Page 107 of A Deception of Courts

The sun burned through the final smudges of ominous cloud. I looked up, and all I saw was endless blue.

There was no relief from the heat that warmed the Hunter’s leathers I wore. I felt my skin prickle beneath, itching for the promise of fresh air. My entire body seemed to exude sweat. It took great effort not to run a hand through the ginger curls plastered to my sticky forehead.

My foot thumped the ground as we waited for Rafaela to return with the human teleporter. Our one ticket into Elmdew rested on the shoulders of the boy we’d kept prisoner for hours. And the longer we waited, the thinner my patience grew. I couldn’t help but dwell on the time that we had wasted. It was mid-afternoon, hours after the teleporter had returned to Aurelia, and still we had not left for the spring court and the retribution that awaited there.

Perhaps I was frustrated because, with each passing moment, my confidence in my plan dwindled. If I waited long enough, I feared I’d give in to the niggling thought that it was better to give up.

I chewed on the insides of my cheeks, trying not to dwell on what was to come. Lucari chirped on my shoulder, iron claws digging into the padded leather. What I would have given to knock her away from me just to feel my power return, freeze her small body and break her just as Duncan had with Kayne.

I flinched every time she moved, expecting that she’d discover that I wasn’t her loyal Tracker, but a sheep dressed in wolf fur. Lucari’s lack of distrust gave me some hope. If I could trick the hawk, then Aldrick should never be the wiser. And with the Mariflora’s sharp nectar currently threading itself through my body, and another vial of it hidden within the inner pocket of my jacket, Aldrick wouldn’t have the chance to invade my mind and discover the truth behind this illusion before it was too late.

“I can feel your heartbeat in your hand,” Duncan said, voice muffled by the helmet he wore. Across the front of it, a white-chalked handprint had been dried across the metal. The symbol of Aldrick, the Hand.

A symbol he once wore with pride, but now he could barely look at without grimacing.

My breath lodged in my throat as I looked at him. Even with his face mostly obscured by the Hunter’s helmet, seeing him dressed in the dark brown leathers with a multitude of blades threaded among the straps that enhanced his broad structure reminded me of when I first met him.

“Just don’t let go of me,” I replied. It must have been strange for Duncan to hear my voice falling from Kayne’s lips. He did well to hide his discomfort, but there was still a wariness to his glance. Since Eroan had altered my face into this image, Duncan hadn’t got close enough to kiss me. Nor did I try, even though that’s all I wanted. With what we were about to face, I longed to feel his reassuring mouth on mine. But in the same breath, I couldn’t face the thought of him laying his lips on this face.

My lower stomach flipped as Duncan winked at me. If it wasn’t for the helmet, I would have seen the scar upon his face tighten. “Never,” he said, lowering his face slightly toward mine. “I’m here to stay.”

I glanced back over at the group, searching, hoping the person I looked for had suddenly appeared.

Duncan read my mind, exposing my unspoken worry aloud. “Erix will come. He made a vow to you, and I trust him on it.”

Excuses flooded to my mind. They all were conjured to throw Duncan off my trail of thought. I didn’t like to imagine how Duncan might leave, knowing Erix occupied my mind. And it was pointless to lie. To tell him I was not looking for Erix would have been an unfaithful act.

“Will he, though?” I asked. I hadn’t seen Erix since before the glamour was put on my face. It was as if he was evading me for reasons I wasn’t brave enough to contemplate.

“I spoke with him, Robin. He has assured me he will come. Erix desires nothing more than to help. But there is something he must do first.”

“And that would be?”

Duncan’s thumb continued its circular dance across the back of my hand. It may not have been the affection I desired from him, but I willingly accepted the calming effect he offered.

“We need numbers. Erix believes he can add to them but needs time to–”

“Places!” Althea silenced Duncan as she called across our small band of fey. Like me, each one of them was dressed as a Hunter. It was our turn to dress as our enemies and trick the unexpecting. “Rafaela has the human boy.”

I looked out toward the pathway that led back to Aurelia. Sure enough, Rafaela was there, walking side by side with the powered human.

The sun glowed across her skin, light catching in the pale hue of her wings. Rafaela’s wings weren’t folded away but were wide and proud at her back. The larger, grey-toned feathers trailed across the ground behind her. At her side limped the human. He was young and thin, no more a child than a man. His pockmarked skin and hairless face revealed his naivety. That, and the way his posture screamed with his lack of confidence.

I almost felt guilt for needing to use him. He was the enemy, and yet he was far from a threat the closer he got.

The human’s eyes were trained on the ground as he strode in line with Rafaela toward us. He gripped his arm as though it were broken, rubbing it up and down to soothe himself. Fear wore off him in undulating waves.

“Why does he walk freely?” Gyah called, authority booming out toward Rafaela.

Panic surged through me as I took the boy in again. Gyah was right. He had no chains binding his wrists or tethering him to Rafaela. There was no evidence he wore iron to prevent him from using the powers that had been given to him. He could have teleported away already, warning Aldrick of what to expect.

“He is not our prisoner,” Rafaela replied calmly, one hand on the hilt of the great hammer that balanced feather-light upon her hip. “I trust Daveed will not flee. Believe it or not, but hewantsto help.”

I had known that Rafaela had spent time with the Hunter. He was human, and she represented the physical form of the Creator. Never did I imagine she could sink her faith through his shield of disbelief. But, with the boy looking up at her with fiery awe, it was clear she had succeeded.

“I do,” his small voice said. “This is my choice to help, not something imposed on me by that madman.”

I actually believed him, felt his emotion in his reply.

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