Page 19 of The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire
“Yes,” he says, as if it’s obvious. “You need to get to the palace and I need a champion. We’re a perfect team.”
Neirin starts walking away, assuming I’ll follow. I don’t want to prove him right but I charge after him, fury on my face.
“Explain yourself!” I barge in front to block his path.
He tilts his head to the side and my hair stands on edge, goose bumps rising on my arms.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Clearly not.”
“I know my land.” He waves a hand toward the trees. “You do not. I know our king. You do not. I know where Y Lle Tywyll lies—”
“And I do not,” I say. “What do you propose?”
“I’ll give you true sight. I am ellyll; it’s within my power to do so.”
A pit opens in my stomach. I can’t even fathom how much of the wood I’m missing with my human eyes.
How can I find my sister if half the world remains cloaked in shadow?
I lift my chin indignantly. “In exchange for what? You cannot lie when you offer me terms, Neirin.”
Neirin shivers as I spit out his name, but his brilliant smile doesn’t falter. “That I well know. Between us, we will agree that you are amember of my court. I’ll take you to the king and you will present yourself to His Highness as a champion. I’ll then personally escort you to Y Lle Tywyll and guarantee you safe passage there. If you win, you will make your request of the king and my court earns his favor. If you die, no hard feelings. But if you lose and live? Then you will belong to my court for the rest of your days.”
I blink at him. “What?”
Neirin only shrugs. “My court are fascinated by humans. We would be delighted to watch you wither and die; we see the beauty in rot where you do not. You would be well cared for, Habren. Fed and dressed like a queen, a living history for us to devour.”
My stomach churns at the idea, but I force my face to remain blank. “And what do you gain if I win?”
“I told you—the king’s favor.”
“That cannot be all.”
Neirin’s eyes snag on my frowning mouth before flicking back up to meet my gaze. “Of course it isn’t. That’s a gamble you’ll have to take. You can try and find the road. See if you survive the walk, blind and vulnerable, through the heart of our land. But with my approach, you stand to gain an awful lot and lose very little.”
“Only my freedom,” I snap at him.
Neirin smiles darkly. “You’ll understand quite quickly that freedom is worth far less than you humans think.”
My lips curl unpleasantly. “Then you really don’t understand us.”
Neirin goes still, observing me like a bird of prey from a high branch. My heart leaps to my mouth and sits there, hammering, until he finally laughs. “Perhaps you can teach me, Habren. All I ask is that you remove your ring.”
I rub my thumb over the dull iron band. Of all the sacrifices he could request, it’s a small one. He’s the only guide here, and he offers true sight. If I win, I get my sister and our freedom, and if I lose, I die. I have no intention of returning to his court as a livingexhibit, even if I must slice my own throat and let the blood pool at his feet.
I slowly remove the ring from my finger and stuff it in my coat pocket, my hand lingering there.
“We’ll shake on it,” I tell him, “as humans do.”
Neirin grins eagerly as I extend my arm.
“You will be our greatest treasure, Habren,” he says.
When he takes my hand, I slip my thumb from where it lay flat against my palm, concealing the ring, and press the band of iron into his skin. He yelps and tries to pull back, but I grasp him tighter. I hold his gaze, a slow smile spreading over my face as the scent of his own cooking skin fills the air.
Neirin leaps back, clutching his injured hand; there’s a circlet of burned flesh seared into the very center of his palm. His eyes ricochet between me and the harm I’ve done. Something dark sparkles behind them. Something altogether stranger than pain and surprise, something I don’t understand and probably never will.
