Page 106 of Royal Captive
I glared.
Bitch.
Sensing the rising tension, Ellis drew me back to his side. “We have a few hours before dawn. We might as well get some sleep.”
He repeated that in the fae language to Feyanna, who nodded and settled against a small bed of moss, curling up on the wet ground like she’d been doing it her whole life.
It irritated me how effortless she made everything look.
Ellis pulled me into his chest as he settled at the base of our tree. I would try to get some more sleep while I still could.
Thirty-Three
ELLIS
We traveled for three days, not speaking much, and only stopping to eat and rest. Feyanna had gone silent, keeping her distance from Eve but shooting me glances with those moon eyes of hers. The rain finally stopped, but the skies continued to churn about us. Back toward the city, there was still an angry red, the storm there continuing to rage on.
In the morning, we encountered an unlikely group of fellow travelers.
“Annie! Oh my god!Thazel!”
Eve screamed and cried, running to throw her arms around two girls who dropped their supplies and hugged her back. All of them cried and laughed through their tears.
Feyanna eyed everyone warily.
“Ok, we get it. Keep it moving, girls.”
An effeminate man clapped his hands at them all, a small satchel over his shoulder. He was covered in black soot.
“Calten? Is that you?”
He gave a small pirouette. “This is my new war look. Not the best, we’ll have to keep workshopping it. Think Marcell can help?”
I had no idea who or what he was talking about, but Eve laughed. That made me immediately like this man.
“Where is Shyllon?” Eve asked, fear lacing her voice.
The man’s flippant exterior cracked, pain and sorrow leaking through.
“No. NO!”
Calten caught her as she fell, both of them collapsing into each other. “Babe, I’m sorry. I did everything I could. They came for all the mansions and burned them. They didn’t have any direction, no purpose. He got trapped.… ” The man’s voice broke, and Eve wrapped her arms around him.
“The head rebel needs to be punished for this,” insisted Annie, wiping her eyes. “This is a war. This is senseless slaughter with no end in sight. People are rioting and looking, killing and raping. At least the king kept order!”
The other girl nodded tearfully, but I was too tired.
Too sick.
“What’sshedoing here?” The other woman pointed aggressively at the fae princess, her features twisting with anger.
Feyanna tensed beside me.
My hand came down protectively on her shoulder before I even realized I was doing it.
“She’s homeless and a victim, like you,” I bit out tersely.
“She doesn’t know the meaning of the word,” Annie sneered, stepping forward. “But I’d love to introduce her—“
