Page 63 of Beneath a Shattered Sky
He looks across, raising a bushy brow. “I’m surprised you think so little of your chances, given you’ve already gotten the redcap’s approval.”
His brown eyes look pointedly at the hat in the frame, now the exact same shade as the rest of the curse mark. I have no idea when that happened, but it doesn’t mean anything.
“The redcap is insane.” I dodge out of the way of an asshole soldier who seems determined to shoulder check me. “I’m beginning to think he only approves of me because he finds the idea of torturing me long term more entertaining than a swift death at the dour knight’s hand.”
Jaro shrugs, conceding my point, and silence takes us both as we leave the tree and walk across a path that wraps around the outside of the trunk before depositing us on the leaf-strewn floor.
It’s cold, and I chew my lip as I debate trying to find a fae who will sell me some warmer clothes. If we’re travelling to the Winter Court next, I’ll need them. There’s a reason I didn’t waste my time trying to conquer the icy mountain kingdom. The frozen temperatures would do more to decimate my father’s army than any opposing force would.
Prae and I had agreed that taking the other courts, and then attacking winter once their supplies were cut off, was for the best. After all, their barren landscape and Rose’s absence making the snows worse meant they were almost entirely dependent on the other courts for most of their food. Starving them out was the best strategy.
Of course, now that she’s reconnected the court to Danu, it could probably withstand my father laying siege to it for another decade. Maybe longer.
“What are your plans to win him over?” Jaro asks.
We’re heading away from the palace, but I’m not sure if he has a destination in mind. I grimace and think over his question.
Honestly, I’m not sure I have a plan. I can’t think of any reason why, in his shoes, I’d ever trust me. Especially with something as precious as the little queen.
“Does dying count?” I try to inject some levity into my tone, but it falls flat. “Look, when Danu cursed me, it became clear pretty fast that I’m going to die. I’ve got three months left to live. Apparently, I’d rather spend them in service to the female who cared enough not to brainwash me than the father who’s been using my name against me since I was a child.”
I run a hand through my short hair, wondering idly if I should trim it again. I used to take huge pride in my braids, especially after losing the ones I’d had as a child during my first exile to the Deep Caves. Now… I…kind of like how light my head feels without them.
“He has your name?” Jaro asks, frowning as even more distrust enters his expression. “You’re not about to tell me everything you did was because of that.”
Rolling my eyes, I level him with a look. “No. I killed fae because I was good at it, because it earned me his approval and some respect from all the assholes of his court.”
Jaro cocks his head to one side. “Drystan will never trust you now.”
I shrug. And the wolf would? “Yeah. Like I said, I’m not holding my breath. It would be nice if I could spend five minutes within touching distance of the female I’m dying for without one of you kicking my ass for it, but whatever.”
Jaro raises a brow, that primal gold overtaking his eyes for a second as his nostrils flare in the search for calm. “So you can steal her away?”
Groaning, I kick a fallen branch so hard that it hits a nearby tree and splinters. “Ancestors’ balls! For the last time, I have no plans to take her to my father.”
The predator within Jaro stares at me, watching my temper with the disquieting gaze of a feral beast waiting to pounce. I tense, waiting for him to attack, even if we can’t harm each other.
Nothing. The fae cocks his head to one side as the animal within evaluates me. My shoulders square defensively, only relaxing when the gold bleeds back to brown.
“In a little over a week's time, Illidwen will celebrate the returning light with the lantern festival,” Jaro says, changing the subject. “Rose will…” He clears his throat. “It’s a spectacular sight, and there will be plenty of entertainments before that…I would vouch for you if you wanted to take her.”
I almost choke on my own surprise. “You’d let me near her for that long?”
Jaro rolls his eyes. “Consider it a favour to the condemned.” A long pause. “If you’d lied once tonight, I wouldn’t have offered you the opportunity. As it is, Drystan will insist on one of us following you, and if you try to take any liberties…You’ll lose the hand that touches her.”
Jaro had planned to use it as his own time with her, I realise. A part of me bristles at the idea that this is a boon thrown out of pity, but I can’t really bring myself to object. After the last few days of not being allowed near her, I’ll take it. A bolt of gratitude hits me, but I cover it with a shrug.
“What if she takes liberties with me?”
Jaro trips over a root, catching himself with a snarl, but even he can’t definitively say she won’t. After all, she did just invite me to watch her fuck the rest of her Guard.
“Regretting your offer already?” I taunt.
Jaro’s lip curls slightly in a decidedly lupine snarl, but he looks away. “Don’t push me, Fomorian.”
For once, I shut the fuck up. Whatever his motivations—and I’m sure this is simply the result of his overdeveloped sense of seelie honour—I’m not going to challenge them. Besides, I prefer this version of him to the one who swings first and talks later.
A group of giggling fae appear ahead of us, and Jaro takes the next corner rather than pass them. The forest floor is quieter than the bustling branches of the trees above, giving a false sense of privacy from the tinkling chatter of the fae going about their lives overhead.
