Page 316 of Dirty Hit

Reylan offered her water, and she drank too eagerly.

“We have to rest for at least an hour and find more water,” he said.

Faythe nodded even though everything in her wanted to push on despite the fatigue. They walked through the mountain, following a distant sound of running water. Reylan filled the waterskin he’d brought while Faythe’s eyes wandered over the chasm between peaks. This was close to where they’d battled Zaiana and Maverick, and she reflected on how much had changed with the dark fae since then.

“Do you think you could ever forgive Maverick?” The question slipped from her thoughts.

Reylan straightened. “No.”

Faythe looked at him, seeing no hesitation in that sure answer.

“Even knowing who he really is? Callen Osirion.”

“I don’t know that fae. I do know Maverick Blackfair, and if I ever get the chance, I will kill him.”

She understood and wouldn’t persuade him otherwise. Maverick had killed her… He’d killed her father, who was like a father to Reylan too. What he’d doneshouldbe unforgivable, but…Faythe was tired of carrying vengeful burdens, and she couldn’t help but wonder about the tragic Prince of Dalrune, who’d watched his family be slaughtered then been taken prisoner and Transitioned into a dark, bloodthirsty being against his will.

“Is it a betrayal to say I wouldn’t actively want him dead anymore? I don’t know what I would do if the opportunity was there, but he’s been through a trauma unfathomable to all of us. I can’t comprehend what it did to him.”

“No,” he said. “I think it’s a testament to your golden heart. I envy it.”

She smiled sadly, not receiving it as a compliment. Was it a weakness?

Faythe’s sight cast through the red rock, catching on a dark space that appeared like a large cave entrance in the distance.

“Think you’ll be able to fly the rest of the distance soon?” Reylan asked.

His question went unanswered when Faythe followed a pull she felt toward the cave mouth. All she knew was that he followed closely.

“We can rest for a few hours if you need,” he offered, assuming that was why she sought the shelter.

“You don’t feel the energy around this place?” she asked him. Her eyes were fixed on the darkness drawing her closer.

“I don’t. And I’ve come to brace for terror when you get afeeling.”

They entered the cave mouth, and Faythe summoned a small blue flame in her palm when they ventured beyond the cast of daylight.

Faythe was so focused on the tug of unexplainable energy that when steel pierced the silence, she jerked, spinning to Reylan.

He held the Ember Sword gripped firmly in one hand. “You have a tendency to be attracted to monsters and danger.”

Faythe smirked, continuing through the cave. “They’re attracted to me.”

“I can’t blame them.”

She pushed him playfully as she spied light spilling in through the end of the cave. Faythe’s feet pressed faster, and when she broke through the gap at the end, she was stunned still.

The cave expanded wide, filled with sticks and castaway hair and fur from animals. The mountain opened at the top, spilling the setting sun down over the entire circumference.

“It’s a nest,” Faythe said in disbelief.

“It must be very old, from the time of the Firebirds in Rhyenelle.”

There were none left now. Atherius had been the last to live in these mountains, alone for centuries after her kin were all slaughtered. Faythe harbored hope in her heart that wasn’t the whole truth; that some might have fled and lived on somewhere in the world that wouldn’t harm them as cruelly as the bloodshed that had happened on these mountains.

Faythe trod carefully as she stepped off the rock into the meticulously crafted nest.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Reylan called, staying behind.

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