Page 103 of Fire of the Fox

Finally, her tear filled, green eyes met mine. “They were in hiding at a cabin. They each had their personal guards and teams with them, but due to certain circumstances, it wasn’t enough. They didn’t survive the attack.” She sniffled and cleared her throat. “I don’t think it’s best to go into the details. At least, not yet.”

My mind was numb by the time Dallas finished the small recounting of that moment. I was glad that she chose not to divulge the details, because the pain that was already strangling me had reached a crescendo. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push out the mental image of my parents being killed.

“D-do you have any pictures of them?”

She frowned. “Not on me. I was afraid you’d find them and ask who they were. We’ve been trying to keep everything a secret from you until your powers awakened, but there are plenty of photos at the palace.”

Choking on a cry, I met her gaze. “We? Who is we?”

“The team I was with before coming here and, honestly, everyone around you. Greg and Wendy, me and Rance, Dax, some of your teachers. A lot of people around you are actually a part of your personal Fae security team, save for Greg and Wendy, who are just human allies. They’ve all been watching over you from afar, protecting you. We had set plans for introducing everyone into your life. Rance was a more recent introduction, although he’s always been there in the shadows.”

“Wait, you knew Rance already?”

She gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah. We weren’t close like that or anything, but we needed a way to introduce him to you. We planned to bump into each other and start a ‘relationship,’ but somewhere along the way, we ended up actually falling for each other. We are dating for real now and have been for some time.”

“And Dax? He’s one of my guards? He sure has a funny way of showing it.”

She nibbled on her lip and looked away. “Dax. Yeah. Him. That story may be best left for another day. This is already a lot, I’m sure.”

Stunned, I sat in silence. A lot was an understatement. All of this news made me feel like a fool. Nothing was real. My entire world up until this point had practically been one big joke. I could look past a lot of it. The one thing that I couldn’t get over, one of the big lingering fears that took root in my chest, was Dallas. The idea of our friendship not being genuine dragged my heart down a deep, dark hole—one that threatened to consume my entire soul in agony.

Laughing through the pain, I shook my head. “So everything was planned. Thought out. Even us.” My eyes found hers as new tears slid down my cheeks. “You only became my friend because you had to, right?”

Dallas jumped slightly, as if I’d physically hit her. Eyes watering, she crawled across the bed until she was next to me. She wrapped me in her arms as she said, “That’s not true at all. I may be your personal guard, but you’re my friend before anything else. That’s not what was meant to happen, but it did. So many times, I forgot what I was supposed to be doing because your friendship meant more to me than my stupid title.

“That night at the club, I was too focused on being a normal college student with you, creating memories to last a lifetime. I forgot I was supposed to be guarding you. I forgot my duties. I was so worried about you, my best friend, I didn’t even keep a constant watch over you like I was supposed to. And that night you got hurt by the Bat Fae, something Dax informed me about, I was too busy being a regular girl, getting wasted and partying because you made me want to be normal. I neglected my duties. I’m the reason you were in danger that night. It was my fault, and I haven’t been able to forgive myself ever since. If Dax hadn’t come to your aid then, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

She pulled back to look at me, her eyes red and puffy. She choked on her tears as she finished, “I forgot my obligations because I love being friends with you. I love being your best friend and your guard. Even if you have doubts about everything else, never doubt that our friendship is real.”

She pulled me back into a hug.

I cried into her red curls, and I felt her tears falling down my shoulder as she clung to me in desperation. We were both in pain, both hoping for our bond to be real, and I think we were both relieved to know it was. The truth felt like a silver lining amidst all the storm clouds.

At the mention of Jonah and his attacks, I told her about this evening and how he was the reason my powers had awakened.

She processed this information, growing angrier by the minute.

“So someone told him about you.” She groaned and clutched her head. “We have a rat among our ranks.”

I swallowed hard at the idea, and it was clear that Dallas was already working to piece together what to do. I wasn’t sure what I could do to help in that situation, seeing as how I didn’t know who the guards were. It was then that I noticed the time. It was almost midnight.

“Shit. It’s late. I have to go.”

Suddenly alert, Dallas grabbed my arm. “Where are you going?”

“I have to get back to Rune’s. He’s probably worried sick.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You can’t go back to him. I don’t trust him. He’s—”

“What did I say? I don’t want to hear that. I trust Rune, so please, trust in me. I’m safe with him. He won’t hurt me.”

She squeezed my arm tighter. “Are you still going on that trip with him?”

It was hard to say knowing what I was now. There was so much going on in my head after having this life-altering talk with Dallas, and I still needed to mentally sort through it all. Even so, I’d worked hard to prepare for this trip and earn my ticket to Italy. Plus, with so many feelings between Rune and me, I didn’t want to back out now. A thousand new things were being thrown on my plate. I wasn’t sure how I’d tell Rune about this or when, but this new hurdle was one I’d have to figure out with time. I wasn’t going to let it stop me from gaining the key to my dream or from being with the man I loved.

“I am,” I finally answered.

She stood up, following me to the door. “Then I’m going, too. I can stay somewhere else, but I have to go with you. I can’t let you out of my reach again, and I most certainly am not letting you go on a trip alone with a bunch of Land Fae. I do trust you, but I also trust in my experience. I’m coming with you.”

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