7. Finn

SEVEN

It’s almost sunrise. The rest of the camp is sleeping. Except for Alana. She thinks I don’t know that she sneaks out before sunrise to walk alone. That she enjoys the hours when everything is quiet.

But I know her better than she knows herself.

“What’s with the long face?” Yarrow asks, plonking down next to me.

I don’t meet his eyes, just sigh and grit my teeth. “We’ve been here so many weeks, it is actually starting to feel like home. Honestly, though, I expected the Shadowkind to be a little more grateful; we are free of Eldrion. Those of us who dared, at least. For the first time in centuries, for some of us, we are free.”

“Except, we’re not, are we?” Yarrow yawns, sloshing coffee into a cup and sitting down hard on a log by the campfire. He scratches his beard and turns to look at me.

Instead of sitting, I pace up and down in front of the fire, wings twitching. “What do you mean?”

Yarrow chuckles and shakes his head. “Look around, Finn. We’ve taken them from one prison to another. We can’t leave the forest, can’t go beyond the boundary of the protection shield. Which – I might add – we wouldn’t have if it weren’t for that old Leafborne fae. Maya...”

“Maura,” I correct him.

“Which is making the Shadowkind uneasy. Plus there’s no real plan.” He taps his foot. “Is there a plan? Because, for years, we’ve talked about the day we finally escape and plot our revenge. And now it seems like all we’re doing is playing house in the forest, listening to you fuck your Leafborne girlfriend.”

I bite back the urge to tell Yarrow that last night was the first time in weeks that Alana and I had been intimate with each other. That being here has damaged what we built when we were each other’s salvation back in the castle. That, so many times, I thought I was losing her.

I look down into my coffee. It’s strange that it took her telling me she’d been with someone else – Eldrion of all people – to bring us back together.

But fate works in strange ways.

“I have been waiting for news from the elves. You know that.”

“Which elves?” Yarrow isn’t going to let me get away with half answers anymore.

“I have contacts. They were supposed to be reaching out to the Shadowkind that remain the Luminael, finding out who will join us when the time comes.”

“But you have heard nothing. It has been weeks. I’d say it’s time for a new plan, wouldn’t you?” Yarrow folds his arms in front of his large chest.

He’s right. The elves were always a risk, but it was a calculated one. I figured using them for intel was a better bet than trying to send one of us into the city, and risking being caught.

“We need them.” Yarrow taps his foot again. “If the plan is still to destroy Eldrion, we need more numbers.” He gestures to the ramshackle tents that have been set up around the clearing. “The Leafborne can’t be trusted. I don’t believe they’ll join us in a fight. Last time, we caught Eldrion off guard and we were running. Not fighting. Next time...”

“It’s not just him.” I stop and sit down next to Yarrow, then meet his eyes. “I want to take down all of them.”

Yarrow studies me a moment, then laughs loudly. When my expression doesn’t change, he breathes out hard and pinches his nose. “Fuck, Finn. What you’re saying...”

“I want to kill every last Sunborne in that wretched city. Destroying Eldrion isn’t enough. He’ll go, someone else will take his place. But if we kill them all...” I lower my voice and lean in closer. “Yarrow, if we kill them all, we really will be free. Finally. Free.”

There is a long, heavy pause, then Yarrow rests his forearms on his knees and stares into the fire. “You don’t have to ask me twice to go and kill a load of Sunborne,” he says, smirking a little. “But how?”

“We’ll need to strike hard and fast.” I pick up a stick and begin to sketch in the dirt in front of us. “The tunnels remain our best bet for entering, especially as they collapsed. If we can find a way back through, then target the barracks, the armoury, and the throne room simultaneously, we’ll cut off Eldrion’s access to reinforcements. Obviously, and this is where the elves were supposed to be doing their bit, we need numbers. We need to know for sure if Eldrion has replaced us or if he’s operating on a skeleton staff.”

Yarrow shakes his head, laughing a little. “He’s an arrogant bastard. He won’t have replaced us. As far as he’s concerned, we just want our freedom. To spend our days playing in the sun like every other free fae. Wouldn’t occur to him that we’d come back for him.”

“I agree. But I’d still like proof.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. I’ve been avoiding leaving the safety of the forest, and our protection shield, but I’m being left with very few options, and time is getting away from us. “I’ll go to the city. Today. Track down the elf who was supposed to be helping us. Get answers. Then we’ll know what we’re dealing with.”

I half expect Yarrow to tell me not to be so foolish, but he doesn’t. “All right,” he says. Then he makes a dismissive gesture with his hand. “So, say we get our answers from the elves. The castle is up for grabs. The Shadowkind of the city are willing to join us.”

I nod along, waiting for what’s next.

“You’re forgetting something.”

I frown at him.

“They have magic. We don’t. And the Leafborne sure as hellfire won’t help us if they think it’ll be a risk to them.” Yarrow flicks his wings, and visibly bites back the urge to sigh. “Forget Eldrion, the Sunborne themselves are powerful. The most powerful fae in the kingdom. You don’t think they’ll fight back?”

My nose twitches. My jaw, too. I trust Yarrow. More than I trust any other fae here. If this is going to work, I will need his help.

A slow smile spreads across my face as I straighten up. “That, my friend...” I glance towards my tent. “Is where Alana comes in.”