Page 110 of A Dance With Fire
Shula reminded him of Mairin. The misplaced trust in the humans was the same. Some would call him hypocritical, say that he despised the humans almost as much as they despised the Fae. While that seemed true, it wasn’t.
Ryker knew that not all the humans were the same. But a lot of them were vile, evil, and would do whatever it took to eliminate the Fae. Their prejudice knew no bounds. The proof of that had been on Mairin’s scarred face, her bruised and brutalized body.
He should know.
He’d felt it. He’d felt her pain as if it had been his own. Every bruised rib, every slash against skin, even the fucking pulsing between her thighs, he’d taken into his own fucking body. Every wound inflicted by the humans, he’dfelt.
He didn’t want anyone to ever live through that kind of torture, and he hated that Mairin had.
So, yes, he’d offered pieces of his secrets to Shula because she needed them to be stronger. And if given the choice between spilling the darkest secrets he held in his soul and saving Shula’s life?
He’d save Shula’s life every damn time.
“How did it go?” Clay asked.
“It went well,” Shula chimed in.
Ryker turned and found her smile wide and unyielding. He frowned at it. Not because he didn’t think she should be happy. She’d made a huge step towards unlocking her potential, but he didn’t want her blinded by a single, miniscule stepping-stone when there was so much left in the journey to walk.
“She did passable,” Ryker told them. “She still has a lot to learn.”
His words broke Shula’s smile and he hated doing that to her, hated himself for the expression that replaced the happiness.
But if he had to choose between letting that happiness blind her to a reality that meant death, or judge her harshly so she worked harder for her life?
Ryker knew which one he would choose.
Every damn time.
38
Mairin
Lake Degara did split into streams and rivers all throughout Orknie. The water was clear, fresh, and filled with fish. But most importantly, it wasclean.
Shula stood at the edge of the river, cocking her head to the side, listening. The Fae had fanned out, looking for any sign of humans that would be near. When they’d found none, Shula had declared she wanted a bath, and no one had argued as she stormed over to the rushing water of the river.
She listened then, to make sure she was truly alone before she slipped her jacket from her body. She toed off her boots and discarded her clothes until she was naked.
Cool autumn wind caressed her skin, making her shiver. Toeing into the water, she figured the brisk cold of it was worse. But she needed to feel clean. Sure, when she’d traveled with Piriguini’s Circus, she and the others hadn’t bathed every day, but she hadn’t gone so long without as she had traveling with the Fae.
She was starting to feel gross and had been willing to burn off all of Prince Valerio’s hair if he’d argued. He hadn’t. Better for him, she supposed.
The icy bite of the water enveloped her, trembles already wracking through her body. She hurried through the routine, having to go without soap, but scrubbing everything that was necessary until she felt normal again.
When she finished, she stepped out and used her discarded clothes to dry off with. Perhaps if she hadn’t been so focused on her task, she would have heard the footsteps approaching, but she didn’t realize until a figure was right in front of her.
She yelped and jumped back, glaring into Weylyn’s golden eyes.
“What the fuck, Weylyn?!”
The tall, lithe man simply stared. His golden eyes were penetrating, like he was staring into the recesses of her soul. No, not staring; pulling out her thoughts, pillaging, murdering. There was a darkness around him, one she noticed as he prowled towards her like a looming predator.
She stepped back, her feet sloshing into the mud of the riverbank. But the ten feet of space between them still didn’t feel like enough distance to escape that stare.
She held her clothes against her body like a shield, but it felt useless. Like he could see through that as well.
“Weylyn…” She hated how her voice trembled with the slightest edge of fear.
