The Lost Fae (The Twisted Crown #3) - A.K. Koonce Page 0,62
yet to return. Tentatively, I stretch out a mental hand trying to see what barriers she has up. Strong ones, I quickly realize. They're thick and sturdy like steel. Her eyes become slits as she watches me and I retract my magic quickly, certain that she knows what I've just tried. I'm just curious what sort of inner turmoil she might have spinning around in that perfect body of hers.
"What about the Fae in The Lost Court?" I move faster as I walk, almost regretting the thought as soon as I said it out loud.
"Barnabus? And the bandits? You think they'd help us?" Lincoln steps back, as if my question had offended him somehow.
"You two... have been to... The Lost Court?" Violet reaches out and grabs me as I try to walk by her yet again. "Stop moving, you're driving me insane! Pick a spot and sit, my gods you're like a child."
Compared to however many centuries she has been alive... I am. But one thing I surely had her beat in is the amount of anxiety riddling my body. Must come from my human side. The Fae seem so unaffected, while my stomach twists and turns so badly I can't decide if I should puke or if explosive diarrhea is on the agenda for the evening.
"When we ran from Cordelia, we sprinted into the first portal we found out in the woods. I should have been smart enough to realize it would lead to nowhere good, since most of Cordelia's portals are inside her mansion. We just needed a quick escape." Lincoln scrunches his nose.
"It's fine, we made it out," I say, even though it doesn't do much to soothe him. "We met some Lost Fae. Shadow Fae it would seem, and a whole lot of humans that we left stranded. I'm pretty sure we pissed them off pretty good. Especially since their ship is probably just floating around the ocean on its own."
Violet stares at me. Does she think that I'm lying? Really, if I hadn't lived it I'd probably think I was lying too. So maybe I'll be a little easier on her.
"And you want to return to that horrendous place?" She says slowly, pointing an ink stained finger at me.
"In exchange for their help, of course..." I turn to Lincoln as he grits his teeth together. He freezes where he is at and stares back at me. "I know I'm new. I could practice a little bit more... I could..." What could I practice on? I'm not sure I can handle watching him cut another finger off or worse yet a whole limb. What other sort of injury do I have at my exposure to heal?
Lincoln scrubs at his face and turns away from me. His fingers dig into his temples, rubbing in small circles. I stare at the hard planes of his back. At the two spots I know his wings had once been, but have since been removed.
"I could give you your wings back," I whisper.
"So now she's a healer." Violet sounds skeptical.
"Yeah. I put Lincoln's pinky back on. It's crooked so I can prove that it was me." I snap my fingers at Lincoln. "Show her."
Ziko shifts back to face me, looking at us through his fingers as he covers his face. Even without holding out his hand for his sister to evaluate, it's clear which hand has the mismatched appendage. His breath is uneven, his hands trembling as he lowers them to his side.
"That's not an easy thing, Briar. And it's not something you should say lightly."
Oh no. Maybe I'd said the wrong thing.
"Is there harm in trying? If I can do it." God, I hope I can do it. "Then that's one more thing we have to our advantage. One thing I can give you back, since you've given me so very much." I move forward until we are toe to toe and I take his hands in mine, pressing small kisses along his knuckles. I make sure to give his crooked finger an extra kiss for good measure. "Surely, if I can do this one thing for you then you'll trust me to help Barnabus' man with whatever his issue is."
"Briar..." he breathes my name like the word itself is a sin. "Please."
"Linc, don't be so dramatic. Let her try at least. And if she does a piss poor job, we can just rip them back off and she can try again." Violet waves a hand.