Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

Conri wastes no time in taking me back to his tent after the jubilation dies down. I try to glance at him from the corners of my eyes as subtly as possible. He's unreadable.

"I'm sorry for disappearing, and for worrying you." It's easy to have a pained expression on my face as I try to walk. My muscles burn and joints ache as though I have been running without stop for days. "I really wanted to show how I could use the spirits to help your people. I sensed the spirit of the earth and I thought I could bond with her—that it'd be a marvelous opportunity! And, well… I lost track of time."

"Hush, hush. Yes, I was worried. And, in the future, you absolutely must tell me what you are doing. I never want to be unaware when it comes to you. I have a right to know."

The way he speaks makes it sound as though these mandates are from his concern for my well-being. That he is afraid out of love. But I see it for what it is: He wants to control me. Not just because of Aurora any longer, but to know that this power I have demonstrated will be his and his alone.

"I know," I say. "I'm sorry."

"Why could you not just commune with the spirit in our tent?"

"Truthfully?" I look at him with wide eyes, fearful of reprisal.

He stops to cup my cheek gently. "Sweet one, you are my sole priority. My responsibility. No, my light and love and hope for our people. Yes, I always want you to speak true."

"It is because…" I drop my eyes. "Your powers are so mighty, my king." He preens at the flattery. Old gods, he's easy to manipulate when I want to make the effort. "Brundil is an old spirit—mighty, but she hides deep within the earth. I had to find somewhere farther from you, as painful as it was, to keep my senses clear. I knew Evander had your trust, and would keep me safe, so I could think of no better place to do what needed to be done."

Conri looks between me and Evander, slowing to a stop before his tent. He sighs deeply. "Forgive me, Evander. I thought the worst of you."

The apology surprises even me. I'm surprised Evander doesn't fall over.

"Your reaction was understandable, my king. One such as me doesn't deserve your apologies." Evander lowers his gaze, bowing his head slightly in subservience.

"I give them gladly anyway."

I bite my tongue and resist the urge to stand up for Evander. That he is worthy of Conri's apologies. And so much more.

Conri turns his attention back to me. "Now, tell me, Faelyn, would it be possible for you to find more spirits like this to help us in other ways? Can you call upon Brundil again to reforest our plains? Perhaps commune with others to prompt game to return?" His eyes shine with excitement. He genuinely wants to do this for his people. I hate that it's admirable.

"I could…" It's time to launch the next stage of my plot. "But it was hard enough to find Brundil among your powerful magic, and the powers of all the other lykin. Plus, a witch must go to where the spirits reside to call upon them, meet them, learn their names, and bond with them. We cannot summon spirits, especially ones we've never met, out of thin air."

Conri considers this, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Luckily, it's also the truth. So even if he knows how the magic of witches works, I've given him no reason to doubt me.

"So, if you know where spirits might reside," I continue, "I could go to those locations, take the time to learn their names, and bond with them. Then, we could call upon their powers for your glory." My eyes dart over to Evander's, meeting his for a second and holding them with a pointed stare. Conri doesn't see the look; he's too absorbed in his own thoughts. Please, read my mind , I silently beg Evander. Though it's probably futile. I'll have to feed something more. I open my mouth to speak again.

Evander cuts me off. "I think I know where some might reside."

"You do?" Conri looks to his knight. Then a bright smile lights up his face. "Of course you do! My witchlike knight. You're the one who's always known these sorts of things. To think I have both of you in my possession. It must be fate blessing my rule."

Conri claps his hands together with excitement. It causes him to release me and I sway slightly. Evander takes a half step forward but I lift my hand just a little at the wrist, stopping him. He heeds the silent command.

"If you would permit, my king. I could take Faelyn to find more spirits for you while you join with the other alphas in Gualla. It'll be plenty of time for us, and we would meet you there within a day or two of you arriving in Den," Evander casually suggests.

Conri looks to me. "What do you think, my dear? Could you survive a week without me?"

"It will be hard, but I think I can manage." I force a smile.

"Exceptional, then it's settled. In the morning you two will split off and, next we meet, you will bring me an army of spirits."

An army … The words stick with me, enough that my cheeks burn from the effort of holding my smile. No matter what he says or does, the implication of conquest is always around him.

As long as I breathe, I will never let spirits be used for his ambitions, Aurora included.

Evander takes me to Aurora's tent first thing in the morning. I didn't have to ask. He rightly assumed that I would want to see her before we left.

I suspected she might be cross with me, but the air in the tent feels colder than the outside. As icy as her stare and as unflinching as the back she puts to me.

"Aurora—"

"I trusted you."

"Aurora, please?—"

I take a step closer. She spins in place and spears me through with a look. I don't dare proceed. She is the forest on a dark, cold winter solstice. When the last light has died and there is nothing that keeps the spirits of a more wicked nature at bay. She is a barrier set up by another witch that fizzles against my skin, that cautions against progressing. She is primordial strength, fate itself turning against me.

Not welcome are the two words the whole sensation of being in her presence can be boiled into.

