Avery shuddered to think about what she would have encountered if she escaped. If these people were the safest option, what lurked beyond those tents? Someone touched her shoulder. It was Kyla. Her touch was like molten ore on Avery's sweat-cooled skin. Avery was hit with a sudden sense of peace, but nothing about it felt right.
“Don’t touch me!” Avery said as she jerked her shoulder back. The relaxation vanished, leaving her heartbeat racing from the shock of such a different emotion than the one she’d been feeling.
“As you wish, Avery. Since you have ripped through my tent, I will bring you to a different place for you to rest. Follow me,” Kyla turned her back on Avery. Avery knew they expected her to followKyla, but she couldn't make her feet move. She froze in place. Fear, anger, and doubt coursed through her veins like ice water. Trying to regain her composure, Avery took the first step and followed Kyla.
All the Latians stared at her with stern faces, strong bodies, and weapons strapped to their sides. Their eyes were harsh as they looked at Avery with a mix of disdain and disbelief.
Kyla led Avery to a smaller tent. It did not have a large, comfortable bed or Kyla’s personal touches. As Kyla entered the room, the orbs on the ceiling came to life, casting a low glow on the space. A small cot sat in the corner. It had clean sheets and more furs. There was also a wooden chair in the other corner. Everything about this space was simple and utilitarian. The floor was not a wooden platform, like Kyla’s. It was a mixture of dying grass and dirt.
“You haven’t recovered from your journey here or the bear attack. You should rest. This tent is not as lavish as my own, but I hope you will find it sufficient for your needs. There will be a guard outside the door if you need anything. I suggest you not try to run again,” Kyla stated. Her voice was not the same gentle tone as earlier. Rather, it sounded like she was trying to keep her irritation down.
“I-I won’t run again,” Avery stammered. “I was scared. I just want to go home.”
Once again, Avery was on the verge of crying. Her pent-up emotions needed to be released, but she stifled them back. She did not want to cry now.
Kyla softened as she looked at Avery. “I understand. And I still vow to help you. Women need to help each other, whether we’re the same species or not. My brother’s word is not final, but he is right that we can’t stay here long. I will speak to him as you rest. Meanwhile, you need to stay in this tent.”
Avery nodded in agreement as she watched Kyla leave. Muffled conversations that she couldn’t make out were going on outside the tent.
Now that she was alone, she released all the emotions she had been holding back. She dropped to the bed and wept into the pillow. Avery had never been a woman to bury her emotions. So she did the only thing in her power. She cried and cried. She didn’t care if the guard heard her. Her grief was going to consume her as she thought about Morgan, probably dead, and her parents mourning both their daughters.
After her tears coursed through her, the panic and dread throughout her body faded. Instead, her tear-stained, puffy eyes just needed to be closed. Her head pounded as she touched the knot along her hairline. She needed more rest. Avery’s whole body ached with exhaustion.
Avery picked up her unceremoniously discarded bag from the dirt floor. She changed out of the long nightgown and put on her wool base layers. Then she rolled out her sleeping bag and sleeping pad. Crawling inside her sleeping bag, she snuggled down in the familiar comfort of the warm cocoon. She switched the phone to airplane mode and opened her photo app. Damn. Only 54% battery life.
Avery looked at pictures of herself and Morgan. She couldn’t look at the pictures of their trip to Quartz Mountain. Those images were too raw. But she looked at past adventures, times they had dinner together, concerts, and other memories. She did the same with her parents.
If she was going to survive Latiah she needed to be braver. No more cracking like she did today, or these fae would eat her alive. It was going to take all her strength—physical, mental, and emotional to survive this place.
But how could she put on a brave face with these dangerous creatures at every turn? Who not only seemed to be warriors with weapons and keen senses, but apparently magic, too.
There was no choice but to be brave. If she let her fears persist, she would lose this fight and would never reach her home again. Avery had to take the same strength she used when facing tough situations outdoors and apply it to facing these monsters that lurked beyond the canvas tent.
Chapter seven
Savine
Savine stalked into his tent. Pouring a glass of wine, he dropped into a comfortable linen chair. The wine was one of his favorite Bayberry vintages. Goddess above, he needed this glass of wine after he’d fucked up the whole human interaction thing.
He’d known the human was awake when he saw Kyla carrying a tray of food back to her tent. Savine had spent three days patiently waiting for the woman to awaken. As he reflected, he realized he must have scared the little human. He’d never seen someone tear through a tent and flee like that before! Even injured, she’d been unexpectedly quick.
He didn’t expect Avery to talk back. Actually, he’d assumed she would be docile and frightened. Yes, she had been frightened. When he entered the tent the shocked expression on her face had captivated him. Then she seemed on the verge of tears as soon as she laid eyes on him.
But she hadn’t been docile. Nothing about that woman was docile. “I am not your gift,” she had yelled at Savine before she cut through the tent. The shrill sound of her voice still left his ears ringing, and that was the only reason her escape had been successful.
As he pondered his interaction with Avery, he heard familiar footsteps outside his tent. Footsteps made by someone who wanted to beheard.
“Come in, Kyla,” Savine said.
“You fool! You arrogant, presumptuous fool!” Kyla scoffed as she walked into the tent. Savine saw her turn to the carafe on his desk and pour herself a glass of wine. “I told you to wait. I told you I would deal with the human first, then when she was ready, I would introduce you to her.” She took a swallow of her wine and glared at Savine with an intensity that he loved in his little sister. Her eyes cut like ice as she pierced him with her stare.
“I had my reasons for wanting to meet the woman. What is done is done,” Savine said, taking a drink of his own wine. “Come, sit by me. We have so much to discuss.”
She obliged him with a final scoff before she plopped herself into a comfortable armchair identical to Savine’s. “I’ll talk with you because I know we need to make plans for returning to Bayberry, and figure out how to help Avery. But, I want you to understand two things. One, I like Avery. I think she is braver and stronger than she appears. I want to helpher interests,not yours. Two, when you barged in like that and said such stupid things, you ruined the trust I was building with her.”
“Don’t forget, as the rebel leader, my interests are in the nation’s interests. These matters have nothing to do with whatIwant with this woman, and more of what Latiah may need of her,” he said.
“Honestly, Savine, I think you’re taking this whole gift thing too far,” Kyla said as she shook her head at Savine.
