Page 102 of Taken By the Fae

Allison laughs softly. “I’ll do my best to answer any questions you have along the way as you figure things out. That said, we don’t have a lot of time.”

I glance over at her. “What do you mean?”

“The seelie king isn’t as concerned with what happened, aside from what the unseelie court is planning in retaliation. Tristan is concerned about how the unseelie queen is going to respond. She lost a knight.”

“So what? She wants my head on a spike?”

Allison frowns. “We don’t know. There have been fewer attacks since Jules’s death, which makes us think he was orchestrating a lot of them behind the queen’s back. Maybe even plotting against her. Who knows?”

My eyes widen. “How does that happen?”

“I have no idea. She’ll be looking for a replacement, though.”

“Please don’t tell me I’m expected to take Jules’s place because I killed him?”

Her brows lift. “Oh. I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure the queen chooses her knights. It isn’t like a you kill the alpha, you become the alpha sort of thing.”

A tiny amount of tension leaves my chest, and I press my fingers to my temples, closing my eyes against the pressure behind them.

“He’s worried about you, you know,” she almost whispers.

I sigh in response.

“What should I tell him? Because he asks about you all the time.”

I open my eyes and tip my head back to stare at the ceiling. “Tell him I’m… figuring things out.” I don’t want him to worry about me, but the thought of seeing him makes the panic fill my veins like ice. I’m not ready.

That said, I fucking miss him.

“Why don’t we get out of here for a bit?” Allison suggests.

“I can think of a million reasons why that’s a terrible idea.”

“Come on. I think it would be good for you. You’ve been cooped up in here for a week, Aurora.”

I exhale a heavy breath. “I can’t go out looking like this.”

Allison purses her lips, staring at me for a moment. “Here’s the deal. I want you to feed so you’ll feel better, but I understand why you’re struggling with it. Until you’re ready, I’ll use my glamour to conceal your fae-ness so we can go get a drink and try to remember what normal feels like.”

Normal. Right.

“Okay,” I say hesitantly.

She shoots me a reassuring smile. “If we get there and it’s too much, we can turn around and come right back here. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Great!” She gives me a once-over. “You shower, and I’ll find you something to wear.”

I groan softly, throwing the blankets off and getting out of bed. I shuffle across our room, hoping to hell this isn’t a disaster.

* * *

An hour later, we’re standing out front of The Iron Lounge. I wasn’t sure coming back here would be a good idea, but I quickly decided that Jules wasn’t going to ruin the places on campus I enjoy.

Even though this place is filled with the memory of my last moments as a human.

Allison grabs my hand before I can reach for the door handle. “You just say the word if we need to leave, okay?”

---