Page 19 of A Song of Air
Her head began to pound.
Finally, the little boy looked up at her. He was young, and his body was small, his voice full of gratitude and fear. “I’m Thorne Basil Rhian.”
Rhian.
The name sounded familiar, though she couldn’t quite place where she’d heard it before.
“Nice to meet you. Are you hurt?”
“N-no.”
“Good.” She straightened, turning her attention towards the Fae man. She could make out a mess of blond hair and tan skin. Dark clothes adorned his tall frame and while she could make out his facial features, she couldn’t gauge if he was handsome or not.
Oh, he’s very handsome, indeed.She swore she heard the damn hawk coo.He’s staring at you with awe. Doesn’t seem threatening.
Her familiar was a good judge of character, so she braved a step forward. “Andyouare?”
“My name is Clay Valentino... You’re... you’re an Elemental, aren’t you?”
She rocked back on her heels a second before whirling and making her way over to the dead bodies. With slow precision, she began pulling her arrows from their throats, cleaning the blood on the ground as she went before shoving them back into the quiver.
“I am,” she said.
The Fae man—Clay Valentino—stayed where he was. She could feel his gaze heavy on her back, and she wondered what he was thinking.
Everyone knew how rare Elementals were. She wondered if he knew justhowrare she actually was, if he could somehow see through the cloak and shirt to the scars beneath. Did they press against her clothes? Was it obvious that she was the last of her kind?
She took a steadying breath, shoving those thoughts away. “Did you escape from the emperor’s soldiers?” she asked. She didn’t think so. The Fae who escaped from soldiers usually smelt of sickness or death. These two smelled like neither.
They smelled... clean.
“No, we’re traveling with a group and got separated.”
Her mind wandered to Everett.
Hefting the quiver high over her shoulder and slinging the bow around her body, she smiled. “We have a camp not too far from here,” she offered. “We protect Fae and humans hiding from the emperor. You and your people can come with us.”
She wasn’t sure what Arlo and Ev would say about her inviting a group of unknown Fae into their camp. It wasn’t so different from what they already did, except these Fae weren’t confined to wagons. They weren’t vulnerable. Couldn’t be easily manipulated. She was still doing her duty to their community by offering, though.
“I think they’d like that.”
“Do you remember where you were separated?” Her familiar took to the skies with a cry. “Perhaps my familiar and I can help?”
He took a deep breath, his gaze still heavy on her. “I remember where we set up camp.”
“Then lead the way.” He turned and started west. “Oh, and Clay Valentino?”
“Yeah?”
“If you betray me, I’ll send an arrow straight to your heart.”
She swore she heard a touch of amusement in his pretty little voice. “Noted.”
