Page 20 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

“Oh.”

There was a long pause.

I didn’t know why I felt the need to explain myself, so I squashed the urge and remained silent. If I told her who I really was and why the secret had to remain, she would look at me differently.

And for some ridiculous reason, I didn’t want her to look at me differently. Not yet, at least. Not until I’d had more time to… veil, I didn’t even know what.

To hold her while we slept?

To feed her?

The bond would drive me to continue doing both those things until our connection was broken, so that wasn’t it.

I supposed I didn’t want to admit the truth, whatever it was.

She interrupted my thoughts. “How far away are you? And do you know how to kill a gargoyle? They have a gargoyle guarding me.”

“Of course I know how to kill a gargoyle; I’m a fae warrior. All of Evare fears our fighting prowess.”

“It was a reasonable question. All you have is ice, and he’s made of stone. You broke my cellar’s door, but a door isn’t a person.”

“Ice can break any kind of stone with enough effort. Even a gargoyle.”

“Good. That’s good.” She sighed. “How far?”

“Two hours,” I admitted.

“I hope my magic doesn’t knock me out by then. I’m feeling really weak. The pain in my arm is fading a little bit, at least. Does your silver hand hurt?”

“The distance is causing you pain?” I demanded.

“I think so.”

Veil.

“I didn’t know it would hurt you, but I’m coming back. Stay conscious; I don’t want you unconscious with strange men,” I growled at her.

“If I could order myself to stay conscious, I would’ve done it years ago.”

“Alright, I’ll come up with another story.” It took a moment to think of one that wouldn’t lead to more of her questions.

“Tell me about fishing. I’m curious,” she said.

Fishing was plenty safe, so I launched into a story about the first time Gleam and I had gone fishing—and I even found myself enjoying the conversation.

But my purpose remained—I would find my mate and my bonded idorr, and I’d free them both. We’d get back on the road to Jirev so I could eventually get my people back home… where we’d have to deal with the civil war.

Two hours later, I told Laeli I needed her to be quiet as I approached the camp. Both of the females I sought would be hidden at the center of the space, protected from intruders. And both would draw attention in their own ways, so it didn’t matter which I freed first.

The last sun was almost fully hidden by the horizon, but that wouldn’t affect the visibility for any magical beings.

Speed was my main advantage, outside of skill. Most magical beings were faster than humans, but other than the elves’ assassins, none were faster than fae. Our speed, paired with our brutal strength and centuries’ worth of battle, made us a threat to even the strongest magical beings.

I made it halfway through the camp before the first guard noticed me.

His first mistake was making eye contact.

His second was not crying out a warning to his people, because my claws severed his head from his body without giving him the chance to make a third mistake.

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