19. The Hunter
Iwasn’t sure what game Eira was playing, but I didn’t have time for this. I shoved the mirror in my pocket and picked up her fallen dagger. We’d lingered for too long in this alley.
“Theron, did you hear me?” she hissed, struggling to keep up with my pace.
“I heard you.”
She pulled on my shoulder, jerking me to a stop. “The queen is unseelie.”
“I’m sure you believe that.”
Her head reared back, her eyes flashing. “You think I’m lying?”
“No. I think you’re imagining things.”
She scoffed. “You are such an ass! Is it really that unbelievable? Think about it. She has control over people’s blood. What kind of fae magic does that? And… and her eyes, Theron. Have you seen a seelie fae’s eyes look like that?”
“Stop.” I whirled to face her, fury pulsing in my blood. I’d had enough of this. “Do you even hear yourself? You don’t have to convince me she’s evil. I get it. You hate her. I do, too. That doesn’t mean she’s a dark fae. I’ve fought them, Eira. I know what they look like. What they smell like. What their magic is like.”
“I’m telling you, I saw her unseelie form. In the mirror. She has a powerful glamour; that’s how she hides her true nature. But the mirror only reveals truth. It showed me who she is.”
I shook my head and ran a hand along my face. “This is ridiculous. Just stop, Eira. We have enough problems on our hands without these delusions.”
She huffed a dry laugh, her nostrils flaring as she fixed a cold smile on her face. “Fine, Theron. I trusted you with this secret, and you treat me like shit for it. You want to be an asshole for the rest of your life? Go right ahead. I’m done. You’re right. Let’s get this over with so we can be rid of each other.”
She shoved past me, slamming her shoulder into my arm. Though it didn’t hurt, her words certainly did. For a moment, I stood there, dumbfounded, my feet rooted to the ground as I watched her march away from me, her steps steady and forceful.
What had she expected? We had just been attacked, and I’d sacrificed everything to get her healed. Our only weapon had been the element of surprise, and now that was gone. Queen Calista was expecting us.
We were doomed either way, and Eira decided to spin this unbelievable, twisted tale? As if Calista being unseelie would help us in any way… No, that would be so much worse. At least seelie fae could be killed easily.
With a groan, I stormed after Eira, catching up to her in a few lengthy strides. “Eira, I didn’t mean?—”
“Save it,” she snapped. “As you said, we have enough problems to deal with.”
“Eira.”
She turned to me, her mouth tight with fury. “I’m done, Theron. Shut the hell up or I’ll jam my dagger in your throat.”
I would have teased her; I would have said something like, I’d like to see you try. But the rage burning in her gaze was more potent than anything I’d ever seen. And lingering underneath was a layer of regret and anguish.
I had hurt her.
Heat filled my throat. I tried to swallow, but I couldn’t.
Before she turned away from me, I caught a glimpse of moisture in her eyes.
* * *
We didn’t speak another word until we reached her friend Stella’s house. To my surprise, Frisk trotted out to greet us, his thick white coat of fur shining and spotless, as if he hadn’t been part of a gruesome battle only hours ago.
Eira rushed over to him, and he hopped into her arms, nuzzling against her chest as if he were a kitten. She pressed a kiss to the top of his head, and he leapt from her arms, landing on his feet.
“You tell Mauro about that, and I’ll claw your eyes out,” Frisk said, sitting on his hind legs as if the show of affection hadn’t happened.
“Mauro? Is he all right?” Eira asked
“He’s in the back. We figured he’d be a bit too conspicuous hanging around the front door.”
Eira chuckled. “I agree. What about the other creatures?”
“We lost a few rabbits. All the fae beasts survived, though.”
My eyes widened. “There were mortal creatures fighting with us?”
Frisk fixed his dark eyes on me. “You really need to get this into your thick skull, hunter. Species isn’t everything. Unseelie, seelie, fae, or human… Get those damn divisions out of your head or it’ll be the death of you.”
I could only blink at him as he led Eira into the house. For a moment, I lingered in the front yard, my head reeling with the notion that this infuriating princess had turned my entire way of thinking upside down.
I wasn’t even sure who I was anymore. Two days ago, I would have said I was a full-blooded fae, an assassin for the Queen of the Winter Court, only one assignment away from a blissful retirement.
Now, I was a wanted fugitive who had turned against the queen and fought her own soldiers, aiding and abetting the vigilante princess who sought to start a civil war in the court.
The fact that I was a full-blooded fae meant nothing.
But perhaps that was how it should be. Why should my bloodline give me any amount of privilege? Why did that matter to me at all?
My jaw went rigid, my teeth grinding together as I was forcibly reminded of my father. Humans are worthless, he’d said. They were put here by the gods to test us. To make us stronger. We must use that strength to wipe them out and prove we are the more dominant species.
Never in my life had I agreed with my father’s practices and beliefs. And yet, somehow, the idea that the seelie fae were the more dominant species had been ingrained so deeply in my brain that I didn’t even notice the belief was there.
