Page 55 of Beyond the Faerie Gate

When she traces the jaw of the skull, it’s just as intense as it was in my wolf form. My nerve endings sing, and my heart tries to jump out of my chest as she strokes each line. My hand tingles, but she pulls away too quickly, shooting a questioning glance at Drystan.

The other fae rolls his eyes and rips off his gloves.

“I hid it from my court to protect your reputation.”

Rose tilts her head to one side. “My reputation?”

His jaw clenches. “Mine is dubious. Yours would’ve been tainted by association.”

More questions than answers, but I didn’t expect any less. Drystan is the most secretive asshole I know, although that’s not uncommon in the Winter Court.

Rose just shrugs, dismissing his ambiguity with a soft sigh.

I pick up one of the books by her side and flick through it. Kitarni has obviously been bringing her up to speed, and I count books on geography, history, and even… primers?

Rose notices what I’m looking at and blushes. “I can speak Fae, but I can’t read it,” she admits.

“How is that possible?” Drystan demands, striding towards the group of us.

Rose shrinks into me. Her pretty lips part, but no explanation comes out.

“I’ve always been able to do it,” she eventually confesses. “I learned to speak it and English at the same time.”

“But you can’t read it?”

I hate the way she ducks her head in shame, and I find myself pinching her chin and forcing her to look at me. “There is nothing to be embarrassed about. No one is illiterate by choice. You’re learning now, and that’s what matters.”

She nods jerkily, and I smile, releasing her face.

“Faster than me,” Lorcan says. “My tutors had to strap me to my desk to get me to learn my letters.”

“I can’t read any languages,” Rose whispers, her gaze returning to her lap. “Almost no one in the village could.”

With her eyes downcast, her attention returns to the mark on my palm. She strokes the tiny numeral at the top.

More tingles. If not for the pounding of my pulse in my cock, I’d believe my heart has stopped.

“I’m sorry we failed you,” I breathe, my stomach revolting again as I think about what she must have gone through. “You should never have—”

Rose silences me by raising a finger to my lips. “It wasn’t your fault,” she whispers, before turning to regard Drystan.

“I’m so sorry about your horse.”

The other fae brushes off her apology. “Save it. He’s fine.”

Rose’s whole body relaxes. “Thank goodness. They were aiming for him, but I slipped and the bolt hit me instead.”

My free hand clenches bruisingly hard on my thigh. Being hit by a crossbow bolt hurts like fuck, I’ve suffered that particular wound before. That Rose had to go through the pain of dying in such a manner, while terrified, guts me.

“While I was dead, I saw all of you,” she continues, her voice so quiet I have to strain to hear her. “That’s why I know my púca needs help. He was chained to a bed.”

I share a look with Drystan, both of us remembering how the púca showed up when we were summoned to Danu’s Cave by Rose’s Call, all those years ago.

Most of us were covered in blood from the battle we’d all been a part of. In contrast, he’d been half naked with his cock out and shining with the bodily fluids of a mystery female.

“My lady, being chained to a bed doesn’t necessarily make him a prisoner.” But it does make him an unfaithful bastard.

Lorcan pipes up. “No, that just means he’s having a fucking good time. You can chain me up any time you want.” He releases the strand of her hair he’s been playing with and thrusts his hands out together, as if asking her to cuff him.

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