Chapter 12

12

I maneuvered the car around a corner too quickly and the tires skidded over wet pavement.

The roads here were narrower and I wasn’t used to the way the vehicle handled.

Still, I managed to get all four tires back where they belonged and somehow found my way to the alley where Onyx rested.

I paused only long enough to roll down the window and call his name. “Onyx! Get in!”

He shuffled up to the side door. “What the hell is this, Tavi?”

“Exactly what we needed,” I told him with a rogue smile.

His fingers shook as he peeled open the door and flung himself down on the seat, his skin now ashen gray. I wasn't sure how far the car would take us but if it got us out of this town then I was all for it.

Sirens already sounded in the distance. They were on to us. We’d be lucky to make it out of here without the Bureau on our asses.

My heart thrummed an unhealthy erratic beat against my ribs.

By the time we reached the edge of the forest and I pushed open the door for Noren, I felt lightheaded and only the seatbelt kept me from falling forward against the dash.

He clambered over me to get to the small area in the back, taking up every inch of available space and then some.

Doesn’t matter .

The moment the door closed, I peeled down the road with a squeal of tires.

“You okay, buddy?” I asked over my shoulder.

The cab filled with the scent of wet fur.

“I’ve been better.” Onyx blew out a long sigh and rested his head against the window.

“I was talking to the direwolf but it’s good to know.”

He swallowed over a laugh. “I realize. Maybe I’m trying to fill the silence because my thoughts have gotten a little too loud. Everything hurts.”

“I’m sorry.” My apologies meant shit. “I’m so sorry.”

“No sense apologizing.” He closed his eyes.

The road in front of us wasn’t empty by any means. We joined a line of traffic, horses and carriages joining lines of cars and bikes. At least we were moving faster. At least when I cracked the window, the sirens were left in the distance and soon I heard nothing but the passing rumble of others and the steady hum of our tires.

“It’s bound to happen though,” I said at last. “The thoughts. Sometimes I can barely stand myself. My brain is screaming so loudly it’s like nothing else exists.”

“When you think about everything that’s happened to us…” Onyx trailed off.

“What, ah…what did happen to you? If you don’t mind me asking.” I glanced over at him. “I’m still not sure.”

“You mean with the killing?”

He said it with such openness I didn’t even have a chance to flinch. “You were attacking pure-blooded fae. Who looked like me.”

The terror of that moment returned in full force.

I remembered stepping in when Onyx attacked Professor Juno, my mentor. I remembered our last battle against each other, the one where he’d ended up with his current wounds. The ones no amount of healing could fix.

They’d plague him for the rest of his life. I swallowed over the golf ball-sized lump in my throat.

“I don’t remember any of it,” he admitted. Something in his tone broke my heart and I found myself reaching over to press my hand against his. “I’m sorry if you’re disappointed. I came to in the hospital bed in tremendous pain. Sometimes—” He broke off, refused to look at me. “Sometimes I catch flashes of things. Mostly blood. It’s hard to get the scent out of my mind especially when it's something I’ve always enjoyed. You know, running with the pack and shifting, hunting. There’s always blood when you hunt.”

“I know what you mean.”

Still, I shuddered thinking about how it would feel to kill another person, especially under the control of some outside influence.

“I know I hurt you, and I know you had no choice but to hurt me.” His mouth thinned into a steely line. “I’m the one who should be apologizing, repeatedly.”

“Are you trying to call us even in a warped kind of way?” I asked.

“Not at all. I’m trying, in my own twisted way, to tell you I understand and that I’d still like to be friends.”

I felt the heat of his eyes on me and when I turned, he was watching me. Onyx hadn’t moved his hand away from mine yet. “I wouldn’t have saved your ass if we weren't friends, dude.”

He blew out a breath. “I know. I felt like I needed to clear the air a little bit. I know it’s still a little hard for you to reconcile me with my father.”

I jolted at the mention even though logically I knew exactly what he meant. It hit at the oddest times, the realization that the bloodthirsty leader of a rival pack back in the mortal world, the one chosen by the packs to be my fated mate, maintained his youth through magic. And that Onyx was his son who’d had to come to Faerie to escape. The same way I had.

“I’ve never held your father’s identity against you.”

Onyx leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed again, like the conversation took a lot out of him. “You might now. After what I did to you.”

“We’re not going to talk about him.” I bit the inside of my lips. “We’re pack. We stick together.”

At this point, besides Bronwen Onyx was one of the only other halfling shifters I trusted.

“The one thing I’ve really missed being in Faerie,” he admitted.

“What? Being part of a group?” I shook my head. “I used to really hate it sometimes. Everyone was always in your business trying to tell you what to do and how to act.”

“The stability, though. The way you always knew there were people who had your back. It was a question of loyalty.”

“Yeah, the stability,” I agreed. “The camaraderie. Knowing there were always people around, there at a moment’s notice whenever you called.”

