Page 241 of Blood & Betrayals

I shake my head. “I’ll do it.”

There is a shift in the energy, and then he pulls off my blindfold. I look at him, disappointed to see his avatar once more.

“That rune could have destroyed you,” I say, watching him.

“I have a feeling that if I weren’t… who I am, it would have. Thank you for your intervention.”

“Who you are?” I ask, almost desperate for the information.

“I’m,” he clears his throat, “rather powerful. In certain circles. I usually don’t have to avoid things like that rune.”

“Powerful?”

“Very.” I feel the heat of his gaze trail over my face. “Most beings could not create this avatar, and those who can cannot hold it for so long.”

I look away, trying to hide my blush and feeling grateful for the darkness. “Right.” I look down at the book. “We were hoping for answers, but instead, we have more questions.”

“I’m not so sure,” the stranger says. “There’s an old story about the creation and destruction of Faerie. Something about the changing of the monarchy being like the changing of the winds.” He pauses as if trying to remember. “How they became different, and then there was the fall of the great Faerie.” He looks at me and recites from memory, “Sudden was the destruction of the dearest Faerie, her walls turning to the finest of sand within the hourglass. One sole light left. Untouched by the wrongdoings of the before.”

This man. His mind is as beautiful as his voice.

“I remember Faerie from before the Fall.”

That shocks me. “Woah, you are old.”

He snickers. “I told you I was a little kid in a library. I just left out the part about it being the Great Library in Faerie.”

I laugh softly, but then I sober. “I wonder if that rune had something to do with their change. Such a drastic change, but I know that the line between sanity and insanity can be a thin one.”

Stranger nods. “It did seem like two different people writing in the journal.” He looks at me again. “Thank you for not looking.”

I smile at him. “Until you almost got eradicated, I really enjoyed myself.”

His low, masculine chuckle sends heat tickling over my skin. “Yes, the almost eradication interrupted one of the best evenings I’ve had in months.”

“Really?” I ask, my smile brightening.

He nods. “I should walk you back toward campus. It’s the full moon tomorrow, and the shifters will be out preparing.”

The stranger stands and offers his hand. I take it and he pulls me to my feet, lacing his fingers with mine as we walk back through campus.

“So… friends again?” I ask, needing to know we have healed the breach between us.

The stranger nods, and I smile, the stress of the last weeks easing. We stop for tequila and then walk in silence to the door of Kelpie Hall.

I hesitate but then throw my arms around him, hugging him. He tenses, but after a moment, he wraps his arms around me.

I smile up at him. “Goodnight, Stranger.”

“Goodnight, little fae.”

94

Summer

Icreep into the dorm and head straight to my bedroom. The journal isn’t something I want Alice to know about. It’s not because I don’t trust her, but simply because of how destructive it is. I put the book in my wardrobe and draw a rune on the doors. It will keep the cabinet locked until I present my blood back to it. I wait until the rune stops glowing before leaving the bedroom.

“I’m back, Al!”

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