Page 12 of Forgiving a Fae Warrior

The damnable thing had the gall to look annoyed as it stared up at him and tilted its head to the side.

“Take this to your master as fast as you can.” He bent over, offering the strip of leather to the eagle.And don’t you dare lose it.They hadn’t lost his messages in the past, none that he knew of anyway, but with his current luck, this would be the time the bird would let the message slip.

The eagle cawed at him before taking the leather and bolting back into the sky.

Galen had done his part. The rest was up to the messenger bird…and Sigurd.

Chapter 6

Fulldarkhadfallenby the time Galen returned to the site of the Unseelie honing point. Little moonlight crept through the blanket of clouds in the sky. A weariness pressed down on him that had little to do with exhaustion. The Unseelie planned something, likely involving Wren, given their recent capture of her not too far from the honing point they created. If she had come to harm, it would be his fault and his alone, a burden he wasn’t quite sure he could bear. Besides, that would certainly spell his permanent exile or death. Compromising an innocent human, one mated to the King of Air? What had he been thinking?

Selfish thoughts. That’s what. And look where that led him.

Fate was strangely kind to reunite him with Sylvie, and yet, what had he done with that time? Nothing important. He hadn’t spoken any one of the dozens of confessions that had raced through his mind while they’d been apart and that he’d planned to tell her the moment he saw her again.

Just like always, he hesitated. He waited. But damn if he wasn’t running out of time—time that he’d endangered Wren for. He couldn’t let that be for nothing.

Galen pinched the little golden leaf dangling from his ear between his fingers. Instantly, he felt a strong pull toward a formation of rocks not far away. His lips curved up in one corner. She’d returned and found a clever watch post, if a bit obvious. Even so, it would give them the vantage they needed to see if the Unseelie returned.

Galen took some time wandering in the wrong direction before changing course and creeping stealthily toward Sylvie’s hiding place. If anyone else was watching, he didn’t want to give away her hiding spot or, worse, the fact that she consorted with a traitor.

“Took you a while,” Sylvie whispered as he advanced the last few feet on her location. “I was beginning to think you returned to that broken old building I found you in.”

Galen dropped into a crouch near where she sat. From this position, the rocks guarded them on most sides, but an empty space between two boulders provided an advantageous view of the nearby short hill.

“Now, why would I do that when you’re here?”

Sylvie sat a little straighter. Her lips parted.

A sudden flush crept to the back of Galen’s neck.Damn. He hadn’t meant that to sound quite like it did. Or did he? It might be their last night together if the sinking feeling in his gut was correct. Why shouldn’t he just tell her right that minute?

But as he gazed at her still form bathed in the dim blue moonlight filtering through the clouds, the answer hit him like a smack in the face. If by some miracle she returned his affection, he couldn’t let her become an outcast too. He wouldn’t risk her trying to slip out to visit him in whatever poor excuse of a life he could muster in the Unseelie Shadowlands. Neither could he make their parting harder by giving her hope of something that could never be. That burden was his alone. He’d become a traitor—to two courts and his friend. He didn’tdeservethe woman he loved.

Galen shifted on his feet and pulled in a deep, steadying breath. “Anyhow,” he continued in an effort to change the topic. “What news did you learn?”

Sylvie blinked, and the momentary look she had vanished. In an instant, she slipped back into her role as a member of the elite guard as easily as breathing. Once again, they were just filling their roles, just partners on a mission. Sylvie stared through the gap between the rocks before responding. “There was mostly agreement with the suggestion that the Unseelie may be planning to return to this spot soon. Others thought it may be a distraction.” She shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out, though. The Court of the Forest has posted sentries here and in other places near the border where we’ve seen activity in the recent past.” Sylvie glanced at Galen. “I assume you went to the Court of Air?”

He settled down onto the parched and lumpy soil. “To the border, to relay the same message.”

“And they listened to you?” She tilted her head to the side.

“We’ll see. I sent the message by bird.”

“By…” She mouthed the second word. “Is that how you did it? How you spied for him?”

The rocky ground was suddenly far more uncomfortable than it had been moments ago. And just like that, the conversation wandered to a place he didn’t want it to go. “Part of it,” Galen admitted, his shoulders slumping.

Sylvie bobbed her head. “I wondered. I knew it had to be something since I couldn’t remember you being gone much unless you were on patrol or some other assignment for the Forest.”

“Have there been any updates on Wren?” Galen couldn’t quite meet Sylvie’s gaze as he asked. Instead, he focused on the little rocks near him and plucked up a smooth one to rub between his fingers.

“Nothing,” she replied. “We reported to the Court of Air that there was no indication of her in the Forest, and they reported likewise.”

Galen swallowed the tightness in his throat. It was too much to hope for good news, but at least the two courts were communicating. That was something.

“Get some rest,” Sylvie said, drawing his attention back to her, where she once again peered through the rocks toward the hill. “It may be a long night, and who knows what morning will bring.”

The order made sense. Heneededrest, but that was the last thing on his mind. Sleeping away possibly his last hours with her seemed such a terrible waste. “I can take the first watch,” he offered instead. And second, third, whatever it took.

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