Page 58 of Given to the Fae
Locke nods. ‘At the back.’
‘Start a fire. Burn this fucking place to the ground,’ I snarl. ‘Any slaves left will escape the flames through there.’
Locke nods at Jak and turns back to the girl who hasn’t moved.
‘We won’t hurt you,’ he tries, and then I see his fingers moving as he begins a conjure.
I shove him so hard that he topples over from his crouch.
‘Don’t you dare!’ I growl. ‘Not now!’
‘What are you doing?’ he hisses. ‘How else are we going to get her out of here? It’s just to calm her.’
I practically bare my teeth at him. ‘You’ll do more harm than good.’
‘You’re an expert on human females, now?’ he counters with a sneer.
‘I don’t need to be. Help Jak. Use magick to start the blaze if you’re so eager to work a conjure.’
He sighs but moves away.
I snatch the dress Bryn was wearing from the floor and kneel in front of her, taking care not to touch her.
‘Female,’ I start and then cringe. ‘Bryn.’
She looks at me and I hold out her dress. She takes it from me immediately and puts it over her head. Her shaking fingers fumble with the laces. She can’t tie them.
‘May I help?’ I ask quietly.
She swallows hard and then nods, and I carefully tie her dress together for her, making sure I don’t touch her even once.
She stands, using the wall heavily to rise. Her breathing is shallow, and tears leak from her eyes. She walks forward, shying away from the block, and not looking at it as she passes it.
Her knees give out on the fifth step, and I catch her.
‘It’s finished. You’re safe,’ I whisper as I pick her up.
Bryn shudders in my arms, not making a sound. I cocoon her in my thick cloak and take a final look around the room with revulsion while Jak swipes the gold coins littering the table into a pouch. Flames are beginning to lick the walls as we leave quietly via the front door. I feel Locke’s magick wash over me, no doubt making our faces forgettable in case the guards are called to question bystanders about the fire. It’ll be put out quickly with magick here, but hopefully by the time it is, Warrior and the demon will be naught but charred flesh.
I frown as I see movement out of the corner of my eye by the side of the building in the alleyway, and I could swear I see a flash of a red cloak, but when I look, it’s just a couple of coughing bulls escaping the smoke through the other door. I see no others so the human slaves barely register in my mind.
The walk back to the inn is short, and yet it seems to take an age. The mulling crowds around the market and thosegoing about their business have my body coiling, and if I wasn’t holding Bryn, I’d be pushing them out of my way, growling insults into their faces.
When we get to the courtyard, I feel my body relax a bit, but it’s not until we get to our rooms that I begin to truly calm down. As I do, my fury increases, and it takes all of my self-control not to wrestle Locke to the ground. I blame him for this, for leaving her open to what’s been done. For not protecting her. Almost as much as I blame myself.
Locke paces the room, glancing at me and the girl I hold at regular intervals.
‘We knew he was a cruel cunt,’ I grate out, but Jak hushes me.
‘We’ll speak about it once we’ve made sure she’s not been harmed. Put her on the daybed.’
I try to do what Jak suggests, but the girl grips onto me, not letting go. She wraps herself around me, with a whimper and I stop trying to put her down immediately. Instead, I sit with her in my arms and give Jak a helpless look.
‘Bryn?’ he asks quietly. ‘I’m a trained healer.’
I feel her scoff.
‘It’s true,’ I say.
