Page 58 of A Fate so Cruel

“Then I guess the humans have one thing about us right.”

She shifted the coals again. “Were you holding back that much?”

“Only a lot.” Never mind the fact that her magic had been easy to subdue as well.

She shook her head. “Well, there go my bragging rights.”

They sat in silence, letting the sun warm their bodies as Selina sipped her tea. He’d be working with them for a while. With all of them. He supposed he could make some sort of effort. If it backfired, well, it wasn’t like he hadn’t faced that before.

“You lean too far forward when you strike. It makes your movements predictable.”

She stopped and stared at him, her mouth slightly agape. “You didn’t have to tell me that.”

No, he didn’t, especially when he could have kept the information to himself and used it against her. “Call it my attempt at being friendly.”

A smirk played on her lips. “The Demon of Alastriona, being friendly with a Fae he barely knows. Life the way we know it must be coming to an end.”

“Let’s hope not.”

She poured herself another cup. “Can I expect your friendliness to extend to my comrades?”

Rion tilted his head toward the cabin and caught more than one face staring at them, hands no doubt gripping their weapons.

He sighed. “Don’t push your luck.” But Rion couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

Chapter Seven

Breakfast was short, awkward, and unsatisfactory as the warriors each served themselves from the dried reserves in their packs. Rion’s stomach grumbled even after he finished off the jerky.

They stared at him as he sat in the far corner nearest to the door. Selina offered an easy smile, but the rest—he wasn’t sure friendly would extend to him let alone the other way around.

Selina. Their short conversation had been . . . interesting. He’d never imagined there would be Fae who didn’t believe in the ancient texts. Everyone he’d ever countered followed them.

It gave Rion some hope for the future. Maybe he could have friends after all. Maybe not every female would run at the mere sight of him.

Once they’d finished, Selina unfolded her map and spread it out in the center of the floor. No one bothered with the furniture.

They drew closer to watch as she studied her hand-marked dots.

“We’re here,” she pointed, then slid her finger down the map. “And our first target is here.”

“Fernsworth?” the short female asked, her brow arched. “Weren’t they the first to volunteer warriors two years ago for,” she paused and looked at Rion.

“He lives in the palace,” Selina said. “He knows.” The humans had threatened an invasion that hadn’t gone over well when they tried to cross through the Sirens’ territory. They’d carried all manner of iron weapons, but only one boat successfully made the crossing. Brónach hadn’t shown them an ounce of mercy.

Selina nodded. “A lot can change in two years. According to the logs, several merchants are set to arrive tomorrow and begin preparing for the solstice. We’ll use the foot traffic to hide ourselves among the citizens.”

“We’re all going?” another asked.

Selina shook her head. “Four of us are going. The other nine of you will be infiltrating the smaller villages to gather information.”

“And the city farther south?” the eldest female asked.

“We’ll hit it last. Their involvement is merely suspected.”

“They could be the central hub. They’d have the funds,” the male said.

“We’ll see; remember, intel first.”

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