Page 55 of A Fate so Cruel

He’d return before it was full.

It was just another mission. Another task to complete. He’d be successful just as he’d been successful with others, and avoid any pitfalls along the way.

***

They ran through the night at a steady pace, only stopping once to catch their breath. The trees disappeared as they crossed the terrain. They waded through waist-high water, trudged through an area covered in ash, then found themselves back under the trees again.

It wasn’t until they closed in on a large cabin in the middle of the woods that Selina slowed her pace. The others fanned out and Rion hung back to watch their movements. Selina hadn’t given him orders, so he stayed close and kept his magic low.

She prowled forward on silent feet. Rion steadied his breathing, willing his heart to slow. Sweat rolled down his neck and he pressed himself against a tree when Selina stopped.

He listened. Waited.

No lights flickered to life inside. No heartbeats, either.

He scented the air, then eyed the lioness and those who awaited her command. Why were they waiting? Surely they could hear the same things he did. No one occupied the space.

Rion focused his magic, searching the grounds for any signs of vibrations. He only felt the slight footfalls of the thirteen currently present.

Selina moved closer, still cautious.

Who had Alec sent him out with? Novices?

Rion clicked his tongue, earning what he thought might have been a glare from Selina. He walked forward anyway, no longer caring how much noise he made.

He could have taken the opportunity to learn their formations but he was tired, and hungry, and couldn’t wait to get his boots off.

Rion’s magic rose from the ground and surrounded his body as he strode through the wooden door. The hinges creaked from misuse, piercing the silence. Rion wiped away a spider web just inside and flooded the space with his magic. It raced toward the back, up the walls, into the corners, over the dusty furniture, and beneath the tables.

Still no one.

It took rummaging through a few drawers before Rion found a candle. He pulled a match from his pack and lit it, blinking against the offending brightness.

A thick layer of dust covered everything, along with cobwebs in every corner. No one had occupied the space for a very, very long time.

He lit another half-burned candle seated in a dusty brass holder. Then another and another before he placed the candle in a stand of its own in the center of the half-rotted wooden table. He wouldn’t dare sit on the furniture for fear of falling through or disturbing some unpleasant creature.

Selina stormed in, no longer in her lioness form. She bared her teeth at Rion, her mask of innocence gone. “This mission is meant to be covert.”

“No one’s here,” he said, his tone a bit bored and borderline irritated.

“You didn’t know that.”

“I did, actually.” And they should have, too. “There weren’t any heartbeats.”

“Believe it or not, Rion of Brónach, there are Fae in the world who are able to conceal such things.”

“Not in Brónach there aren’t.”

“And did you just automatically assume everyone we’re after is from Brónach?”

“Who else would want to overthrow the High Lord?”

“Those who might benefit politically. We still don’t know how far this faction’s reach has spread. If Pádraigín, for instance, was involved, we’d need to report such things back to the council. So unless you want to explain to your brother how you blew our cover on day one, then I suggest you follow my lead from here on out.”

He blanched and the fury in Selina’s gaze somehow made him feel smaller despite her chin barely reaching his shoulder.He opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came to mind. He’d assumed the issue was a civil matter, but she was right. If other countries had gotten involved, then he could have just given them away.

She huffed. “We are meant to function as a team. Even without the possibility of other countries working against us, this was a good training exercise and—”

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