Page 57 of A Shard of Ice

“No, definitely not. We’re friends…really great friends.” It sounds all wrong. It doesn’t fit anymore. “I need to help you find him and rescue him from the bloodfae. He’s been saving me for over two years now. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Damon. I owe him.”

“You want to risk your life and run into untold danger because you owe him?” Xander looks amused.

I have to say, although these two could snap me in half in a second, I don’t get any sinister vibes from them.

“Yes, exactly.” I’m not so sure what’s so hard to understand about that. Once I pay my debt and Damon is safe, we can go our separate ways. Until then, he’s stuck with me.

We have to save him.

We just have to. I’ll do anything to make it happen.

20

Kyrie

“It’s been too long,” I say, shifting in the saddle, trying to see through the trees and underbrush. This happens to be a section of land where there is some green, mainly in the form of pine trees and honeysuckle bushes. Nothing is thriving, but neither is there as much death and decay as normal. I fiddle with the plaited leather reins in my hands.

“It hasn’t been all that long. Thesha is being cautious, that’s all.”

“Are you sure she’s okay?” I ask, gnawing on my lower lip. “It feels like we’ve been sitting here for a long time.”

“Thesha is the most skillful tracker I know. She’s extremely light on her feet. You should know that from how she snuck up on you yesterday.” He lifts his brows.

“My attention was on the horse,” I mutter and then sigh. “You’re right; I didn’t suspect or hear a thing. But I’m not a bloodfae; don’t you guys have better senses than us humans? She isn’t tracking humans; she’s tracking fae.”

“We do have better senses.” Xander nods. “But Thesh is used to hunting and killing fae of all species. This isn’t anything new to her.”

My eyes flare in shock. “She hunts and kills fae but is married to one.” I chuckle. “How does that work?”

Xander smiles. “It’s a bit of a touchy subject. Let’s just say that she used to hunt and kill fae up until she met and fell in love with one. Now, she only does it when absolutely necessary.”

I snicker. “You guys are very strange. Forgive me for saying, but you make a weird couple. Cute but weird.” I don’t know them well at all, but that much is apparent.

“That may be so, but we work well together. I’ve never met anyone like her.” His eyes get this far away, sappy look. “So, you met Damon in the salt mines?” he asks a minute or two later.

I nod. “Yes, except he looked human, and his name was Taylor. Then we had snow in the desert – as you know – and boom, he changed right before my eyes. What I don’t understand is why it happened. Why did they even cast a spell on him in the first place? What was the purpose? Do you know?”

This is the first chance I’ve had to discuss it. After our initial interaction, they caught a horse for me, and we rode hard into the night. By the time we stopped, I was almost too exhausted to eat, and then crawled into my bedroll and slept until darklift. I had ten minutes to do what I needed to do this morning before we quickly ate and drank and were on our way again. We rode too hard for chitchats. We’ve worked hard to catch up to the bloodfae.

I keep playing some of the things I heard yesterday over and over in my head, and none of it is making sense. Why did they call Damon “lord”? Why is there a bounty on his head?

“Didn’t you guys talk after leaving the mines?” Xander asks. “Surely you must have.” He narrows his eyes in question.

“We were running for our lives and…and…I was angry. I thought he lied to me. I didn’t want to listen to anything he had to say. I didn’t want to talk to him at all. I felt betrayed.”

“You do know that he had no idea that he was a fae? He truly believed he was human. He believed his name was Taylor. What he told you about his life wasn’t a lie because he wholeheartedly believed it himself.”

“I’m beginning to understand that. His appearance may have changed, but I’m starting to realize that the things that really count, the things that make you who you are, are still the same. It’s just that…I know he’s keeping something from me, something big. At first, I wasn’t open to listening, but since then…I’ve been ready to hear what it is, but he wouldn’t confide in me. All he said was to trust him.”

“And you do trust him, don’t you?”

I nod. “Yes. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. You know whatever it is he’s keeping from me, don’t you?”

“I think that is something to discuss between the two of you.”

I groan and roll my eyes. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“It’s not my place. It is Damon’s story to tell.”

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