Page 106 of Fate and Flame
“Keep it.” She smiled. The light from the moon moved through her pale figure. “Maybe I’ll see you again one day.”
“I hope not,” I said honestly as we turned to walk out of the glen. I jerked to a stop, catching a glimpse of a massive black horse out of my peripheral. “Brimir?” Refusing to let go of Fen, I dragged him with me as I ran to my family’s fae horse. He was just as beautiful as I remembered, perhaps his coat even a bit shinier.
He recognized me. The moment I stepped close enough to touch him, he shoved his long nose over my shoulder and yanked me into a hug, just as he did when I was younger. The tears I thought had run dry began to fall again as I held the last member of my family once more. “What are you doing here?” I whispered into his twitching ear.
“I hope you don’t mind.” Ofra reached a hand forward as if to stroke the beast but pulled back. “He was running from a knovern and Esa found him. She brought him to the glen for safety and he remained. The pixies are all quite fond of him.
“I don’t mind at all,” I mumbled into his neck.
“Shall we take him home?” Fen asked, patting Brimir’s neck as my father always did.
I stepped away and studied his deep eyes, hooded in thick lashes. He loved me and I loved him, but I knew the answer. The one he seemed to have given with that look. “He’s happy and safe here. I can’t say the same for the desert. He should stay.”
“Hes gets to staayyysss!” Esa, the little pixie, shouted to the others shooting out of the tall grass, only to realize what she’d done and darted back into the safety of her hiding spot. The other pixies didn’t make a sound.
“Goodbye again, my friend. I’m glad you’ve found a home.”
“You can visit him anytime,” Ofra said as we made our way toward the edge of the glen once more. There was a pull there. She wanted Fen and I to stay, and now I’d felt the magic behind her words. We wouldn’t stay, of course, but it would have been so much easier if we could have.
“Is she a god?” Fen asked as we wove through the trees.
“When I first met her, I thought she was. Now, I’m not sure. The gods don’t seem to involve themselves.”
Fen looked off into the distance, silent for a long time. “But they do,” he said finally, squeezing my fingers as he quickened our pace.
I would never ask him what he had seen, where he had been as he balanced between life and death, but I knew it would probably stay with him for the rest of his life.
We came upon a heap of fae lying on the ground, but at this point, we were only worried about the one that stood, his back to us as he watched the moon in the sky above.
“Kai?” I whispered.
He turned. His face looked like he’d lived a thousand lives of torture. Until his eyes landed on Fen. He didn’t say a word, only crumbled to his brother’s feet and began to cry.“The king,” he managed. “The king does not sacrifice himself for the warrior.”
Fen reached for him, pulled him back to his feet, planted his hands on his shoulders, and shook him.“I am not a king, and you are not a warrior in this family.”
“Fen?” Wren peeled herself from the ground. She rubbed her eyes. He held a hand out for her and she joined their group hug.
I nudged Greeve with my foot, trying to not wake Gaea, curled in his arms. He was on his feet in an instant, knife ready in his hand. I tilted my head to the group and the moment he saw Fen, he dropped the knife and joined them.
I stood back watching the reunion, my heart bursting, though mentally I was exhausted. Greeve turned toward me, grabbed my arm, and yanked me into the center until they were crushing me. My heart had never been so full, tangled in the arms of a group of southerners.
“Let’s go home,” Fen mumbled.
We woke the others and Gaea happily took us home. I wanted to ask her about Greeve. About what had happened. But it wasn’t the right time. She followed him down the hall, and that was enough answer for me.
“Tired?” Fen asked, pulling me toward our rooms.
“Utterly exhausted.”
“We’ll rest tonight, but tomorrow we have to start hunting for that lost artifact in the dunes. I didn’t nearly die to lose you to Autus.”
“I’m not scared of him,” I said. “I lived through the death of my mate and nothing could be worse than that. We know his plans. We have an army.”
“It’s not enough. It’s never going to be enough until he is dead. He released those creatures as a distraction. He’s scheming. We cannot be complacent. We don’t have near the numbers we need to fight him.”
“Then we find more.” I opened the door to our room.
“Easier said than done,” he answered, kicking off his boots. “Tell Friar she can burn these clothes tomorrow. I never want to see them again.”