Noren leaned over the seat and rested his muzzle on my shoulder. He huffed against my ear and the tickling sensation had me shivering. I reached back and ran a hand along his face to scratch behind his ears.

“Do you know where we are yet?” I asked Onyx in the silence.

“I don’t remember the name of that town we passed through but I know Khoysas is somewhere in this direction.”

I’d heard that name before, a neighboring town with its own fae academy.

“We avoid the big towns for as far as this car takes us,” I said decisively. “Hopefully it will get us closer to where we need to go.”

Onyx waited a moment before he finally drew his hand away and broke the connection. “You know we can’t keep driving this. Someone will report it missing whether your spell holds for an hour or days. Eventually we have to ditch it and find another mode of transportation.”

He didn’t ask how I managed to get the car to start and I didn’t offer the information. “Until then, we’ll drive.”

“And stop for food.”

“Yeah, and stop for food.” My stomach gave an ominous growl at the thought of a giant pizza or a messy, cheesy burger. Something with lots of meat and salt.

It growled louder still to the point where Onyx turned to me with his face screwed in confusion. “Are you going to eat me if we don’t stop soon?”

I shook my head. “Actually I’d like to get a little farther away from that town first.”

“You’re going to pass out at the wheel if you’re not careful.” He sat back again with a loud groan. “And honestly, I need something too. Otherwise I won’t be in good enough shape to take over driving.”

“Who says I’m going to let you take over? From where I’m sitting, you’re looking like dead meat rather than a capable copilot.”

His smile was a warm thing that brought an automatic mirror to my own lips. There was something comforting about Onyx, since the moment I met him, if I was being honest. Despite my skepticism when Melia basically forced me to meet with him in a little cafe she’d chosen for the food, we ended up working well together.

Because we knew what it was like to have a pack and be forced to leave, I reminded myself. And he was pack no matter who sired him.

Sure, he was an attractive man, and even better—he was a nice person. When he wasn’t being manipulated into murder.

I studied him from the corner of my eye, trying not to be too obvious. Onyx cut a strong side profile with his sharp nose and prominent jaw. If he trimmed his beard, he’d have been handsome, and the draw between his wolf and mine worked. In some way I hadn’t looked at before, it worked.

He wasn’t mine, not in the way Mike was mine, even though he’d make a much better match for me.

How easily I’d forgiven Onyx for murder.

But he’d always presented himself as different from the other men in the pack I’d known. Kinder and more sensitive. He actually stopped to consider things before he spoke or dove into action. It was a lesson I’d never quite managed to learn.

“Tavi, you’re going to have to rest sometime.” Onyx reached over and laid his hand over mine this time, giving it a light squeeze and ignoring the way I jumped. “You’ve been pushing too hard.”

The contact felt easier somehow when I initiated it. Why did it send slivers of awareness through me when Onyx made the first move?

“It seems like these days, all I do is push through,” I admitted, gently squeezing back. “There’s no time for rest.”

“Then make the time. The next village we pass, we’re going to stop for food and then I want you to nap. I’m sure your buddy in the backseat will make room for you. I’m sure he’ll watch over us, too. No better guardian than an Unseelie direwolf.”

Noren huffed out a sound, so much like an agreement I had to laugh.

“I think he’s trying to tell you that you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.” Onyx was self-assured. “One of these days, maybe you’ll listen to me instead of playing at being the alpha.”

I scoffed. “You know me. I don’t play.”

“For anyone else, Tavi, I’d make it a joke. But dammit, if you ever end up leading a pack of your own one day, count me in. I’ll protect you with my life.”

I automatically started to answer, and then stopped, my tongue knotting. My voice was almost a whisper when I replied, “Who knows what the future will hold.” Or if we’ll even be alive to see it.

I wasn’t sure if I liked the idea of having my own pack. I hadn’t given any thought to it because, all my life, my uncle promised me the wolf council would arrange a match. Would find my fated mate and I’d follow his lead.

My fated mate was certainly not Kendrick Grimaldi.

My arm throbbed again and I pushed those thoughts aside.

Two hours passed before we took a side road that opened up into a quiet gathering of homes. The houses here were few and far between, with several of them clustered together in smaller communities, before we hit the town proper.

There were no fast food joints in Faerie, though, as I’d come to find out. It looked like this was the only place the arrogant yellow arches hadn’t colonized yet. Although I’d kill for some greasy, sloppy french fries.

Which sucked, in a way, because it meant we had to get out of the car and actually place an order in a small cafe located next to an art gallery.

We had no money between us. Onyx had been brought to the execution from the hospital and I straight from the dungeons. Luckily, and much to my surprise, we found a stack of bills folded over into thirds in the glove compartment.

The Lacrynthos Crown diner in the town of Holsworthy looked more like a pub in some kind of medieval village than it did an actual restaurant serving food, but their menu promised good things and my mouth salivated at the thought of potatoes of any variety.

I added my newest guilt to the ever-growing pile inside of me and shoved the stolen money across the live tree bent and shaped magically into a front counter.

