23. Chapter 23
The temperature in the room plummeted, plunging them into the icy depths of the tumultuous tension between Augrys and Leo.
Yareli glanced between them, confused at their animosity.
They were childhood friends working together against the Watchers, but this was bigger than an argument. This felt hostile.
Augrys shifted, effectively blocking Leo from vision.
“Let Erick take a look at her,” Leo repeated.
Augrys shifted, allowing Erick to walk past him.
Erick scurried over to Yareli, and once his back was turned to the two of them, he rolled his eyes so only she could see.
“What’s going on?” she whispered to him.
He mouthed, later, and said, “Do you feel any discomfort?”
She shook her head. “None. August, I mean Augrys, took care of it.”
“You’ve learned his real name?” Leo’s head popped into view from behind Augrys, his expression surprised.
“I did.”
“About time,” he grumbled.
Yareli shrugged off his comment; she knew everyone was keeping information from her for her own good, but she’d rather not be reminded of it. It stung. If she wasn’t careful, the feeling could take on a more sinister edge, where she was the odd one out. The room went quiet again.
“Augrys,” Bri’s voice pierced the ice in the room. “We need to finalize the plans before you depart. The generals are waiting for you.”
Augrys said nothing for a long moment before sighing and nodding. “I suppose I cannot delay it any longer. Erick, take care of Yareli.”
“On it, boss.”
Panic set in; the situation was slipping out of her control. As Augrys walked away, she blurted out, “A meeting? Can I go?”
“No, you need to rest,” Leo replied immediately.
“Leo’s right. I have a couple of remedies I want you to drink; one of which will make you drowsy, but it’ll speed up your blood regeneration,” Erick said.
Augrys turned around, watching her curiously, but he didn’t say anything. Realizing they weren’t going to let her out of bed that day, Yareli had no choice but to execute her plan.
“Fine. Then, let me go to the council with Augrys.”
The change in the room was instantaneous—multiple voices spoke at once, creating a discordant noise. But Yareli was only interested in the one voice who hadn’t said a word—Augrys. He had raised an eyebrow in question to which she raised her chin as an answer.
“Stop,” she told the rest of them, and they quieted. “Why can’t I go?”
“You’re wounded,” Erick chided her.
“And it would be foolish for you to attend the council,” Leo added. He tried to approach her, but Augrys placed himself in front of him, stopping Leo in his path.
“Really, Augrys,” Leo snapped.
Augrys snorted. “Are you sure you want to start?”
The ice sheet between them groaned, straining under the weight of their glares. Erick stepped between them and attempted to mediate between the two in hushed whispers.
Bri drew her attention away from the arguing men. “The council is being held at Izmari’s capital. It’s unsafe. Powerful Fae will be there, including Tuom. The safer option is to stay here while Augrys and Erick attend.”
Yareli hadn’t considered encountering Tuom again so soon; it gave her pause.
It was true—it would be risky. Maybe Leo could teach her magic.
As she was about to express her second thoughts, a whisper floated across her mind.
Go to the capital. Her dream came back to her then—the mysterious Fae in her dream told her about this exact opportunity. Could she tell them about it?
“You’re both idiots!”
Erick’s yell interrupted her thoughts, drawing her attention once more to the three of them. No, Yareli couldn’t tell them about her dream; they wouldn’t believe her, blaming it on her weakened state and confining her to bed rest.
Bri took her hand. “Ignore the bickering blockheads. What do you want to do?”
To the capital, the voice in her head insisted.
“I want to go,” Yareli said.
She nodded, letting go of her hand and turning toward the men. “Yareli will go to the council.”
Her voice was strong, even, confident—and it silenced the men’s squabbling. Leo was the first to say something.
“What? You know she shouldn’t go. It’s too dangerous.”
“I agree. Besides, we’ll return within two days.” Erick turned to Augrys, nudging him. “Say something.”
Everyone waited for his answer; Yareli met his inquisitive stare with a resolute look of her own. She had to go, to find what she sought—the answer to which she wasn’t sure—even if it required her to find her way there without them.
“If Yareli wants to go, then she goes,” Augrys said.
“And how do you propose you will hide that she’s human?” Leo countered. His face was set in straight lines; his tone drawled. Yareli could tell he was unhappy with the direction things were taking, and his voice revealed what he thought of it all—ridiculous.
“There’s a transformation spell I’ve almost completed that will grant her a Fae appearance,” Augrys answered.
“And her wound?”
“Erick will be there to continue treatment.”
The said healer looked put out like he couldn’t believe what Augrys was saying, but he couldn’t find a counterargument to his logic.
Leo, however, was not one easily deterred. “I’m sure you’ll guarantee her safety, right? Just as you did a few months ago?”
If the room had been icy before, it was subzero now. Yareli thought she saw her breath fan out in white puffs. Augrys didn’t flinch at the accusation, but he clenched his jaw. He leveled a look colder than she had ever seen on him at Leo.
“Shall I remind you of your own failure last night? Where were you when the attack began? I entrusted her safety to you.”
Guilt flashed on Leo’s face, quickly replaced by anger. “Because you’re great at it too, huh.”
“I will be.”
Leo chuckled; the curl of his lips and shake of his head gave it a derisive effect.
“You’d better be.”
So, this was the cause of their argument—her.
Yareli stiffened; her heart beat so fast against her frozen chest, she thought it might shatter her ribs at any moment.
She didn't like it. Bri and Erick looked resigned to let the argument play out, but they were poised to take action if it escalated further.
However, Yareli had had enough of their bickering.
“Out,” she said, too quietly. In a louder voice, she repeated herself. “Everybody out!”
They looked at her, surprised, but to their credit, they didn’t protest. Bri patted her shoulder, grabbing Leo by his arm to yank him along. He looked ready to argue again, and Yareli knew she had to nip his behavior in the bud.
