Page 39 of The Iron Fae
"We better get moving. There are more of those, I'm sure." Kai moves into the new tree lined incline.
"I'm still confused what ‘suing you’ means. Does it have anything to do with being sexual?"
"I'm not sure how many times it has to be repeated but, like, not everything is sexual, Rowan."
"That's debatable." He points at me, grinning.
"No," I shake my head and do my best to keep up behind them. Walking away, I fight the need to give my mother's body one last look. "Suing someone...," I explain to keep my mind from dwelling, "is when they do something harmful to you or break the law or... something like that," Maybe I'm not good at explaining this. "Anyway, you take them to court and you get money out of them for whatever the reason is."
Sure, yeah, that explains it.
Rowan's eyes narrow. "What?"
"It's not like our Court. It's their law system. It's run by multiple people in her area instead of just the rule of their King or Queen," Kai tries to explain.
"Why would I want money from you?"
"How do you know so much but visit the human world so little?" I raise an eyebrow at the golden-haired prince.
"I once had relations with a lawyer of sorts," Kai doesn't bother to look back at us as he forges a path forward.
"Seriously, I'm confused," Rowan tries again.
"You know what... just forget it." I sigh.
A silence falls between us. As quiet as the sound of our feet hitting the mountainside and the angry huff of my breath can be. Every noise reminds me of the high-pitched screaming of the Wishing Spirit. Every blink, I see my mother's face.
I wonder if in her death she was content. I wonder if saving me was all she really needed.
I wonder if I would have made her proud.
I wonder if I'm making her proud now as I cling to every jutting tree and follow behind the princes of the Iron Court.
Ten
Cavern Camping
Everythingin my body begs for rest. My eyes drop and I know I must look like Kai when he is high. I keep my attention focused on his back. Rowan trails behind me.
"Quit staring at my ass," I breathe.
"It's a nice ass." Rowan replies.
Through Kai's sleeve I can see where black is seeping into the grey fabric as it clings to his arm. His energy since the encounter hasn't dwindled. Maybe he's right, the bite isn't an issue at all.
Though I realize Kai hasn’t taken Reminints since we began the trip. The lack of Reminints may soon be a problem. Kai's arm pulls away from the branch he pushes down and breaks under his boot. His fingers tremble. The only sign his body isn't at peace.
A loud caw echoes over our heads as a bird takes flight. Its wingspan cuts across the clouds that ripple across the sky. The sun has moved down, hiding behind the mountain side. Only a little bit of light spills down to us. Occasionally, I take a look back down and our efforts have gotten us far enough up that the view is quite breathtaking. If I stop for even a moment though, I begin to lose Kai among the trees. And being behind along with Rowan sounds like a terrible idea at this point.
"I'm going to need a break," I say, ashamed of the limitations of my body.
"There's a small cave just up ahead. We'll make camp for the night. We should reach the seer by midday tomorrow. Though, I expect that she already knows we are here."
"Couldn't she make it easy and come to us? Meeting us mid-way would be the polite thing to do."
"If you want, I could carry you," Rowan offers.
"I'd rather walk till my feet bleed."
