Page 64 of The Red Woman and the White Bear

With a long, heavy exhale, he sank back down onto the chair. “He’ll listen to you.”

“What do you—” She was cut off mid-question when Rodney stormed back into the room. He knew what was coming; he’d been eavesdropping from the other side of the doorway and clearlyanticipated exactly what Raif intended to say next. And he knew, more likely than not, what Aisling’s answer would be.

“You need to leave,” he said harshly. “Now. This conversation is finished.”

Raif stiffened but made no move to reach for the weapon barely concealed at his hip. He shot Rodney a sidelong glare, then turned back to Aisling to say again, “He will listen to you.”

“You’re not dragging her back to help yourkingwho’d sooner see her dead than have her return.” Rodney’s cheeks reddened as he raised his voice.

“Rodney, stop. No one is dragging me anywhere,” she chided. Then, to Raif, she asked, “What do you mean, he’ll listen to me?”

“There is a salve. It seems to soothe the pain long enough for him to regain control, but he denies it.” Raif kept a wary eye on Rodney, seething in the corner. He looked suddenly tired, as though Kael’s affliction had kept him from sleeping, too.

“And you want me to convince him to use it?” Aisling guessed.

Raif nodded solemnly. “Or at least, to try.”

It could have been a trick; he could have been there to lure her with his kind words and pleas for help only to bring her straight back to the dungeon. Or worse. But something in Aisling’s chest—something woven around her bones and coursing through her veins—was pulling her back towards the Unseelie Court.

And that pull felt too important to ignore.

“This is a fool’s errand, Aisling,” Rodney warned.

She stood balanced between two rocks, flanked on either side by Rodney and Briar, staring at the shimmering Veil in the old mine. The overlarge bag she’d packed to take with her to the mainland was slung diagonally across her back, even heavier now that she’d added extra food for Briar. Lyre had stepped through the Veil ahead of them, and Raif waited impatiently behind.

“I know,” she said. It likely was, and she’d told him as much too when she tried to convince him to stay behind. But he was adamant that he’d remain by her side, and Briar’s panicked barking left her little choice but to take him along as well. If there was any lingering doubt about her true identity, it would quickly dissipate once she arrived with the White Bear in tow.

“He’ll be angry that you’ve come back,” he added.

Aisling grit her teeth and said again, “I know.” He would be; she knew he would be. He would be furious. Raif was wrong to think Kael regretted sending her away. The moment he saw her, he would regret instead not having killed her when he had the chance, if he didn’t already.

Yet even still, knowing what likely awaited her on the other side, she tugged Rodney and Briar with her back into the Wild.

The sound of glass exploding against the inside of Kael’s chamber doors made Aisling flinch. Raif remained stoic, stone-faced; he was accustomed to such outbursts by now. Werryn slipped out into the hall, cracking open one door just long enough for Aisling to hear Kael bellowing at him from deep inside the darkened room. Werryn’s irritated expression deadened when he saw Aisling.

“What in His name isshedoing here?” He recoiled as though she were a feral animal they’d brought in from the forest. Aisling’s temper flared, but she remained silent. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of reacting. Lyre stepped forward then, ushering Werryn away despite his sputtering protests.

“I don’t like this, Ash,” Rodney muttered. Briar didn’t, either. He’d balked at the top of the spiral stairs, then several times as the group wound their way down through the labyrinth of passageways to Kael’s chambers. She had to bribe him with so many treats the bag was now nearly empty.

Aisling waved him off. “Does he know I’m here?” She knew the answer, but she asked anyway. She was stalling for time. Trying to build up the nerve to breach those heavy doors and face the Unseelie King. She’d been sure,sosure, that she’d never see him again. And if she did, she thought it would likely be from the sharp end of his sword.Still a possibility,she reminded herself.

“No.” Raif gestured then to a young female who had been waiting there in the corridor. Dressed in a plain shift of soft gray, her youthful face was framed by golden ringlets. She looked too innocent, too pure to be buried underground here. Her smile was kind as she produced a small glass jar and held it out to Aisling.

“The salve,” she explained.

“Elasha is an apothecarist,” Raif said. “She developed the formulation after the second onset of Kael’s affliction. That was the worst instance of it, but this is not far off.”

Aisling stood before the arched doors and took several seconds to quietly brace herself against what she imagined waited on the other side. Holding her breath, she pushed one open just wide enough to slip through, then closed it softly behind her back.

Kael’s chamber was almost pitch-dark, lit only by a single glowing candle on the dresser. The air was heavy and stale and smelled sickly sweet from days’ worth of food left to sour untouched on the table.Aisling stayed pressed against the door, surveying the mess and allowing her eyes a moment to adjust. When a dish shattered against the wood just inches above her left shoulder, she nearly turned and fled, but her feet kept her rooted to the spot. Her heart wouldn’t let her run this time.

“I told you to get out!” Kael shouted from where he stood facing away, hunched, supporting his weight against the mantle of a cold fireplace.

“It’s me,” she said cautiously. “It’s Aisling.”

His entire body stiffened when she said her name.

“Leave,” he said, voice low. Though this time he spoke barely above a whisper, his gravelly tone was threatening. Aisling’s pulse was loud as thunder in her ears as she took step after cautious step towards him.

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