Page 113 of Wrath of the Fae

‘Whose blood soaks your skin, Reid? Who are the captives you spoke of downstairs?’

He grabs my free wrist, but instead of fending me off, he rests it on his head.

‘See for yourself,’ he manages beneath my hold. ‘I have no more secrets from you, Little Bird. Look at anything you want.’

I press my hand against his temples and see it all. Everything. And he offers it all freely.

I drop him at my feet, looking at him as he gasps for air.

I see how they have been tortured for every snide remark, disobedience or suspicion. How their pain has been used as amusement by the soldiers.

That it was Reid who saved Lucca and got him out. I re-live how he left him weapons, food and a map to Tessa. That he left him my dagger, and I feel the pain he feels as he gives it away.

Every slipped piece of intel.

Every warning of an attack.

They worked around the vow through loopholes and trickery to fight against the king.

Reid stands.

‘Our fathers are insane with power. And neither will stop until nothing is left to fight over. I have it on good authority Ivan is preparing for war. That his army of Dark Fae is ready. That the powers he has taken from our kind have been shared amongst thousands upon thousands of humans, who have all turned into twisted half breeds like that spider woman we saw in the factory all those years ago. And because he still has Rhea’s power, they cannot refuse him. Humans over there are either being butchered, turned into monstrous slaves, or forced into slavery to replace the workforce our kind once provided for them. And you know what my father is doing here. We are all under the control of two evil men, and if we do nothing, everything will fall. This realm is unbalanced. Demons and monsters are returning in droves.’

‘I know,’ I reply. ‘Which is why I’m here. You are free of your vow now. He has no more hold over you. And I have a way out.’

Reid and Cyrus share a look of utter relief, their hands resting over their hearts where the vow was.

El slumps onto the bed with a slow smile, those words really sinking in.

‘We’re leaving?’ she repeats, looking at us all one by one. ‘We’re really leaving here?’

‘Yes,’ I reply. ‘All we have to do is get to the orchard, and I can get us out.’

‘The vow won’t hurt anyone?’ she asks, her voice cracking and eyes brimming with tears. ‘And you will take us with you?’

‘The vow is gone. No one will die if you disobey or fight the king.’

Her hands slam over her mouth, and she bursts into fierce tears, looking me dead in the eye.

Even Reid and Cyrus hug each other in sheer relief, sighing and laughing softly.

Then they both look at me.

‘We can get us to the orchard,’ Reid assures me. ‘Get a cloak on. El, find some weapons. Anything you can.’

There’s a tap on the door. An odd rhythmic knock that they all wait to finish before El runs to open it. The human girl who walked me down to the hall last night enters. She’s still in those sheer brown robes. Still naked beneath them.

‘Sasha,’ El greets. ‘What is it?’

Sasha starts to sign. El watches her hands move with an ever growing frown.

‘She’s with you?’ I ask Reid and Cyrus.

‘She is,’ Reid replies. ‘Sasha was part of a group in the human realm who wanted to end the capture of our kind. A protester, condemning the way we were treated.’

‘Protester?’ I ask. ‘What’s a protester?’

‘People who shout about shit that they don’t like in the hope those in charge listen,’ Cyrus explains. ‘She was sent over here a year or so ago. Caught El and Rhea in bed together and swore to keep it a secret. Didn’t ask for anything in return, but soon realised we weren’t as agreeable with the King as everyone believes.’

---