Still chewing, I raise an eyebrow at her, and she elaborates, “Sin is our second in command, after Morgana. They’re great leaders, but it isn’t the same way with them as it is with the rest of us. There’s a command structure, and they don’t break that boundary. It’s… unexpected to hear someone speak to him like that. Other than Morgana, I’ve only ever known one other person who’s done it.”
She pauses, tapping her foot lightly on the ground, and I keep eating my muffin, invested in the information. She’s confirming what I already suspected. Sin might be loyal to the others, but they’re not friends.
Why does that make me sad?
Rosie eyes me again, this time with a curiosity in her gaze that I haven’t seen since the day I arrived here. “And he’s informal with you, too. That’s… new.”
At that, the muffin becomes a dry glob in my mouth, and I barely manage to swallow it. “We don’t like each other,” I correct her before she can take the thought anywhere else.
I want to embellish and tell Rosie about how much of a dick Sin has been to me, but he cuts me off when he swaggers back into the room.
“Let’s go,” he commands. Rosie reaches for my hand, but Sin gets there first. My pulse jumps at the warmth of his hand against mine.
I frown. “Wherearewe going?”
“We’re going off-realm,” Sin answers. “Now that you’re staying, you’re going to see what we actually do here.” He pulls me close enough to wrap an arm around my middle before adding, “Hold on tight. The wards shouldn’t knock you out while we’re leaving, but they won’t feel good either.”
My breath catches at the feeling of being pressed together, and I fist my hands in his shirt, refusing to hold onto more of him. “But where off-realm –”
I don’t miss Rosie’s grin just before my feet leave the ground and we apparate from the room. When I’m on solid earth again, I blink at the dark spots in my vision. Sin holds me steady until the disorientation passes, and I finally untangle my hands from his clothes.
“It’s easier to show than tell,” Rosie answers, landing beside us.
I gape as soon as I look around. We’re in a forest with trees so large you could fit my apartment inside one. They tower over us, reaching high enough that I can’t make out where the canopy ends. Soft light filtersin between the leaves, giving a golden hue to the forest floor.
“Welcome to the Fae Realm,” Sin says softly.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper back.
“It is,” Rosie agrees.
Sounds of trilling birds and insects surround us, and you can almost feel the humming of life in this place. It’s a far cry from the forest of the forgotten dead.
“It’s also not a good place to linger. There will be royal guards here soon,” Sin notes, his hand coming to rest just above one of his blades.
Rosie nods, her expression turning sombre as she leads the way. I fall into step beside her, and Sin slows his own pace so we’re not far apart.
“What are we doing here?” I ask, keeping my tone low.
“It’s a rescue mission,” Sin answers. “An old friend needs an extraction.”
I stare around us, looking for any sign of guards heading our way. “Why are they in trouble?”
“They’ve upset my mother,” Rosie notes, scrunching up her nose.
I turn to gawk at her. “This is where you’re from?”
It’s probably a stupid question, given Rosie is a fairy, but she just gives a dainty shrug. “A long time ago. My mother is the Seelie Fae Queen.”
She says it like it’s nothing serious.
I try not to let my complete surprise show. “So – you’re a princess?” I ask hesitantly.
Rosie giggles. “Not for a long time. My mother is a huge supporter of Need’s campaigns. It’s why mysister became a Creator, and I was selected as a Keeper. Only, when I bonded Irena, my mother realized she’d lost control of me and gave the order to have me killed.”
And here I was thinking I had mother issues. “I’m so sorry, Rosie.”
Rosie shakes her head. “Don’t be. My mother is horrid. The person we’re rescuing will be executed or imprisoned beneath the Council’s castle if my mother gets to her first.”
