Ruthless Fae - Ingrid Seymour Page 0,42

perilously close to the liquid. Would it do something to us if we touched it?

We stood back, watching the Khurynian float in the water, his big wings splayed out, his face peaceful. He looked like he was calmly sleeping, but no transformation happened.

“Isn’t it supposed to do something?” Becca whispered in my ear.

I didn’t answer. Honestly, I had no idea.

Suddenly, the water began to glow and pulse. It churned as bubbles came popping up to the surface. Becca’s hands tightened around my bicep as we watched, barely breathing. What kind of strange magic was this?

The bubbling subsided, and the water ceased its glow. Carefully, we walked to the edge of the fountain and peered in.

Bael, our Bael, blinked up at us from behind wet eyelashes.

“Hello, everyone. What happened?”

Chapter Seventeen

Bael was back. The fountain had reversed the Habermanns cruel alterations. However, he had no memory of the entire time he’d spent as a monster.

It turned out that, unlike Sinasre, Bael didn’t remember what had happened to him. He didn’t recall how they had transformed him, how Karen had controlled him with a device, and how he’d tried to attack us.

As we told him everything—sitting around the fountain, illuminated by the tiny organisms that clung to the walls, his eyes got bigger and bigger, and his gentle features twisted into an expression of anger that scared me to the core and reminded me that Khurynians were a race of fierce warriors known to fight to the death for a cause.

When I thought his rage had climbed too high, I quickly changed the subject to distract him. I didn’t know what he might do and feared an irrational reaction that we couldn’t afford at the moment. Adding Bael to our numbers was a great help if we were to fight. I had no idea how our group of misfits could accomplish anything against the Habermanns with their impenetrable dome, armed guards, and mutated monsters, but maybe, together, we could come up with a plan to defeat them.

It wasn’t until Bael calmed down that he focused on the two additions to our original party. He had registered their presence before, but finding out what had happened to him had overwhelmed everything else.

“Now we have two more fae,” he said, glancing from Sinasre to my aunt.

“Baeleath,” I said, using his full name, “these are my aunt and her son, Sinasre. You met him before, fought him even, the creature the Habermanns changed him into.”

Bael frowned. “The beast?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Beast?” Sinasre asked, pulling a face. “Creative.”

I shrugged. “You were pretty mean, and all we could see was matted wild hair. We didn’t know what else to call you.”

Bael turned to Kiana inclining his head. “And Tally’s aunt.”

“Kiana, Queen of the Seelie Fae.” My aunt lifted her chin, acting as if she were in the halls of her palace, and not in the bowels of the earth, hiding like a rat. And, on top of that, forgetting she had a history with Khurynians. She had refused to come to their aid when members of the Unseelie court had been working hard to exterminate them.

Bael’s friendly expression immediately changed after my aunt’s words. His pink eyes shifted toward me as if in apology. “I respect you, Tally, but forgive me if my respect does not extend to your aunt.”

“How dare you?” Kiana said. “I am—”

“Mother,” Sinasre shook his head, his yellow eyes steady, conveying a resolute message that she should leave this alone.

“I will not stand disrespect from a—”

“Say nothing else, aunt, or you will deal with me,” I shot back, surprised at the resolve in my voice. I would not have her insult my friend—not after everything he and I had been through together.

Kiana huffed but held her tongue.

Bael stood and walked toward Ronnie and Becca, who sat together, facing away from the fountain and talking in hushed tones. I watched him go without saying a word and gave my aunt a disapproving stare. The tension between us stretched to a breaking point. When Vaughn spoke, changing the subject, I was grateful for it.

“Maybe I should try to find us some food,” he said.

“Did someone say food?” Becca jumped to her feet, leaving Ronnie and Bael behind. “I’m all for food. I would kill for a bag of Cheetos or a packet of Oreos. Do you think you could get that?”

Junk food. I hadn’t been a fan of it, but even I would’ve killed for it at this moment.

Sinasre stood. “I know a passage that leads to