also adjusting to his blood flowing through her veins; the magic that saved her from the brink of death and eternally linked the two of them. They weren’t sure what the magic would mean for her in the long run, only what Amina, the Djinn who’d bound them, had told them. He sometimes caught her eyeing him with that look in her gaze, the one that tried to apologize for shortening his life span. It didn’t matter how many times he told her he would gladly sacrifice more than those years for her to live, that the only life he wanted was one with her in it; he knew it still bothered her. These more recent developments had been a learning process for them both.
“I don’t think so. They’re back to normal now. Perhaps it was only because you were using your powers.”
“You mean your powers because that speed is definitely yours. I had no idea I could run that fast. How do you see where you’re going? I was terrified I was going to hit a tree, or worse.” She paused, glancing at the deep ravine into which she had almost tumbled head-first. “Everything was so blurry I had to stop, and it’s a good thing I did.” She shuddered, not wanting to think what one more step could have meant.
“You have to remember you’re part Fae now—that tumble probably wouldn’t have killed you.”
“Probably?” She arched her eyebrow.
“Let’s just say it’s best we don’t tempt fate. And the eyesight comes with time and training. It should develop with your speed.”
“You mean I could get faster?”
“There’s no knowing what your limits are until we reach them. For now, we’ll keep track of how quickly you move on campus… and don’t try out for a sports team any time soon,” he teased, his amber eyes tightening with concern against his caramel skin. His smile faded too quickly for her liking. “Seriously though, Callie—it’s imperative no one finds out what you are.”
“No one? You mean humans, right?” His silence made her heart drop. “Do you mean to keep me a secret forever?” She took a step back, putting space between them, and to Evin, the short distance felt like miles.
He yanked a hand through his coif of black hair and sighed. “No. I just … It’s hard enough for me to trust two Unseelie with your secret even if they are your best friend and her boyfriend.”
“Ianthe would never—” she blurted.
“I know she would risk her own life to protect you and that’s enough for me. It is. I’m just … I’m still figuring out the best way to handle having you over in Fae.” He sighed. “It would’ve been easier had Ianthe not used your name and pretended to be you when she was here last.” The last sentence was stated like an afterthought, but it struck her like a lightning bolt, igniting a spark of anger.
“Oh yes, let’s blame Ianthe for rescuing me from you.” She arched her eyebrow accusingly, knowing Evin didn’t like to be reminded of the huge mistakes he had made with her in the past, particularly the time he kidnapped her as a means to capture her best friend, Ianthe, and ultimately seek revenge on Casimir, the Fae who killed his brother.
“I’m not blaming her. I’m just saying I need to consult my father on how to introduce you to the Seelie king. By revealing who you truly are and how you came to be, we would basically be handing over Ianthe’s identity to her father’s greatest enemy.”
“Do you really think Lachlan would use her against the Unseelie king?” It wasn’t a secret to the Unseelie that Ianthe was their exiled princess, but Callie knew they had gone to great lengths to keep it from the Seelie king so Ianthe wouldn’t be used as a bargaining chip in a war she wanted no part of.
Evin sighed. It’s not as if he was close enough to King Lachlan to have a good read on him. “That’s why I need to talk to my father about it. He would be the one with the best idea of what Lachlan might do with the information.”
Callie stared down at the ground, unable to meet Evin’s gaze. “Does your father at least know?”
Evin’s lips tightened. He had hoped to avoid this conversation, knowing no good would come of it.
His silence pierced her heart like a fiery arrow, pain and heat spreading through her veins. She would not let him know how