He is brutish, that much is certain.Imposing and rudeare other words that come to mind. But I trust Aurora—she knows this world more than I do. And if he is the best we have for an ally…
“Faelyn, were it not for him I would not have been able to escape at all.” She touches my elbow, summoning my attention back to her. “He never explained it, or said so, but I am certain he intentionally created the opening I needed to flee.”
“So he could claim you for his own.”
“If that were his intent, he would’ve pursued me the moment I had the ring and left Conri’s watchful eye.” Aurora pauses, staring out over the plains. “The moon only witnesses half the day. There are things that are invisible to even my sight. I do not know what Evander’s motivations are and they don’t always make sense to me. But I do believe he is a decent man in his heart. I’ve seen enough bad ones to know the good. His exterior has merely been twisted by the circumstances he’s been given.”
I sigh heavily and run a hand through my hair. It snags on tangles and I realize it is still knotted in my braid. I pull at the ribbon that ties off the end and begin to rake my fingers through.As if, by untangling my hair, I could untangle my thoughts. I desperately need a bath.
“Conri is going to try to marry me.”
“What?” Aurora seems genuinely stunned. It’s the first she’s heard of it. I swallow thickly and nod. “If he can’t possess the ring…he’s going to try and own you.” She grabs my shoulders, leaning forward to look me directly in the eyes. “You must leave. Get away, far,farfrom here.”
“But you?—”
“Don’t worry about me, Faelyn. This has been my fate for centuries. It can be my fate for centuries more. I know how to endure.” She wears a weary smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Her hands feel heavy on me. There is so much pain within her, so much hurt. I’m amazed she’s not crushed into dust where she stands.
“I can’t leave you,” I say softly. “I won’t.” Aurora opens her mouth to speak but I cut her off. “Where would I go? Evander clearly knows whatever magic is needed to break through the thin barriers I put at the edge of the woods in my world. Even if he’s a ‘good man,’ you said it yourself, he will hunt me down for Conri. He has no choice. He’s not going to put either of us before himself.”
I wait for Aurora to object, but she doesn’t. How “good” can he be when he won’t stand up for what’s right?
“And it’s not like I have anything to go back to…my family is all dead, save for me. My home is gone. And, clearly, I am not strong enough to keep the people of that world safe.” I think of what Conri told me of his plans. Maybe he was sincere and has no genuine intention to bring his people to the Natural World, maybe it’s just a ploy to keep me under his thumb and playing nicely. But the possibility of the lykin bringing violence to my home is enough to keep me here alongside everything else. “Sono more of telling me to go. We leave together and I free you, or we stay. There are no separate futures for us now.”
Her hands go limp, sliding down my arms until they fall to her sides, swaying slightly. “I should have never run.”
Ishhher. “I’m glad you did. Because, one way or another, I will find a way to help you.”
“You are a good friend, Faelyn.”
“I am not.” My lips burn from where I kissed Conri. From what I still need to tell Aurora. “Conri… He… I…”
“What? What happened?” She knows something is amiss instantly and her concern makes it all so much worse.
“I kissed him,” I admit, forcing the words.
Aurora’s jaw drops, then she closes it quickly and purses her lips. I can’t stand to look at her. The shame is so great that I nearly step away to be sick.
“I should have warned you,” she whispers finally. “This is my fault.”
“What?” My head snaps back up. “No. I?—”
“Conri is the wolf king,” she says, low and fast. “He is the alpha of the pack, ruler of these lands, leader and protector of every creature that steps upon them…and one of his sole obligations is to see to thelongevityof the pack.” I think of him whispering how he will fill my belly with his heirs and my cheeks grow hot. “Part of the unique magic that comes with being the wolf king is ensuring his ability to do this.”
“He has magic outside of your powers?” I ask, trying to keep my focus when the implication she’s hinting at seems a bit outlandish.
“All the lykin have a unique power, just like all the other occupants of Midscape. They can commune with spirits and change into wolves, after all.” Her mouth quirks into a slight smile as I give a slight nod of my head, acknowledging theobvious. “Their pact with the great wolf spirit of the old wood gave them some other abilities than just the gift of shape.”
Grandmother always warned me of the lykins’ keen senses, even in their human shapes.
“So his power is to…ensure the longevity of the pack?” I’m amazed I can ask the question when my mind is filled with words like mate, and filling my belly with—stop, Faelyn, I command myself.
“He is irresistible to mortal women because of a unique charm he possesses as the alpha.” Aurora frowns, looking back at camp. Evander had mentioned Conri’s “charm,” too. I had thought it just a turn of phrase before. “I have seen proud women make fools of themselves in a desperate attempt for a moment in his bed.”
“What can I do to protect myself from this ‘charm?’” I ask.
“Your cape should help, some.” No wonder Conri refused to allow me to have it earlier. The moment I had it back on, my head was notably clearer. “There’s good protection woven in that fabric.” Perhaps if I can get my grandmother’s threads and dyes back from Evander, I could figure out some kind of spell to weave into the cape specifically to guard me from Conri. “Otherwise, it is a matter of allowing your head to be as clear as possible around him. The more excitable you are, the harder it will be for you to resist him.”
“When you say ‘excitable’ you mean…” I can’t possibly have the right assumption. There’s no way she means what I think she does. But the way Aurora speaks leaves no room for doubt.
