Page 118 of Owned By the Fae
‘You’re going to get yourself killed,’ I say to the room in case he’s still in here.
Grey shakes his head. ‘Just make sure the foolish cunt remains hidden if he disturbs Varrik’s wards.’
I nod and close my eyes, keeping my focus on the patterns of the keep’s wards to make sure I can nullify them if Kal appears in them. Minutes go by, and everyone in the room remains quiet as we wait.
‘It’s not there,’ Kal huffs, appearing next to me.
I stand up. ‘No more of that!’ I hiss. ‘We plan properly.’ My eyes cut to Lia and Lia’s abdomen. ‘No more playing,’ I say meaningfully and am gratified when Kal looks abashed.
‘So it wasn’t here?’ Grey asks.
Kal shakes his head. ‘No. Either Varrik has moved it elsewhere, or Fiana already stole it in preparation.’
He sits down heavily. ‘Fuck! If we had it, we could leave now. No waiting for the Harbinger, no waiting for Varrik.’
‘Perhaps if we knew what Varrik wanted, we could use it against him,’ Lia suggests. ‘What’s at the end of the map? What does Varrik want?’
‘I think we can all agree that the betterment of the fae isn’t it,’ Grey snarks.
‘Aye,’ Kal mutters. ‘Can you read the runes?’
‘Runes?’ I ask.
Kal plonks himself down and slides the parchment with the map on it across the table. He grabs Lia and sits her on his lap, wrapping his arms around her.
I stare at how she relaxed she looks with him for a second, giving in to the yearning, but I shake it off and turn the paper over.
I stare at the runes in consternation. ‘I know them,’ I murmur as I trace the symbols with my fingers, trying to remember their meanings. ‘It’s just been a long time. Give me a moment.’
I wrack my brain and then turn the page back over, staring at the star and the other symbols.
‘I don’t remember most of them,’ I say softly, angry that I’ve forgotten. ‘But these ones here mean ‘a place beneath’ or ‘under a hill’. They’re on the other side as well.’
‘Under a hill?’ Lia frowns, her gaze becoming unfocused, an expression I’ve come to associate with her talking with the Harbinger.
‘Yes,’ I say, ‘and it’s where the star is. It’s the destination on the map.’
Kal looks as puzzled as I do, but Grey’s expression isn’t the same as ours.
‘Underhill,’ he whispers to himself.
‘You know it?’ I ask. ‘You’ve heard of it before?’
‘Yes,’ he mutters, rubbing his head. ‘And no. It was long ago. Before ... before I came here. I don’t remember much, but I think the place the map goes to ... it’s called the Underhill.’
Chapter Fourteen
Lia
The Underhill. I stare at the map of the Light Realm and frown, wondering what’s at the end of it that’s so important to Varrik.
I pace the room as I wait for the tea I’ve made with the flowers to steep. The Harbinger is impatient. It wants me to drink it now, hoping that it will give it the extra that it needs to break free, but I tell it to wait. If this is going to work, I want the tea to be as strong as possible.
But we’re on borrowed time. I keep thinking back to the way Fiana looked at me before she left, and I’m even more convinced that she suspects something.
I pick up the cup and take a sip, wrinkling my nose at the vile bitterness of it. But it’s not foul enough to stop, so I drink a bit more.
‘Anything?’