"I told you of my powers, of my past. I taught you how to harness your gifts and mine together. I…I introduced you to one of my oldest and dearest friends and you used up so much of her power that now she must lie dormant to recover." Her voice cracks and she looks away, as if frustrated by the betrayal of her mortal body showing how deep her wounds are cut. "You're just like the rest of them, in the end. All you care for is yourself. All you want is your own benefit."

"Aurora…" All I can manage is a weak whisper of her name. Silenced when she looks away, as if offended I would dare even speak it.

"And you know, Faelyn, I might have been able to tolerate it if you wanted the power for you, but to share it with him …"

"No." I burst forward and push past the invisible barrier she's tried to place between us. I take both her hands in mine, which brings her attention, and her ire, back to me. I speak before she can this time. "Not with him. Never for him. I will die a thousand painful deaths before I let him use my powers or any spirits. I vowed as much last night."

My conviction stills her. The air shifts. She's inquisitive. But still skeptical.

"I don't blame you for what you thought of me, not after all you've been through," I start. "And I know how it looks—how I wanted it to look."

"Wanted it?" she repeats softly.

"Yes. I…I was going to be caught in a compromising position. Which was my fault, and I'm sorry." I can't bring myself to tell her that the "position" involved Evander. "I had to think quickly, and I thought that if I showed Conri Brundil, he would realize my merit and give me a longer leash. Which would, in turn, give us a better chance of escaping."

Aurora withdraws her hands, folds her arms, and continues to look skeptical. But I take her silence as a good sign and continue.

"I privately asked Brundil before calling upon her, and she agreed. I let her choose her initial display of power and what I asked her for was a gift that I wanted to give to the lykin. Even if we hate Conri, we can still help the lykin, especially if it also benefits us."

"That bastard," she mutters under her breath.

"What?"

"Conri said it was all his idea." Aurora sighs heavily and rests her forehead in her palm a moment. "I should know better."

"It's easy to get sucked into his aura." I touch her arm lightly in reassurance. She attempts a smile, but it vanishes quickly. "In any case, it all worked. Conri is going to allow me to go off so that I can ‘find other spirits.'"

"You're…leaving?" Her tone is wounded in a completely different way and it nearly cleaves my heart in two.

"I'm going ahead." My voice drops to a whisper. "I'm going to figure out the best path for us. I'll use what you taught me and what I know to find whatever spirits I can that might help us. Not for him, but for our escape. I'm going to take extra supplies than what Evander and I need—Conri already agreed since the pack will be restocking soon in Gualla. I'll set up supply caches for us along the way, hidden. I'll make some shelters so we don't have to slow down to make them later. Then, when I meet back with you in Den, and decide when the moment is right, we'll be ready to leave." My words speed up with excitement toward the end.

Her eyes widen slightly. "You really think we can escape him?"

"Evander already showed me the way. Or, some of it… We're going west, to the elves. Once we're behind their wall, we'll be safe from Conri and I'll beg the Human Queen to help us. We just have to get there. And if I can give us a head start on supplies and a path for our journey then we'll have all the better chance of outrunning Conri. I know he's going to chase us, but we'll be one step ahead."

"And once I'm out of the lykin borders… I'll be that much closer to freedom," she whispers. Without warning, Aurora yanks me close, throwing her arms around my shoulders. I readily return the embrace, clutching behind her back. Aurora draws a shaky breath. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

"I already told you, I don't blame you. Especially not given how I was acting…" I press my eyes closed and sigh softly. "I was being taken in by Conri a little, if I'm honest."

"Then it's good you're leaving." She pulls away. "Give you some space to be free of his charms for a while. Even though I will miss you terribly. I've grown fond of having company."

"I'll be back soon enough," I reassure her hastily. The sorrow in her eyes is almost enough to make me want to stay.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry too much for me. Just keep yourself safe."

I nod. "You too."

I can only imagine that Conri will keep Aurora extra close in my absence. I wonder if she will be sharing his tent in my cot while I'm gone. If he doesn't have both of us, he will no doubt keep the piece of her magic he does under his watchful eye.

"And Aurora?"

"Yes?"

"You know I will come back, right?" I search her face for any traces of doubt. There is nothing but a reassuring smile.

"I absolutely do."

"Faelyn?" Evander lifts the tent flap. "We should be going."

"Look after her, Evander." Aurora locks eyes with him. "She's yours to care for."

"With my life," he vows.

The words still me. He means them. He's always meant them. Beyond Aurora. Beyond Conri. He will keep me safe no matter what…I can feel it in my marrow. Part of me wants to write it off as last night clouding my judgment. But I feel like, if anything, I'm seeing clearer.

Evander cares for me .

"Let's go." I give Aurora one last squeeze and follow Evander out into the dawn.

There is little fanfare to our goodbyes. I wonder if Conri is going to attempt to keep my absence a secret. Leaving is nothing more than walking to the edge of camp and slipping between the new trees.

Before I know it, I am soaring across the plains. Charging toward the great unknown of Midscape.