“Leo, stay.”
She pretended not to see the smug look he gave Augrys. To her relief, Augrys gave no reaction. He did, however, avoid her gaze, and that stung. She would later clarify that she wasn’t taking sides; she needed to talk to Leo. Erick followed him, and she caught the tail end of his whisper to Augrys.
“… general’s meeting.”
Leo sat on the stool next to her bed. When the door clicked shut, he pounced, asking, “Why must you go to the council? What inspired this madness?”
She sighed, rolling her eyes at his melodrama, but she held back her irritation because he was concerned for her. “It isn’t madness. Do I need to have a reason to go? Can’t I go because I want to?”
“That’s something you say for things like going on a walk, going on a hunt, or picking up a new hobby, not a risky excursion to a den full of wolves.”
“I have to go. I can’t sit here idly waiting to be rescued.” She paused and decided she would trust him with the partial truth. “I can’t explain it, but I have a feeling that I need to go. Something is waiting for me.”
He shook his head; all the anger he had displayed earlier was gone, replaced by frustration.
She tried again. “I need you to trust me.”
“I do, but you can’t expect me to support a harebrained idea based on a feeling you have.”
That hurt.
“I’m going to go, and that’s final. You can sulk, or you can help me prepare for the capital. The choice is yours.”
He stood, startling her, and paced the room. “Don’t you understand?”
She was tired of being confused, of his stormy behavior. She missed the days of their easygoing friendship, where it was thrilling every time he toed the line with her. It was like they had skipped the honeymoon phase and gone straight to fighting, even though they weren’t a couple.
“Understand what?” she asked, letting her frustration bleed into her voice.
He marched to her, and she watched him with narrowed eyes, unsure of what he wanted. An argument? A discussion to finally settle whatever it was between them? She had a feeling this was no longer about her decision to go to the council. It was about them.
“You don’t understand,” he said softly.
It was the saddest she had ever heard him, but her confusion only grew. If he liked her, if she liked him, then what was the big deal?
“I don’t,” she cried out, lifting her hands into the air. “How can I if one day you’re practically kissing me and the next you’re withdrawn like a surly child?”
He closed his eyes, clearly struggling with some inner conflict that she was not privy to. Without warning, he took hold of her face and kissed her.
He tasted exactly like she imagined he would—of smoke and embers.
His heat surged through her, blazing through her veins like a wildfire, and she kissed him back, eager to finally know what it meant to be consumed.
She groaned as his lips demanded, biting the bottom of her lip, tugging until she gave him access to her mouth.
His tongue pushed against hers, sending a thrill to her toes.
His fingers slipped under her T-shirt, leaving goose bumps on her skin as they made their way toward her breasts.
She arched her back, eager for more. Her senses overflowed with him, and she moaned against his mouth.
He pulled away, peppering kisses down to her neck where his tongue ran across her skin, leaving little doubt about his skill in that area, and she clutched at his shirt.
She wanted more—everything—but he abruptly stopped, resting his forehead on hers.
“Do you understand now?” he whispered, sounding breathless. “You are my problem.”
After the intensity of their make-out session—because that was what it was—Yareli hadn’t expected those to be his first words.
She had expected the opposite; something along the lines of: “I want you. I like you. I want you to be mine.” Not an accusatory statement saying she was the problem. She let her hurt fuel her words.
“If I’m such a problem, then I propose we put an end to this.” She waved her hands between them. “Because I’m not going to beg you, Leo. Either you tell me what problem I supposedly created for you, or we bury this.”
He paced the room again, his hands on his hips. His brilliant, white hair swayed in its ponytail.
“I want you, and that’s the problem,” he snapped.
“How is that a problem? I want you too.”
“Because I can’t.”
Yareli stood, her white T-shirt falling to her thighs, and she stomped over to him. She jabbed her finger into his chest. “And why not? Because unless you don’t want to date a human, or there's some god out there that has decided we can’t be together, then what plausible reason exists?”
He grabbed her wrist, squeezing, but she held back her protest. She could tell Leo was on the brink of exploding—of letting out all the emotions she saw swirling in his eyes. And she feared that if she didn’t push now, he would continue to bottle it all up.
His nose crinkled as his eyes darkened and stilled, becoming as still as a lake on a clear night. There was no longer any anger or frustration. Only sorrow remained; one that made her feel like she was on a ledge—on a precipice—of a new, devastating discovery.
His voice was as soft as it had been earlier, his mouth curling downward. His words reverberated through her, echoing until at last her brain caught up and processed their meaning.
“Because you’re in love with Augrys.”
“Wha—”
Her ears popped, followed by a sharp pain in her temple.
She stepped away from him and shook her head.
The pain doubled. She fell to her knees, holding her head with her cold hands.
And although Leo spoke to her, shaking her shoulders, she couldn’t hear him.
She was inside her mind, sitting on the deep lake that she had come to recognize as her memory vault.
A memory surfaced. Then, another, and another until there were multiple floating memories for her picking.
She reached toward one, hoping it would ease the pressure in her head, and it dissolved, soaking her in water droplets.
Keening filled the air, ripples erupted across the lake, and she watched in horror as all the memory bubbles burst at once.
Their torrential rain drenched her, their hot droplets stinging her skin.
She yelped and tried to run away, but she was plunged into the lake’s frigid depths.
She heard herself cry out, asking for help, but she heard no response.
The light from the surface was quickly fading, and her lungs burned until she couldn’t hold her breath any longer.
She gasped, gulping a mouthful of the water, but that was a mistake.
The water poured into her, drowning her in its unforgiving, ceaseless flood until she no longer knew where her body began and ended.
Whispers caressed her skin.
… happy ending.
August.
“Oh, that Yareli.”
Take me to Izmari.