SIX #5
But, I figured, it was better it be me than Cass and his evil army, better it be us than them, taking her to the Dark Court only to bait her brother and his woman out of seclusion.
Jasper was useless to Cass.
He had some skills, but nothing strong enough even to drain him for.
Expendable.
That was what he would be.
A pawn to use to get his daughter to obey, to spare her love beatings and torture.
And once she was brainwashed enough, he could slit his throat and be done with him.
And Amethyst?
She would be crushed.
She would be weighted down with guilt for the rest of her life.
For being a pawn in a game she had no skills at.
For being young and beautiful enough to be used to make gains.
For being born at all.
"Before the sun even gets full in the sky," he promised, waving up above us, making me aware of the melting again, something that had completely escaped me even though, ahead of us, Smoky had rolled up her shirtsleeves, had tied up her hair.
"Judging by this," he said, waving a hand at the rapidly melting snow around us, "summer should be in full swing in the human realm. You're the only one of us who won't stick out," he added, jerking his chin to the shirt Amy had bought me.
"I am hoping we won't have to be there long," I said, reaching for the note in my pocket. "But the only day when I know where she will be is on..." I scanned the note. "Every Sunday."
If she would even be there.
If she didn't get bored of being there every weekend, wasting her freedom
If she didn't get a job, friends, a boyfriend who that would distract her from her promise.
That last one, yeah, it sent a swirling pit of jealousy through my system. I had no right, of course, to feel that way. I had no claim to her. She had no loyalty to me. She was free to meet men, spend time with them, kiss them, fall for them.
And I had no right to be put off by that.
Just because I thought highly of her, because I owed her my freedom, because we'd shared a kiss. A single kiss. I had shared more than that with women whose names I no longer remembered.
I should have been happy for her, happy that she had a chance to build something for herself, that she got to choose who put their hands on her.
My eyes moved down the note, finding myself almost smiling at the dainty, perfect script.
And I found a small passage that was not about my instructions to find her if I should need to.
Maybe this is silly. Sillier still to tell you.
But when I was younger, I used to dream that your people would find you, come for you, break you out of your chains.
And that you would finally be allowed to Change, fly again, stopping by my window, letting me climb up onto your back, and taking me away.
Away from it all. Silly, girlish musings.
And as much as those dreams made my life more tolerable, I am glad I got to save myself.
I'm glad I got to save you too. And by the time you read this, I hope you are back with your kind.
I hope you have felt the relief of the Change after so long, got to feel the wind cascading over your body while you fly with your loved ones.
I hope you're happy. And maybe a selfish little part of me hopes you think of me every couple decades or so.
I know I'll be thinking of you. - xo Amy.
"He looks sick," Smoky's voice reached to me as I stopped reading.
"He looks smitten," Sal corrected, making my head snap up, feeling oddly caught even though I hadn't done anything wrong.
"She just saved me," I insisted, trying to shrug it off.
"There's more to the story," Sal insisted. "But we are about to go through. So maybe talk about fae and dragons should be avoided. You can tell us some other time."
I had no plans on telling them anything, but kept quiet.
"So... what exactly is the plan here?" Smoky asked as I felt the little shocks over my skin letting me know we were close. "We wait until the right day and the right time, we meet with her... and what?"
I pulled to a stop, feeling the helplessness overtaking me.
What was to be done?
How could I hide her?
From the Unseelie King himself?
"The only thing that can be done," Sal said, shrugging. "We'll get them to the Light Court. They can seek asylum."
"Amy didn't want that," I recalled. "She didn't want a war to break out because of her."
They were both silent for a moment, both pondering the repercussions of a war, what that might mean Salamander fae - usually Light by allegiance - would be forced to fight, their skills being harnessed as weapons in a war bound to strip them of their lives, and then their children's lives, their grandchildren's lives.
The war would last long enough to forget when it even began.
Smoky would fare worse, most likely. A woman alone in the woods with no one to protect her.
Even if she knew the area better than anyone else, even if she knew how to swing from tree to tree, it wouldn't be enough.
Not when an entire army of Dark fae were looking for warm bodies.
Preferably unwilling ones. Because they thought it was more fun that way.
A war would be horrifying for all involved.
No one wanted the treaty to break.
No one wanted to watch their loved ones slaughtered.
No one wanted to live in utter terror every moment of their very long lives.
"Take her with you," Smoky supplied, making my head jerk toward her. "You wanted to go home anyway. It's safe. All these years and no one has been able to get inside."
"Would she be welcome? All this time without any outside interference," Smoky clarified. "Would they be okay with an outsider?"
"His family will have him back," Sal shot back at her. "After thinking the worst for who-knows how long. If he brought half a village with him, they would accept them. That's what family does," he added, voice softening a bit, knowing such concepts were beyond Smoky's understanding.
"Then it's solved," she declared, voice a little sharp to distract from the vulnerable look in her eyes. "We will fetch your girl, rush her through the woods, and deposit the both of you at the fake swamp."
With that, she turned and charged forward, only losing steam when she stood at the veil, seeming stuck, maybe - dare we even think it - afraid.
"Come on," Sal said, closing his hand around hers, and dragging her through.
I watched as they moved through, as Smoky's hand tightened on Sal's for a moment before she remembered herself, yanking away, taking a step to the side, putting distance between them.
Sal attempted not to look disappointed as he turned back to me, holding his arms out in a What are you waiting for gesture.
I stood there for just a second longer, letting this new reality sink in.
I was going home.
And I was taking Amy with me.
And if I was going to protect her, it was going to have to be forever.
I was going to have Amy with me forever.
I hardly let myself notice the way the pressure on my chest lessened before I threw myself through the veil.
I had to go get my girl.
Even if she wasn't my girl.
Yet.