Page 76 of Given to the Fae
Locke glances back at me and smirks. ‘Just in case that pretty little head of yours is thinking of running, darling, remember we’re the only ones with the key to the Light Realm. There’s no getting there without us, understand?’
I nod and follow them back into the main street, putting my thoughts of escape away for now.
‘And stop looking down,’ Locke hisses as we walk. ‘You’re a proud fae female. You do not stare at the ground. You hold your head high.’
I nod, putting my shoulders back and walking next to him instead of behind him. It feels odd, though. I’m a fraud and it feels as if everyone is looking at me and they can see that I’m but a lowly slave in a very illegal costume. My breathing quickens as I wonder how many of them would be punished before they were able to get through my sentence of thrashing of me to ribbons to then hang me out for the birds to feast on. I’m glad when I see the Gate that we came through a couple of days ago ahead.
We get there just in time, only waiting for a few moments before the roar of the Bridge.
We traipse through with the horses in tow. I take a deep breath and step into the Breach. This is the first time I haven’t been in the cage or on horseback.
The shadows and forms assail me as soon as I’m inside the corridor. They hiss around me and whisper words I can’t understand, they scream and shout, the sounds making me clutch at my new pointed ears.
My name.One of them said my name. It was whispered into my ear. How do they know my name?!
Someone else is yelling but I can’t make out their words over the din, and I’m suddenly scooped up into thick arms.
Morgan.
I snuggle into the warm chest, pressing my nose into his throat as my hands curl around his neck.
The sounds of the Breach disappear abruptly, and I know the Gate has closed. I look up at Morgan and am shocked to see it’s Locke. My heart lurches in my chest and my cheeks color. His arms tighten around me and his throat bobs. He stares into my eyes.
‘You must never stop inside the Breach,’ he murmurs, but he doesn’t sound angry.
‘I didn’t realize I had,’ I reply in just as soft a voice.
Locke
Jak’s throat clearing has me looking away from the female and her rapidly pinkening cheeks.
She suits her conjured fae ears and violet eyes, there’s no doubt, but I find that I prefer her looking like herself. I like peering into the depths of those expressive, deep brown eyes of hers.
Her hands unwind from me almost unwillingly and a part of me misses touching her, guiding her through her pleasure when I was forced to release her those few times.
Gods, what a cunt I am.
I put her down and look around at the leafless trees and the red sun.
This place isn’t familiar.
‘Find the Gate box,’ I command, and, as the other two hunt around the vicinity, I watch Bryn.
‘What was that back there in the street?’ I ask.
‘What was what?’ she asks innocently.
But I’m not fooled. ‘The old woman. You threw yourself between her and her master, Bryn. What the fuck were you thinking? Why did you do it?’
Bryn stares at me for a beat too long. I know her explanation will be false and a part of me would love to conjure the truth from her lips, but the thought makes me sick to my stomach. I’ve worked enough magick on her.
‘She was just an old woman. Weak and frail.’
‘But you did the same when Bere was beating that other female in the barn. She wasn’t old and frail.’
‘Bell told you, I thought. I owed her and she asked it of me.’
I stare at her, watching intently. ‘But why you, Bryn? I see a pattern.’ I step closer. ‘Why are you the one who throws herself into danger to help these slaves who wouldn’t do the same for you?’
