Page 41 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

“I bet Aev won’t like it, though,” Blue said.

“They’re only friends, remember?” Presley flashed her a devious grin, and Blue laughed.

My lips curved upward too.

My gaze caught on something out in the forest, and my eyebrows shot upward when Naomi stepped out from between some trees.

I hadn’t known she was awake.

Then again, I had been gone a while, and then asleep for a bit…

“Hey, Nai,” Blue lifted a hand and wiggled her fingers. I’d never heard anyone use the nickname for her—just theNaypart of her name—but I’d only talked to her two or three times, and she’d seemed cold and unhappy every one of them.

Honestly, the woman looked terrible. Her tan skin was splotchy, and her long, dark hair was tied in a single braid that hung over her shoulder. Rainwater dripped down her face, and her simple, seelie-style tank top and shorts were plastered to her skin.

I couldn’t remember ever seeing her dressed that way before, but I thought it actually kind of suited her.

Naomi waved back, climbing up the ladder and scooting toward me. When she was sitting next to me, her face tilted to the sky and her eyes closed too.

“Are you feeling any better?” Blue asked her.

“Getting there.” Her voice was quiet, and raspy. “No klynnas yet?”

“Nope. The guys think it’s only a matter of time, though, since the rain will wash Aev’s scent into the ground or something. I don’t really get it,” Blue explained.

Naomi sighed, but didn’t ask any more questions.

My stomach clenched, and I wondered if I should say something about Aev. If I should warn her, or make sure she was okay with it, or something. But the separation between them had been mutual—and mostly her call, from what I knew—so I didn’t think I really needed to ask her about it.

“This is awkward,” Presley whispered. “Can we just bring up Aev already?”

Blue snorted. “Smooth, Press.”

“Aeven and I were a horrible match,” Naomi told me, without lifting her face to look at me. “I never had feelings for him, romantic or friendly. He’s not a terrible person, so I wish you the best, but it’s not awkward for me if you’re with him. He smells just like everyone else to me now that my name’s been changed, so our fated mate bond is well and truly broken, and I have no desire to ever have a conversation with him again.”

I let out a relieved breath. “Alright.”

“Do you feel like you have closure?” Blue wondered. “I feel like there’s no closure with me and Oren, you know? Like we’re supposed to be together, but we’re not, and… I don’t know. I guess I’m just not sure.”

“I don’t feel like Aeven and I were ever close enough to need closure. At least not on my side of things. I hurt him more than he hurt me, though. Don’t let fate make your decision for you, Blue. Love is a choice. Mating should be one too.”

Her words struck me, hard.

Before I had time to really think about them, though, a shadow passed over our heads.

Shit.

The klynnas.

A sabertooth streaked through the trees, and I recognized him without even seeing his eyes.

Aev.

“We have to go, now,” I told Presley, standing swiftly. The roof wasn’t the safest place to do that, but we needed to get our asses into gear.

“Where?” Naomi asked.

None of us answered her—Presley just grabbed me by the arm and launched into the sky, shifting on the fly.

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