Page 170 of The Fallen Fae King

I rub my head, taking a step back. Then I reach out, feeling over the snake — rope.

I grasp it, bracing my feet on the wall.

I may be able to fly up to the window, but I still don’t trust my new pinion feather.

I nimbly climb up the rope, swinging myself through the window.

Then I am bowled onto my back on the dusty floor of the dorm room by an overexcited fae with red spotted ladybug wings.

“Thorn, you’re finally here!” Bai stares down at me like he hasn’t just jumped on top of his King.

I laugh. “Hey, Little Bug. It looks like the dragons have been teaching you etiquette.”

“What’s that?” Bai cocks his head; his fiery tangle of hair falls over his mossy green eyes. “And I’m not little anymore.”

“You do look like you’ve grown.”

My heart aches.

He must be putting on weight and going through a growth spurt because of the better food that he’s being served here, along with the more frequent meals. Aurelius promised that my featherglass wouldn’t starve.

I feel like a bloody failure.

Bai’s pale skin flushes. “I am eating everything. Wren is mean and insists that I do, even the nasty soggy green stuff.”

“He means cabbage. And don’t squash Thorn, we’ve only just got him back.” There is amusement in Elatha’s voice, but I can also hear how much she longs to greet me too.

Gently, my best friend pulls Bai back by his cloak, which is pinned with a crude wooden raven brooch.

I smile to see that he is still wearing it.

I whittled that brooch for Bai’s first birthday. He has worn it ever since. A frightened part of me that I didn’t dare name was scared that he would have stopped wearing it.

After all, he is wearing a cadet uniform now, underneath his cloak.

Is he still part of my Frost Clan? Are any of them?

Bai’s wings flutter, as he is pulled to his feet.

The dorm room is small and stark with three wooden cots pushed against the wall. It stinks of sweat soaked into the cot’s woolen blankets, oiled leather, and the smoke of the burning lamp.

The featherglass are housed in a separate dorm at the far end of the barracks, which means that I can risk this visit.

I stand as well, brushing off my clothes.

But then, I’m knocked back again, as Elatha throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around me.

“By the Shadow Devils,” she says, “I thought that I may never see you again.”

Elatha’s claws slice through the back of my robes, but I don’t react. Her commanding eagle wings unfurl like shadows. Her broad wings, the color of rain-darkened oak, wrap around me.

Being held in her wings is like coming home.

“I’m here now, Ela.” My eyes burn with tears.

At last, she pulls back.

Her blue eyes narrow, as she scans me.