He snorted a laugh. “Is that what you think I’m doing? Kidnapping you?”
“I think you can’t stand the thought of me being anywhere near your brother, and you’ve decided to take matters into your own hands and remove the ‘human infection’ from the palace. Or your father asked you to serve as executioner. Either way, I fully expect to wind up in an unmarked grave somewhere before the sun rises.”
“Stellon never mentioned your dark side,” Pharis quipped then chuckled again. “You’ve quite an imagination.”
“What else could be going on?” I said. “You’ve hated me from the moment you laid eyes on me.”
“The moment I laid eyes on you was at the ballroom entry,” he reminded me. “If you’ll recall, I was quite polite.”
“I was talking about when you found me in Stellon’s bed,” I clarified. “In my real form… as a human.”
Pharis gave no reply apart from a grunt. He stopped the horse. I looked around to see we were in the middle of the crossroads where the Fae lands split off from the human ones.
I had been here not all that long ago, walking Stellon home from the market after he’d taken a beating because of me. It was called The Wheel, named after its many spokes leading off in different directions toward various villages.
“Well?” Pharis said.
“Well what?”
“It would help tremendously if you told me the name of your village and what territory it’s in.”
“Why?” I asked in alarm.
“So I can go there and single-handedly massacre the entire town,” he answered in a withering tone.
I could practically hear his eyes rolling upward.
“So I can take you there, of course. Thatiswhy I removed you from the dungeon—at great personal risk and expense, by the way.”
After a pause, he added, “You’re welcome.”
I couldn’t respond. I had no breath.
Twisting in the saddle, I tried to get a look back at him, to read the expression in those enigmatic turquoise eyes.
They told me nothing other than that he was waiting for an answer.
“Are you being serious? You’re really taking me home?” I asked.
“Against my better judgment, yes. I think you should go as far from Seaspire as you can get, but I’m told you’re quite eager to get back to… wherever it is you’re from.”
For a long moment I just sat there, breathing fast, my eyes scanning his face. I did want to go home—more than anything.
I wanted to go there and reunite with my family then gather some supplies and get them out of town before Sorcha managed to find her way out of the dungeon, if she hadn’t already.
“In answer to your obvious question, I’m delivering you to your village because my brother asked me to,” Pharis said. “And because I happen to agree it would be better if you arenotin the palace. We’reallsafer without you around.”
“Waterdale,” I wheezed. “It’s called Waterdale. It’s in the Three Peaks Valley.”
Pharis’ lips parted, and his dark brows rose. “That’s only a couple hours’ ride from here. You said at the ball you were tired from the long journey.”
“Yes, well… I lied.”
“Why am I not surprised?” he asked with a cluck of his tongue. “An assassinanda liar.”
“About that…”
The quick jerk of the horse to one side interrupted me. I looked up and spotted what the animal was reacting to—a lone rider coming our way.
