Page 86 of Outcast Fae
“They took someone I care about, too, and I won’t rest until I set them free or die trying.”
“But how can they get away with this?” Sinasre still seemed conflicted as he tried to process everything we’d learned. “Those humans’ families, they’ll have questions.”
“I think,” Vaughn said, “that the only ones they let die are people who have no one left to worry about them. I know Wally had no parents, he was a foster kid, and Daniella… we saw her grandmother was sick. She probably…” He trailed off.
“She probably died,” I finished for him, feeling a pang of relief that at least Daniella hadn’t suffered through her grandmother’s loss. “And us,” I added, my hatred filling my chest to the brim, “no one gives a shit about us.”
“My mother should.” Sinasre set his plate and water bottle aside, avoiding my eyes in shame. He walked away from us and approached the lapping waves. There, he stood, glancing toward the horizon and holding his injured side. Kiana had abandoned us, so she could hide in safety while we suffered.
Vaughn reclined against the palm tree and closed his eyes.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Saving my energy. You should do the same, fae. I think we’ll need it soon.”
Chapter Thirty
Birds chirped happily.Foliage swayed above me, soothing my dreams. I awoke slowly, a sense of peace and safety washing over me.
Alanthyl was beautiful. My home. No other place could ever compare to it.
I blinked. Shafts of sunlight seeped through the top of the palm trees. Palm trees? There were no palm trees in Alanthyl.
My peace shattered as I crashed back down to reality. I was still on the godsforsaken island.
Still, the feeling of safety remained. I glanced over. Vaughn was lying next to me, his large hand interlaced with mine and resting on top of his chest.
In my surprise, my first instinct was to pull away, then I realized it was stupid since who knew how long we’d been sleeping like this.
Without the pang of guilt and embarrassment I normally felt, I allowed myself to scan his face, the sharp angles of his cheekbones and jaw, the slope of his nose and thick eyebrows, the curve of his lips, the smoothness of his forehead. He was so handsome it hurt. I watched his mouth twitch as he slept in peace, the way I had.
I should not feel this longing in my chest as I gazed at him. I should not want to run my hands down his body or press my lips to his. Yet, I did.
As if sensing my scrutiny, Vaughn woke up, his eyes springing open and staring straight into mine. Perhaps being discovered should have embarrassed me, but it didn’t. His gaze trapped me, the bottomless pupils, the sunburst pattern radiating from the middle of his beautiful seafoam-green irises. We watched each other for a long, quiet moment.
“I could fall into your eyes and never come out,” he finally said in the deep rumble of his voice.
I shivered. He’d said just what I’d been thinking.
Shifting to his side to face me better, still keeping a hold of my hand, he added, “I’ve never seen violet eyes like yours, and I’m afraid no other color will do from now on.”
Gods, what was he saying? No one had ever talked to me this way before.
“And your hair,” he reached over and took a strand between his fingers, “like silver moonlight streaked with the purple light of your eyes. Is it real?”
I frowned at the question.
He chuckled. “What a stupid question. Of course, it’s real.”
Vaughn leaned closer, his gaze falling to my lips. Tenderly, he kissed me. My eyes fluttered closed as my heart burst open.
He tasted salty like the ocean. His musk was masculine and intoxicating. Desire arose in me like never before. The thrill of it coursed through me, shocked me with its intensity. I had been around fae males in Alanthyl, but none of them had made me feel this way. Was this what it felt like to be swept away by emotions you couldn’t control? I’d heard about the feeling, akin to falling, but I’d never experienced it.
Not until now.
He pulled away too soon. The emotion that had filled his gaze just moments ago had changed and was replaced with something different.
Regret?