Damn you, old man,I thought, cursing my father. Even after he’d been taken from this world, his ideals still haunted me, dragging me down like a weight I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying.
And it was exactly why it had been so difficult for me to believe the queen was unseelie. Because she had risen to power, claiming the throne of the Winter Court. So of course she had to be full-blooded seelie; it was the only thing that made sense. Why else would my father have served her?
And yet, thinking of Eira and everything she had gone through… I knew she had more sense than I gave her credit for. How could I have accused her of making this up? Of being delusional?
Guilt and shame and regret warred within me, making it hard to breathe. I couldn’t focus on this now. There were more important tasks at hand.
Voices echoed from the open window of the house, startling me from my thoughts. There would be a time for introspection later—assuming we survived this at all.
The odds were slim.
With a deep breath, I entered the house, following the sounds of excited whispers and murmurs. When I reached the living room, I found Eira embracing a white-haired woman I’d seen once before—in Knockspur, when the humans had ganged up on me. Despite the color of her hair, she looked quite young. Perhaps Eira’s age.
Stella withdrew from the embrace and fixed a cold stare on me, her chin lifting in defiance. “Ah. So, this is the fearsome assassin?” Her gaze raked over me, and she scoffed. “He doesn’t seem like much, does he?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. But, she didn’t draw a weapon on me, so I saw that as an improvement.
“Stella, you shouldn’t even be here,” Eira chided, ignoring my presence completely. Somehow, this was worse than her teasing.
Stella gripped Eira’s hands in both of hers. “I heard whispers that the Snow Princess had been captured. I had to come and see for myself. I knew you wouldn’t have been caught so easily.”
Eira’s shoulders deflated, the motion so subtle I almost missed it. “I was caught. Stabbed, actually.”
Stella’s pale eyes grew wide, and she uttered a squeak of horror. “Blood and ice, Snow! What happened?” She scanned Eira’s body as if searching for a wound.
Finally, Eira turned to look at me, her gaze cold and unfeeling. Her lips pinched as she said, “Theron brought me to a healer. He saved my life.”
My head jerked back in surprise. With the frostiness of her voice and expression full of loathing, the last thing I’d expected her to say was something praiseworthy.
Stella blinked and glanced between us, clearly as confused as I was. “The… assassin? Saved you?”
“Yes.” Eira’s words were stiff, as if the truth were being pulled from her by force. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”
“Eira—” I began, the ache in my chest unbearable.
“At any rate, if you thought I was captured, you should have left,” Eira said, talking over me. “That was the plan.”
“To hell with the plan,” said a gruff voice.
A blade was in my hand as I whirled at the newcomer. From the next room emerged another human, this one more familiar to me—the burly fellow who’d held an iron blade to my throat in Knockspur.
Denton. The farm boy clearly still enamored with Eira. His dark, intense gaze was fixed on her as if he owned her. Anger simmered in my veins.
Eira straightened. “Denton? Shivering bones!” She raced toward him, throwing herself into his chest. His arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace.
The anger within me boiled over, my teeth clenched so hard my head was throbbing.
“Who else is here?” Eira asked, eagerly looking around as if expecting more of her friends to appear.
But Stella shook her head. “It’s just us. The others are rallying forces and will meet us at the palace at the full moon.”
“We figured if the two of us died here, the others could still continue with the plan,” Denton explained.
“Didn’t you just say to hell with the plan?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Denton’s gaze shifted to me, and his stance went rigid. “I see you haven’t rid yourself of this nuisance yet.”
“You were there when we struck the bargain,” Eira said. “I had no choice.”
“That’s not true. You could have refused to bargain with him at all.”
“Denton—”
“Come on, Snow, you don’t need him. We can do this without his pretentious fae ass.”
“Actually, you can’t,” I said loudly.
The three of them turned to look at me.
“Eira needs me to get into the palace,” I went on, fixing a hard stare at her. “Isn’t that right?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You were just telling me sneaking into the palace is impossible.”
“Both of us sneaking in is impossible. But if I distract the queen by giving myself up, then you can sneak in on your own. I’ll still be fulfilling my bargain with you.”
Eira’s face paled. “Theron?—”
Denton huffed a dry laugh. “Turn yourself in? I don’t believe it for a second.”
“He can’t lie,” Eira snapped.
“He said if. It doesn’t mean he’ll do it.” Denton drew closer to me, a challenge lighting up his gaze. “Tell us this is your intention, hunter. Prove me wrong.”
I met his gaze, unwavering. His intimidation tactics wouldn’t work on me. Because for the first time in days, clarity burned through my thoughts.
This was what I needed to do. My own life be damned; I’d spent too long allowing my father and Calista’s crusade against humans to escalate. Eira could make more of a difference in this court than I ever could. It was more important for her to survive than for me.
This was my penance.
With a firm, steady voice, I said, “It is my intention to turn myself in so Eira can sneak into the palace undetected.”
The truth in my words rang out in the small room, and Eira”s eyes went wide. She was right. I couldn”t lie. And that meant I had just vowed to face certain death to give her a chance at accomplishing her goal.