Page 46 of Trial of Thorns
Caelynn
Ispit Raven’s hairfrom my mouth as consciousness returns to me, sunlight streaming through the windows. The bed is soft and warm, but I pull myself out of it with a groan.
Last night was an epic fail.
I’d achieve my goal of approaching Tyadin about our alliance, and his message was very clear—screw you.
As much as it hurts, I can’t blame him. I’d likely feel the same in his shoes. An alliance with me might be his only chance at winning these trials, but the sacrifice would be hefty. Throwing in his lot with the most hated fae of our time.
I had hoped his court would be sympathetic to the rebellion. That may have been enough to make it a worthwhile arrangement. I got the feeling he didn’t snub me out of worry for his reputation, however. He refused an alliance out of his own moral code.
He didn’t want to befriend a murderer.
“You okay?” Raven rolls over to face me.
I nod, but there’s a knot in my stomach. After our conversation with Kari and Drake, I took Raven directly to my room, not at all caring who saw. She’d been noticed as my prey, so it fit the story. It just can’t happen again.
I can’t let any fae read anymore into our relationship. We can’t be seen together again or I’ll have to send Raven home. I told her as much last night.
“There’s something off about that guy,” Raven says, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “He was up to something.”
I swallow. “I suspect Drake is always up to something.”
“I don’t like him.”
I nod. “Good. You should never trust a fae. Any fae.”
She purses her lips. “What about you?”
I chuckle. “Probably not me either, but its bit too late for that.”
“I never got a chance to tell you what I heard before you came to meet me last night.”
“Oh?”
“The golden-haired jerk was talking with a kid with horns about a meeting tomorrow—well, today now. I don’t know what it was about, but he was really mean to the kid. I didn’t like it.”
“What meeting? Where, when?”
“Somewhere called the pits? And oh-eight hundred, whatever that means.”
I run through the conversation with Kari last night. Maybe it was a test. They want to know what value I’d bring to an alliance. They want to know if I could figure it out.
Maybe.
That or I’m about to just show up to their secret meeting unannounced and really piss them off. I pull on my new tunic, one small part of my new wardrobe supplied by my court and a few generous rebel sympathizers. I have a new set of swords, much like my old. I also have a warm jacket and potions.
Still missing those allies, though—for now.
“Where are you going?” Raven asks.
