Making out with my people’s sworn enemy.
From the coffee table, I grabbed the pain tonic Kira had left and poured a capful.
“Numb berry juice. It will help the pain and you can get some rest.” I held the cup of pink juice to his lips, while his glowing amber eyes stared back at me. He paused, unmoving for a full half minute.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I told him.
Finally, he opened his mouth and the liquid poured down his throat. “Maybe you should,” he said, and closed his eyes.
Maybe I should. I glanced at the Fae blade sitting on the table, crusted with blood up to the hilt. It would be so easy to end his life, but I could never do that. I knew now that if it were him or a crystal, I would choose him. I was also fully aware of how insane that sounded considering he was my sworn enemy. I just needed to find a way that we could both live together on the same side.
After an hour, my thoughts grew heavy. I tried reading a book, but my lids were closing. I decided a small nap would do me good, so I curled up in the large reading chair next to the sofa and fell fast asleep.
* * *
When I woke,it was because the entire house was shaking.
“What the…?” I leapt up, heart hammering in my chest. Immediately my eyes fell to the couch. Nothing but a small bloodstain.
Fuck!He was gone, but there on the coffee table was a note scrawled in messy writing. It sat right next to the blood-covered knife. My house shook more violently, and I let my wings flutter, taking me up off of the ground. Earthquake? Faerie didn’t have earthquakes. Not since the dark times. Hovering over the coffee table, I picked up the note.
You have six.We have six. Call it even and don’t come looking for the crystals anymore.
-L
My heart fellinto my stomach. After that kiss … he just … left? Panic seized me as I thought ofhowhe had left. He couldn’t open the blue door, which meant he was stuck here. I sat there suspended in midair for a moment until the shaking finally stopped, then I flew for the front door, shoving the letter in my pocket.
Throwing the door wide open, I came face to face with Indra. She was panicked and looked stricken. “The Tree of Life … it’s dying.”
Oh gods. If Liam touched our tree, I would kill him myself. “How?”
Indra’s face was pulled taut with anxiety. “You must retrieve the final six crystals. We need them now more than ever before.”
My brow furrowed. “Indra, yesterday everything was fine. Has something happened?”
Because if Liam took more crystals or screwed something up, I would feel so guilty.
She sighed. “There is one thing I have yet to tell you.”
Oh gods.
“I don’t think I can take any more secrets,” I confessed.
She nodded. “But this you must know.”
Grasping my hand, she lifted up off of the ground and flew towards the elder home. The Tree of Life. I followed her wordlessly, scanning the village looking for one escaped Dark Fae. If they found Liam, I was so screwed. When my eyes fell on the blue door, my brow furrowed at the huge crack in the base of the door.
Did the earthquake do that? Or … Liam?
We reached the elders’ home and stepped inside. There was a slight crack running through the entire house, stopping at the base of the elder tree. A gasp escaped me at the sight of one of the tree’s limbs sickly black and ill. It was shriveled and looked like it were about to fall off.
“How?”
It had to have been Liam. He was the only change from yesterday.
I was such an idiot!
Indra walked to the back of the home, where I heard hushed voices whispering. I followed her until we came to a door that was hidden right behind the tree. It was ajar and I recognized Kira’s voice. “She’s slipping away,” the healer was saying.
