It held the potential to become more, I knew. I could breathe my hopes and dreams into it and see them realized.
Or I could give it to my former captain and see him breathe it into being.
The shadow bird watched me from its perch on the small portion of visible stair railing. It tilted its head, asking me what was I going to do.
"Aileen," Travis demanded.
He expected me to obey.
My mouth firmed. He really should have known better.
I lifted my hand, thinking, "GO".
Nothing happened.
"No!" Travis lunged forward.
The butterfly took off, fluttering back to the other side of the veil.
Violence twisted Travis's features as he grabbed me, his grip pinching my skin. "Why did you do that?"
I smiled. "Because I could."
Fury rattled his chest, a dark fire igniting in his eyes. This was the real Travis. Greedy and vengeful. How had I ever thought him good and honorable?
Owen placed a large hand on Travis's shoulder. "That's enough. She can't help us if she's dead."
With visible effort, Travis composed himself. "Of course. You're right. I simply lost myself for a moment. The power source could have bought us more time. My apologies."
Lie.
A big one.
He practically had an arrow pointing to him, and a neon sign.
Yet, none of the others reacted. Curious.
The Fae, much like vampires, could sense when someone was telling an outright lie. Until now, Travis had been careful to avoid that, shading his words in half truths.
Owen watched Travis carefully, not lifting his hand until Travis moved away from me.
Hm. Someone didn't trust my former captain.
Was there a way to exploit that?
"She's our only hope unless we capture Brin. Let's try not to overly damage her," Owen told Travis's back as he finally moved away. Owen's gaze met mine. "You. Try not to do any other stupid things."
I stiffened. It was only stupid because I hadn't done what they wanted.
"We're here now. Does anyone want to tell me why?" I said, resisting the urge to argue.
Astrid folded her arms on the banister, straying close to the bird. When she rested her chin on her arms, the bird's beak was even with her eye. If it wanted, it could pluck it out before she ever realized.
"The veil is the reason we lost our realm. It kills everyone who enters," she said.
I was starting to get a bad feeling in my stomach.
"Let me guess. I have to go through there to find this crown," I said.
