Page 70 of Outcast Fae
Her hand froze in midair. Her face stiffened with anger, but just as quickly, it relaxed and her smile returned.
“You may not be aware of this,” she said, setting her spoon down, “and though I owe you no explanation, I will offer you one. Those who die here, deserve it. The crimes they have committed are heinous. You may feel a bond with the others, but you don’t really know any of them, do you? You don’t know what they have done. Not really.”
Anger flashed in Vaughn’s eyes. “So what? Are you saying that the death penalty is legal here?”
“Death penalty?” Adaline echoed. “Who said anything about a death penalty? Every camp member at New Starts holds their own life in their hands and makes their own choices.”
“Like Wally?” I said, anger seething in my chest, twisting like a venomous snake ready to strike.
Adaline’s blue eyes shifted in my direction. She sighed. “That was an unfortunate accident. You were not supposed to approach the dome. The guards have orders to shoot intruders on sight. The instructions given to you when you arrived were clear, and you can’t deny that.”
I gave her a hateful glance but couldn’t argue with what she was saying. Wehadbeen warned. She smiled with satisfaction and ate a bit of her soup. Savoring, she inclined her head toward Vaughn’s bowl, inviting him to eat.
“I don’t like soup.” Vaughn pushed his bowl away, turning up his nose.
I did the same.
Adaline picked up her little bell and rang it again. “Very well.”
The servant came back, taking Vaughn’s bowl and replacing it with a plate topped with steak and asparagus drizzled with a white, creamy sauce. He gave me a steak of my own which made my mouth water.
Vaughn picked up a dulled knife and fork and began cutting his meat. He encouraged me to do the same with a flick of his eyes. If we didn’t eat, it would appear suspicious, especially considering how starved for good food we were.
We ate in silence for a long moment, chewing slowly. The meat melted in my mouth. It was delicious, and both Vaughn and I devoured it greedily.
The images on the wall switched from the fae forest to the skyline of a city. I blinked at the tops of the hundreds of buildings that replaced the beautiful trees.
“The scenery of this island paradise gets tiresome sometimes,” Adaline said, dabbing at her mouth with the white napkin, leaving makeup stains behind. After a short pause, she added, “How about a toast?” She grabbed the wine glass in front of her and lifted it. “To Vaughn and Tally for their amazing ingenuity and strength.”
Vaughn picked up the glass and lifted it to his lips. I stared pointedly at him. How much did he trust Horace to go along with his advice? Vaughn smelled the wine and swirled it around with a frown, then took a short sip, or pretended to. He swallowed audibly, then wrinkled his nose again. With a shrug, he set the glass down, conveying that he didn’t care for this vintage very much.
“A pity you don’t like it,” Adaline said. “It’s one of my favorite French wines.”
“It was okay,” Vaughn said.
Adaline turned to me. “How about you, Tally? I hear the fae make excellent wine. I’d like to hear your opinion.”
Vaughn gave me an encouraging nod. I pretended to take a sip as he had done, then set the glass aside. “I’m with Vaughn. It’s fine.”
Adaline threw her head back and laughed. “It seems that when you leave New Starts, you’ll have to invite me to drink with you. I am now very curious to taste what you have tasted.”
“You, perhaps, know my aunt,” Vaughn said, a slight threat underlying his words. “She is a collector and expert in many things. Wine is one of them.”
“Yes,” Adaline said, her face tightening. “Alicia Collins. She is well known by many. An exemplary woman. You must be proud.”
“Very.” Vaughn sniffled, stretched his neck from side to side. He blinked slowly. A heavy sigh followed, then his eyes closed altogether and he slumped down in his chair, unconscious. I almost jumped off my chair and demanded what was wrong with him. Then I realized what was happening.
There had been something in the wine to put us to sleep. My heart began thundering in my chest.
Youmustdo as I do, Vaughn had said.
Gods, this didn’t seem like the best plan. Pretending to fall asleep would leave us vulnerable, but if Vaughn was doing it, then it meant he really trusted Horace. I had no other alternative but to do the same.
Letting my eyelids droop heavily, I pretended to go to sleep and slid off my chair to the floor.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I layprone on the floor, my heart pounding, with only one thought in my head: Why would they bring us to the dome and try to knock us unconscious? To kill us? And how would pretending to be knocked out help our cause of seeing more of the dome? Was Vaughn right to listen to Horace or had we just made our situation ten times worse?
