Page 109 of Owned By the Fae
‘After my delightful time in the fold, I oddly have no wish to live among any more of ourbrethren,’ he sneers, his thoughts mirroring my own regarding more fae. ‘Besides, the Light Realm is where it’s safest for Lia ... and ...’ He gives me a small smile. ‘And the babe as well.’
Dane stands up at Kal’s words and paces the room. ‘We need to find out what Varrik will use to get to the Light Realm. And why he hasn’t gone. He must already know what this map shows, which means he has his starting point. Why is he still here? What’s he waiting for?’
‘There’s something else,’ I say. ‘The Harbinger. It believes the Dark Realms is close to discovering the fold, but it can’t be sure. It told me that it will know when it’s near, but we may have only hours to get everyone out once it finds the location.’
‘Then we have to work quickly. They’ll try to steal whatever Varrik is going to use to get to the Light Realm. We need tofind out what Fiana’s plan is, when they’re leaving, and how they intend to get out of the fold.’
‘I can get her to talk,’ I say. ‘She thinks me a fool.’
‘How will you get her here?’ Grey asks.
I wince. ‘She'll come in the morning after Dane ...’
They all look at each other.
‘How do you know for certain?’ Kal murmurs.
‘She always does,’ I say quietly, leaving it at that.
There’s no reason for them to know about the rest, I decide.
‘When she comes, I will get her talking. Even if she doesn't tell me how she intends to leave in words,’ I look at Kal pointedly, ‘she'll think about it.’
Kal grins, following immediately. ‘And if I'm in here ...’
I nod. ‘Perhaps you can glean something from her thoughts. Then we can use what we find out to leave before she can ...’
I pull out of Kal’s grip, my stomach finally revolting at all the revelations, and I run to the chamber pot, emptying the contents of my stomach into it loudly.
My body is shaking as I wipe my mouth and glance over at Dane. In truth, he doesn't look much better than I do.
‘You do believe us, don’t you?’ Kal asks, giving Dane a hard look. ‘You aren’t going to leave this room and tell her all this, are you?’
Dane sighs. ‘Nothing is how I thought. Not Varrik, not Fiana, not even the fold and, in truth, since Fiana returned, I’ve not been able to understand my feelings for her. It’s all seemed ...wrong.’
I can’t help my snort. ‘What of all the times you've been with her?’
Dane frowns. ‘I haven't been with her, Lia, even when I tried it ...’ He shakes his head.
Kal chuckles. ‘Aye, we were there for that one as well, weren’t we, Grey? His cock wouldn't work. She was one angry female!’
He sniggers, and Dane snarls at him as Grey rolls his eyes.
‘She told me ...’ I whisper. ‘She went into great detail about all thethingsyou did together.’
Dane sits back down hard. ‘I have not been with Fiana. I tried when she first got back, I admit that. I thought if we pretended things were like they were before, it might be easier between us. But I haven't spent much time with her at all. I haven't wanted to. It’s not been ... right. Kal can look through my head if you want.’
I watch him carefully, but find I’m able to accept that Fiana is lying much more easily than Dane, especially with the others witnessing themnottogether.
‘Fine,’ I say. ‘But before we do anything, someone needs to go to Jak and tell him to hide Ryon.’
‘Who?’ Dane asks, looking bewildered.
‘He'll know who you mean, and I won't do anything against Varrik or Fiana unless he's safe. Please.’
Dane grits his teeth and nods. ‘Fine. I’ll go. At sunrise. For now, I ... need to ...’ He shakes his head. ‘I need some fresh air.’
He gets up and leaves the room, startling the guard dozing in the hall outside as he slips out.
