Chapter 6
Dorian
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We approach the outskirtsof the city, entering without issue. My heart hammers, fueled by a sense of urgency and fear of being caught. Last minute, Cambria changed the angle she wanted to play things, as nervous as I am about pulling this off. It took a bit to get the point across, but she got through to the changeling that she needed help funneling energy into me, not as proficient in using the ability to heal people besides herself.
I don’t understand the intricacies and subtle nuances involving the transfer of energy and its capabilities, but I’m certainly not going to sneeze at getting my brutalized back healed and able to walk without pain. Though it makes me appreciate on an entirely new level what she must have gone through growing up if she still has this many scars despite having the ability.
“If it was this easy,” I mutter, barely audible as she leans in to hear, “then why?” There’s no need to point out that I mean what she did to her face and arms.
“I’m not the only one that can see through glamour, remember? This only works if we act fae.”
“You are fae.”
She scoffs. “Insult me to my face, why don’t ya?”
My lip twitches, but I bite back my retort, going along with the plan. I walk with my head held high, as does Cambria. But occasionally she’ll limp once, like her leg is bugging her, and rub at her thigh discreetly. Never for more than two seconds and with a lengthy pause in between acts as I keep my eyes ahead, seemingly oblivious.
We pass by dozens of people without incident, but by the furrowed brow of the man’s eyes that glance at us a second time, I know we have a bite. We carry on as if we haven’t noticed though, and it raises the hairs on the nape of my neck as he starts following us, to give him our backs and out of my line of sight.
We make it several more city blocks, turning a corner towards the poorer section of town. As opposed to the slums under Elorie’s reign, the ones here are just a simpler sort of beauty. The buildings are smaller, made of painted brick. My eyes narrow on that simple fact and I glance at Cambria with a raised eyebrow, the silent question clear on my face.
“Don’t need to pay someone to glamour the buildings or top off the energy to maintain the illusion,” she murmurs, cocking her head to study the sight.
Whoever created it must have spent a year coming up with the design alone. If you stand at the end of the street, the sides of the two buildings on opposite sides of the street make up a picture split in half. But if you shift to one sidewalk and peer down at several shops at an angle, a different image, split in several pieces that have to align just so to become complete. All of the buildings have the same style, like they’re part of a complicated web weaved of paint and one person’s dreams.
“Hey, you alright?” I startle as the man speaks at last, and Cambria pivots slowly, raking her gaze over our stalker.
“Fine.” Her retort is succinct, dismissive. Yet it just causes the man’s eyes to narrow at her defensiveness.
“Don’t look fine,” he challenges, gesturing towards her face and Cambria grits her teeth.
I narrow my eyes at her like we discussed. Two plans, based off of how long it took for someone to notice us. One for if that person watched us enter the city together, and the other for if we were already well in.
“What’s he talking about, love?” My voice is accusatory, forcing hurt and suspicion into my tone.
The man licks his lips, eyes sparkling at the discord his words caused. “The city’s usually pretty peaceful. Whoever decided to mar that pretty face of yours should be reported so that we can handle it.”
My heart skips a beat.We,he says. Like he’s part of the guard, simply out of uniform.
My head whips towards Cambria, fully immersing myself in my role. Palming her cheek, I turn her to face me with a furrowed brow before pulling my hand away, sticky with blood. She reopened the wound just before we crested the last hill, subtly wiping away the dripping blood and using it to coat the marks on her hands that she couldn’t fully conceal, smearing it on her tattered shirt.
“What the fuck, Wren?” We agreed to fake names for this, pulling them from her favorite author’s books.
She glances away, shifting from foot to foot. “I didn’t want you to know. You warned me to stay out of the woods right now with everything going on, but I thought you were being ridiculous and paranoid.” She wraps her arms around her middle and risks a nervous glance at my face. “I didn’t want you to think I was useless.”
The guard glances between the two of us, making his own assumptions. I tilt her chin up and kiss her gently. “Never. It’s just my job to keep you safe until the others come home.” I give her a playful wink to see I’m not mad, just worried. “But you sure like to make that job a challenge.” The playful air dissipates as I hold her out at arm’s length. “How bad?”
She bites her lower lip, dropping her glamour for only a heartbeat before many people around us can get an eyeful. My face twists into a growl as I pull her against my body in a crushing embrace.
