back.”
Phineas and I exchanged a glance. Not that I didn’t expect something of the sort. Talivar had been under his mother’s thumb for centuries. Why he hadn’t given Faerie the collective finger and bailed a long time ago was a thing I’d never been able to fathom. I wonderedif his deep-seated sense of honor wouldn’t get him killed someday.
“Talivar?” My arm wrapped around his waist to give him a squeeze, but he did not look down at me.
“I only wanted a chance to be happy,” he muttered, his mouth a thin line. “Why is that so hard?”
Without waiting for a reply, he leaned heavily against the crude walking stick and the three of us staggered deeper into the woods.
Nightfall found us huddled beneath the shelter of a lichen-coated rock formation. It kept the falling drizzle from the tops of our heads, but the ground beneath us was chillier than I liked.
Talivar tipped his head so it rested on the granite, his shoulder slumping hard. I pushed the damp tendrils of hair from his forehead, frowning at the heated warmth emanating from his skin. “You’re burning up.”
I shoved Phin from my lap to inspect the elf closer, unwrapping the bandage from the wound on his leg. A dark stain encircled the skin. “What the hell is that?”
He blew out hard, peering at his leg in the darkness. “Their weapons were coated with a light poison. Meant to slow us down.” A dry smile flickered over his face. “Just in case.”
“How long will it last?” Phineas inspected it, nostrils quivering.
“Depends on how much was on the blade. It’s not lethal. Just inconvenient.”
“I’ll say,” I muttered. “How far off are we from the Barras?”
Talivar shifted against the rock. “From here, it could be several more hours. Though with me like this, it might be days.”
“We don’t have that kind of time.” I stood up, brushing the dirt from my knees. “I’m going to see if I can find help. Which way should I go?”
My brave words about the insistence of teamwork a few hours ago came back and mocked me, but to his credit he didn’t even mention it. He pointed weakly toward a clearing through the trees. “We’ve been traveling parallel to the road for a while, but in this case, you’ll make better time if you’re not getting lost in the woods.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
He shrugged. “I know you, love. This isn’t your element.”
“What about me?” Phin butted my calf, nipping my skirts in irritation.
“Stay here. In case someone . . . finds him.” I went silent trying not to think of just what else was out here that might be interested in something sick and bleeding. “Besides, I’ll make faster time if I don’t have to carry you.”
He bristled slightly but nodded. “Don’t be too long.”
“I won’t.” The words were hollow, but they were all I had to offer.
I pressed a kiss to Talivar’s forehead, his glazed eye spurring me to movement. The woods closed tight around me as I left the clearing.
The last time I’d found myself wandering aimlessly around Faerie alone, I’d been unceremoniously dumped from the back of a puca and into a pond. This wasn’t all that much better, though I was certainly drier.
Still sore as hell, though.
I’d stumbled onto the road Talivar had indicated, but I stayed on the edges of it, narrowly avoiding an elvish patrol by taking refuge in a ditch. Judging by their pace, they weren’t looking for me anyway; the galloping horse hooves drummed into the distance.
Messengers, perhaps? It gave me hope that I’d nearly found the Barras—though I was beginning to question our quest to seek refuge there. If the Queen was already searching for us, I wasn’t sure how much protection Kitsune would be able to afford us. Still, what choice did we have?
The guards came back a short time later, forcing me to hide a second time, but they rode slower now, their helmeted faces turning this way and that. When their heads twisted in
Phineas and I exchanged a glance. Not that I didn’t expect something of the sort. Talivar had been under his mother’s thumb for centuries. Why he hadn’t given Faerie the collective finger and bailed a long time ago was a thing I’d never been able to fathom. I wonderedif his deep-seated sense of honor wouldn’t get him killed someday.
“Talivar?” My arm wrapped around his waist to give him a squeeze, but he did not look down at me.
“I only wanted a chance to be happy,” he muttered, his mouth a thin line. “Why is that so hard?”
Without waiting for a reply, he leaned heavily against the crude walking stick and the three of us staggered deeper into the woods.
Nightfall found us huddled beneath the shelter of a lichen-coated rock formation. It kept the falling drizzle from the tops of our heads, but the ground beneath us was chillier than I liked.
Talivar tipped his head so it rested on the granite, his shoulder slumping hard. I pushed the damp tendrils of hair from his forehead, frowning at the heated warmth emanating from his skin. “You’re burning up.”
I shoved Phin from my lap to inspect the elf closer, unwrapping the bandage from the wound on his leg. A dark stain encircled the skin. “What the hell is that?”
He blew out hard, peering at his leg in the darkness. “Their weapons were coated with a light poison. Meant to slow us down.” A dry smile flickered over his face. “Just in case.”
“How long will it last?” Phineas inspected it, nostrils quivering.
“Depends on how much was on the blade. It’s not lethal. Just inconvenient.”
“I’ll say,” I muttered. “How far off are we from the Barras?”
Talivar shifted against the rock. “From here, it could be several more hours. Though with me like this, it might be days.”
“We don’t have that kind of time.” I stood up, brushing the dirt from my knees. “I’m going to see if I can find help. Which way should I go?”
My brave words about the insistence of teamwork a few hours ago came back and mocked me, but to his credit he didn’t even mention it. He pointed weakly toward a clearing through the trees. “We’ve been traveling parallel to the road for a while, but in this case, you’ll make better time if you’re not getting lost in the woods.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
He shrugged. “I know you, love. This isn’t your element.”
“What about me?” Phin butted my calf, nipping my skirts in irritation.
“Stay here. In case someone . . . finds him.” I went silent trying not to think of just what else was out here that might be interested in something sick and bleeding. “Besides, I’ll make faster time if I don’t have to carry you.”
He bristled slightly but nodded. “Don’t be too long.”
“I won’t.” The words were hollow, but they were all I had to offer.
I pressed a kiss to Talivar’s forehead, his glazed eye spurring me to movement. The woods closed tight around me as I left the clearing.
The last time I’d found myself wandering aimlessly around Faerie alone, I’d been unceremoniously dumped from the back of a puca and into a pond. This wasn’t all that much better, though I was certainly drier.
Still sore as hell, though.
I’d stumbled onto the road Talivar had indicated, but I stayed on the edges of it, narrowly avoiding an elvish patrol by taking refuge in a ditch. Judging by their pace, they weren’t looking for me anyway; the galloping horse hooves drummed into the distance.
Messengers, perhaps? It gave me hope that I’d nearly found the Barras—though I was beginning to question our quest to seek refuge there. If the Queen was already searching for us, I wasn’t sure how much protection Kitsune would be able to afford us. Still, what choice did we have?
The guards came back a short time later, forcing me to hide a second time, but they rode slower now, their helmeted faces turning this way and that. When their heads twisted in
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