She dropped her eyes, not wanting him to see the truth behind them, but he wouldn’t let her hide that easily. He tilted her chin up with a finger until her eyes met his.
“Why have you stayed away for so long?”
“Why have you?” She countered.
“You know that it is hard for me to leave. I don’t have someone in place to take over while I’m gone like the wolves do. I don’t have a council watching over my people like the Fae do. It is me and me alone that the burden falls to.”
Cyn nodded. “I know.”
Thalion’s eyes narrowed. “And?”
“And what? We both have responsibilities that we can’t just walk away from. I am a guardian, you are a prince, and those are the facts. We do not have the luxury of following our hearts.”
A small smile appeared on the prince’s face. “So, your heart leads you to me?”
“You know it does,” she whispered, shyly.
Before she could anticipate his next move, his lips were suddenly pressed to hers. It was a firm, quick kiss—it was a promise.
“I’ll see you very soon.” He gave her one last meaningful stare, and if looks could wrap arms around a person and possess them, then she would be locked in his.
Cyn walked back over to Lilly and Cypher in a daze.
“You didn’t see that coming did you?” Lilly asked.
Cyn shook her head, still unable to put any words together.
“Yeah well, there’s a lot of that going around so welcome to the club.”
Q
“SHE DID WHAT!” Desdemona yelled and the walls of the small building shook. The windows rattled and threatened to shatter as a wave of her power whipped through the air. Mona stared in the direction of the voice, though she could not see the owner. Once again, the Fae traitor had come to her, offering her information, because she hated one of her own.
“They are no longer in the In-Between,” the Fae reiterated.
“Yes, I kind of figured that’s what you meant when you said that Peri rescued them,” Mona spat at the cloaked figure. She still could not determine the identity of the Fae and it was really beginning to tick her off.
“Don’t take your incompetence out on me,” the Fae snapped back.
Mona froze. Very few beings would dare to talk to her that way and live to tell about it. She turned slowly to face the figure. Her hands itched to work their magic and the darkness swirled inside her pulsing, pushing to be released.
“I told you that I could help you Desdemona. I also told you that you were not my only option. I bring you this information to show you that I am telling you the truth when I say I want Perizada stripped of her power, kneeling before me knowing that her death is upon her.”
Mona couldn’t help the shriek of laughter that bolted out of her. “Damn, I thought I was blood thirsty, but I’m beginning to think that some of you so called good guys are even nastier than little ‘ole me.”
The cloaked figure stepped forward and the darkness around it slowly faded as the hood fell away. Mona laughed as she saw who stood before her.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she clapped her hands with glee. “This is just too much. Does Perizada have any idea that you, Lorelle, are so hard up for her demise?” Mona watched as a small flash of emotion passed over the high Fae’s face and was gone just as quickly as it appeared.
“I feel the element of surprise is much more satisfying when plotting the demise of one’s sibling, don’t you?” Lorelle’s eyes filled with a hatred that Mona fully understood, though she didn’t know one of the Fae was capable of such loathing.
“Thurlok is still at the bridge, though he is cowering under it in hopes that you will not find out what he has done.”
Mona turned and glared out of the window into the poor, tiny village tucked away in the mountains, untouched by progress or time. She had been surprised when Lorelle had asked her to meet in such a place, because it was not a setting that most Fae would choose to spend time, owing to their disdain for anything quaint and opulence free. Had she any semblance of caring she might have thought the village charming, but as it were she could care less if it burned to the ground.
Mona turned back to Lorelle, “You have tracked them?”
“Yes, she keeps us informed of their progress. She believes that we all have truly seen the error of our ways and are fully on board with the Great Luna’s plans.”