Page 56 of The Barbaric Fae's Soul

I was exhausted, but when my stomach growled, Aev slipped his hand in mine and towed me toward the massive outdoor kitchen.

Some of the fae nodded at him as we passed them, and I was fairly confident they were unseelies. Their whole attitude was so much different than the seelies, and I wanted to ask him about that. Most of our friendship had been established by me talking, not him. And it made things feel sort of uneven between us.

Maybe that was part of the reason I was so uncertain about his feelings for me. Or so hesitant to let things progress past friendship.

While he grabbed us both plates and loaded them up, checking with me on what I wanted before putting it on my plate, I decided I’d bring it up to him after we ate.

Despite all of the people greeting him with nods and friendly smiles, asking him how he was feeling, and grinning at me too, he carried our plates to a table on the outer edge of the group. When he set our plates down beside each other, instead of across from each other, he did so in a way that our backs would face the other tables. It was a simple and polite way to tell people that we wanted space, and based on what I knew of the unseelie, I figured they would respect it.

Despite my quiet uncertainty about how I would bring up my worries to him, I dug into the food without hesitation. I was hungrier than I’d realized.

When we finally slowed, I noticed Aev studying me.

“What?” I asked him, my face, neck, and chest heating. Trying to calm myself, I nibbled on a few of the vegetable chips that could be made by baking thin slices of one of the veggies I didn’t know the name of. I’d never been very interested in cooking, truthfully.

“You’re avoiding looking at me,” he said. He didn’t sound irritated, or frustrated. Just curious.

I bit my lip. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, just tell me why.” He brushed the backs of his knuckles over my cheek, and I wasn’t sure if he did so because there were crumbs, or just because he wanted to touch me. I was pretty fine with it either way.

“Oh.” I looked away again. “I just… I realized that you know me a lot better than I know you. Before your bond broke, you were usually in your sabertooth form. Since then, things have been crazy, so we haven’t spent a whole lot of time talking.”

My ex would’ve flipped his lid if I dared talk to him that way. Bringing up something that could be construed as a weakness for him? Bad idea.

But Aev just considered my words for a minute. When he spoke, he admitted, “You’re right.”

I blinked.

Definitely wasn’t used to being told that by men.

“I’ll do better,” he told me simply.

I blinked again.

Wasn’t used to being told that, either, unless it was in reference to bruises on my skin after he had lost his temper.

“Really?” The word slipped out before I could stop myself.

“Of course. Your feelings matter to me, Thorns.” He caught my hand, slipping his fingers between mine. “I would never have agreed to the temporary bond with Teris if I didn’t believe that.”

I liked how he emphasizedtemporary, and I loved that my feelings mattered to him.

ThatImattered to him. Not just as a potential mate, but as a person, with thoughts and feelings that were just as important as his.

He took our trays back, and cleaned them quickly before putting them away. When he came back to me, he held out a hand. “Come with me?”

I didn’t hesitate to take it, but didn’t stand up quite yet. “What if there’s another klynna?”

“We’ll stay close.”

I stood, and he pulled me onto his back as he shifted forms.

Aev wovethrough the trees quickly, and ten minutes later, we were far enough away from the gathered fae who were still ready in case they needed to fight a klynna, so they couldn’t hear or see us. Since we were still close enough that we could get back to them quickly, I wasn’t worried about the distance.

He shifted back when we were nestled in the crook of a massive V-shaped tree branch, with just enough room at the bottom of the V for both of us to sit comfortably. Our backs were to the branch, our knees bumping and our pelvises only a few inches from each other.

“When the war with the seelies ended, all of us were lost,” Aev said quietly. His hand caught one of mine, and he held it on his knee, stroking my knuckles with his thumb. “It occurred to me that we needed a goal. Something to pursue, to unite us, before we were lost. We had separated from the seelie because they refused to follow rules, leaders, and boundaries—but those things kept us sane.”

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