Page 73 of Wrath of the Fae

‘You would be captured before stepping through the gates.’

‘Hence why I need to clear my head and calm the fuck down.’

‘Fair enough.’

‘Can we talk about something else?’ I ask, tripping over a root.

‘Do you ever miss the human world?’ she asks.

‘Not really. What was there to miss? The smog? The poverty? Authority agents?’

‘TV,’ she sighs, ducking under a branch. ‘I miss TV. And cars. I’m sick of flying, walking or riding everywhere. Oh, and the internet. Oh, my Goddess… lemonade. I really miss lemonade.’

‘I never had a TV. Or the internet. What did you watch?’

‘Documentaries about serial killers mostly. And porn.’

I stop dead.

She turns to face me.

‘What?’ she shrugs. ‘I like them. It’s fascinating learning about their twisted minds.’

‘You watched porn?’

‘Of course I watched porn. My husband refused to touch me, and I had needs. Are you seriously judging me for it? The woman who made her Bond with two men simultaneously?’

‘Not judging.’ I carry on walking, and she walks beside me. ‘What kind of porn?’

‘You wouldn’t have liked it. It was classy. Sophisticated. Not your kind of thing.’

I roll my eyes at her snipe.

We come to a fresh stream and drink deeply before sitting on a log at its edge.

‘I think we should find somewhere to sleep,’ she says, scanning the area. ‘The sun has almost set, and walking through these woods in the day is dangerous enough. Never mind when it's dark, and the real monsters come out.’

I see no shelter. But the trees are wide and tall.

‘We can sleep in the branches for a couple of hours?’ I suggest.

She nods, and we fly upwards, both wincing as our tired muscles protest heavily.

We sit and watch the sky darken, and I try hard not to let the unease of everything get to me. I imagine Rhea. I imagine the most awful things. Two years. She’s been there for two years.

‘Can you stop!’ Tessa whispers. ‘Your aura is setting me on edge.’

‘I can’t help it.’

‘Well, nothing can be done right now, so try and get some sleep or something.’

I watch her. I see her eyes searching the area in the dim light, constantly checking for danger.

‘Why did you do it?’ I ask.

‘Do what?’ she replies impatiently.

‘Betray your father. Sneak the Thirteenth Kingdom into the palace, knowing they would kill him?’ I wring my fingers and ask, ‘Was my brother a bad man?’

---