Elyssa had told him more than once to let Halie go.Find something real,she’d said. But he’d never wanted anything real, and he was now surer than ever that he’d been right. It was dangerous. And heart breaking.
“There you are. I was seconds away from raiding your fridge,” Elyssa said as he walked towards them.
Eyden eyed the empty plate on the coffee table and knew she already had, but he didn’t mind. He was about to comment when his gaze landed on a duffle bag next to the sofa.
“Are you staying here or going somewhere?” Eyden asked, on high alert.
“I’ve decided I’ll make it easy for the king and hand myself over. And for the short time I might still get to live, I’ve packed a bag,” Elyssa replied. Her sarcastic tone sounded strained. Her chin was low, her eyes vacant but fiery.
“She can’t stay at the camp anymore,” Farren announced, drawing his attention.
Eyden jerked his head to the side. “By Caelo,” Eyden said. That prick of a leader had actually done it. How stupid was Jaspen to kick Elyssa out? “What happened?”
Elyssa slowly met his gaze. “I don’t want to talk about it, so I’ll only say it once.” She waited for Eyden to agree, then continued, “There was a mission. Farren and I were excluded. Iris died. Jaspen is not worth the goddamn air he breathes.”
Eyden wanted to ask more, but he knew Elyssa preferred to act rather than dwell on emotion. “He’ll get what’s coming to him.”
“Oh, I’ll make damn sure. He won’t know what freaking hit him,” Elyssa replied, a familiar deadly glint in her eyes. Eyden was glad to see it. He knew she must feel responsible in some way for Iris’ death even if it was all on Jaspen. “But we’ve got other priorities. So for now, I’m staying here. Now, tell me what Ilario said.”
Eyden contemplated lying, but he knew he couldn’t avoid it forever. And lying to his sister felt worse than anything else. He had made so many mistakes. This couldn’t be one of them. Not anymore.
“We might lose our way in,” Eyden started. “What the fae is asking for…I should have never agreed. He wants fortae.”
Springing up, Elyssa was in front of him in seconds. “What did you say? Because there’s no fucking way I heard you correctly.”
“Fortae is,was,our way in.” Eyden didn’t back down. Her eyes seemed to bulge, her face reddened. “I had some from a deal long ago that I never used but didn’t throw away. But that’s it. I can stop this. We can find another way.”
“Tell meeverything.” Eyden didn’t fail to notice the barely contained rage in Elyssa’s voice. He repeated what Ilario had told him earlier.
This time it was Farren who spoke first. He’d been watching them in silence. “Carnylen? Good God, the kind of spell books they must have there...”
Eyden turned to his sister again. She was awfully quiet, which was always a bad sign. Furious Elyssa he could deal with. Hurt, silent Elyssa always broke him. “El, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I was hoping it was a one-time thing. And it can be, but right now, our options are limited.”
He watched as Elyssa’s gaze hardened. “Fine. Just marvellous, really.” She let out a short, broken laugh, then her smile was instantly gone. “If this is the hand we’ve been dealt, we’ll goddamn make it work. Can you find out how to make fortae? We’renotbuying it.”
Eyden shifted his feet, feeling sick. “I already know how.”
Elyssa paced in front of the couch. Farren watched her movements, at a loss for words, apparently. “If I know how, we could tell Nix that I need to go with the addict,” she said.
Eyden stepped in front of her, abruptly forcing her to stop. “No.No,El—”
“Yes,Eyden. Think about it. I could go to Carnylen. I could sneak into that library. So what if I have to give a little blood? IfImake the drug,I’min control.”
“Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous for a million reasons,” Eyden replied, shaking his head.
“Name them.”
“You’re human!”
“I can fake it.” She turned to Farren, waiting for his backup.
Farren, still sitting on the sofa, stared up at them. His dark eyes looked unsure. “I’ve been trying to make the few contact lenses we have more realistic, more fae. They’re still not ideal, but if she avoids eye contact then maybe—”
Eyden cut him off. “No, it won’t work. And who says he would let you go with the fae girl? By Caelo, we don’t even know who she is!”
“So find out. Make it happen. It’s our best shot.” El crossed her arms. She was wearing her almandine brass knuckles on one hand as if she’d expected a fight.
“It’s a terrible plan—verging on suicidal.I’llmake more fortae and give it to him.Youdon’t need to go with him.”
