The Lost Fae (The Twisted Crown #3) - A.K. Koonce Page 0,42

everything else in this world... I think she's hiding the Fountain of Youth."

"Humans seem to lose a lot of things," Lincoln chuckles as he lowers himself back under the blankets. His gaze finds mine and he opens up his arms. "Tell me more about this Fountain of Youth and then I must insist that you get some sleep tonight."

"You are too good to me." I shake my head even as I lower myself to lay beside him. His chest lifting and falling with every breath he takes is calming. The nearness of his scent... intoxicating. I close my eyes, with my head propped up by the arm he has underneath me, and I let him pull me in to him. "The Fountain of Youth is a legend. If you drink from it, or perhaps in this case bathe in it, it will keep you young, healthy, and extend your life. As an old myth I don't know a lot about it and I can't even be certain that what I know about the topic is even true. It just all seems to make sense together... with what I saw."

"And you think we can use this against her?"

"If she won't tell us how to get home, we have to. I'm sure she was guarded for a reason. Not to mention that if everyone we run into finds out what she has, what's to say that they won't want it too? Everyone wants to be young again. To live forever." I swallow.

Not too long ago, that had been a passing thought in my worries. What if I had only been human? What if Lincoln had been wrong about me and had foolishly let my mortal heart fall in love with an immortal? I don't need to think about that. I am Fae. I'll live a long life.

"We'll know more in the morning. I trust that you may know what you're talking about. It could be our only hope."

I close my eyes. Lincoln's rough hand runs over my hair again and again. The calluses on his hands catch on the strands. Sleep doesn't come. In the quiet, this time where only our thoughts exist, when we both ponder over what our futures hold, sleep doesn't come to our aid.

My mind refuses to shut down or give me any sort of release from the stressful thoughts bombarding me. What if I'm wrong? What if there truly isn't a way out of this realm? What if, when we wake the pirates have left some sort of trap for us just outside the door? What if they don't keep my midnight trip a secret?

What if...

What if...

What if...

Lincoln doesn't sleep either. He keeps his focus on the noises of the castle and any hustle that might move by our room. In my determination to find something for leverage, I've robbed Lincoln of his rest. He's on guard now. It's his job, it's what he is used to. I've just helped shift him back into that mindset. Because I'm his queen. I'm his claimed.

Sleep eventually comes in waves. It comes in furious fits of nightmares that chew me up and spit me back out in my uncertain reality. Every time I jolt awake, Lincoln's there stroking the side of my face. I force myself to close my eyes, to drift back off every time, until the morning comes shining through our single window.

Light falls across the floor, making up for the way that the fire has begun to die. I sit up and push my hair away from my face. Even the way I rub my fists against my eyes can't pull the sleep from them. Tucking my legs under me, I turn to face Lincoln. He props his head on his arm, rolling to his side and watching me.

Lincoln doesn't look tired at all. Maybe he isn't. Or maybe it's years of practice in sleep deprivation. Does he even need sleep to function? He's a robot. I'm sure of it.

Or a god...

I run my fingers through my tangle of hair trying to smooth it out. A knock pounds against our door. My shoulders jolt, forcing my posture to perfection as I stifle a gasp.

Lincoln places a hand gently on my knee and squeezes. "Not too scared to go running around someone else’s home in the middle of the night, but a sudden knock at the door… that'll get you every time." He laughs and kicks his feet from the covers rolling out of them and standing up.