I look to Taran. “Where’s he going?”
“To take Willow someplace safe and find you and Ellie some clothing. We need to get moving. We’re too exposed here.”
He crouches next to Ellie, who’s sitting with her hand in her pocket, taking measured breaths. He takes her free hand and whispers to her. To my relief, he lets go once she’s standing, but then nudges her forward with a gentle push against the small of her back. That’s almost worse.
Taran takes the lead, his boots crunching on loose rocks as he guides us down the eastern side of the hill toward a lush forest blanketing the valley floor.
Ellie falls into step beside me, her face still pale. “Are you alright?”
“I’m getting there. You?” I help her down a particularly large boulder, since she still looks uneasy on her feet.
She nods. “I can’t help wondering how we’re ever getting home. I don’t think I can stomach going through that again. It’s going to haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.”
“Just one more life-altering event to add to the pile,” I mutter. It’s difficult to muster the energy to care anymore—it’s not like I have anything to go home to at this point. I doubt my mom even noticed I’m gone.
“Do you hate me for it?” Ellie asks after a moment. “If I’d never gone to the Academy, if we’d never met… you’d still be living the life you wanted right now.”
I bite back the scoff my gut wants to throw at her. It won’t help anything, and despite all the misery she’s brought me, none of it’s actually her fault.
So I shrug, focusing on the second half of her question. “I don’t really want that anymore. But if we hadn’t met, I wouldn’t know that. It’s hard to say.”
We eventually reach the trees. Massive pines tower above us, their bark as rich as molten chocolate, with deep green needles shimmering like emeralds in the sun. Lush ferns and clovers carpet the forest floor, with tiny white flowers that practically glow in the shadows.
Instead of taking us deeper into the woods, Taran only goes about fifty feet before following along the tree line.
“Wouldn’t we be more hidden further in?” I ask.
“Most of my people live in trees,” he replies. “The further we go, the more likely we are to run into them. Once we change your clothes, it will be safer out in the fields.”
I glance at our dirty Academy uniforms. They’ve certainly taken a beating, but still look nothing like what Taran and Emlyn wear. We’d definitely draw attention, even from a distance.
Eventually, we come to a stop, waiting for Emlyn to return. I have no idea how late it is, other than the sun hasn’t yet set. Sitting against the trunk of a tree, I close my eyes and attempt to relax. A faint pulse beats against my back.
It must have lulled me to sleep, because it hardly feels like any time’s passed when someone shakes my shoulder.
“Wake up, sleepyhead.” Emlyn drops a pile of clothes into my lap. “I had to guess your size, but I think they’ll look good on you.”
Arandur’s sagging crack, what did he get me?
I hold the clothes at arm’s length in front of me. Going off what Taran and Emlyn wear, it’s clear that fae male fashion consists of tight leather pants and loose, collarless shirts, and the clothes he brought me fit that description perfectly. I’m not so attached to propriety that it seems scandalizing to dress in revealing clothes, but the thought of Emlyn picking these outfor memakes my insides burn up. Thank Arandur he also included a coat with a hood.
Dammit. Stop thanking that asshole.
Ellie’s nowhere to be seen, so she must have gone to change. Taran has his back to us, keeping watch for anyone approaching. It seems childish for me to run off in search of privacy.
I undo the top buttons of my shirt, then glance up. Emlyn sits perched on a log, staring at me.
I raise my eyebrows. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” He tosses a berry into his mouth. My jaw clenches to hold back the smile tugging at my traitorous lips.
“Can you turn around?”
He tilts his head. “I thought we were past this. I distinctly remember doing that for you.”
“You started to, but never finished. Now, turn around.”
He sighs. “I suppose we can keep it a mystery for a little longer.” But he turns around, so rather than waste time thinking of a retort, I change my clothes as quickly as possible.
