Elyssa sought out his eyes. “She didn’t leave. They took her. The goddamn guards did.”
“What? No. No, that makes no sense.”
It didn’t. And yet it did. “I thought it was because of her fire power, but now I’m not so sure. I think Saydren was behind her capture. Maybe he could somehow feel she isn’t from here, then put two and two together when she asked for help.”
Eyden pushed a hand through his hair, messing it up as he often did. “She’s gone, then. Whatever the reason, she’s gone either way and she’s not coming back. It’s over.”
Elyssa punched his shoulder with force, drawing a curse from her brother.
“What the fuck was that for?”
“You deserved it. Snap out of it, Eyden. It’s only over if you give up.” She might have chosen to play it smart by leaving, but she had no intention of giving up. It wasn’t in her DNA. And she was pretty goddamn happy about that.
Eyden’s voice turned quiet, razor sharp. “You know what happens when fae get taken. Theynevermake it back. I’ve lived it. You know better than to suggest I can do anything about it.”
She did know. But she also knew that deep down, hidden under the fear and the past, Eyden was sick of standing by as much as she was.
Elyssa was about to respond when she noticed Eyden turning around. She followed his gaze. Out of all people, it had to be Jaspen who was approaching them.
“There you are,” he said, looking from Elyssa to Eyden.
“This isn’t a good time, Jaspen. I need to have a talk with my sister.” Eyden took a step back, giving Elyssa room to move so that Jaspen wasn’t standing to her left side, making it harder for her to catch every word. The asshole never bothered to consider her hearing.
Jaspen’s face was set in stone. “Go ahead and do that elsewhere, then. It’s time for you to go. You’re not welcome here anymore.”
Elyssa advanced on Jaspen, turning her back to Eyden. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re kicking him out? After he saved our asses?”
“We can’t trust the fae. Or anyone who picks them over us.” He stared right at her, unflinching.
“What are you trying to say?” she asked, crossing her arms.
Jaspen’s eyes travelled over her head to her brother. “I’m saying he needs to leave.” His gaze returned to her. “And so doyou.”
She sucked in a breath. “Excuse me?Do you need another goddamn lesson about why you need me?”
“Not only did you lettwofae into our camp, you’ve been lying to us for years. You never broke contact with Eyden and you told him, afae,how to access our camp. You might be a good fighter, but you’re not irreplaceable, Elyssa. You betrayed us. I have no choice but to remove you from my camp.”
“Yes, you do. Without me and Eyden, you’d be dead,” she said, her voice rising.
“That’s merely speculative.”
Elyssa rolled her eyes, holding in a laugh. “Speculative, my ass. You’d be burned to a crisp by now.” Jaspen’s lips were pressed in a tight line. She wondered what ridiculous argument he would bring up next. She had more important things to do than dealing with Jaspen’s stubbornness yet again.
“What’s… here?” Farren asked as he jogged towards them, his words getting slightly lost in the wind. His concerned eyes took her in.
Elyssa breathed a sigh of relief. Farren was way better at keeping a cool head than her. “Jaspen is kicking us out—trying to, at least.”
“It’smycamp, Elyssa,” Jaspen said before turning to Farren. “What I say goes. And I say, anyone who’s picking fae over us is a liability.”
“Then I’m going too,” Farren said. Elyssa’s gaze cut to him. His eyes reassured her. He’d always had her back and he was willing to continue to do so. He knew exactly what he was doing. She might be replaceable in Jaspen’s eyes, but Farren wasn’t.
“You would put the whole camp in jeopardy? I don’t believe you.” Jaspen knew him well enough to know Farren wouldn’t hurt a fly if his hand wasn’t forced.
“I’ll keep the spell hiding the camp up. But anything else you need, I won’t be here to assist with.”
Elyssa felt her lips turn up in a smug smile. She looked to her friend in gratitude before addressing Jaspen. “I don’t think people will be too happy about having to risk their lives even more—to get stuff without spells helping them out—just because you were acting like a closed-minded jackass. Don’t you agree?”
“I don’t like being threatened,” Jaspen bit out. He looked around as if searching for backup. She was surprised Ian wasn’t lurking close by. He was always so eager to jump at Jaspen’s command.
