“If he ever got over the shock of it, he would turn you into our government for experimentation straight away. And that’s not to mention the fact that you’re from a separate plane of existence which you’ve been banished from for a little over half a century now. Some people might ask about why that is, you know.”
“You didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
I could practically feel his gaze boring into me and so I looked over my shoulder as I answered.
“Everyone has the right to keep their own secrets,” I told him with a shrug. “If you wanted to tell me, you would. Regardless, our deal still stands.”
Then, because I was no longer watching where I was going, my foot slipped on a loose rock and I fell backwards. With a yelp, I braced myself for the sharp sting of hard ground on my frozen arse. But the hit never came. And I opened my eyes to find myself in the enigmatic Fae’s arms.
“Our deal still stands,” he drawled, the warmth of his breath heating my face as his eyes gazed down into mine in a way that should have made my skin crawl. I hadn’t met many Fae but if any of them had ever looked at me the way he was looking at me now, I would have done everything I could to shrink out of my own skin. But somehow, with him, it wasn’t menacing. I was as much a curiosity to him as he was to me. Perhaps that was naive of me. But I didn’t care. Not now. Not if he could heal the rift.
That gaze dipped to my lips and a hot flush crept up my cheeks. I should have moved, should have pushed him away and stormed down the rest of that mountain, but I didn’t. And I wasn’t even sure why. Anyone else, I would have pummeled for daring to look at me like that, to touch me like he was. But I stayed in his arms for a heartbeat too long as the realization dawned upon me that I wasn’t moving because I didn’t want to.
Panic rose within me and I blurted the only thing I could think of to end this dangerous silence.
“Why do you want to go back?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Something about the question seemed to break the spell and he helped me back to my feet before stepping away and waiting for me to take the lead again.
“I just mean, if your father was angry enough with you to banish you,” I clarified, continuing along in our walk mostly so that I could watch my feet and not have to make eye contact with him again. “You said he was a powerful man. He must be powerful indeed to have the right to banish anyone.”
Lark did not answer me for a moment. I could practically feel his trepidation. He was considering my question and the best way to answer it. He was playing for time.
“I did something that my father believes is unforgivable,” he finally answered.
My steps faltered again and he reached out to steady me but I held up a hand to show him I was alright.
“How long did he banish you for?” I asked.
“One hundred years,” he replied.
“Then it must be forgivable. I mean, he plans to forgive you in a hundred years, right?”
I looked over my shoulder to find his lips stretching into a grin.
“I suppose you’re right,” he told me, that dark gaze warming to something almost friendly. Somehow, that was the most unsettling expression of all.
The land beneath our feet flattened and we stepped off the rough stone path onto the beaten snow road of the town. I sighed and turned to face him.
“Lark—” I said his name and those dark eyes flared with something I didn’t dare attempt to identify.
“There you two are,” someone spoke then, interrupting my attempt at reconciliation and Lark’s examination of me.
I turned to see Rook strolling toward us. He appeared to be at ease, lazy smile plastered on his lips. But I saw the way his eyes scanned the town while he walked as if expecting some form of danger from the harmless mountain folk going about their business.
“I was starting to think another minotaur had gotten to you,” he joked, eyes sparkling with mischief as if he almost wanted the challenge of a minotaur. Or maybe he didn’t consider it a challenge at all if he was joking about it.
I frowned. It hadn’t been a joke when it had picked up the DAA soldiers I had shared many meals and sleepless nights with, tossing them about as if they were dolls, cracking their bodies against the stone, blindly swinging that axe at the rest of them as they tried to shoot it down.
“I need a drink,” I muttered and pushed past the two of them, heading for the tavern.
The ale was terrible; I remembered that from last time, but in this frigid climate the alcohol was the only thing that kept these people warm at night. When the temperature dropped below zero, nobody cared what the ale tasted like. I was already a pint deep before the Fae entered, the faint purple sparks of their glamours shining around them. I wasn’t sure what had kept them for so long. Perhaps they were creating a plan for taking on the rift, maybe they were making fun of Wyn, maybe they were questioning this deal they’d made with me, or maybe they had gotten sidetracked by their own vanity as they shifted their appearances to become something these mountain dwellers would deem ordinary. It hardly mattered.
I took another sip as they crossed the room and separated. Lark walked toward me while Rook went to order ales at the bar. I waited for him to sit before I spoke, in a much fouler mood than I’d been before.
