Page 154 of Faeling
Bellarand’s head bobbed in greeting, his ruby red eyeslaughing with mirth. Such a scamp. When the blew his hot breath in her face, Ravenna couldn’t help a small grin.
Oberon joined her, knocking horns with Bellarand. The sight of the known unicorn calmly greeting the new one seemed to relieve the sentries somewhat, all of them slowly lowering their spears.
“I mean you no harm,” Allarion told the sentries in orcish. “I am an old friend of Ravenna’s, come to help her.”
His words had more tears pricking her eyes. “Allarion, something’s happened…”
Sobering, he put his arm around her in comfort. “Tell me everything, Crow.”
“Well fuck.” Allarion stood inside the great tent, staring in shock at Leita. “This changes everything.”
Letia seemed less than enthused to hear it, her lips pursed as she scowled up at him and Ravenna from her cot in the corner.
It’d taken them quite a while to meander up the hill back into camp, Ravenna explaining through her tears how she’d come to be amongst the orcs and find herself mated to their king. Hardest of all was recounting his loss the day before.
By the time she’d introduced him to Asta and Mattias, as well as reiterating he and Bellarand were to be welcomed as guests and friends to the berserkers, she’d at least gotten through the salient points of the story. She had so much to tell him that when they walked into the tent, she’d entirely forgotten to prepare him for the sight of a potential fae heir.
Allarion scrubbed a hand over his face, looking understandably overwhelmed. “So you have an orc king for a mate and a royal fae as your captive. Am I missing anything?”
“Amaranthe has myazai.”
“Yes, that.” Allarion pressed his mouth into an unhappy line. “Goddesses, Crow, I worried you’d get into trouble on your own, but I never imagined this much trouble.”
“I must get myazaiback.” She hadn’t informed him of the trade to do just that. Not yet, at least. He was already cross with her.
Allarion nodded, his gaze straying back to Leita. The two of them assessed one another, and finally it was Leita who said, “You don’t look like one ofherfae.”
“Because I’m not,” he answered easily. “I broke away from Amaranthe and the faelands. Much as you did, I suspect.”
Not taking the bait, Leita said, “That doesn’t explain why your blood isn’t black.”
“Ah. No, that is thanks to myazai.” Ravenna gasped, not quite believing her ears. Wearing a besotted grin, Allarion told them of his adventures in the human realm of Eirea, how a whole village of otherly folk had established themselves, all looking for human mates. Allarion himself had found hisazaiin a human woman named Molly, who he’d brought back to his new home of Scarborough and helped him seal his bond with the land. “Once that was done, we traveled south, to the bower.” Allarion’s smile fell as he looked upon Ravenna. “We came for you, but you weren’t there.”
Ravenna shook her head. She couldn’t apologize, for she wasn’t sorry. What she could say was, “I regret any distress I caused. But I never intended to stay in that bower.”
Allarion seemed troubled by the revelation, but he didn’t reprimand her, at least.
“What’s done is done,” he said finally. “I’m just relieved wefound each other again, in the end.”
“How did you find me?” It was almost too fantastical to believe. Yes, they had sent word through lines of communication to Eirea, but it sounded as though Allarion wasn’t even there to receive it.
A wry grin lifted his lips. “The unicorns. It helped, of course, that Molly and I have been staying secretly on my mother’s estate. Word reached Bellarand there. We were led through the herds into orcish territory, where Bellarand was able to make contact with Callistix. She sent us westward to find you.”
The mention of her grandmare had Ravenna aching all over again. She could use the matriarch’s steely will and guidance right about now. Of course, she could easily guess what Callistix would tell her.
Kill the bitch. Win back your male. Simple.
That does sound like my mother,Oberon chuffed.
“You left yourazaito find me?” Ravenna whispered.
“Molly understands. She’s safe with my kin.”
Ravenna didn’t know what to say. Her stomach clenched uncomfortably to know someone else had sacrificed for her. She was sick of it, sick of being the cause of so much heartache.
Stealing another glance at Leita, Allarion asked, “Has Amaranthe sent terms?”
“Yes. I sent a counter offer. We’re awaiting word back.”
