Page 44 of A Dance With Fire
So quickly she found her solution.
She had to get them to trust her. The more they trusted her, the quicker she could be left alone to make her escape. But she couldn’t be obvious about wanting to earn their trust. They wouldn’t believe her if she suddenly threw herself into their fold and acted friendly.
This wouldn’t be believable unless she actually attempted an escape.
Swallowing down the last of her food, she stood up and dusted off her borrowed clothes. She still hadn’t gotten an opportunity to thank Orna or the blacksmith for what they’d done for her. She didn’t like to seem ungrateful, but she’d had more pressing matters to worry about.
She walked casually over to the line of trees, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, but she was intercepted before she could even walk into the forest by Clay.
His smiling face looked down at her and she couldn’t tell if the expression was fake or not. “Careful there, Fire Dancer,” he said pleasantly, though there was a note like something of a warning in his voice. “The woods are dangerous. There are all sorts of creatures there.”
“I have to relieve myself,” she lied.
Clay’s nose scrunched up. “I’ll take you.”
Had she really expected him to let her go off alone? Perhaps she had hoped, because Clay seemed to be the most pleasant of all of them. She couldn’t let herself forget that he was her captor as well, no matter how nice he was being. He would betray her at the first order from his prince and wouldn’t think twice about it.
She cleared her throat. “Never mind.” As she turned away from him, she caught Valerio’s gaze and the dangerous glimmer there. Like he knew what she was up to, and the promise of consequence laid in that single, cutting glare.
She forced herself to look away and walk back to where she’d been sitting.
After a few minutes, she grew bored and restless. Being a captive hadn’t prepared her for this. She squirmed in her seat, having the sudden urge to get up and help everyone pack up, but that would make her seem like she was submitting, and while she wanted to gain their trust, they wouldn’t believe her if she helped just then. So Shula sat where she was and glared as they put the last of their belongings into the cart.
Clay came over then and offered her his arm. “Time to go, Fire Dancer.”
Ignoring him, Shula stood up. “Where are we going?” It would be better if she actually knew where they were and where they were headed. She couldn’t blindly walk through the forest without a sense of direction.
“Into the mountains of Tuath to meet up with Julius.” He led her away. A soft groan sounded as the mule and horse tethered to the cart started forward, and the small procession of Fae began to follow behind slowly, falling into easy chatter.
“Who’s Julius?” Her strides were long but unhurried. She and Clay were at the very back, with Valerio and Uric leading the front. Ryker was in the middle, walking among the others. She tried not to look at him.
“You’d like him.” Clay smiled widely in a way that made Shula think Julius was special to him. “He’s nothing like these brooding assholes here. He’s the definition of a good time.”
“Uh huh.” Shula was only half listening. Her gaze kept darting everywhere, feeling suddenly nervous. As if there were humans lurking behind trees and in the branches.
She’d always traveled in procession before, but never like this. Not with Fae who showed their ears so openly.
It was a recipe for chaos.
“And why are we going there?” she whispered, hoping that talking could calm her rapidly beating heart and her nerves.
“We have safe houses all over,” he explained. “It’s not exactly safe for us to stay in one place too long, but the mountains are safest. There’s a lot of wildlife and it’s easy for humans to get lost, so that’s where our main strong hold is.”
“But why in Tuath?”
He knew what she was really asking. Why the most dangerous Fae hating capital of the world?
He smirked. “Because that’s where they’d least expect us to be.”
Her nerves dissipated a fraction as she chuckled low. “That’s either really brilliant or really stupid.”
Clay chuckled back at her. “Why can’t it be both?”
She rolled her eyes again.
“Seriously, we’ve used these mountains before. We’re always finding Fae who need homes, so we’ve traveled these woods before. They’re safe, as safe as they can be. Even if we come across humans, Valerio and I could get rid of them easily.”
Shula was burning to ask about their powers. Her fingers twitched at her side, going again to her pocket and pressing against the bulge of the knife.
