The Fae King's Dream (Between Dawn and Dusk #2) - Jamie Schlosser Page 0,103

veins.” Pausing, I think about Quinn and how quickly the transformation happened for her. She has a fraction of our ancestry, and her ears sprouted within months of her arrival. Usually, it takes years.

“Does that mean my healing will be sped up, too?” Whitley asks hopefully, hissing as she inspects her raw skin.

“Maybe. Doesn’t matter, though, because I’ll have Kai fix it as soon as we get outside.”

Hauling her into my arms, I ignore her comments about being able to walk. I get a few steps before my boot catches on something. I almost trip. When I glance down, nothing’s there, but it feels like I’m stepping on something soft.

Setting Whitley on her feet, I bend down and grope around, wondering if this is another trap that’s been set. But I recognize the feel of the material. I’m very familiar with it because it rubbed against me for several torturous hours on horseback the first day of our journey. It’s Whitley’s cloak, and it’s invisible.

Holding it up in my fist, I scrutinize Whitley’s guilty face. “What the fuck is this?”

She gulps audibly. “Astrid and I did a spell.”

“Why? Did you think an invisibility spell would protect you in the forest?”

“Yes.” Her eyes dart away.

“Well, it didn’t.”

“I can see that now.”

A bad feeling comes over me. I’m not sure what tips me off. Maybe it’s the way she won’t look me in the eye. Or maybe it’s our connection. On some deeper level, I know there’s something she isn’t telling me.

“Did you go looking for the distillery?” I ask the question slowly, measuring my words, as if saying them carefully will make them false.

“No.” Whimpering, Whitley doubles over.

She just lied to me. I recognize the soul-aching pain.

A whisper of it echoes in my own heart. “Then how did you end up here?”

“I-I got lost.”

Another twinge of discomfort. “Why would you come here?”

It’s the last chance I’m giving her to tell the truth.

“It was just a walk.” Wincing, she gasps. “I figured it’d be fine if no one could see me. Such a nice day and all. Beautiful scenery.” The last words come out on a whispered rasp.

“Stop talking,” I order harshly, picking her up once again. “You’re hurting yourself.”

She balks at my tone. “Let me go.”

“No thanks. I’d rather have you right here.” I tighten my hold. “At least you won’t be going anywhere.”

“You’re mad at me.”

“No shit, Sherlock. Did I get that human saying right?”

Pressing her lips together, she looks at me like I’m the enemy. But I’m not the one who went sneaking out of camp, got myself hurt, and lied to my mate.

Remorse doesn’t come when Whitley’s eyes glisten. Her tears always soften me, but my anger is stronger than my sympathy.

She put herself in danger. She could’ve gotten killed.

I never knew it was possible to love someone so much yet want to throttle them at the same time. I’ve bent to Whitley’s whims many times since she came into my life, but foolish choices she won’t even explain is where I draw the line.

Now I understand what people mean when they say they’re seeing red. Before I had my sight, I thought comparing anger to a color was silly, but crimson shadows creep in every time I think about that shackle on her ankle. The dirt under her fingernails. Her rumpled hair.

That man on top of her.

I have to get away from this place before I do something awful, like chain the criminal up and dismember him while he’s awake.

When we emerge from the distillery, my backup is arriving. At least twenty men fly over the trees, armed with weapons of all kinds. Swords. Axes. Bows and arrows. One contraption isn’t familiar. Thayne has a thick tube propped on his shoulder. It looks like a bigger version of the potato guns I used to play with as a child.

Kai comes over, hands out, ready to heal Whitley. She sighs when her repairs are complete.

After she and I thank him, I approach Zander. “The guy’s asleep. Should make the raid pretty easy for you.”

“Thanks.” He hitches a thumb toward the glorified potato gun. “This helps, too.”

“What is it?”

“A stardust launcher. We don’t even have to go in.”

Stardust… “Ah. You’re going to let it loose in there and blow everything up.”

“Yes. If you want to watch, you’ll have to get back at least two hundred feet.”

I shake my head. “We’re returning to camp.”

“Wait.” Whitley squirms in my arms, but her attempt to get away is futile. “King Zander, you