Page 37 of Fae Exile

West gripped my shoulder and squeezed. The grunts and muffled grumbles would be the pygmy ogres. The breathing, however, was too loud even for the crude, towering oafs. It had to be as massive as a higantorus, an animal that dominated the seas. The higantorus could probably swallow the queen’s entire court in one big gulp.

I prepared to keep going when West’s grip held me back. I faced him.

He pointed behind him at Ryder, who sidled up next to me. Leaning so that his lips were an inch from my ear, Ryder asked, “Want me to try an illusion to keep us hidden?”

Intently, I studied him. It was a great idea. Silently, I told him,You’re out of practice, and thanks toher, you never got the chance to hone your skills to begin with. Do you think you can nail the illusion you’d wrap around us?

The four of us had been friends for so long that he understood the intensity of my stare and shrugged.

Again he canted his head next to mine and breathed, “It might send some kind of signal to her too.”

“Save it as a last resort only.”

He nodded sharply, then gestured up ahead with his chin.Let’s move, then.

With certain danger on our path, I was pleased to find my body settled into its usual rhythms when preparing for a fight. The weight of fear and hopelessness receded, and my mind grew blissfully quiet, noting only the threats and possible exits, the best offensive and defensive moves.

As much as I despised battle, I did love how I could trust my body to react faster than I could consciously command it. Every grueling hour I’d spent practicing, training, learning had been well worth it.

Yeah? What does any of that matter if you’re going to live out the rest of your days knowing your mate’s out there and you ruined any chance of her loving you back?

It was a valid question that I stomped from my thoughts. Scowling, I sped up, wanting to get it over with.

The end of the steps was in sight, the floor leveling out, when I slowed, then stopped.

Pygmy ogres’ voices arrived loud and clear.

“Keep it up, beastie,” one of them taunted in that odd, deep voice the creatures had, which sounded at once like that of a carefree child and also of a perverted old man. Their behavior was all depravity though. I’d never met a pygmy ogre who’d understood the importance of compassion—or simply not killing anyone and anything that got in its way, no greater reason required.

“We eat you,” the ogre continued. “Queenie said we could.”

“Ah-ha,” another said. “Yummmm, yummm, yummmy, yum, yum in my tum.”

Others laughed along with them, and I held up my fingers as I counted them all off.One, two, three, four.

I glanced over my shoulder to find Hiroshi shaking his head and holding up five fingers.

Feeling as if I were actually stretching my ears so as to better hear whatever my friend was picking up on, I waited and listened.Ah. There. A fifth one snorted softly.

Preparing to invade at least one of their minds right away—I had to be able to look into their eyes for my power to work—I turned to confirm the guys were ready—and froze.

They noticed my reaction and spun to face our newest threat.

Slowly, so as to negate the telltaleshiiingof drawing blades, I pulled my two remaining daggers. Throwing knives would be too slow for the feethles filling the stairway behind us.

Their teeth were bared, their hackles were up, and their eyes glowed blood red.

These were the queen’s pets, and there were enough of them to overwhelm us as they alerted the pygmy ogres just around the corner from where we stood to our presence.

It appeared our good luck had abandoned us when we needed it most.

15.SUCH A HORRIBLY CRUEL PLACE, I’LL KILL THE QUEEN AN EXTRA TIME FOR THIS

~ RUSH ~

Feethles were similar to wild foxes, but as changelings their magic made them fiercer and stronger—faster too. Their teeth were pointier and deadlier, all the better to shred their prey with and then quench their thirst for blood, a predilection I suspected the queen herself had encouraged or perhaps even bred into them. Plus, while in their creature forms, they retained much of their person’s cunning, which made some of them unreasonably shrewd.

At least a dozen of them crowded the enclosed stairway, balanced across several steps, blocking our exit. They snarled and gnashed their spindly teeth while their eyes glowed an unnerving crimson.

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