Page 33 of Owned By the Fae
It glances at me, almost lookingrueful.
‘I have … thoughts,’ it confesses. ‘Thoughts I never had before. Those fae males of yours …’
‘Not mine,’ I mutter. ‘... You want them dead for betraying us.’
I’m guessing, but they did betray us, and the Harbinger has shown itself to be a staunch protector of me lately.
I don’t know how I feel about it wanting revenge. About them. I’ve been trying not to think of them at all. What’s done is done. I’m angry and hurt, but I don’t think I want them dead.
It lets out a grunt. ‘I should. Fucking traitors.’ It glances out its periphery at me. ‘But they did keep you alive and out of the slavers’ hands while we traveled the Dark Realms ... and they took care of you when you were Breach Blet. That counts for something, I suppose, even if they are cunts.’
Surprised and sensing that there’s more to its newthoughts, I sit down next to it.
‘Is it … Do you …missthem?’ I ask quietly.
It doesn't answer for a long time.
‘You do,’ it says finally. ‘You care about them even now, and I care about you.’
I sit down beside it with a sigh and look out over the lake.
‘Do you remember anything about before yet?’ I ask quietly, changing the subject. ‘Do you know this place?’
‘There are pieces that come to me sometimes. A place in the dark.’ It angles its head up to look at the black water. ‘I was there for a long time, but I don’t believe I was alone. Not like ...’
My brow furrows and before I know it, I'm catching the Harbinger’s hand. It looks over at me in surprise.
‘You aren't alone,’ I say adamantly, ‘and neither am I. If we're going to survive Varrik, if we’re going to destroy him and save these fae cunts of the fold, then we need each other.’
The Harbinger nods. ‘Yes, and we may need to act soon.’
I look at it in question.
‘I told you. What he does here, what he’s been doing. It hasn’t gone unnoticed, my human friend. There’s a price to pay. The Dark Realms itself demands justice, and it will find him to deliver it.’
‘It’s closer to locating the fold?’
‘Yes. I believe it is. And when it does, it will destroy him as well as everything else in its path.’
‘I thought that’s what you wanted,’ I can’t help but murmur. ‘Destruction.’
‘I told you. Things are different now.I’mdifferent.’ It looks at me. ‘He’s going to try to make use of us soon. Will you let him?’
‘I have to do what he says,’ I say quietly. ‘Whatever he wishes is his until we can destroy him.’
It lets out a harsh breath. ‘You won’t fight?’
I lean back, lying on the ground next to it. ‘You know why I can’t,’ I whisper. ‘Not yet.’
It frowns. ‘Because of one child?’
‘Yes.’ I turn my head away sharply as tears come to my eyes. ‘I underestimated the lengths he would go to to force my compliance before, and I vowed I never would again.’
‘These vows you insist on ...’ With a roll of its eyes, it looks back up at the black sky. ‘I didn't understand before,’ it mutters. ‘When you ran to the outer circles, I mean, and the sorrow you felt for the deaths Varrik ordered.’
‘Do you now?’
‘I think so.’
