Page 56 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
She stiffened at their words, and I swore I could feel the tension that vibrated off her, but when Donnie nodded at her, she continued. “I am an outsider,” she agreed, the pretty lilt of her voice making me want to listen. “Which means I’ve seen more than Colina or this region. I’ve encountered other fae.” She paused and turned to look at me as if her words were meant only for me.
It made me uncomfortable, and while my knees involuntarily turned away from her, I nodded, wanting her to continue. When she turned her dark blue eyes away from meand back to Donnie before she looked at the rest of her audience, the knot in my stomach loosened.
“Elias is respected among his people,” she told us. “He has done more for his region than any other region leader. Surely, you see that.”
Of course, I saw what he did. Saw the reports of other regions from Commander Hudson as well as the news stations, who relied on social media to get their information out. While Everly was right, and I was grateful for everything he provided for us, I couldn’t help but run the commander’s words through my head. I couldn’t let go of how he said Elias was at fault. I’d be pretty stupid if I did.
“What right do the fae have in taking over our world and appointing themselves leaders?” someone else asked.
“They’re trying to help,” Everly said, her tone growing frustrated.
When she shot up from her chair, I cupped Victoria’s head and pressed her closer to me. A growl tore from Everly’s lips, and she ran her fingers through her hair once again.
“We have food, thanks to Elias,” she said with a shake of her head. “Do you not see that?”
“Who’s to say the fae aren’t the cause of all this?” someone shouted from the other side of the small medical office.
Many, including myself, nodded.
Resigned, Everly sighed and dropped her head. All that silver hair cascaded down her shoulders, fanning around her face.
“You can’t see what he’s done for us because you don’t want to.” Still, she stared at the linoleum floor as she let out a humorless laugh. “You’d rather live with your prejudices.Where would any of you be if he weren’t here?” She shrugged a single shoulder before she dropped back onto the chair. “Before his arrival, what was your life like? Did you worry about food and the never-ending snowfall? Did you wonder how you’d survive it?” She leaned forward to grip her knee. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore, do you? But still, you hate him. What would happen if he left tomorrow? If all the fae left tomorrow with their magic? How would you fare then?”
They weren’t fair questions. None of us had asked for this endless winter. None of us had asked for mythical creatures to come and rule us. And yes, also save us.
Even after a month, it was all new to us.
I wasn’t sure if we would’ve figured out how to survive had the fae not come, but we also weren’t given the chance to find out. They’d simply taken over.
“I agree with Everly,” Donnie said, surprising me.
I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to figure out what he wasn’t saying out loud. He was the practical one. The one who’d repeatedly warned Ryenne and me away from the fae.
“Elias and his two men have helped our community,” he continued, his attention bouncing between everyone in the office. “I don’t trust Elias’s magic, but because of him, our farmers are able to grow food while he continues to grow his own. Every day, we see him on his dragon looking for more livestock. I don’t have to trust him, his magic, or any other fae to know that we would all be dead if it weren’t for him.”
Yet Donnie hadn’t offered to help Elias. Neither had Everly or anyone else.
Only me, but then I’d taken it back. Fled so quickly he couldn’t follow. Or wouldn’t follow. Time and time again, he’d shown respect to any boundary I’d laid before him. I doubted this was any different.
“So what?” a woman I went to high school with asked. She rocked her bundled-up infant daughter, whose blanket looked much like mine, close to her chest. “We should just sit back and let him punish us as he sees fit?”
“He doesn’t want to punish us,” I said.
I knew that—saw it in the way he’d approached Javier. In the way he’d spoken softly to the boy and the way he’d willingly taken Javier’s punishment.
No, no. I shook my head and willed any benevolent thoughts of our region leader out. He took the punishment because of guilt. Because he’d caused our demise.
“He’ll do it, though,” Donnie countered. “He’s afraid of the commander.”
Everly scoffed but didn’t add anything further.
“We hold each other accountable,” I offered, my voice low with the worry my idea would be laughed at. “We help each other with what the other is lacking?—”
“We’re all lacking the same things: food and heat,” an elderly man bellowed as I continued talking.
“. . .and if we see someone stealing, we hold them accountable.”
“Accountable, how?”
