Page 36 of Rebel Fae
“You will be glad to hear,” Adaline said behind me, “that your aunt—same as you, Tally—is working with us. It’s been a pleasure partnering with her. She has a wealth of information and has shared the most delightful secrets about fae kind.”
Adaline’s eyes locked into mine as if she wanted me to pay close attention to what she would say next. “Very,veryinteresting secrets. Secrets that could change the entire world.”
Chapter Fourteen
As I waitedinside the small room the guards had placed me in, my mind kept racing over what Adaline had said. Kiana was working with the Habermanns. She’d told them secrets about Faerie.
It wasn’t surprising my aunt was working with the enemy. She’d never been one to think of others or put her subjects’ needs ahead of her own. When The Bane was attacking Faerie and then the human world, Kiana went into hiding with her family, coming out to help only when forced to. Even then she’d been quick to duck right back into hiding as soon as she could.
I didn’t have a lot of love for my aunt, but I had a lot of love for my cousins. And, though I hadn’t been able to ask about Sinasre before being shuffled into this tiny room to wait for gods knew what, it didn’t appear that my aunt was too concerned for his wellbeing. I took solace in this. If there was one thing I knew, it was that my aunt loved her children. She wouldn’t cooperate if they were suffering. Maybe she had negotiated for Sinasre’s freedom. I had to hope so, for his sake.
My mind wandered to what secrets Kiana might have spilled. Everything that mattered to my people was destroyed along with our home. We were refugees. We had nothing but what we carried on our backs. I couldn’t think of one secret that would matter to Adaline and Alexander Habermann. All they cared about was their little “experiments,” whatever those might be.
I gripped the bed frame and stared at the blank, white wall across from me. The small ten-by-fourteen room might not look like a prison cell with its basic furniture and simple wall screen that showed a video of the island’s sandy beach, but it held me captive all the same. I wondered how long I’d be here and when or if I’d see Arryn. Adaline had made some indications it might happen, but that didn’t mean she’d keep her word.
She was a snake, that one, not to be trusted.
I wondered if Vaughn was with Courtney right now. I hoped, for his sake, he was.
My thoughts turned to Ronnie, Becca, and Bael. Even to Regina who we’d left in a terrible situation. It had been hours since we’d left, and I wondered if they had opened the chest and gone back to the campsite. I wondered how poor Ronnie was doing.
As the minutes passed, my mood darkened. There was nothing like solitude to dredge up every dark thought and bring it floating to the surface.
When footsteps sounded outside my room, I stood up, glad something might happen, though my heart began to pound. When the door slid open and Vaughn stepped inside, my anticipation turned to surprise.
“Oh, hi,” I said, fumbling for words. “Did they send you to get me?”
He stepped inside and let the door shut behind him. “Who? The Habermanns? No. They let me see Courtney, and then I wanted to come see you.”
Oh. Vaughn had been allowed to see his loved one. That explained the smile on his face and his light mood, one I hadn’t seen on him in a while. I tried not to let my jealousy show. He’d been able to make sure his cousin was well when they hadn’t afforded me such a privilege.
He sat on my bed, taking up most of the room. “It was so good to see her. There were guards supervising our visit. They brought her in, then took her away again, but we talked. She looks healthy. She says they’ve been keeping her busy helping entertain the young ones.” His eyes went soft as if he was replaying the interaction in his mind. When he looked up at me, I must not have been hiding my disappointment very well because a frown darkened his face.
“Oh, Tally. I’m so sorry.”
I shrugged. “I’m glad she’s okay.”
He stood up. “I’m being super insensitive. They didn’t let you see Arryn, did they?”
I shook my head, biting my lip so that no tears would fall. “I didn’t really think they would.”
He growled, glancing over his shoulder at the door. “That’s not fair. Adaline said you could see her. They can’t just do this to you.”
“It seems like they can,” I said, sighing. “I’ve never really had any power in this situation. I’m a fool for thinking I ever did.”
“No.” Vaughn set his jaw like someone on a mission. “Stay here.”
He stormed to the door, waved a slim card at a wall panel, and stepped through the door as it opened. When it closed after him, I stared at it, wondering what he might do. Would he lose his temper and get himself in trouble? Adaline could easily replace him as a guard. Plenty of others would do her bidding for the right price.
In a few minutes, those heavy footsteps returned, and I waited in anticipation.
The door slid open.
And Arryn was on the other side.
She looked the same as I’d last seen her, dwarfed by the large, orange jumpsuit. Her silver hair was greasy and unkempt and her large black eyes still darted about as if something or someone might snatch her at any moment, but she seemed okay. Healthy. Alive.
She ran into my arms.
