Page 125 of Owned By the Fae
Dane steps in front of us, speaking with authority. ‘I am Dane. This is Kallum, Grey, and,’ he gestures to Lia, still unconscious in my arms, ‘Thalia.’
‘How did you get here? And why do you bring a human with you? There are rules about that sort of thing nowadays. No human who is not a friend to the fae is permitted in the Underhill.’
‘She isour friend,’ I say, standing straighter, a scowl on my face.
Isbeth’s eyes narrow almost imperceptibly. ‘Where have you come from?’
Dane glances at us. ‘We … we’re from the Dark Realms.’
Whispers erupt all around us, and both councilors look surprised before they school their faces to blankness.
Isbeth stands up and descends the marble steps to the main floor of the room.
‘How did you survive?’ she asks, seeming genuinely intrigued. ‘We thought none had after the Horde fell and the Gates were shut.’
More whispers.
‘We were taken in by a fae named Varrik.’
Isbeth’s face shutters instantly, and the whispers intensify.
‘You know the name,’ I say to her.
The male rises. ‘Take them.’
We're surrounded by guards, and I see Dane’s hand get ready to conjure while I move Lia so that I can grab my own sword if need be.
‘Wait!’
Isbeth draws closer, her eyes fixed on the human in my arms.
I curb my need to protect Lia by slitting all these cunts’ throats, starting with Isbeth … for now.
‘It can’t be,’ she breathes.
She surveys us again, this time seeming to take us in much more slowly as she waves the guards away.
‘Isbeth?’ Brakil questions from behind her.
She ignores him. ‘We mean you no harm. Have a healer brought.’
But at that moment, Lia’s eyes flutter open, and she gasps.
‘It remembers.’ She looks at me, her eyes wide. ‘It remembers everything!’
Isbeth’s face breaks out into a wonderous smile.
‘Please, follow the guards to the next room. We’ll talk.’ She glances at a fae nearby. ‘Have some refreshment brought!’
I glance at the others, wondering if this is a trick, but Lia nods.
‘It’s all right.’
We're led from the large hall amid louder murmurs and concerned faces and brought into a small, empty room with a fine, polished table and chairs. There’s nothing else in the roombar some murals of the Horde being triumphed over near a large city that Grey stares at.
We’re closed in with two purple-eyed guards who stand at the door. They don't speak to us.
‘Can you put me down?’ Lia asks, and I let her down carefully, practically forcing myself to let her go.
