Page 88 of Fae Crown

“True enough. But your chances of survival increase significantly with my glowy connection … thing.”

“Yer power. It’s yer power. Now ain’t the time to shy away from it. That time’s passed for good now.”

That was precisely what I was afraid of.

I swallowed. Cleared my throat. Swallowed again. “My power, then. It won’t help Pru if you die going after her.”

“I can’t wait till yer healed well enough. My gran’gobbler might need me now.”

That, she might. Or she and the others might be dead already. Either way, Edsel would need me to get past the umbracs or whatever nasty monsters laid in wait in the Sorumbra.

Sliding up the pillows to sit, I beamed an encouragingI’m feeling greatsmile.

His brow lowered as he squinted at me. “What’re ye doing there? Ye got gas? I got a remedy for that,” he offered, already turning.

My hand shot out to grab his before he could step away. “I’ll heal fast.”

He snorted. “That ain’t something ye can just make yer body do.”

“I can.” At the very least, it sounded good. “And I will. I’ll need to see my mother before I go, though. I won’t come this close to her and not see her.”

His shoulders rose and fell with a laden sigh. “Fine. I’ll wait for ye. But only if yer fast as ye say ye’ll be.”

“Great.” I released his hand. “I’ll heal right up. Then I’ll meet my mother. We’ll find Pru and the others. We’ll get Rush and his friends. We’ll follow the map to free the others the queen’s draining of power. Then we’ll free the dragons?—”

“What map?” Edsel asked sharply.

So maybe I’d held on to more than one secret…

I updated him about the mysterious map that had appeared on my skin, and my suspicion that it would lead us to others like my mother. How I thought it was what had brought me here, though I hadn’t shared that possibility with Dashiell.

Edsel’s dark eyes grew larger and remained that way. “We might actually stand a chance,” he croaked. “After all this time, all this waiting, we might actually be able to do it. Take her out. Free the fae.”

Though I didn’t shake the discomfort at how very much of the responsibility landed on me, I said, “Yeah. I think we just might.”

Edsel straightened his shoulders as if he were already preparing for battle. He grew a whole inch so that his entire head reached above the bed while he stood flat on the floor.

Craggy face tilted up toward me, he said, “We do all that, and then we get ye an army.”

“Then we murder the queen,” I said in a venomous snarl.

“Aye,” he growled back like he was about to launchinto a rallying battle cry. “Ye’re the hope we been waiting for. The only one we got.”

“Great, more pressure,” I muttered.

“I’ll start making preparations,” Edsel said, and bustled over to his chest of supplies. “I’ll need to take lots of medicines for ye. I’ll be ready the moment ye are.”

“I’ll be ready too,” piped up that tiny voice once again. “If you’re going to take down the fat, ugly queen, I’m coming with you.”

A diminutive fairy, much like the ones who’d tripped me during the Gladius Probatio,zippedacross the room with a buzz of fast wings to hover in front of my face.

And Edsel rushed over to swat at her with a harsh scolding, “No!”

21.IF LOOKS COULD BITCH-SLAP A GRUMPY GOBLIN OR A BOSSY ROYAL ADVISOR

ELOWYN

With a blur of translucent wings and a buzz like that of a bee, the little fairy zoomed out of range of Edsel’s meaty hand. When he didn’t lunge for her again, she hovered on the opposite side of my bed, where I might reach her but he wouldn’t.

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