I force my gaze to stay on his face and not travel along the toned length of his body. To not remember the fire between us when he pressed it against me that night in the alley.
Looking at his face isn’t any better. Those playful curves along his smooth, flawless skin. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, as if he knows it.
I turn back to the fire, adjusting where the hem of my pants catches on my boot. “Then explain yourself, or I’ll just believe you can lie and never trust a word you say.”
“You shouldn’t trust a word I say. I may not be capable of lying, but I can misdirect and omit the truth all I want.”
“Great. So all of this—everything you and Taran have said—could just be an elaborate trick after all.” I can say that because I’m human, even though I know deep down that every word has been true.
Emlyn sighs, then shifts his position until he’s sitting next to me, tilting his head to meet my eyes. “I don’t think I could misdirect about that much without slipping up, and Taran certainly couldn’t. I haven’t intentionally deceived you since I told you what I am.”
Either the heat of the fire is finally warming me up, or his proximity is.
I swallow. “But youdidslip up. You said you didn’t have your gifts, but you do.”
Emlyn holds up his waterskin. “I told you about the river water, remember? I drank enough every day to maintain a glamour. Not enough to shape. But now that we’re going home, I can afford to waste some trying to impress you.”
The blaze rushing through me is definitely not from the fire. “Why do you care about impressing me? I’m just a corrupt human.”
Emlyn purses his lips, then he shrugs. “Good question.”
Not an answer.Is that the spy in him, keeping his secrets? But there’s one other question, one that’s haunted me for weeks. I have to try.
“Why did you sleep with Alexis?”
Emlyn’s mouth slowly opens, then he shuts it, chewing at his lip before finally averting his gaze. His voice comes out soft, lacking its usual luster. “I suppose I thought I was growing too attached.”
My heart hammers against my ribs. “To me?”
His eyes flick to mine for a second that somehow holds a weight as vast as the universe. Then he scoots away, brushing his hands on his pants as he gets to his feet. “I’m gonna look for Taran. I’m sure he’ll want to leave once it’s light out, which should be soon.”
The breath I was holding escapes as he meanders toward the trees, my chest tightening as he goes.
Why can’t my life go back to being simple?
It isn’t much later that Emlyn returns with Taran, and sure enough, it’s just as sunlight creeps over the hillside. Thank Arandur Ellie’s still asleep—wait, no, I shouldn’t thank him, he’s the one who set us all down the path of desecration, dammit.
At least she’s still sleeping. She’s been eyeing Taran far too much.
I get it; I really do. He looks exactly like Caeo, if someone carved him out of marble and gave him an extra four inches of height, chiseled muscles, sharper cheekbones and piercing eyes. While Caeo’s too much of a brother to me to ever be attractive, I’ve caught myself staring at Taran more than a few times. Of course Ellie would. She’d have to be blind or dead inside not to.
Especially when she doesn’t remember Caeo—at least not consciously. I know part of her does, because I’ve seen her sketchbook. It wouldn’t surprise me that part’s mixing the two of them up.
It only took her… what? Half a pint and a couple bells to be all over him when they first met? She’s a shining example of how locking up your children just turns them into sex-crazed maniacs once they finally escape into the world. It’s pure luck that she ran into a somewhat decent guy like Caeo.
Or the worst luck in the world, considering where we are now.
Except my luck is even worse, because I’m the one stuck keeping her away from the ridiculously unfair specimen of broody manhood that is Taran. Caeo’s definitely gonna owe me after this.
The two fae go directly to the horses, murmuring to each other as they prepare them to ride. I reach back, grabbing Ellie’s foot, and give it a shake.
“Hey, time to wake up. We’re leaving soon.”
Ellie pulls her coat over her head, and my annoyance spikes.
“Come on, my life’s difficult enough already. Get up.”
“You’re not the only one suffering, Reid.” She tosses her coat down, uncovering her face. “I’ve barely slept in days.”
