Page 72 of Fae Champion

As if I hadn’t seen him in ages instead of merehours, my greedy gaze dragged across his face. Now I knew precisely how soft and full his lips were, how demanding and also giving was his kiss, how the stubble of his cheeks and chin felt against the tender skin of my thighs, how the firm line of his jaw clenched when he came…

His eyes, however, perhaps my favorite part about him, were unyielding. Their moonlight was dull, hard, and deathly still.

Before I’d finished looking my fill, he turned away.

My already queasy stomach plummeted toward my toes. I wanted to march over to him just to be nearer, to give into that urge to feel his skin against mine.

And he wouldn’t even look at me…

Where was the man I’d shared the wee hours of the night with? The lover who’d taken his time with me, yielding his passionate desires to the need to be gentle with me—tender.

Of all the men assembled in the dugout, Rush was the only one not to stare as I forced myself to pretend nothing was wrong while I made my way over to the weapons table. It was piled high with choices now that everyone but Rush and me had been eliminated. And Rush appeared to be wearing his own personal weapons, which meant I’d have my selection of the entire Gladius Probatio arsenal.

I picked up a bow and quiver, inspecting the sharpness of the arrows while wondering what I should choose when I didn’t actually want to harm my opponent.

Roan was there, standing several feet from Rush, his battle ax noticeably absent. His beard shabbier than before, his green eyes, usually bright, were dull and heavy with foreboding as they met mine.

He was the only one of Rush’s allies there. Lennox, Breccan, and Junius, along with others who sneered at me with open disdain, occupied several of the benches. Even Selwin was present, his throat now fully healed, one eyelid drooping only slightly, proving that fae healing powers were truly miraculous. He’d had knives through both parts just days before. His glare promised he hadn’t forgotten what I’d done to him, and that he’d repay the favor at his earliest opportunity—assuming I survived the day, which was probably the thought that had his lips curving up into a smirk. Fae healing powers stopped short of resurrecting the dead…

Where in dragonfire were Hiroshi, Ryder, and West? Surely they’d want to be here to support Rush … and maybe even me.

Though I was a jumble of nerves and despair inside, I kept it from showing. Zako used to say,A warrior is only as weak as his opponent believes him to be.

Despite his patent betrayal, I wished the man were here. I’d probably have forgiven him all his sins just to feel his fatherly arms wrap around me in one final embrace. No matter whom he’d really been, he’d been on my side, that much was certain. Had he been here, he would have fought for me until his dying breath.

I examined a pair of daggers while shaking my headat my naïveté. Zakowouldn’thave fought for me. My memories of him were colored by the love I’d had for him then. Hehadn’tfought for me. He’d been a lackey following the king’s orders, deceiving me wholly and completely.

“Pssst.”

At first I didn’t turn.

Then, “Uh, Elowyn?”

Slipping the daggers into their waiting sheaths, I turned, already smiling at Reed, the only one who’d been friendly to me from the start.

He stood by the back entrance to the dugout, which led to the medical treatment area and the stands.

“Hi, Reed,” I said easily though quietly. He was a friendly, loyal idiot for choosing to be seen with me. At least the ears and eyes didn’t follow me, bobbing in a morbid group near the edge of the dugout where only I could see them.

“Hey, um, Elowyn.” He smiled at me shyly, his cheeks brightening beneath his usual mop of messy braids as he leaned against a wall.

“That’s right. We haven’t spoken since the whole Zinnia glamor dropped.”

“Yeah. Gotta admit, I still can’t believe you were Zinnia all that time.” He whistled softly. “It sure fooled me. I had no idea.”

“It fooled a lot of fae,” I offered, trying not to let the vivid reminder at how powerful the queen was—and how incredibly deceptive—undermine the tenuouscalm I was focused on building. “I wanted to tell you who I really was but I couldn’t.”

“I understand.”

Living in Embermere, in the queen’s shadow, he likely did.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get away to visit you at the stables,” I said. “I wanted to.”

“That’s okay. We can hopefully, ah, catch up later.”

Again, theif I survivedthe next few hours went unspoken.

I smiled as best I could, wanting him to know it was genuine. “I’d like that very much. And, ah…” I looked around me. Every man behind me in the trench but Rush was watching our interaction. “Thanks for earlier.”

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