Chapter 21 #2
“So, you’re complicit in this.”
“I’m complicit in doing what my prince commands to prevent my people from going to war against yours.”
Sophie folds her arms. “A simple ‘yes’ could’ve sufficed.”
Emlyn’s so close he almost smacks me when he throws his hands up. “I can’t possibly know everything you’re including within the scope of ‘this,’ so no, I can’t simply agree with that!” His hand lands on my leg as he turns to me. “Can we go now?”
I blink, trying to get the wheels in my head to catch up with his words, but it’s about as effective as blinking to turn wheels.
“Go where?” Alexis demands.
My elbow digs into the armrest as I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing my brain into motion. “After Ellie,” I groan. “Then to Caeo, to save him. Then to murder the both of them because they have no appreciation for how difficult they’ve made my life.”
And just in case I didn’t know what a wreck it’s become, Emlyn reiterates it by taking my hand and pulling me to the door.
Alexis shoots up, bumping her chair as she follows. “I’m going with you.”
I spin around, yanking free of Emlyn and grabbing her shoulders. “Nope, no. You can’t. You’ll just make everything harder.”
“Neither of you should go,” Sophie says, eyeing Emlyn as she joins us. “We should tell Headmaster Gleese and let the Order handle it.”
I shake my finger at her. “No, we’re not doing that. They’ll only care about Ellie. Once they find her, they won’t give a shit about Caeo.”
As far as I know, no human has ever crossed the border to the faelands. If Caeo’s already there, Emlyn may be my only shot at getting to him. That won’t happen if the Order gets involved.
And I’d probably never see Emlyn again.
Sophie’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t argue any further. My stomach contracts, all too aware she’ll probably snitch the second I’m gone.
“Let me come,” Alexis says, pulling my attention back to her. “I can help.”
“I wish you could, but you can barely incant without a focal, and you want to murder the only ally I have. You can help me more by covering for us.” I make an exaggerated eye dart toward Sophie.
She tracks my gaze, and her mouth quirks before she nods. Hopefully, she can keep Sophie from talking for at least a couple days.
I wrap her in a tight hug. “I’ll bring them back, I promise.”
“Mortals and their promises…” Emlyn mumbles under his breath.
Alexis’s glare singes the air. “Don’t trust him, Reid. He’s fae. You can’t.”
I don’t have a response to that. I can’t say I won’t, because I don’t know if that’s true. And it would hurt Emlyn; not that I should care—he’s an asshole.
Except I do.
“Give me a minute before you go,” Alexis says, heading to Ellie’s room. She emerges with a bundle of clothing and other personal items. “I imagine she only had a bag of books with her, which won’t be terribly useful.”
Taking it from her, I shove it into my pack, forcing myself to believe I’ll be back soon despite the pit in my stomach warning me otherwise.
Emlyn claps his hands as we leave the building, stepping into the cool night air. “Ready to steal some horses?”
“Steal? No. Besides, there’s some things I need to get.” I head down the stone path toward the Fire School.
“It’s the middle of the night, Reid. The only way we’re going anywhere is if we steal horses.”
Arandur’s foot fungus. I hadn’t really thought about how we’d be traveling. “Maybe we should wait till morning.”
It isn’t long before we arrive at one of the Fire School’s side entrances.
Not seeing any guards—low-ranking members of the Order who spend most their days bored out of their minds—I summon some vines inside the lock and expand them until the metal gives, busting it.
I force the door open, and we step inside.
Five minutes later, I have a sword. After a quick stop at my dorm to trade my books for necessities, we’re on our way back to Haven.
“You just broke into your school to steal a sword, but take issue with stealing horses?” Emlyn asks, the moonlight giving a faint glow to his skin.
“Not so much the stealing part as the riding part.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve never ridden a horse before.”
“It seems like a bad thing to do for the first time when I can hardly see anything.”
Emlyn groans as he runs his hand down his face. “Ancients have mercy. I should leave you behind.”
“Don’t even think about it.”
He kicks up some gravel as he halts and turns, his face inches from mine. “I’d like to hear how you’ll stop me.”
Not this again.
I push past him. “Fuck you.”
“Oh good, that was my first choice.”
I freeze mid-stride. He can’t say that unless…
I spin on my heel, then shove him in the chest. Surprise flashes across his face, but that stupid grin returns almost instantly, as if my anger’s nothing more than a source of amusement.
“Back off! In case you haven’t noticed, this has been a bad day for me. Not just bad. A nightmare. My friends are in trouble, and I’m throwing away everything I’ve ever worked for by trusting that you can help me save them. So can you give me a break and just make one thing easy?”
“I’m easy.”
Blood threatens to explode out my ears. “Well, I don’t want you to be!”
I storm off, adjusting my bag on my shoulder, then shove my hands in my pockets as curses rampage through my mind.
Breathe. Shit. Breathe.
The boiling slowly eases to a simmer. Breathe. I stop walking, tilt my head up, and stare at the sky. It takes a second for the stars to come into focus—dim specks of light in a vast nothingness.
Will they look the same in the fae realm?
Emlyn’s fingers come to rest against my elbow. “We can sleep at my place,” he says quietly. “You can have the sofa. I won’t leave without you.”
I nod, not looking at him. I can’t bring myself to. His hand moves to my back, and he nudges me forward. He doesn’t say another word until we get there.