Onyx stared at me and lifted a brow high when I came back with two bags of food. Almost as if he was thinking the same as I was. What was his favorite food order bac in the human world? We’d talked about a number of things we missed when we used to train together but never that.

“You got a lot,” he said when I dropped into the driver’s seat.

“Of course. It has to last us, doesn’t it?”

I’d ordered a separate sandwich for Noren and tossed it to him. He swallowed it down in a single bite without bothering to chew or taste.

My first bite of a panini made with elderflower syrup had me swooning. It dripped onto my fingers and I sucked them clean even with Onyx watching me.

“You eat like you’re starving,” he said.

I didn’t bother with a response, although I watched him in turn. When he took his first bite, grimacing through a wave of pain, I caught every flicker of agonized movement.

“I’ve never seen anyone get hurt eating mashed potatoes before. Should I not have gotten you a fae version of shepherd’s pie?” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Onyx took his time chewing before he answered. “I’m just not what I used to be.”

“If you need me to feed you, let me know. If it hurts to lift a finger.”

“Or maybe I just want you to feed me anyway,” he teased.

“You’re welcome to have anything I ordered, too. If you want to try it.”

He grimaced. “I’m not really a fan of those overly sweet syrups some places use. Although you make it look good enough to devour.”

“Flatterer.” I spoke through another mouthful of food and grinned at him.

Noren whined over my shoulder and nudged me with his nose.

“If you won’t try it, he certainly will,” I told Onyx as I held a bite out for Noren.

“He’s welcome to it, then. I won’t take food away from a hungry wolf.”

“But you’re a hungry wolf too.”

Onyx was halfway through his pie when he said, “We both know I’m never going to be the kind of wolf I was again. All those training days of ours are over.”

“You might still get better.”

Right. We both knew that was a lie.

A small bit of color returned to his face after we’d finished our meals, and, comfortably full for the first time in a week, I let Onyx take the wheel. He kept to the back roads as I lounged in the passenger seat.

The crystal powering the vehicle took us at a steady clip for hours. Somewhere along the line I passed out, and jerked awake when Onyx pulled off to the side of the road and the car fell silent.

“What’s going on? Where are we?” My heart lurched into my throat and stayed lodged there in terror.

“Relax, no one is coming for us,” Onyx assured me. His voice was soft and his smile matched. “I thought we should stop to do something fun.”

“Something fun ?” I repeated skeptically. “Is this really the time for fun?”

“It’s a roadside attraction. Shouldn't be much of a cost to get in, probably take us about fifteen minutes to walk through the fairy glen.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed aside the last vestiges of sleep. “You stopped to check out a fairy glen? Come on, Onyx.”

“Look…” He paused, drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I thought it would be a nice way for us to do something to release a little bit of tension. I know we’re both holding it in. We almost died, Tavi. We almost lost our lives a few days ago and we’ve been running on adrenaline and hope for the last three days. Maybe it’s just me but I’m at the end of my rope and I could use a little fairy glen magic.”

He made a good point and I felt horrible asking him to keep driving. Especially when my own fear, held inside my muscles for much longer than a few days, twinged in a reminder of its presence.

“Sure, we can totally do that,” I agreed. “As long as it doesn’t take too long.”

“I realize you’re anxious to get on the road again. Trust me, I know. And I agree. But we need a break. Come on.”

We were slow to pry ourselves out of the car. I opened the door wide for Noren and he automatically hopped out to stretch his legs again, his claws digging into the soft earth where we’d parked. I drew in the scent of night-colored air, moss, verdant greenery.

I lifted my gaze to the sky and drew in a deep breath to steady myself.

This part of Faerie belonged to nothing and no man except for the visitors to the fairy glen.

Even I had to admit the attraction was cute. We used a few bucks left over from our stolen stash to gain entry, only the two of us. Noren went off to prowl in the forest around us. A few trails lit by silvery fae light illuminated the path through the attraction. Here and there, magic arranged to automatically activate when tourists arrived burst to life.

Cute, yes, and a nice distraction for the thirty minutes it took to make it from start to finish.

Onyx kept close and I looped my arm through his as much for my comfort as to support him.

Once we finished and collected Noren, I slid behind the wheel and gunned it, pulling away from the side of the road. The forest became a wall of pure black behind us. The clutching sensation in my chest had eased slightly after our trek through the glen.

He’d been right. It was exactly what we needed despite the way we trudged through it, each of us bogged down by the weight of our respective ills. Me with my zombie disease—go figure—and Onyx with his chronic pain. We made quite the pair.

“Hey.” His voice roused me from my thoughts. “We’ve got a problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we’re being followed. There’s a car behind us that doesn't have the headlights on but I see a glint of metal every now and then.”

Everything inside of me tightened. “You can't be sure they’re following us .”

“It’s the same car I saw back at the Lacrnythos Crown. And the same one that drove past us at the glen. Now we’re ahead of them, and I guarantee—” Onyx paused. “It’s no coincidence.”