Chapter 22 Bylur
Ihardened the shadow ceiling above our corner of the hedge maze as the falling snow thickened into a slushy, wet sleet.
Dry under my magic ceiling, Dearan ignored the snow and rolled his parchment up around the pencil.
“I’ll give this list to Parcival, though I suspect he’s already got a much longer list that includes all your concerns. ”
I nodded, inadvertently shaking piles of white hair at him. “Most likely. But this will give him the opportunity to ask us for help, and we both know he won’t do that without being invited.”
Dearan chuckled. “Anything else? Even with my prompting, I doubt he’ll need anything. I’ll probably see you next at the ball tonight. Maybe a little socializing will convince everyone to quit changing their minds about the council.”
Anything else? How about a way to return to the castle without destroying everything so I could spend more time with Auria? I shook my head. The castle wasn’t really designed for a beast like myself, and Dearan, Parcival, and Auria all knew where I was. And Dearan had kept my secret for months.
In fact, Dearan knew most of my secrets. And he’d never tried to use any of them for his own advantage. If fae were capable of being friends, he’d been one to me for decades.
Shaking my head, I wished for Auria’s free-flowing words. After all these years, Dearan deserved to know I appreciated him. “You know, you’re the only fae noble who knows me well enough to be a genuine threat.”
He groaned. “Bylur. You have all the tact of a dyrakongur. It’s no wonder Queen Daneira chose this form for you.”
I growled. “It wasn’t supposed to sound like an accusation. I was trying to say thank you.”
He patted my shoulder. “I know. You’re welcome.” A wide grin scrawled across his face. “I’m glad you have Auria now. She won’t let you get away with being a bear all the time.”
I swatted at him with my paw, but he laughed and jogged away, forming a barrier of light above his head so the snow didn’t soak him. “See you tonight, Bylur.”
Huffing at his disappearing form, I opened my mouth to yell something at his back, but then I froze. A wave of fear washed over me.
But I wasn’t afraid of anything.
I stared at the hedge’s little evergreen leaves and tried to sort the feeling when it hit again, only stronger. The feeling intensified into a panic. And then I realized—
I wasn’t feeling my own terror.
I was feeling Auria’s.