Page 33 of Fae Reckoning

She shook her head some more. Again, her acorn hat threatened to topple before she shot out a hand to steady it. “It’s nothing. Really.” A sob burbled out of her before she clamped her lips shut.

Sighing quietly, I clasped her little hand between my forefinger and thumb, and smiled at her. “It’s obviously not nothing.”

“It is?—”

“Zafi, it’s not. So tell me what’s going on. You’re just as important as any of the rest of us. Your needs matter too.”

That only made her cry harder. Her shoulders shook. She untangled her hand from mine to bring both to her face.

I gave her time we didn’t have, and waited. When her crying finally began to lighten, I prompted, “Zafi? What is it, little one?”

Little one, it was what Einar had called me.

When she began shaking her head yet another time, I adjusted my approach. “Look, Zaf, we’ve got some majorly dire shit to handle.”

Her head jerked up, her eyes welling with more tears. “I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be?—”

“That’s not what I’m getting at. What I’m trying to say is, the sooner you tell me what’s going on and how I can fix it, the sooner we can get back to helping others who also need us. And I’m not going to let this go, so you may as well share now instead of later.”

She snuffled. Wiped her nose again. Then asked, “They needmetoo?”

“Of course they do. We’re a team, aren’t we?”

“I-I didn’t know we were a team.”

That was probably because I’d only just thought of us that way. “We’re more than a team. We’re anarmy. Andweare going to take down the queen.”

Her eyes widened until they were full-on grapeseed size. “We’re going to take down the queen…” she repeated with a tinge of awe. It wasn’t a question.

“Damn right we are. So what do you need, little warrior, who is mini in size only and has the courage of a dragon?”

Einar grumbled loudly enough for the ground to shake. I rolled my eyes at his theatrics, and Zafi giggled, then hiccupped.

I told Einar.So give me a break.

was all Einar offered.

It was my turn to harrumph. When I returned my focus to Zafi, she was staring at me with eyes that were now clear.

“What … was happening?” she asked, sounding uncertain.

“I was talking with him.” I jabbed my thumb in the grumpy dragon’s general vicinity. When she only blinked at me, I added, “With the dragon.”

Her mouth dropped open to form a perfect oval.

I didn’t mean to, but I laughed.

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