Page 19 of Rebel Fae
After that, we ate our gravy-soaked meat with its accompanying crackers. I watched Baeleath’s huge shadow sway on the floorboard, his horns forming a “V” and bringing back memories of Faerie where such shadows around the campfire had been the norm.
Tears pricked in the back of my eyes. I swallowed thickly and lowered my head, afraid I would cry. Something wet touched my hand, and my eyes sprang open. I found Vaughn now lying next to me, his snout nudging my hand.
Hesitantly, I allowed my fingers to trail along the side of his face to the soft fur on top of his head. I stroked one of his ears and found it was velvety smooth. He closed his eyes, content.
When I glanced up and found Becca, Ronnie, Regina, and Baeleath all staring. I pulled my hand away.
“Um, I guess I forgot he’s not a dog.” I grinned, feeling like an idiot for letting my guard down.
Ronnie gave me a knowing smile, eyes flicking toward the food he’d prepared for Vaughn, which was still untouched. He was trying to tell me he understood. He’d treated Vaughn as if he were a dog, too. If the boy only knew, there was more between Vaughn and me than just an absentminded stroke of fur.
For his part, Baeleath huffed and turned away to face the wall. I grimaced. He was suspicious, for sure, but was choosing not to confront me about it.
“Um, Baeleath,” Ronnie said hesitantly, “What happened to your wing?”
Baeleath stiffened and went utterly still. His body language was clear. He didn’t like this question. I was curious to know, as well, but I shook my head at Ronnie to indicate he should leave the Khurynian alone.
Ronnie, however, seemed undeterred. “Do you miss flying? I bet you do.”
I cringed and shook my head at the boy.
He ignored me. “It would be so cool to soar through the sky. We have a drone at home, and I get to watch the camera as it goes over the trees and, man, if I could fly and then not, that would crush me.”
“Ronnie!” I exclaimed, unable to help myself. The question was more than insensitive.
“It’s all right, Tally,” Baeleath said. “The boy doesn’t know.” He glanced at Ronnie over his broken wing. “Yes, I miss it, but I’d rather not talk about it.”
Ronnie got to his feet and approached Baeleath. He lifted a hand toward the Khurynian’s broken wing. “May I?” he asked.
What was he doing?! Did he have no sense?
Baeleath glared at the boy over his shoulder, looking as if he was finally losing his patience. Even sitting down he was almost level with Ronnie, but the boy didn’t appear intimidated. If the little warlock had known Baeleath belonged to a clan of fierce warriors, would that have made a difference?
“Maybe I can heal it?” Ronnie smiled sheepishly. “At least I can try.”
Baeleath’s disagreeable expression suddenly quivered between hope and doubt. “Is that… possible?”
“Well, um, I’ve fixed broken bones before. The first aid scout patches are the easiest to get.” He shrugged, lantern light dancing in his dark eyes.
Nodding, Baeleath permitted Ronnie to touch his wing. The boy reached tentatively and pressed his fingers to the black feathers. I held my breath. Becca and Regina stared, and Vaughn rose to all four.
Ronnie closed his eyes, frowning in concentration. After a moment, blue light shimmered in his fingertips and flowed onto Bealeath’s wing, skimming its surface, covering it entirely like a coat of paint. The light pulsed for a moment, then died out slowly. Ronnie took a step back and shook his head.
“I… I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s more complicated than I thought.”
Baeleath’s face fell. My heart ached for him.
Ronnie retreated, his head bowed. He sat next to Becca who patted him on the shoulder. He gave her a quick smile, then seemed to get lost in thought, his brow furrowed in concentration as if he were trying to figure out what had gone wrong.
With a heavy sigh, Baeleath turned away, hiding his face from us once more.
I sat back down, my stomach an empty void as I tried to imagine the Khurynian’s pain at the loss of his wing.
True quiet fell over our group, and we all settled down. But I didn’t sleep all night, and neither did Baeleath.
Chapter Eight
The morning sunlanced my eyes while, below me, someone groaned. I turned over and felt the swaying of my hammock as it rocked gently with my movement. Hammock? What hammock?
