Smolder (Crown of Fae #3) - Sharon Ashwood Page 0,23

absently scratching his arm. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you.”

“Answer me.” He gripped her upper arms, giving her a none-too-gentle shake. He was hurting her, his fingers digging into her flesh.

“The infection is spreading, isn’t it?” she asked softly.

He pushed her away, sending her sprawling against the sacks of grain. Leena fell with a grunt, more from surprise than pain. Fionn had never been rough with her, even as a child.

Angry yellow eyes flashed in the shadows. Kifi.

“Ouch!” Leena said loudly, desperate to keep Fionn’s attention fixed on her and not the cat. “What do you think you’re doing, Fionn?”

He sat on the heels of his new black boots, heaving a pointed sigh. “I know it should be Elodie sitting here. I should turn you in to the general.”

“Elodie couldn’t even walk after the performance in the banquet hall. She wouldn’t have survived this journey, and then where would her family be?”

Fionn sat, bracing one arm over his knee. His mouth worked, biting down on angry words. “You’re forcing me to choose between duty and family.”

“Is that a real choice, brother? You know Elodie. You know me. We are your people.”

He gave her a baleful glare. “You were. I’m part of something larger now. Whatever you’re thinking, I’m not going back to Eldaban.”

Leena’s vision blurred. “You’re still my brother, whatever you say.”

“Don’t start. Weeping won’t change my mind.”

“You have to see sense.”

“We’ve had that conversation. I’m not going through it again.”

Leena met his gaze, then averted her eyes, her throat burning with tears. She wasn’t going to win him over through simple argument—nor was he offering to get her to safety, out of danger of the Shades. He had changed.

He grimaced. “If General Juradoc thinks I’ve had anything to do with this, I’ll lose everything. He’ll probably kill me.”

“I’m sorry I put you in a difficult position.” She almost meant it. “I’ll be careful, but I couldn’t live with myself if they’d dragged Elodie from her bed.”

Fionn’s head suddenly jerked up, and his gaze swept the far end of the wagon.

“What is it?” Leena asked, forcing her voice to sound calm. Be still, Kifi.

“I saw something move,” Fionn replied in a tight voice.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “I’ve been in here for hours. There’s no one here but you and me.”

Fionn grunted. “If you say so.”

Leena’s stomach dropped. For the first time ever, she’d lied to her brother. “Are you going to turn me in?”

He cast her a sidelong look. “You’re brave, Leena. I’ll give you that much, but be careful. Your kind of magic won’t stop a blade.”

The words were reasonable, but his voice was as cold as dank, foul water.

“That’s not an answer.” It slowly dawned on Leena that she was growing afraid of him. The idea made her sick to her stomach.

He made a derisive sound. “You’re safe enough for the moment. One of the slaves will bring you dinner. Someone will summon you to dance after nightfall. I was sent to warn you to be ready.”

He gathered himself to leave.

“Can’t you stay to talk for a while?” Leena reached out to touch his arm, but he’d already risen.

“I have duties,” he said. “There’s extra work I must do.”

Disappointment twisted in her chest. She wanted to keep him a moment longer, to remind him of who he was.

“What extra work is that?” Leena heard the plea in her voice.

Fionn smiled, but it was a cruel thing, as if he enjoyed keeping her in the dark. “I’ve been chosen for a special mission. That’s all you need to know.”

8

Now that Morran’s memory lasted longer than a moment, it was impossible to ignore Juradoc’s ongoing monologue about his epically evil plans. For an entity of darkness, the Shade did love to hear himself talk.

By the time the moon rose over that night’s camp, Morran had discovered it was possible to be anxious and bored at the same time. Bored because, well, who wouldn’t be? Anxious because Juradoc never actually revealed any actionable information. The Shade was arrogant, not stupid.

“We’ve tracked the Shades’ fiercest enemy to the human world,” Juradoc said, continuing his one-sided conversation. “He’s traveled between realms more times than I can count, and we lost sight of him altogether after the affair with the Sea King.”

Morran searched his memory, but, as usual, it failed him. “Which affair was that?”

Juradoc seemed to ignore the question for a moment, but then answered. “The ocean fae were getting uppity. As usual, John Barleycorn stirred