Page 15 of Fractured
I hid the vial in my bra this time and kissed him again just to get my thoughts in order once more. So many things I wanted to ask—like where exactly was theQuiet,land of the forgotten, and why the hell would a seer want me to pour this vial there?—but first we needed to talk to the others. My curiosity would have to wait.
So, we went back to the cave and to the others hand in hand, and though I was completely terrified, I didn’t feel as defeated as I did in the beginning. I was alive and Rune hadn’t stabbed me and Lyall was a fucking prick I was going to punch in the face one day—you just wait—but he hadn’t won. At least not yet.
Merenith, Hessa, two men and a woman were sitting on these smooth rocks near a fire that wasn’t letting out smoke. That’s because it wasn’t real fire—just fae magic shaped into golden flames.
The fae sat in a circle and they had cups in their hands and the four dogs were lying down near their feet. They raised their heads when they heard us approaching, and the others spread out in the cave watched, but they didn’t approach.
God, I felt so exposed to know that Rune’s magic wasn’t hiding us from them right now. So exposed to know that they could all see me, that they all knew exactly who I was—and that we all had a mountain over our heads.
“What did she say to you at the table?” I whispered toRune as we went. He was on edge as well if the way his muscles were locked tightly was any indicator.
“She said,up for a three-three-two?”
I looked up at him. “What?” What the hell was a three-three-two?
“A game we used to play when we first started to create illusions. We paired to see who could fool who and who could create more authentic images. When Lyall told me to stab you, I knew what she meant,” Rune said under his breath, and by then we were already close to the group, and they were all watching us, so I didn’t get the chance to ask him to explain.
“I hope you’ve rested,” Hessa said, her eyes on Rune.
She didn’t lookokayby any means, but she wasn’t on the verge of madness, either. Her eyes were no longer bloodshot, just slightly swollen, like she’d cried again. She wore the same clothes, and her knuckles were white as she held onto the cup in her hands, and fuck, I felt like shit all over again to remember.
The way she’d kissed Helid. The way she’d called himmy love.
And I knew exactly what she felt because I’d felt it, too—in those awful moments in the cell when I thought Rune had died. The longest minutes of my fucking life.
One of those smooth rocks that almost looked like a bench was empty, and Rune took us around the fake fire to Hessa’s other side to sit on it. The others didn’t move, didn’t speak yet, only watched.
The pressure in the air grew. The dogs were all watching us, sniffing the air near us, more interested in Rune than me.
Then the man sitting on Merenith’s right side reached for this jug on the floor that was made of thickviolet glass and looked like it containedmagicinside while the golden light danced on its surface. It was just liquid, though—green liquid that came out of it when he poured it into identical cups for us.
“This is Ergen, and that is Acul,” Meredith said, pointing at the men—and Acul was one of the Ice fae. The color of his hair and eyes showed it.
And, fuck, the way he was looking at me made me sweat a second in.
“And this is Anafa,” Merenith said, waving a hand at the woman sitting between Acul and Hessa. “We’re glad that you all survived the queen and her pup with your lives.”
She meant it, I thought—but then again, what the hell did I even know about fae when they’d mastered fooling me so thoroughly so many times now?
“Your ears do not have points on them.”
The voice was ice-cold—or maybe it was just me when I realized that the Ice fae had spoken. He was still looking at me. Analyzing my face, my ears.
“How can it be? You look like you’re one of us, but…you’re not.” It was easy to see his confusion, the way he shook his head over and over. “Whatare you?”
Ah, my favoritest question in all the worlds.
“Not fae,” I said, and I couldn’t even tell you why.Mortal,I should have said.A human being—but no. I decided to go withnot faein a blink.
The man was not surprised.
“Helid worked with you,” Rune said then, throwing Acul a look for just a second before he turned to Merenith.
“Yes. He started the Broken Crown when he realized what the true face of his nephew was and what he was trying to do,” she said with a nod.
My stomach fell. “Which is?” I asked before she couldcontinue, and I didn’t actually think she had an answer. Nobody ever seemed to have answers about much around here, but…
“Rule all four fae courts,” the woman said. “Alone.”
