Page 66 of Faerie Hunted

We’d have to try and find a way through the wall once we got to the right place. We’d?—

The thought cut off abruptly as a wave of dizziness crashed down on me, so strong I stopped and held my palm to the side of my head like an anchor.

My arm twinged and the rest of me went up under small pinpricks of flame.

“Hey, are you okay?” Onyx’s question sounded at a distance and almost inaudible against the sudden ringing in my ears.

No, not okay. Definitely not okay. I reached out for something to steady myself and came up with empty air instead.

Eventually, the spell passed with a few deep breaths, but the queasiness never left. I pried my eyes open and tried to smile at Onyx.

He took a step in the opposite direction at whatever he saw on my face.

“I’m going to be fine.” I sounded waterlogged and sick. “Let’s go. As far and as fast as possible.”

At least we were together, I consoled myself. Even if we had to push through exhaustion and our own pains and sickness, we were together. I’d found Onyx, and Noren had found me.

The journey would be ten times easier, a hundred times easier, if I felt better. My shirt clung to my sweat slicked back and the ache in my muscles doubled in the next hour. I needed to find a witch, or a doctor or shaman, as soon as possible. We didn’t have any more time to waste.

The gloom of pre-dawn slowly melted away into a sunrise of amber and pink. The rising sun chased the last of the clouds from the horizon until overhead, the sky opened up.

Although neither of us spoke, we kept going. My stomach gave a low grumble that somehow translated into pain rather than hunger.

Eventually Noren forced us to stop late in the afternoon. He cut in front of me and sat down, the movement sudden, and I almost tripped over him. He offered a growl before rising to lick my face.

“What’s his problem?” Onyx asked, the syllables slurring together slightly.

“If I have to guess, I’d say he’s concerned.” I glanced around but the forest looked exactly the same here. “Do you think we’re safe to set up a camp and rest for a bit?”

“I don’t think we’re safe anywhere until we get the fuck out of this court.” Onyx straightened and purposely wiped the strain away from his face when he felt my attention on him. The change came over his features rapidly but even his best efforts couldn’t disguise the lines around his eyes which hadn’t been there when I first met him. “We need to find somewhere off the beaten path, with shelter in case the weather turns.”

I glanced up at the cloudless sky overhead but sighed, knowing he was right. The land didn’t want me here on this side of the wall any more than it did on the Seelie side.

It took several more minutes for us to find two huge pine trees offering shelter, and we made a small makeshift camp between them. The wind bit into my exposed skin with needle-like teeth. Every gust that blew offered no respite from the chill of the evening. It was colder here in Unseelie than in the Seelie court, and the biting nip almost seemed to herald snow, which sounded insane.

The trees were evergreen and moss speckled the ground, but we weren’t even close to winter.

It was the same way the weather went crazy when I was unsettled. My fault again? Probably.

Although I’d seen crazier things. The weather always revolted against me when I least expected the change, and right then I was too tired to care.

We couldn’t take a chance and light a fire. It would draw our enemies. Instead, Onyx and I huddled together, stealing warmth from the other and passing it between us. Noren was practically a furnace but when he left to hunt, we were alone. Shivering.

Terrified and cold and tired.

I’d never take a blanket for granted again. I always thought I’d rather be too cold than overheated, but these chilly days in the elements had me seriously reconsidering.

Noren returned with a squirrel and Onyx mustered up a burst of magic to roast the thing. Which wasn’t necessary, but it helped.

Once again we were back on the run.

Thank goodness for the direwolf. His bulk provided the warmth we needed to keep the chill from sinking deep into our bones.

“It’s all going to be okay,” Onyx offered.

Something in his voice told me he spoke out loud more for his benefit than for mine but we both knew his words were an empty promise.

“I’d like to believe it but I’m a little old to put my faith in fairy tales.”

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