doing. He always came back with what we needed. The quantity wasn’t always there, though, not even with the help of his band of merry-fey.
But, if Ryan was a town kid like me, would he even know how much food to bring back for the cows? I knew nothing about cows other than that they could be eaten, and the moms could be milked.
“Are they milk cows?” I asked after a while.
“Not yet. They all have baby cows in them.”
“More cows?” The words were barely a whisper. I was already seeing a herd rather than just the few we had. And if one of the cows was a male, we’d have even more.
A tear spilled down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away.
“Do you like cows?”
I nodded, not wanting to look at him. He’d seen the tear, obviously, and I didn’t want pity. Not from him.
“Do you think there might be other animals out there?” I asked.
“Angel told Shax she heard a bird.”
It was still weird hearing Shax’s name associated with another girl. How quickly he’d fallen out of infatuation with me. I wondered if the fey would be as obsessed with pregnant cows as they were with humans.
“Birds are good,” I said, reining in my thoughts. “Pigs, goats, and chickens would be better.”
“There is a chicken at Tenacity.”
One chicken wasn’t enough, but seeing the cows in front of me, I thought that we might have real hope of surviving. If only…
An ache exploded in my chest as I thought of Katie. My smile faded, and the urge to cry grew stronger. She should have been standing there with me. She should have had the chance to see what the world would look like if the fey managed to kill all the hellhounds.
“Enough rest,” Merdon said, stepping in front of me with that judgy, angry expression back on his face.
Before I could respond, he bent down in a familiar move. My eyes went wide, and I reacted as his words about going high echoed in my ears.
My knee rammed into his chest at the same time my fingers closed over the end of one of his pointy ears. I’d accidentally discovered how sensitive fey ears were long ago.
Giving the pliable grey end a sharp twist, I pulled hard.
Merdon grunted and went down to one knee. Any triumph I felt withered as his hand clamped around my wrist and pulled my fingers free. When he looked up, there was real anger in his eyes.
“Be nice.”
The low warning in those words made my bladder quiver in fear. Ignoring the sensation, I met his gaze with a glare.
“Ask to carry me, and I will be nice.”
He slowly got to his feet, not loosening his hold on my wrist.
“I don’t need your permission.”
“Yes, you do. You don’t own me. Stop acting like it.”
He said nothing for a moment, considering me with an intensity that I found intimidating as hell. What worried me more was that he thought my consent was optional. Why was I stuck with the broken fey? Why couldn’t one of the nice ones be interested in Emily?
With obvious reluctance, he released my wrist.
“Walk back to the house quickly if you don’t want to be carried.”
“Does everything need to be a threat with you?”
“Does everything need to be a fight with you?”
I gave him one last glare then turned on my heel and started back toward the house. A cow mooed its farewell, and I wondered if Emily knew about them. Of course she did. Emily tended to know everything that was going on inside both the walled towns. Had I not been locked in my room, she probably would have told me about the cows.
Bitterly, I thought of my ex-friend and wished I had someone I could count on like Cassie had said.
“Faster,” Merdon said, nudging me from behind.
“I am going fast,” I snapped, trying to lengthen my stride.
“No, you’re thinking too much and slow.”
“First, you complain I’m not smart. Now, you’re complaining that I’m thinking? Make up your mind. What do you want me to do?”
Hands landed on my shoulder, and he spun me around.
Angry eyes held mine as he leaned in and whispered one little word that sent my pulse racing.
“Run.”
My brain shorted out for a second too long because he started to growl. Pivoting, I took off at a sprint. I could hear him right behind me. The fear, the sound of being chased, and the knowledge that there was no one around to help, it brought