

Understatement of the year.

“I’ve actually been trying to find my mom. She's still alive.” I realized then how much information I’d learned since Onyx had been in the hospital. How much he didn’t know at this point.

There was no turning back now. If we were doing this together, on the run from the crown, then we had to be able to trust each other. I needed to know that he would have my back, and vice versa, and part of that was being utterly transparent.

“Apparently she’s been living in Yelaine. From what I’ve heard, she might be able to help us.”

Onyx arched a dark brow. “Do you know how far away Yelaine is? Do I need to remind you?”

“I haven’t exactly had a chance to calculate the distance,” I said dryly.

“It’s nearly eight hundred miles from us.”

I refused to let my surprise show. “Then it looks like we need to find transportation. Don’t we?”

“I mean…it’s worth a shot. At least there will be eight hundred miles between us and the premier.”

His eyes fluttered closed. More than anything, I wanted to give him a chance to rest. He’d already pushed himself to get to this point. A few more minutes, I reasoned, and then we’d have to go. It wasn’t safe to stay in one place.

If we got caught again, I probably wouldn’t have a chance to use my powers.

We’d be killed on sight.

11

The rain refused to stop throughout our trek.

Below us, cradled in the valley, sat Eahsea and the giant castle, now a pinprick in the distance. Both of us were able to see clearly in the dark with a little shift to focus our eyes.

Although the going went slow, we steadily hiked over the ridge of the mountains and cautiously down the other side.

We stopped only when we weren’t able to keep going.

I’d flown over this area before, on my way to meetings with the Claw & Fang. And in truth, it would be so much easier to shift and take the next leg of the journey from the air.

But I couldn’t leave Onyx behind and he couldn’t shift yet. As fast as Noren traveled on four legs, I refused to be separated.

This stretch of forest, as far as I knew, was entirely uninhabited. It would take several days for us to cut through the wilderness. Luckily, we all knew how to survive.

I’d gone on several excursions with my pack in the human world, as had Onyx. And with Noren adept at catching prey, it was only a matter of time and pushing through the exhaustion to make our way forward.

It took days for us to cross through.

Days of walking through beating rain and eating whatever we could forage or Noren caught, without the benefit of a fire. Any sort of light in the darkness would bring attention to us.

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