Page 21 of A Dream Shrouded in Fury
Desperation ate at me.I was ready to let this go.I’d reclaimed my music.I’d experienced something that felt like my magic.I wanted to explore more of that.I wanted to know how far Kalla could drag me out of the nightmare I’d lost myself in.
“What’s the point, Corban?”I asked.“The carriage is gone.More fae are in the area—no doubt more guards.Brynna is so far out of reach we’d need to come up with an entirely new plan.”
A plan that would likely also fail.
“The carriage isn’t gone,” Corban snapped.“I overheard them talking, Jael.The carriage was damaged, and there were too many injured soldiers.They’re only a few days away.We still have a chance.”
My heart stuttered.The carriage was close?There might have been a time those words were a raft in the current, but now they created a stone so heavy I had to lean against the wall to keep my feet.
The other two turned to look at me, and the weight of each of their stares added to the burden on my shoulders.
I’d escaped.I’d been free.But now, with the resurrection of the Coynfare, the void enveloped me once more.
Kalla
XIV
“What were you thinking, child?”Thorn demanded.
We hadn’t left the main cavern, so despite the many vampires filling the space with the sounds of fury life, it was impossible for us not to draw some attention.
I did my best not to flinch.“You told me to take some time to figure out what I want.So I did.”
Thorn’s eyebrows shot clear of her hairline.“What you want is afae?”
A laugh burst out of me.“It’s mad and makes no sense, but yes!Everything I was looking for—stories, passion, adventure—it’s all wrapped up in him.I didn’t go out there looking for him, but I found him.I listened to my instincts, and I saved him.He feels just as caged as I do and is just as eager to start over.”
At least, that’s what he’d told me, but that was before we’d learned more rebels had survived.How would he feel once he’d spoken with them?My stomach twisted with the idea that they would pull him back into their circle—a circle he hadn’t wanted to be a part of anymore.
Would he choose them, or would he still want to stay with me?
Thorn dragged me away from my tangled mess of thoughts.“You endangered the fury, Kalla.”I did my best to hide another flinch but was pretty sure this one slipped through.“By bringing him here, by giving in to your selfish impulses, you put us at risk.”
“I took precautions,” I said, offended that she would think I wouldn’t.
“Oh yes?What of the fae in the forest you just warned us about?What if your littletreathad killed you and fled?What if he had shared the location with someone—”
“He had no idea where the fury is located, I blindfolded him for the walk home, and of course I made sure we weren’t followed.If he’d escaped, he could have blabbed to all of Soldara and they never would have found us.But he wouldn’t do that.”
Thorn set her hands on her hips, her grey eyes blazing.“How can you possibly know that?”
“Because he wants nothing to do with his country.His king, his people—they turned on him, and he’s done with them.”
“Is that what he told you?”Thorn pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand while curling the fingers of her other into her hip.“Oh, child, did you hear nothing I taught you?”She dropped her hands and stepped towards me, lowering her voice for my ears alone.“No one outside this fury can be trusted, but especially not fae.They weaponize the truth.They deceive.They play you to get what they want because it amuses them to do it.He’s a handsome one, this Jael.Those green eyes of his could lure the most seasoned among us into believing him, but he’s using you, Kalla.”
“He’s not,” I said, pleading with her to be wrong.
The corners of her eyes turned down with sympathy.“Did he tell you why they were in the woods in the first place?”
“To kill their princess,” I said.“To destroy their king.”
“To start a war,” she agreed, having obviously learned the story from the other fae.“To draw Golthwaine and Soldara into a conflict that would affect all of us.If they achieved their aims, fae and human soldiers would tear through these woods.We would lose our trees.We would lose our hunting ground.The hatred these rebels have for their king is greater than any other desires they might carry.After speaking with the one named Corban, I believe there is nothing they wouldn’t do to finish their mission.”
I wanted to argue with her, but Jael had told me himself that war had been the goal, and he hadn’t seemed all that distraught over the number of casualties there would be on either side of the battle—or the people who might get caught in the middle.
But he’d sounded so genuine when he’d said he was ready to put that goal behind him.With the princess gone and the others dead, he didn’t have that pressure riding him anymore.
I’d made him laugh.He’d created the most beautiful music.
