“Yeah…well…” She pants as she attempts to pivot her body sideways so she can get up, but then she turns pale and presses a hand against her ribs. “I—” She blows out a breath, giving up as she slumps back in the snow. “I can’t come up with a witty retort at the moment. Too much pain takes away from one’s humor.”
“Oh for Divine’s sake,” I hear Rissa exclaim, and then she comes hurrying over. She skirts past me and kneels down in front of the woman before I can stop her.
“Rissa,” Osrik growls.
She whips her head around and pins him with a glare, stopping him from following. “Don’tRissame,” she tells him before her ire turns on me. “Andyou. What is wrong with you, Commander? Can’t you see this woman is hurt?”
“She’s afae.”
“Yes, well, according to all of you, so is your brother,” Rissa seethes. “And so is Auren, so you can—”
“Wait,” the fae blurts out, blinking in shock. “Did you sayAuren?”
Everyone pauses.
“Yes…” Rissa starts carefully, eyes roving over her.
“I know Auren!” she exclaims, making Rissa suck in a surprised breath.
But I shake my head in disgust. “Enough,” I growl before looking at Rissa. “She’s tricking you. Don’t fall for it.”
“I am not!”
What a little liar.
“Fine.” I cross my arms in front of me. “Then how do you know Auren?”
Her gaze darts around as if to gauge everyone’s expressions.
Digby steps forward. “What does she look like?” His face is creased in distrust, but there’s a flicker of hope there in his eyes that I want to shake my head at. He should know better.
“Yeah,” Lu challenges. “If you know her, you can easily describe her.”
I watch this play out, and unsurprisingly, the fae hesitates. I can practically see her thoughts spinning a web of lies to wrap us in.
“See?” I say, pointing at her face. “She’s trying to deceive us. She latched onto the first piece of information that slipped out. Nothing but fae trickery.”
She narrows her eyes on me, though the effect doesn’t do much because they’re nearly swollen shut anyway. “It’s not a trick,” she snaps. “And I don’t like you. You have bad tones. Tone. A bad tone.” She blinks and sways where she sits, but Rissa’s grip keeps her upright. “I’ll prove I’m not lying.”
The fae drags a hand from brow to chin, and suddenly, her face seems to drip with a waterless deluge. Then, shiny, glittering gold skin appears in its wake, cheeks glistening, irises the same gold as Auren’s.
My eyes widen. I hear Digby suck in a breath.
“Great Divine, shedoesknow her!” Rissa exclaims.
The fae rubs at her face like she’s wiping sweat away, and the glamour magic dissolves, her skin returning to her normal tone again. “There,” she says with haughty triumph. “Now how doyouknow Auren?”
“We know her,” I say before anyone else can give this fae more information to use against us. “That’s all you need to know.”
Rissa shakes her head at me, two pink spots appearing at her cheeks that mark her irritation. “What is wrong with you?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with you?” the fae repeats.
My molars grind together in irritation, but I keep my attention on Rissa. “That only proved that she’s seen Auren. We don’t know if she’s friend or foe.”
Rissa doesn’t look impressed. “Come on, let’s get you up,” she says to the woman. “Nice and easy.”
With Rissa’s help, the fae manages to stand. She breathes hard, expression morphing into pain as the blood drains from her face. She sways slightly on her feet, but Rissa keeps hold of her.
