The Nightwild magic tugs at me, demanding I seal the connection. The blood bond wants me to claim her properly. Make her mine in a way that can’t be undone.
I ignore both of them.
“Not today.”
Her mouth curves, ever so slightly. “That’s not a no.”
“It’s not a yes, either.”
She holds my gaze. There’s a challenge in her eyes now, something that wasn’t there before. She’s learning that I won’t bend or give her what she wants just because she asks. Instead of it making her more afraid, it’s making her dig in harder.
Interesting.
Unexpectedly, she laughs—a short, surprised sound that seems to escape before she can stop it. “You’re infuriating.”
I find myself wanting to make her do it again.
“So I’ve been told.”
THIRTY-THREE
ALLERIA
We’ve been ridingfor a couple of hours when Cairn pulls Selveryn to a stop.
There’s no advance warning. One moment we’re flowing along the road, the steeds eating up the miles in that strange, silent way they move. The next, Selveryn stills, and Cairn’s head tilts slightly.
Therin and Vel bring their mounts up on either side of us.
“Wh—”
Cairn lifts a hand, silencing me. And then I hear it. The creak of wagon wheels, the jingle of horse’s harnesses, and …humanvoices, faint but growing closer.
My mouth turns dry, heart slamming against my ribs.
People. People frommyworld. The one he took me from. My father’s court, my bed, the life where I knew who I was and what I believed. Before collars and cages and everything I thought I understood was upended forever.
Cairn’s head turns slightly. Just enough that I’m sure he felt my reaction somehow. His eyes find mine over his shoulder, and the question in them is clear.
Are you going to try and run?
My arms are still wrapped around his waist. Icouldlet go. I could scream. I could slide off Selveryn and run. But when he turns his mount toward the tree line, I don’t make a sound.
We dismount just inside the trees, and the steeds dissolve into mist the moment we’re clear of them. Cairn’s hand closes around my wrist, his grip firm, and the air around us shimmers.
It’s like stepping behind a waterfall made from nothing. One moment I can see the road clearly, the next there’s a faint distortion between us and the world, bending the light.
Glamour. He’s wrapped us in a fae glamour.
The sounds grow louder, and after a couple of minutes, three wagons come into view. The first two are covered, and the third is open to the sky. A dozen riders on horseback, their livery marking them as hired guards, ride to either side. At the head of the column, a man in fine clothes is riding a gray mare.
The guards joke with each other as they pass close to us. So close I could call out, run toward the road, and they would stop. They’d see a woman stumbling out of the forest. And at my request, they would take me home.
Except home isn’t what it was.I’mnot what I was. And even as the thought of rescue forms, I’m already seeing all the reasons it would fail.
Cairn would kill them before they drew their swords.Orthey’d kill him, and I’d have to watch, and I don’t … I don’t know what I’d feel if I had to watch him die. The idea of him dying unsettles me more than the thought of staying quiet. But even if they did manage to kill Cairn, Vel and Therin would ensure they didn’t leave here alive.
The third wagon draws level with our hiding place, and I slap a hand over my mouth to stifle my gasp.
