Page 8 of Across an Endless Sea

The scent of medicinal herbs is pungent in the air. The second Rose was knocked out cold, the plants sprang up around us for ten feet in every direction. Thankfully, my cousin recognised them for what they were and started ripping them up and crushing them together straight away. Now she’s smearing the green paste into the black burn wounds across Rose’s shivering body.

“Do you want me to dress her, or treat the iron poisoning you just gave her?” Prae snaps. “Did you not even think—”

“Obviously not,” I retort, yanking angrily at the hair at the nape of my neck. “Unfortunately, I must have missed the lesson on caring for captive fairies. Now hurry up. The wolf said she was sensitive to it.”

Prae snorts. “This would be funny if it weren’t so damn tragic. The heir to Balor’s crown panicking over the welfare of a tiny ‘sensitive’ fairy.”

I’m not panicking. I’m just… concerned.

“I’m just not in the mood to go hunting for her again if she dies,” I retort, with what I hope is a nonchalant shrug. “And we don’t have much time.”

At least we’re close enough to the Torvyn that we might make it to our camp at the river’s fork before the rest of her Guard reaches us. I’m surprised they haven’t already, given her redcap’s ability to travel anywhere in the blink of an eye, but he must still be injured from the fight. Thank the fucking Ancestors for small mercies.

I have no doubt the others will be right on our tail until we make it to the ships. As soon as we’re on the open water, and surrounded by sturdy Fellgothan steel, we should be safe. Our ship-builders have created vessels sleeker and faster than anything the fae have, and the metal should prevent any magical attempts to locate her.

We’ll be back at Fellgotha within the week. After that, Rose will be beyond their reach. The only fae who have ever crossed the Endless Sea did it as slaves on Fomorian ships.

Leaving Elfhame City’s capture in the hands of our cousins rankles, but we have no other choice. It’s a shame that I won’t be there to see those walls fall after all the work Prae and I put into the plan, but we have a different mission now.

“Well, let me work and maybe she won’t die,” Prae retorts. “I’m not sure if I should be spreading this shit on her wings, but they’re the worst affected…”

“Just do it.” I pause, arching a brow. “How’d you learn to treat iron poisoning, anyway?”

She shrugs. “I’ve watched the slaves do it.”

Stunned, I ask, “Why would you bother?”

Prae sighs and steps around me to start slathering more of the crushed leaves on the ruined skin of Rose’s left thigh. “That, dear cousin, is why I am the smart one. You’ve spent your life trying to prove you’re not fae, whereasIhave been trying to learn from them.”

Learn from them?I scoff. “What could you possibly learn from fairies?”

Prae arches a brow and looks pointedly at Rose’s back.

Okay, but in all honesty, how was I supposed to know the salve for iron poisoning would come in handy? And when am I ever going to need to make it again? I glance at the array of plants. I couldn’t identify them all, even if Ididneed to.

Prae wipes the last of the leaf-mush from her palm and steps back. “We’re not carrying spare clothes…” She leaves the sentence hanging, then huffs. “Itwouldboost morale to have the enemy queen paraded into camp naked and wounded.” Her sour reluctance bleeds through into the words, making it clear what she thinks of the idea.

It’s the sort of shit our other cousins—fuck, even my father—would do. Degrade Rose to prove to the fae that their Nicnevin isn’t all powerful like they believe.

Still, the anger that follows her statement has me snapping back: “No.”

Prae quirks one brow. “No?”

I take a deep breath. With anyone else I would’ve lied, but this is Prae, she’ll see right through me.

“It’s okay with you because you have no interest in females,” I admit. “But if others saw her like this…” Those damned fae instincts would have me tearing their eyes from their skulls. “Besides, there’s no glory in shaming the meek.”

I rub my temples and pace away from her, then back.

I don’t know Rose well, but what little time we spent together made it clear that it would be too easy to break her. The idea of a broken queen didn’t matter to me before, but now that I’ve met her…

It seems like a waste.

Unthinkable. But that won’t happen to her. She’s a captive queen, not a slave.

Or will it? The second I hand her over to my father, I’ll lose all control over her fate.

Fuck. Winning isn’t supposed to be this complicated.

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