“She could, but I can’t imagine what would tempt her. Naiads are protectors,” she says and I huff a disbelieving laugh. Awri continues, “She has no value for gold, no need for food, or alliances.”
“Can’t the king make her give it back?” I ask. “If he allows the fea to live in the forest you’d think he would have some power over them.”
It’s Riah’s turn to laugh. “No onehas power over the fea.”
“It’s true,” Awri agrees, “And even if he did, the king would never force any fea to give up what they’d fairly obtained in a bargain.”
I know her well enough to know that she would have already gone to Niya if she felt the fea could be swayed. But I am no fea, and if the naiad will not see reason, I am fairly certain that death will render the bargain void.
I’m not entirely shocked when Awri announces she will be sleeping in the general’s room with me until he returns. It feels a little presumptuous to stay in his large suite, but the malehadmoved all my clothes here without even asking. He more than doubled the guard in the hall before his departure, and there are at least fifteen soldiers patrolling the grounds outside his windows.
I haven’t had the stomach to show Awri and Riah my new daggers. It feels a little like bragging, and a little like I am admitting that he and I have become something more. So, I keep them sheathed and fold my leathers into a neat pile, pushing them to the far side of my nightstand where they are not easily within reach. Despite the sparring, my mind can’t seem to let go of the bloody image of the woman I scarred long ago.
We settle in for the night and only briefly do I debate lying awake until morning, before I am pulled into the dark abyss of my dreams.
Awri is in the bath when I’m stirred awake by a bony finger in the side the next morning. I don’t have to open my eyes to know it’s Eon. The breathy whispers of the sisters flit across my ears and Tig would never jar me awake in such a rude fashion.
I’m thrilled when I find that they have brought the male with them. He introduces himself as Rej, and thanks me profusely for bringing him to the mate he sought. The male doesn’t know a single word of the human tongue, but Tig seems happy to take up the task of translating what I do not understand.
The water shuts off in the washroom before I’ve been able to ask the male any of the long list of questions I have for him. Before the sisters can disappear, I snag hold of Tig’s wrist.
“Can you meet me in the forest in half an hour?”
The sprite nods, a quizzical look on her face.
“Thank you,” I whisper, releasing the fea just as Awri bursts through the door.
I glance up and offer her a quick smile, the sisters vanishing with the male through an open window.
I slide into my leathers, tying a deep crimson gown below my hip, and pull two thin cloaks from the closet, handing one to my friend.
“We are going for a ride,” I announce.
“We’re supposed to meet with Riah,” she says with a dip in her brow.
“She can come.”
It doesn’t take me long to convince Riah to saddle a horse of her own, Awri on the other hand eyes me suspiciously as I throw my leg over my mare. The less I explain, the better. All I really need is a quick word with the sisters,but they don’t seem keen on showing themselves to my friends. As I’m never alone anymore, something needs to be done.
I stop at the edge of the forest and Awri is still staring at me with a pensive tilt to her head.
“I need a moment alone,” I announce, dismounting and tying the mare to a nearby birch.
“Absolutely not,” Awri says sternly, “Xey will kill me if I let anything happen to you.”
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” I argue, “The La’tari are most certainly not hiding in a forest filled with deadly fea.”
Awri throws her feet to the ground and stomps toward me as she says, “Under no circumstances are you going into that forest alone.”
I look to Riah for support, but the female is looking at the sky like it’s the most interesting thing she’s ever seen, clearly uninterested in picking a side.
“Iamgoing into the forestalone,” I point to the trees, “And you can either stand here and wait for me or drag me back to the palace and put me under house arrest.”
I know I shouldn’t have said it when she looks at me like it’s the better of the two options, so I add, “In which case I will make my way back here the first moment you aren’t looking and then you won’t be standing twenty feet away if the land itself decides to devour me.”
She clenches her jaw, crossing her arms over her chest, refusing to meet my eyes. I take it as a tense sort of approval, or as close as I’ll get, and walk into the forest, alone. I’ve made it less than twenty feet through the dense brush when something grabs my arm, and I suppress a scream. I look down to see Tig’s hand sticking out from inside a colorful bush.
The sprite is clearly pleased she has startled me. Ignoring her gloating smile, I tell her about the naiad, about the general’s gift, and that he’d given up a portion to save my life. She asks for the fea’s name, and when I tell her, I can see by the look on her face that they are familiar.
