Page 12 of Fractured
Every inch of my skin rose in goose bumps.
“Just out of curiosity,” said Rune, his voice easy now, soft, almost like he might be smiling, though he wasn’t. “Are you saying that you nowareaware of who Nilah is?”
Merenith looked at him without blinking for a good moment. “Not exactly,” she finally said. “But Hessa has seen.”
The memory of that night in the Gallery of Time came back in front of my eyes in an instant. The red mask, the curved blade of that knife…
The half-ruined portrait of the Ice Queen that looked almost completely identical to me.
“Seen what, exactly?” Rune again, but he knew. I’d told him all about it.
“Her face, Rune.”
This from Hessa.
She’d stood up and she was coming toward us, the imprints of the heels of her hands where she’d pressed them to her face visible. Her eyes were bloodshot, too, not glossy, and her hair was all over the place. She was tall and slender, but suddenly she lookedlethalas she strode closer.Two of the dogs who’d been standing by a Seelie guy slowly made their way to her sides. She touched the tops of their heads with her fingertips as she came forward.
“You know well what I saw—she told you about it. Didn’t you, Nilah,” Hessa said, and it wasn’t a question.
“She did tell me about half a portrait in the Gallery of the Cursed that isn’t there anymore,” Rune said, though he shouldn’t have bothered.
“Well, I saw it with these eyes. She looks exactly like the Ice Queen.” Hessa’s voice didn’t falter. When she looked at me, she was both curious and cautious—and a little mad, if I wasn’t mistaken.
“That could mean anything,” I muttered, and I wasn’t even sure why. But the pressure was rising because the fae who’d kept their distance until now were coming closer, and even the dogs seemed to want to bite my head off as they looked at me with their tails down and their sharp teeth on display.
“True,” Merenith said. “It could. And we want to find outwhat.”
“The Broken Crown was created to stop Lyall from claiming the throne that is rightfully his,” Rune said. “You almost succeeded—and then you failed.” Yeah, he definitely wasn’t one to sugarcoat things.
I squeezed his hand to get his attention—Hessa really did look mad, and I understood. He hadn’t seen her with Helid. She deserved a break—we all did.
“We failed because of your mortal, bastard.”
“And we failed because of you, too,” Hessa said, her voice much more bitter. “You killed Regon in that cave, sent us that message.”
“And I stand by it,” Rune said with a nod, perfectly calm still.
“So, what are you waiting for then?” Hessa said, stepping closer. “We’re the ones who tried to kill her—Iwas going to do it myself. Perhaps I even regret not doing it when I could.”
The smile on her face. The look in her eyes.
She was hurt. She was heartbroken, it was so easy to see. To me, at least, because I’d seen her with Helid. And that was the reason why all my anger died a quick death and why I wouldn’t hold her responsible for what she said.
“If you do, say the word and I’ll relieve you of your life, friend. Just say the word,” Rune said, and Hessa burst out laughing, and the dogs growled, and even Merenith looked about ready to make some light with those fisted hands.
Fuck, the tension in the air grew so quickly.
“Stop,” I said, pulling Rune back and stepping forward. “Stop it, all of you. We’re all here because we were threatened by Lyall, and we’re all butt hurt over one thing or the other—I don’t care.” The words came out of me before I even thought through what to say, butfuck it,I figured. “None of us is in a condition to have a civil conversation right now, so how about we get some shut eye and come back when we’ve had the chance to think?”
Silence in the cave.
My voice wasn’t nearly as strong as that of Rune, but the fae were looking at one another, at him, and then at me again. All of them—including Hessa.
She was the first one to turn around and walk away, right back to that bed, muttering under her breath words I didn’t understand—nor cared to.
Then Merenith said, “Very well. You may rest, and then we’ll speak.”
The tension on my shoulders released a little bit, andRune squeezed my hand as he looked at me. There wasn’t going to be a fight here right now, after all.
