Page 9 of A Dream Shrouded in Fury
Why didn’t you kill me?
The question haunted me.The choice of words, the despair in his tone.He hadn’t asked me out of curiosity or gratitude.It had been an accusation, as if he would have preferred for me to have killed him.
Well, he would get his wish as soon as he explained why he was in these woods.Perhaps it would speed up my mission if he knew talking would get us both what we wanted.
I hated how my heart squeezed at the thought, how the very idea of ending his life made me remember the way he’d looked at me after his fall out of bed—as though I were the most captivating creature he’d ever seen.No one had ever looked at me that way before.
Shaking my head, I rose from my chair, unable to sit any longer.The smart move would be to get away from the smell of him, that soft scent of sunshine and fresh-cut grass.But I’d told him I’d be here.
So I paced until my legs got tired, then I cooked a simple meal to fill his belly when he woke.That done, I drew his daggers and set to work cleaning and sharpening them.They were too well crafted to be left where they could rust under all that blood and rainwater.As I inspected them, I noted a dark shimmer along the edge of the blade and kept my fingers clear.Without knowing more about fae magic, I thought it wiser to be careful.At least I could be wise about something.
By the time the blades were in fighting condition, the sun was rising and my eyelids were sagging again.How long had it been since I’d slept?I leaned my head against the wall and allowed myself to drift off.
A sense of being watched jerked me awake, and I started forward, my heart racing, my muscles primed for a fight.When I broke through the rush of alarm, I found Jael staring at me from the bed, and my breath came out in a gust.
“You’re awake.”I rolled my stiff neck until it popped.“How long?”
He shifted, then winced.“Not very.”
I stood up and my back cracked in three different spots.“How are you feeling?”
“Better.”
Was I imagining the disappointment underlying his answer?I untied the bandage and checked his wound, amazed by how much progress his body had made since yesterday.“Impressive.You’ll be back on your feet before you know it.”Just in time for me to stop his heart for good.“That fae healing of yours needs to be bottled.”
Jael’s stare fixed on my mouth.“No more than your vampire blood.I knew it had healing properties, but we were never taught that it could stave off death.”
I smirked.“I didn’t realize fae studied vampires.Are we that enticing?”
“No.”When my gaze snapped to his, he cleared his throat.“I mean as a whole, fae aren’t enticed by anyone.But we’re taught about every species as a form of defence.We know you can’t go out in the sun without burning.We know you exist primarily on a blood diet but that you can eat food.We know your bite releases a venom that bonds you to your donor—and we know the venom doesn’t work on us.”
My eyebrows rose.That was a useful piece of information, and I hadn’t even started questioning him yet.“What do you mean it doesn’t work?”
He flinched as I finished retying the bandage.“Our magic makes us immune.”
Thank goodness I hadn’t tried to bite him yesterday.My only reward would have been to kill him before he could speak to me.“That’s good to know.No undying fealty from you.Got it.”
A low chuckle escaped him, and his eyes flew wide at the sound.I did him the courtesy of ignoring it.
“What should I know about you, then?Since you seem to know all our secrets.You say you have magic?”Another important detail if I had to ready myself for a fight.
Jael’s face clouded over.“It’s inherent in our blood.We’re children of the sun, so we make the sun work for us.Some fae do, anyway.”
But not him, I gathered.Good.At least I didn’t have to worry about being blasted with daylight.There was more to that story, but I wasn’t about to pry.I was trying to heal his wounds, not poke them.
Besides, there were other stories I needed to focus on.Like his reasons for being in our territory.If Thorn was right, he would spin me a pretty tale rather than reveal the full truth, but I could follow the threads.Somewhere in the weave, he’d let something slip.
Before I jumped into the heart of the matter, I decided to start with softer questions.I told myself it was to test the waters, get a feel for the way he spoke to see if I could pinpoint the tricks, but beneath the excuse was the desire to learn everything I could from this man—this stranger from outside my territory—while I had the chance.
“You’re from Soldara?”
He nodded.“Born and raised.Unfortunately.”
I canted my head.“You don’t like it?From everything I’ve read, it’s a beautiful place.”
“From the outside, it’s perfect,” he agreed.His gaze flicked over me.“You have books?”
I huffed.“Is that what they teach you fae?That vampires are ignorant?”
