wishes, but I know this isn’t the time or place. He’s right. Harrow’s safety is priority one right now.
Hook lets out a low whine and we begin following him again. The wolf leads us to a back, forgotten corner of the town. Refuse piles line the wall and fill the air with their stench. Eldas plugs his nose, rearing away. I’ve smelled worse from some rare plants, but the aroma still staggers me.
Somehow, Hook manages to keep the trail through it all and he leads us to a series of boards leaning against the wall—out of sight with the trash piled in front of them. Hook scratches and then lets out a low growl. As Eldas and I near, we hear the faint echo of people talking, words indiscernible. Through cracks in the boards, the dark line of a tunnel in the wall is visible.
“Stay here,” he hisses.
“But you need—”
“I do not need you. You are a liability because I can’t allow something to happen to you. And if you had been forthright with me from the beginning, all of this might not have happened,” he snarls at me with rage I didn’t think Eldas could harbor toward me. I stagger back as if he struck me. Yet, even through his anger, his worry and compassion for me shines through. It reminds me that the Eldas I’ve come to know and care for is still the man standing before me. “Stay here, hide, and stay safe with Hook. If something happens to you I’ll be forced to rip apart every fae with my bare hands.”
Before I can say anything else, Eldas pushes the boards aside, steps off into the darkness, and leaves me alone. I grit my teeth. Hook lets out another low whine and scratches.
Images of Eldas ambushed, injured and bleeding, fill my mind. Surely Aria knew he’d come after Harrow? Unless they thought they could get Harrow long away before anyone realized? These thoughts swirl around the image of Harrow, drugged to the point of incoherency.
I meet Hook’s luminescent golden eyes.
“What would you do?” I whisper. The wolf looks back to the hole in the wall. “If you insist, I can’t argue with that.”
I fish in my bag for a sprig of briar. I picked the plants I took from the gardens at Westwatch carefully. Every one for a different reason, based on the insights of a past queen. For weeks I’ve been reading and practicing their written methods.
The memory of my last attack lingers. I wasn’t confident with my magic then. I needed Hook and Eldas to stand a chance. But I’m not the same woman as I was. I know how to use my powers and I trust the land beneath my feet to keep me safe.
“Let’s go.” I nod toward the opening and Hook strides into the darkness, unafraid. I try to emulate him, following close behind. As we walk, I push magic from my hand into the briar, charging it with energy to use in a large burst.
The silence is broken in the distance by a sharp cry being cut short with a sickening crunch.
“Go!” I urge Hook and he bounds ahead. I stumble through the darkness, running my hand along the rough-hewn wall. It bites into the flesh of my palm but I keep pressing firm.
Soon, a sliver of light guides me. I can make out Hook’s shadow, racing onward. He crosses into the moonlight before me. The noises of fighting rise in my ears. I keep pumping my feet forward.
I’ve never been in a real fight before. I studied how to heal, not hurt. But I’d never been married before, crossed the Fade, had magic, slept with a man, or loved like this before. I’ve been able to take all those firsts in stride.
I can do this.
I emerge into a forest. Instantly, I notice how the fae lands are different from the Elf Kingdom. Motes of magic drift through the air between the trees, casting everything in shades of blue and green. Vining flowers I don’t recognize hang like curtains from the trees’ leafy boughs. Even the earth seems different under my feet; it’s more untamed, magical, and much more like what I think I originally expected of Midscape.
Hook’s growl followed by a shout brings me back to reality. I sprint forward, dashing around the trees to a low-lying clearing. Two fae lie dead, their throats slit with a violent dark line. Eldas faces off against a beast with paws that match