Beyond the Mountain (Fae's Captive #4) - Lily Archer Page 0,1
enough for me to understand.
“For her?” I look up at me, I mean her, a bruise on her forehead and her skin pale.
“She’s my friend.” Cecile’s voice is almost a whisper now, and there’s a tremor in it. Before, she was running on empty bravado. But now I see her clearly. She’s afraid. But not for herself. For my twin. “The only friend I’ve ever had. She was stuck here with my father.” She swallows hard, and I suspect she knows just what sort of fae her father was. “And he sent me to earth to keep us separated. But then I saw a chance to make the exchange between you two, so I took it.”
More questions surface, but we don’t have time. Not now. When we get out of here, I intend to sit her down and ask her everything.
I try to twist my wrists out of their invisible shackles even though it causes Leander’s bite on my shoulder to ache and burn. A frustrated cry rips from me, and I have to force myself to stop fighting. I need to think. What tools do I have? I glance up at Cecile again, her long hair hiding her face. “Let’s focus on blowing this taco stand, okay? What sort of powers do you have?”
“I don’t have magic,” she says quietly.
“No talents, no nothing?”
“I have a talent, but it won’t help.”
“Why? What is it?”
She shrugs. “I can … keep things alive.”
“Huh?”
“You know that plant you brought home from the greenhouse and put on our windowsill?”
“Yeah.” I have a green thumb. That little houseplant flourished under my care.
“It would have died ten times over if I didn’t save it.”
“That’s not true.” Pride, thou art gravely wounded. “I’m great with plants.”
“Maybe, but you aren’t great with paying attention to plants when you’re busy doing your nerd stuff. You didn’t water it and left it to bake in the windowsill.” She shakes her head, her hair flying. “But I kept it going just for fun. Or really, just to troll you into thinking you were any good at houseplants.”
“So you can heal, too?”
“No. It’s just a talent, something small I can do. It’s not infused with full magic, not powerful enough to work on much more than that small plant.”
“Look, not to brag, but I just saved the Vundi’s entire farming system, so maybe it wasn’t your magic that—”
“Stow it.” Her petulance is back in full force. “Accept I’m better than you at plants, and everything else, and get me down from here.”
I grumble a few choice words about the clearly lying louse hanging above me, then ask, “What about the other me? What is she? Does she have powers?”
“She’s a human. No powers.”
“A human?” I never considered for a moment that my creepy twin was a human like me.
“How did you get here?” I glance around, but no one else is in the cave. Just the three of us. Not even a guard. If only we could get free, we could disappear right out of the cave entrance.
“Someone came for us through the ley lines. I was in our dorm room with Taylor, and someone knocked at the door. I opened it, and saw a lesser fae that looked kind of rough, I guess? He had snake eyes.”
“Crimson clothes? Scales?”
“Yes.”
“Cenet. He’s a Vundi warrior.”
“I tried to slam the door on him, but I … I think I fell asleep.”
“He’s pulled that crap on me twice. I’m kind of over it.” I strain so hard I think I’m going to dislocate my elbow and rip my shoulder open. Nothing. “Have you seen anyone?”
“No.” She kicks her leg a little so she spins around. “Taylor!”
“What?”
“Not you.” She wriggles again. “The real Taylor.”
I watch as she tries to face the other me. “I am the real Taylor.”
“I mean my Taylor!” she snipes, but then her tone softens. “Wake up. Come on, wake up. You’re scaring me.”
Oh, god, what if I’m dead?
I put one hand to my face. What if the other me is dead? Also, how am I touching my face?
I squeak and rocket up out of the chair. “I’m free!”
“How?” Cecile spins back to face me.
“I don’t know.” I feel my wrists.
“Get us down!” She wobbles with excitement.
“Okay, let me think.” They’re hanging at least ten feet over my head. How in the hell do I reach them? “I’m going to find a ladder or something.”
“A ladder?” Cecile grips her hair with her chained hands and pulls it out of the way. “You seriously