in Nellie than he did in the subject at hand, no matter its importance to our survival. Our eyes found Groffet's once more.
"What do we do?" Roan asked.
Groffet turned and waddled away, calling back over his shoulder as he moved. "There is a spell," he said, "that will determine if a person exists. We will use it and it will find them—wherever they may be."
"What if they're not even in Amnestia?" Ash asked.
Groffet went to a stack of books and pulled the top half off, using the stack as a step stool to reach the table. "Wherever they may be," he repeated.
My foot tapped with nervousness and I found myself wanting to pace—move—something. Anything but stand still. A cool hand fell on my arm and I nearly leapt out of my skin until I realized it was Sorrell. I looked up into his icy gaze and felt my whole body soften. "It will be alright," he whispered. "We will find a way for this blasted war to end with peace—even if we have to rule Amnestia ourselves."
"A Fae can't be the one to do it," I said with a shake of my head. "A Fae can't take over Amnestia." It might work for a time, but never for the long run. I could see the disastrous effects in my head. "Even if you have good intentions, they won't see it like that. The country's people would grow resentful, and eventually, even if you have peace at first, they'll rebel." There would be another war, and I could say with certainty that I was freaking tired of war. Exhausted by it and everything else.
"She's right," Roan said. Sorrell turned his gaze back to him and so did I. Roan's eyes found mine and he nodded. "Think of it like this," he continued. "What would our people do if Fae were to be ruled by humankind?"
Sorrell scowled. "That's preposterous," he replied. "We wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen. Fae are superior.”
"No, we're not," I snapped. "And it's that kind of thinking that created this Gods forsaken war in the first place."
Sorrell's head whipped back to me and he narrowed his eyes. "Fae have magic that humans cannot even conceive of, much less use. They are born magicless. We are closer to the Gods."
"Yet the Gods abandoned us as they did the humans," Orion pointed out.
Sorrell gritted his teeth. "I am not the villain here. Tyr and that blasted King are!"
"No, you're not," I said, "but your thoughts are villainous, nonetheless. Thinking the way you do—that there are those who are superior and inferior is exactly what causes hate like this to build. It's wrong. How can you not see that?" When he didn't say anything more, I grabbed onto the lapel of his shirt and held it tightly in my grasp. "What do you see when you look at me?" I asked.
"I see a woman who is insane," he replied. When Sorrell shifted and tried to remove my arm, I held on.
"What else?" I pressed.
"Ugh." He tried again and again, but I refused to release him. "Fine! I see a woman who is far too stubborn for her own good. I see a woman who has time and time again gotten herself into trouble—who has refused to back down even when she knows she should. Who..." I stared up into those cold eyes of his and for a brief moment, they softened.
"What?" I asked.
For a long moment, Sorrell didn't speak. Then he lifted his hand and touched the side of my face, his palm curving to my cheek. "Who is far more brilliant than I ever gave her credit for."
I took a breath. "And am I any different from that girl you first met?" I asked.
A snort left him. "You're a little better at not almost dying," he conceded.
"Anything else?" I insisted.
He sighed. "No."
"You thought I was human when you first met me," I pointed out.
He frowned. "We weren't sure."
"No, but you thought I was human, and nothing else has changed about me since then except for the fact that—according to you"—And I wasn't sure that I liked this being the only thing—"I've gotten better at not almost dying. Nothing else has changed," I repeated, trying and hoping against hope that I was getting my point across. "I'm still the same. I'm still me. I was no different than when you thought I was human."
Sorrell's brows drew down low over his eyes. "That’s a pointless argument," he said. "You are Fae.