“Which is?” Eyden replied, all innocent.
“You damn well know it.Be careful.Don’t take any unnecessary risks…” She trailed off.
“Is this you admitting that youdomake risky decisions?”
She held his insistent gaze. “We both do. And we also know, with the world we live in, risks arealwaysnecessary.”
A shadow passed across his eyes. Was he still thinking about giving her the chance to cross to Earth? It wouldn’t matter even if Lora had given him that opportunity. Elyssa would never do it. The fae had dragged humanity to Liraen and now it was her home. The only place she’d ever been. The one place she wanted to fight for and protect. Damn her if she abandoned it all and ran. She shuddered at the thought.
“Okay, no more speeches,” Eyden said. Elyssa didn’t believe that for a second, but she’d take it.
“Should we head out?” Farren asked, kneeling next to the guard. He removed a lazuli crystal from his other pocket and put it to the fae’s forehead, taking his memories from the past half hour.
“Might as well,” Elyssa answered, holding her brother’s stare and putting all her wishes for the evening into her eyes. They needed a freaking win.
* * *
Eyden drifted them to the woods, close to the barrier hiding the human camp, and then disappeared with a quick nod. He hadn’t set foot in their camp since Jaspen had threatened to kick Elyssa out. Every time she saw Jaspen’s face, Elyssa had the urge to shake some sense into him, to slap his narrow-mindedness away. It had felt so good to kick his legs out from under him and see him covered in sand in Rubien.
“What are you thinking about?” Farren asked. He kept close to her, their shoulders almost touching as they walked across their home, a sea of tents.
Her grin widened. “Watching Jaspen eat sand.”
Farren let out a laugh. “That explains the murderous grin.”
They reached her tent as Iris stepped into their path, her blonde hair trailing in the wind. “You’re back. Jaspen is looking for you. He’s holding a meeting.”
Elyssa glanced at Farren, whose expression must have mirrored her own. A meeting with Jaspen sounded as appealing as falling on her own damn dagger.
“All right, let’s get it over with,” Elyssa said. Farren followed her.
Offering her a timid smile, Iris stepped away. Goddamn, Elyssa should’ve never kissed her. It had been nice, but there had been no fire between them. Elyssa had no trouble going back to being friends. She’d dated Farren for longer, and their friendship was as strong as ever.
As they drew closer to the half-open dining tent, Elyssa’s eyes landed on Jaspen at the head of the table, saying who knows what. Sometimes she was glad she was spared from listening, her bad hearing saving her from pointless bullshit.
When they entered the tent, everyone turned towards them briefly before shifting their attention back to their camp leader.
“From now on, unsanctioned missions are not allowed,” Jaspen stated, his voice rising as he spotted Elyssa. “They endanger everyone at this camp, and I won’t have it go on any longer.”
Ian, the young man to his right, nodded enthusiastically.
“He’s lost his mind,” Farren said, his voice low, but he had moved close enough for Elyssa to catch his words in her right ear where her hearing wasn’t as bad.
She knew Jaspen was planning something. In fact, his intention was as clear as the freaking sky. “He’s punishing me. Trying to drive me out,” Elyssa said. Farren swallowed hard.
She hadn’t been listening to Jaspen’s words as she’d focused on Farren, but now his voice rose above the quiet chatter. “You’ve been out again, haven’t you, Elyssa? Fighting without a team to back you up? Or have you been conspiring with fae again?”
“You mean the fae who helped save our asses back in Rubien?” She looked around the uncertain crowd of fellow humans, her hands balling into fists. “I was out on a walk. Is that forbidden now too?”
“A walk?” Jaspen laughed. “Where’d you get that sword, then?” He pointed at the weapon still sheathed at her side.
Elyssa didn’t miss a beat. “I found it on the street. A guard must have lost it,” she said in an even tone. “Should I have left it there to rot?”
Jaspen stared daggers at her. “No more unsanctioned missions. No one wants you to risk our lives because you were stupid enough to trust that a fae would have our best interest at heart. We are on our own. We need to overthrow all fae—every last one of them. We can’t show weakness and pick favorites.”
His tone made her skin crawl. Farren’s hand landed on top of hers, and Elyssa looked down, realising that she had grabbed a throwing star on instinct. She always had at least one hidden on her. Who knew when danger arose, or douchebags blocked her way.
“But Lora did help us, didn’t she? Maybe we should reconsider,” Iris’ small voice said.
