The Fae King's Dream (Between Dawn and Dusk #2) - Jamie Schlosser Page 0,105

Astrid,” I’d said. “Now my backup plan won’t work. If I jump in front of the arrow and it gets my heart, we’ll have the same problem.”

“Oh, honey. That wasn’t a backup plan. That was just plain stupidity.”

She told me she’d ‘think of something’ at least five times, but I can’t help feeling like she just doesn’t want to admit we might be defeated. Without Glow, we have no solution.

To make matters worse, Maisel isn’t doing so great. She refused to eat when we stopped for lunch, even though the hunting party came back with four fresh balkyns. Her skin is so pale it’s almost gray, and she hasn’t spoken in an hour.

Peeking into the scarf, I note her closed eyes and the shallow rise and fall of her chest. I don’t know how to take care of a sick sprite. It’s possible her wounds got infected. Maybe there’s a salve in the medical trunk that would help.

I’ll ask Quinn next time we stop for a rest.

Making Maisel feel better is a must. With so much uncertainty going around, I need to have control over something.

My little friend needs to be well enough for the wedding tomorrow. I’m going to surprise her by making her one of my bridesmaids. We promised her an adventure, and I’ll be damned if I don’t follow through.

At least she got to attend a royal ritual this morning, but it wasn’t exactly a good time.

Tibbs’ funeral was simple, but beautiful. We buried him at dawn, taking turns shoveling dirt into his grave as the brightness from the two suns in the Day Realm lit up the sparkly stones on the sacred ground. Not headstones, in the traditional sense. Each grave is marked with a special rock. Apparently, there’s a mining settlement near the cemetery that’s run by gnomes. We didn’t see any of the little people, but they’d left a pile of large stones encrusted with gems. Isla chose one with sapphires, and as a few good words were said about the warrior at the end, the light glinted off the jewels, throwing blue reflections over all of us.

Isla said it felt like one last visit from Tibbs. A farewell.

And that was that.

A screech-roar comes from above, and a massive shadow passes over our group. Ever since getting back from the distillery, Zander’s been in griffin form. I’m not sure if it’s a regular occurrence with him, but from the on-edge glances I’ve seen among his men, I’m guessing no. He can’t talk when he’s like this, and it’s obvious his animal-like behaviors make everyone nervous.

I lean my head back and look up at Damon. “Are you still mad at me?”

“Yes.” His gaze stays fixed on the road.

“You better get over that. You’re not allowed to be angry with me during our wedding. It’d be bad luck or something.”

“Then I have until tomorrow morning to hold a grudge,” he says seriously, but his lips curl up before he plants a kiss on my nose.

When he starts to straighten, I grip the back of his neck and press my mouth to his. He might be upset, but he’s not immune to this. His tongue delves deep, stroking mine, and his hand clutches my waist like a drowning man holding onto a life preserver.

It’s been too long since I’ve had him inside me, and I ache with longing.

Because of my slew of lies, I spent most of the night in pain. I was in and out of sleep, and my dreams were filled with a disturbing darkness.

I feel better today, but I learned my lesson. If I can’t be honest, I just won’t say anything at all. No wonder faeries are so good at being evasive. They’ve had to practice this shit all their lives. Or else.

“Whitley?” Maisel’s weak voice barely makes it to my ears.

“I’m here,” I reassure her, tugging the scarf open to glance at her ashen face. “Is there anything I can get for you? Water? Meat?”

“No.” Her little hand grabs my finger. “It’s almost time.”

“Time?”

“There’s a sprite community nearby.”

“Do they have a doctor or a healer you need to see?”

Her sad eyes blink up at me, and there’s a finality in her tone when she says, “No.”

My eyebrows knit together. “You want us to drop you off? But we haven’t gotten to the best part of the trip yet.”

“I need to be with my people in the end.”

“The end,” I repeat, shaking my head. “Don’t be silly. We can get you whatever you