Then I scoff.
Because Arwyn can’t be her brother. He is a whole other type of fae than Mika is.
Mika is like the others, the bulk of the unit, dark fae.
But Arwyn is like Samick. Ice.
Even the other warriors seem to melt out of their paths and keep their distance.
Only Rust stood against Samick, even if he did hesitate at first. He still fought him to get to me.
Something ugly churns in my stomach.
I shut my eyes and curl up even smaller under the blankets.
I don’t want to leave here, the blankets or the prison.
There’s something that feels safe about being here. But I know that it’s because a huge chunk of the warriors have been knockedout by that healing powder, and that I’ve been hidden away in a cell, and that Rust has been in a mini coma.
And the moment we leave, it means Rust is awake and getting his strength back, and the unit will be marching into the drizzle outside—and that doesn’t feel nearly as safe as staying rolled up like a burrito in these blankets.
Dread fills me.
It grows heavier, like liquid iron pumping through my veins, as bootsteps draw closer to the cell.
The shadows of the cell darken Samick’s face as he stalks in. His expression is tight with a moody severity, and he only glances at me before reaching down for my boots—then flinging them at me.
They bounce on the blanket, right at my midsection.
The silent command is to get the fuck up, leave the warmth of the blankets, and face the rest of this gruelling journey that, frankly, I can’t be arsed with.
Part of me is too weak. Not my body, but my mind, my soul, my resolve.
If Bee and I were separated, and I couldn’t find her, and I wasn’t pinned to this fae and the unit, then I stumbled across the prison, a warm bed, showers that run hot water—
Then I would stay.
At least, the temptation to stay would be strong enough that I would waste time.
I suddenly hate myself a bit more.
The breath whooshes out of me and swells my cheeks.
Samick aims a look down at me, sharp.
I snub him and kick off the blankets.
The cold strikes me like a frosty wave.
I shudder before I scramble for my boots and tug them on much easier than Mika did.
As I do, Samick turns his back on me—and he takes a step closer to the other bunk.
Shark and Arwyn come into the cell and immediately gather around Mika.
She vanishes from my line of sight.
Now, all I see are the leathers sheathing three massive fae warriors.
