“Yeah, that wasn’t your smartest idea,” Eyden teased, returning the grin.
“There has to be at least one bad idea to balance out all the brilliant ones.”
For a moment, they merely smiled at each other. Eyden was the first to look away this time.
“I won’t tell you again that there’s time. I understand your urgency. Your family is your priority and I respect that. I want you to know that I would have gone with you to meet Saydren. If I didn’t promise to help them and if my sister wasn’t going as well, I would have gone with you and I’ll be back as soon as I can to lead you back to the border.”
“I know.” She didn’t know how or why, but she felt the truth in his words. “I don’t blame you for helping your sister. We both have our families to look after.”
He nodded, something like relief shining in his eyes. “I hope we can leave tomorrow, then I might be back before you leave to meet Saydren. In the meantime, I know Elyssa said you’re welcome to stay here. Or you can stay at my place. I’ll leave you a key. In case the shield drops.”
“You mean the spell that keeps the camp hidden from fae?”
“From anyone who doesn’t know it exists and doesn’t know the password. Elyssa can fill you in on how to get in and out.” His voice grew serious. “If the spell wears off while we’re gone, promise me you’ll run, okay? Hide at my place.”
Lora wasn’t about to make any more promises, so she danced around the question. “You think that will happen?”
“Probably not, but we can’t rule it out. That reminds me, before Elyssa told me about Saydren, I went back to Halie’s. She wasn’t any more help, but I got the vial of your mother’s blood.”
Relief flooded through her. “Where is it?”
“I stored it in the closet. I thought it would be safest there, but I can get it before I leave.” He found her eyes again. “Or I can get it now if you feel better having it close to you.”
“No, it’s fine. I trust…”You,a silent voice whispered in her mind. But did she? “The closet,” she concluded.
Eyden’s grin returned. “Okay, then.”
Trying to ignore the feeling that grin invoked in her, Lora asked the question that had been on the forefront of her mind since they started talking. “You really won’t ask me to go with you?”
Eyden’s smile faltered a bit. “No, we don’t need to endanger your life. Again. Jaspen will have to accept it. You’ll be safer here. I’ll stop by my flat tomorrow to get the vial and some silver. Elyssa thinks Saydren’s services can be bought.”
He really had thought this through, hadn’t he? Thinking about what was safest for her. But was Eyden safer if she stayed behind? Was Elyssa? Could she turn a blind eye again when she knew her help might increase their chances?
Then again, it seemed wrong to spend time on someone else’s mission, endangering her life, when her family was counting on her to come home.
* * *
Pacing in her room, Lora felt torn between the paths before her. She had tossed and turned all night, her mind spinning too fast to relax. She’d gone over all her options so many times she’d lost count. How could she choose one path when she didn’t know how each would end?
When she looked at family pictures on her phone, Lora craved going back even more. The longer she stayed, the more difficult it would be to reconnect with her brother and assure her mother that her fae side was nothing she’d ever want to explore. When she’d first announced that she was studying Human and Fae History, it had led to one of their biggest arguments. But Lora had assured Karla it wasn’t about curiosity concerning her own heritage. That’s what she’d been telling herself too.
Elyssa and Eyden’s voices were haunting her, reminding her of the critical situation they were in. What Lora really needed was an outsider’s perspective.
After seeing the sun rise, Lora gave in and filled Maja in on her current predicament through multiple text messages, keeping it short but informative. Coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of her tent, Lora watched the dots appear and disappear for over ten minutes until her friend’s reply finally came in.
“Damn, you’ve had an intense week. Keeping this short is difficult, but without further ado, here is my marvellous advice,” Maja started. “As lame as it sounds, you have to go with your gut on this one. I know you like to create a thousand scenarios, but there is no way of knowing where each path will lead. There just isn’t. You’re right that your mum would say forget the fae. But isn’t her opinion based on a single experience? No offense to your mum, I love her. It sounds like the people you met are not just fae. They’re your friends—or more?? I need details! Do what feels right in this moment and ignore the never-ending analysis in your head. Otherwise you will definitely regret it. The only thing worse than taking risks is regretting never taking them in the first place.”
Lora started pacing again, her messy dark blonde hair falling into her face. What would she regret more, never risking this mission or risking delaying her plan to get the cure? Maja was right. Lora would never know with full certainty how either path would end. What she did know was that she was here now, in this moment. And they needed her right now. Elyssa and the human rebels who’d risked their lives to save her. Eyden, who she cared for despite the lie she created that told her she didn’t.
A soft knock brought her back to the present. Lora turned her head to the flimsy door and called out, “Come in.”
The flap lifted and Eyden stepped into the room, Elyssa in tow.
“Good morning. Although it doesn’t look like you got much sleep,” Elyssa said. Eyden followed Elyssa’s line of sight as Lora rubbed her eyes, trying to erase the dark circles that were most likely visible. Or maybe it was her dishevelled state that drew Elyssa’s attention. “Any updates on the tracking?”
“It still wasn’t moving outside Chrysa about twenty minutes ago,” Lora said as she smoothed her hair behind her ears. Her eyes travelled between Eyden and Elyssa. Seeing them now, the unmade decision burned her from the inside out. Her eyes slid to her phone, Maja’s message still on display. What did she feel in this very moment? What regret was she willing to risk?
She forced her thoughts to clear out, burning the unavoidable regrets to ashes. Her gaze snapped to Eyden. “I’m going with you.”
