I lower myself through the opening, my feet finding the rungs of a small ladder. The space below is dark, lit only by slivers of light filtering through the floorboards above. The air smells of earth and old wood.
Sebastian appears at the opening, passing me the goblets and dishes. I take them carefully, stacking them in the corner of the small space.
Then he descends, his large frame filling the opening. The moment he’s down, Julienne closes the door and replaces the animal skin. The already dim light grows even fainter.
My chest tightens.
I’ve never liked small spaces. Never liked the feeling of being trapped, of walls pressing in on all sides. My breathing quickens. My magic flares up inside me, but I push it down.
Be calm,I tell myself.You’re fine. There’s enough air.
Thankfully, I get myself under control because the room might be small, but it isn’t as tiny as I first thought.
As my eyes adjust, I can make out more details. There’s a mattress in the far corner, thin and worn but better than the cold earth. Next to it sits a waterskin, full and ready. On the opposite side are several saddlebags, bulging with supplies. They’re the ones Julienne spoke of earlier. All carefully hidden away for our escape…for the king’s escape. I’m not sure what will become of me, only that I will survive it. I’m good at surviving.
I move to the mattress and sit on the very edge, as far from Sebastian as possible. I’m so angry I could scream. Only I can’t very well do it now, can I?
I risked everything for him. And he repays me by asking me a whole lot of questions? It’s clear he thinks I’m lying. That I was sent to… What?
There’s a part of me that understands his hesitancy to trust, but I still can’t get past it.
“I had not planned on leaving you destitute,” Sebastian whispers, as he sits too, leaving plenty of space between us.
Another bell rings softly in the cabin above. There are footsteps as Julienne walks across the room, and it stops abruptly.
“Oh well, it’s all fine, then,” I say, sounding as angry as I feel.
“I can’t trust you,” Sebastian continues in a whisper. “I’m sorry, but there is too much at stake.”
“I risked life and limb for you,” I hiss, keeping my voice low. “My reputation is in tatters. Why would I do that to myself?”
The rage surges through me, hot and heavy. I’m furious. And underneath that anger is something worse… I’m hurt.
King Sebastian might be beautiful and as masculine as a male can get, but he’s also a complete prick.
I can’t believe I threw everything away because of a feeling I got about him while we were joined magically. I’m sure there’s a better term for it, but if there is, I don’t know it.
I thought that he would help me in return for freeing him. I’m not sure what I was expecting exactly, but this isn’t it.
I was wrong. I’m such a fool.
“You could be working for the queen, for all I know,” Sebastian says.
I suck in a breath. “I’m not.”
“That’s what you would say if you were working for her.”
He’s right, and I hate that he’s right. His logic is sound, even if it makes me want to hit him and then hand him back to the shadowfae.
Arghhhh!
I want to pound my fists against his chest and slap his pretty face.
“I’m not working for her. I have no ulterior motive,” I insist.
He shrugs, his broad shoulders lifting and falling in the darkness. “I’m sorry, but I can’t trust you, Isla. Even if I wantedto, I can’t.” His voice is firm and final. “You were freed for no good reason. You came and helped me, even when you knew it would cost you so much. You have enormous magical ability.”
“I do?” I frown. I didn’t realize. I’ve never trained. Never used my magic so openly before. I wouldn’t know. Most fae don’t wield much magic these days. I had no idea.
