Page 50 of The Fae Lord

“I have been otherwise engaged,” I snap, stalking over to the whisky and pouring us each a glass. “What do you want?”

Garratt sips his whisky and takes off his hat. “Just checking in,” he says. “And bringing some news.”

“News?”

“I might have a location for your fae girl.” He perches on the arm of the chair beside the window and takes another sip of his drink. “Just a rumour, mind. They’re using a shielding spell. Powerful one. But I thought if I had a rough location, you might be able to circumvent that somehow.”

My entire body feels like it is frozen in place. “Tell me,” I growl, slamming the drink down. “Tell me, now, Garratt.”

Nodding, Garratt reaches into his pocket and takes out a map of Luminael. He points to the forests on the eastern side of the city. “Somewhere here. By the lake.”

“Get out.” I snatch the map from him and gesture to the door. “Now. Leave.”

Garratt hesitates, then reaches past me and grabs the whisky bottle. With a nod of his cap, he leaves, closing the door behind him.

Immediately, I take the map to the hidden study behind the wall. I spread it out before me and close my eyes. Then I summon every morsel of magic in my body and send it pummelling into the fabric of the map.

This is all I needed; something to focus on. One specific spot on which to concentrate my power.

“Show me Alana,” I whisper in ancient fae tongue. “Show me Alana Leafborne.”

And then I see her.

There she is.

By the lake. She is wearing nothing but a robe, her bare legs visible as she walks.

She leaves delicate footprints along the shore as she approaches the water. She stops, looks behind her, then drops the robe from her shoulders.

I sigh and sink back against the wall, allowing the vision to swallow me.

Except, this time it is not a vision.

It is real.

I have found her.

TWENTY-TWO

Alana

Finn was gone all night, and he still hasn’t returned.

Part of me is glad because going to the lake just before sunrise has become something of a habit, and if he had returned just before dawn, I would have missed the one peaceful moment of the day.

The moment when the others are finally sleeping. When they’ve stopped floating through the trees, talking, whispering, making plans.

When finally my mind is quiet.

And I need that quiet this morning.

Last night’s vision was the worst so far. So visceral, I woke screaming with Briony at my side. She soothed me, made me a hot drink, and offered to stay with me until I fell back to sleep. But I didn’t need sleep. I needed quiet, so I came here.

I have perfected the art of keeping my gates closed and keeping others’ thoughts out of my head. But it still takes effort, practice, thought. It takes energy.

Talking to Kayan takes energy, too; trying to interpret what he means, why he’s here, and if he’s real or just a figment of my imagination.

And fighting the aftereffects of the visions takes even more.

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