The soldier pauses and turns to look over his shoulder at me. I start to crawl forward. “Don’t kill him!” I call desperately, my frozen limbs making it hard to move.
He narrows his eyes. “He was just about to knock your teeth in, and you’re defending him?”
“I need him,” I say as I force myself to push up to a stand, my ribs protesting, legs ready to snap.
Though as soon as I’m upright, I realize that he isn’t the only Orean here. I freeze as I take in their group. Two women, two men. All of them in armor except for the blonde woman.
Why am I always so outnumbered?
Dizziness cyclones through my head, and I start to pitch sideways, bracing myself to fall again. But the soldier threatening Friano moves in a blink and grabs hold of me before I do.
“Wow,” I say, the word slightly slurred as my brain spins. “You move fast.”
I can’t help but notice that he’s grabbed me by the collar so that he’s not actually touching me. Either because he can see I’m battered and bruised everywhere…or he just hates fae so much he doesn’t want to touch one.
Probably that last option, based on the glare he’s giving me.
And that guess is confirmed when he presses the edge of his blade to my neck.
My heart skips a beat, but my mouth takes two more and runs away with it. “That’s a very forward introduction. Usually I take a male on a few special outings before I let him jab his pointy thing at me.”
There’s a pause. Maybe Oreans don’t like jokes.
Great skies, my head hurts.
“Tell me who you are,fae,” he demands.
My eyes trail over him as my sluggish consciousness tries to get a handle on this entire situation. “Black armor looks better than stone,” I say appreciatively. Maybe I can get on his good side? “You win best uniform.”
“We won thewar,” he counters.
“Cheers,” I say, trying to lift a hand up. Nope. That hurts. Not going to do that again.
“Did this fae do this to you?” the Orean soldier demands, his eyes roving over my many injuries.
“Umm…sort of.”
He narrows his eyes. “What does that mean?”
I quite like the sound of his voice. And he’s handsome too. Sure, he’s threatening me at sword point, but we all have our faults.
“Are you going to answer me?”
Honestly, I hadn’t decided, but he seems a bit impatient, so…“No.”
The sword disappears, which I take as a good sign, until I’m abruptly yanked forward a few steps. “Iffik,” I cry out, the old fae curse spitting past my split lips. “That hurt!”
I have to breathe through the pain, but that doesn’t work so well considering breathing hurts too.
He stops moving me forward, and as soon as I no longer feel like I’m about to vomit, I manage to glare at him. “I liked the queen better. Where is she? I helped her. She’ll vouch for me.”
I’m not sure the man she was with would sing my praises though, even if Ididlet them free. He didn’t seem too fond of me.
Although, he did come back and try to get me to come with them. But while I was turning him down, he had to fight off two Stone Swords before he could get away again. He didn’t look pleased about that.
And, if I’m being honest, he didn’t trythathard to get me to come with him. It was grudgingly at best. Not that I blame him.
“The queen?” the soldier asks in surprise. “You mean Queen Malina?”
