I twist my mouth to the side. She’s right.
“If we disappear with them without explanation, they’re still dead. This whole thing will be over.”
“My father listens to me. I can talk him down.”
She shakes her head. She’s right on this one. Even if I did convince him to let them go, his suspicion of what we’re up to will be through the roof. And then I realize…“They might think you ran away with him regardless, even if we don’t sell it for the next few days. They might think you were simply keeping it a secret. Or worse… they’ll think they kidnapped us.”
She nods with a slow and somber motion. “Maybe you guys should go without me…”
I shake my head. “Then I’m still screwed, because how do I explain that one.”
“Yeah… plus, it’s not just me they don’t want mingling withlesserkinds. You’re the princess,” she says.
“Yeah, but… I sort of have an out for that one…” I tell her, wincing.
“What?”
“My father sort of asked me to get close to Daegan. To spy on him, I guess. He doesn’t trust them.”
Her mouth hangs open. “And you’re just now telling me this?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not spying for my father. I’m simply pretending to. To appease him.”
“Wow.” She shakes her head in mild disbelief. “Well, I can’t really stay behind anyway. I want to go with you guys. I can’t abandon you before I’ve even started.”
“You all right?” I hear Raef walk up behind me, but I keep my eyes on Meela.
She shakes her head. “We need another plan,” she tells him.
“This plan is too perfect,” he says, confused.
“They’ll kill you,” Meela snaps, her eyes full of warning.
“They will not. They might be unhappy about it, but kill us? No way.”
“They will.” Meela crosses her arms, looking away as she speaks weakly. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Something in her tone shuts him up. His smile falls as he looks at me. I confirm with my eyes.
“Well, this is bigger than me. It’s my back on the line, and I’m okay with risking it.”
I try to plead with her. “Maybe he won’t do something so brash in his own land. He would have to be sneakier about it. We’ve all got each other, and we won’t let that happen so easily this time. I do have a little bit of say as the princess, after all.”
The heartbreak in her eyes as she looks up at us nearly rips a hole in my chest. Raef might be slightly in the dark, but he realizes how serious she is. He knows she’s not messing around with this.
“Please,” he pleads, his normally easy gaze full of intensity as he looks at her.
She glances between the two of us, then across the room, contemplating. Her eyes return to Raef, resolve painting her face. “Okay.”
“Okay,” he breathes. And then he hugs her. She doesn’t hug back, her arms still folded in on herself, but she allows his arms to wrap around hers.
I look away, letting them have a moment, and my stupid eyes somehow fall perfectly onto Daegan, who’s watching from across the room. His eyes are questioning, so I give him a sad sort of nod, letting him know everything is good. He dips his chin once in acknowledgement before pulling his gaze away.
Chapter 30
As we make our way back to the castle in the carriage, I finally feel like pieces of a puzzle I never knew I needed to solve are falling into place. I’m terrified for so many different reasons, but it also feels right.
Gaethri and Rhydra stayed behind at the inn, where they’ve been staying since they were released. I have so much more I want to ask them, so much I want to tell them, but I think we’ll all have plenty of time to get to know each other more on our upcoming journey.
