“I’m fine.”
I smile. “Surely, you have more to share than that. Did you enjoy watching us use our powers?”
“I don’t know.”
She doesn’t know?“Magic must be fascinating to see.”
“It’s not really my focus.”
“What’s your focus?”
“Going home.”
I try to keep the disbelief out of my voice. “Because home is better than here? A beautiful palace with gardens and powerful fae everywhere you look.”
She doesn’t look convinced, and I’m not sure why I want to convince her. “If it’s a choice between home and here, I choose home.”
The vulnerability in her voice tugs at something deep within me. “Is there something, or someone, waiting for you back home?”
She seems to think for a long minute before answering, “Not exactly.”
“Then why are you so desperate to go back?” The question slips out before I can stop it, and I curse myself for sounding so… jealous of whatever in her world she deems more important than us and our quest.
“Because it’s my home. It’s all I’ve ever known,” she says simply, as if that’s reason enough. And maybe it is.
“Most people would jump at the chance to stay here,” I say, keeping my tone casual. “Land, a castle, power… all things people would kill for.”
“I’d rather die than spend my life surrounded by fae.”
Her words hit me harder than I expect. “Because you see us as monsters?”
Before she can answer, the sound of footsteps interrupts us. I turn to see Oberon, Sylvian, and Cassius stepping onto the balcony, their expressions varying degrees of irritation and curiosity.Of course, they’d pick now to show up.
“What are we talking about?” Oberon asks, his sharp gaze darting between me and Alette, his posture suddenly demanding.
I sigh, knowing there’s no point in trying to avoid the topic. “She was about to tell me why she hates the fae.”
Alette looks away. The moment has broken. Whatever answer she planned to give, I’m not sure I’ll ever hear it.
Oberon scowls, Cassius raises an eyebrow, and Sylvian just watches her with quiet intensity. It’s clear she has their attention now, and I can’t decide if that irritates me or if I find it amusing.
“Why don’t you tell us?” Sylvian asks, his voice gentle but firm.
She shakes her head and takes a step back from us.
“Alette,” I say gently.
She takes a deep breath. “We all know I’m just a human. Nobody special. Why play this game? You only need me for this challenge, for this labyrinth. Why pretend you want more than that?”
“We’re kings, we don’t need to explain ourselves,” snaps Oberion, which is, well, just like the fire fae asshole.
Her expression is crestfallen.
“We do need you,” Cassius says quietly. “The goddess was clear about that. Even you’ve seen that with your impact on our powers.”
I see her accepting it. See that maybe she’d already known this deal was done, maybe from the moment we struck the deal with her in the first place. But maybe she had to try.
“So what else do I need to know about what we’re going to do?” she asks quietly.
