Page 14 of Claimed By the Fae Lord

My smile faded. "It's been a while since I had something to smile about, I guess."

Sofiya came up to the window I was looking out, standing at my shoulder. Her amber eyes reflected the morning light looking more pale-gold than yellow.

"You're not alone, Raina. Your life can be different now. I'll help you."

I nodded, forcing a smile, appreciating the warmth in her voice. Sofiya had been nothing but kind since the moment we met. She and Aeryn befriended me immediately at the start of the trials, not caring that most of the other candidates treated me like a pariah.

"Thank you," I managed to say around the lump in my throat.

"Hey," Sofiya chided gently, reaching out to squeeze my hand. "You don't have to thank me. We're friends, right?"

"Right," I echoed, nodding resolutely. "I'll get used to it."

Her feminine brow lowered. "Used to having me as a friend?"

"Used to having someone willing to claim to be one," I lamented with a grimace.

Liam had been my friend, when I was too young to think of him as anything else. It wasn't until later, when I was forced to swallow the bitter pill of loss, that I realized he'd been my only real friend, even after he'd become my lover.

I remembered his hands, strong and sure, how they used to cradle my face, how intently he gave me his focused attention. How I'd shared with him all my broken pieces and he'd listened like he gave a shit.

Having a confidante like that had meant so much. It meant everything.

"Raina?" Sofiya's voice pulled me back from the precipice of memory.

"Sorry," I muttered. "Just thinking."

The irony wasn't lost on me—me, a frost nymph who should be all about cool detachment, yet here I was, burning up from the inside with thoughts I should've frozen out long ago.

"About a certain head guard back in Thornewood?" she ventured softly.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked, a wry laugh breaking free.

"Only to someone who's seen that look before."

There was an unspoken understanding between us. She'd seen that longing in her own reflection, I was sure.

"Sometimes I can't help it," I confessed, my voice tight with frustration. "No matter how hard I try."

"Give it time."

"Time," I repeated. "It seems I now have plenty of that."

"Trust me, Raina, you'll have plenty to keep you busy until you figure something else out. Personally, I'm ecstatic you're here."

I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic in the small room, probably because I wasn't used to sitting idle. My days had always been filled with magic, training with weapons, sparring, and the like.

I was rarely indoors and needed to move my body. "Let's do something. Walk the property line, check the wards, anything."

"Alright, alright," Sofiya acquiesced.

Relieved, I headed for the door, stopping at the makeshift weapons rack. Well, not rack, per se. It was four cloak hooks fashioned to a block of wood hanging just inside the door.

I was about to reach for my spear when Sofiya asked, "Do you really need to take that with you?"

Thinking for a moment, I looked at the other options. Then out the window at the fifteen acre field and the copse of trees beyond.

"You're right. A bow would be better. There might be some small game around."

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