Page 89 of Crown of Slumber

She opened and closed her mouth, clearly unwilling to assert her certainty on the matter. Because that would be a lie. After a moment, she stammered, “I—I thought I was part witch! Couldn’t that be it?”

“I’ve never seen witch magic like that before.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s not true,” she said hotly. “Isn’t there some realm of possibility that there is magic out there you haven’t seen before?”

“Of course there is,” I snapped, stopping to face her. The rage and unease bubbled up inside me until it boiled over, and I couldn’t stop it. “But witches don’t have unseelie forms, Aurelia.You do.I saw your green eyes. I saw your godsdamned forked tongue. The only explanation is that you have unseelie blood in you. And if you weren’t such a stubborn fool, you would see it, too.”

Her head reared back, shock, hurt, and anger mingling in her expression. “What the hell do you know? You’ve known me all of four days, and suddenly you’re an expert on my magic? What aboutyourmonstrous powers? You controlled the mind of that stable hand like it was nothing! Maybeyou’rethe one who’s unseelie.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s just my fae power.”

“Oh, so you don’t deny it? Youcancontrol people. You’ve probably been controlling me this entire time. That’s why I agreed to this wretched bargain with you, it’s why I let you kiss me, it’s why I let you put your hands all over me?—”

I was in her face in seconds, baring my teeth, the fury overflowing within me. How dare she cast judgments on my magic? How dare she look at me with such disgust and horror? “I haven’t used my powersonceon you, princess,” I spat. “This is exactly why I didn’t tell you—because I knew you would judge me for it. You would think me callous and unfeeling, a vicious savage who forces everyone to do his bidding.”

“That’s not—” She broke off, her mouth clamping shut, stopping herself before she uttered the lie.

Because it was true. Of course it was.

I gave her a cold smile. “Itistrue.” I turned away from her, but she grabbed my shoulder, spinning me to face her.

“If you had justtoldme, I would have believed you. If you had opened up about your powers and told me the truth, instead of letting me find out like that, then I would have trusted you!”

“Oh?” I arched a doubtful eyebrow. “Just like you were forthcoming aboutyourmagic? About what happened to the witch clans?”

Her face paled once more, and she took a step back.

I smirked. “I thought so. You can’t expect me to bare all my secrets to you, princess, if you don’t do the same.”

“Andyoucan’t expect me to share absolutely everything with you after only knowing you a few days!” she cried. “Trust comes one step at a time, and I made that first step. Ididopen up to you, Fenn. I told you about—about Tyrone.” Her voice quivered, but she pushed onward, in spite of the tears shining in her eyes. “I haven’t told anyone about that, not even my own sister. But I trusted you with it.”

“Only because you had to! Only because our bargain was at stake! If we hadn’t stopped in the Autumn Court, you never would have told me about it, would you?”

Her silence was answer enough.

My smirk vanished, and my eyebrows lowered as I glared at her, taking a step closer so I could loom over her. My nostrils flared as I said in a low voice, “So we’re agreed then. You keep your secrets, and I’ll keep mine. We only have to pretend for a few more days, and then this miserable bargain will be fulfilled. Then we can finally be rid of each other.”

I turned away from her again, and this time she didn’t stop me. She said nothing as I guided the horse forward.

It was just as well. I couldn’t face her any longer or she would see the devastation in my expression.

Because as much as I had tried not to, I was starting to fall for her.

I needed this reminder. I needed to remember that she saw me as nothing more than a monster. Someone she could never love.

So, this was for the best.

It didn’t take long for us to find the small stream nestled in the Mistwood Hills. The path was consumed by fog, but my feet knew the way. The blood within me guided my steps, and with Aurelia following behind me, our journey was unimpeded. After half an hour of walking, the air was starting to thicken, and it was getting harder to breathe.

Just because I was immune to the poison didn’t mean it did nothing to me. Sweat formed on my brow, and my lungs strained with every breath.

The trickling of the stream reached our ears before we saw it. Even through the fog, it was almost impossible to make out the sparkling waters in the moonlight. I sank onto a boulder nearby and wiped sweat from my brow. Aurelia collapsed on the ground, leaning back on her elbows and tilting her head toward the sky as she gasped for breath.

The horse made his way to the stream, unperturbed by the mist. I vaguely wondered if ordinary animals were completely immune. Did they feel nothing at all? How blissful that must be. I stared as the horse greedily lapped up the water.

From across the stream, movement caught my eye. Were it notfor my Night Fae blood, I might have missed it. My eyes narrowed as I tried to see through the mist.

There it was again. A figure appeared across the stream before the mist swallowed it up again.

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