I don’t feel that way with Aren. If we work out, it will be because we work, not because we’re changing ourselves to meet the other’s expectations.
Aren doesn’t say anything about Kyol, though. Instead, he glances toward the silver wall, then asks, “Can you make it to the palace? I shouldn’t heal you out here.”
“Do I look that bad?” I ask as I look down at myself. “Oh.”
I’m still covered in the human girl’s blood. I don’t think any of the red stains on my clothing are mine. I have a few bumps and scrapes, bruises from being trampled at the club, and my cheek hurts from the remnant kneeing my face, but my worst injury is my ribs. One or two might be cracked. The officer landed a good blow with his baton there at the end.
“I’ve had worse injuries,” I tell Aren as I stuff the anchor-stone I’m still holding into my pocket. His gaze moves to the scar on the right side of my throat. That’s not what I was referring to—I don’t remember the cut hurting at all, actually—but it throbs now, and it’s difficult not to reach up to touch the raised skin. Aren put a sword to my neck three weeks ago. We were in Lyechaban, and I think that day might have been the last day we were enemies. He should have killed me then. The rebels were so close to losing the war, and Lena ordered him to cut my throat if I didn’t read Kyol’s shadows. Kyol had just captured Naito, and I was still stubbornly defending the king, but Aren couldn’t do it. He couldn’t slide his sword across my neck.
He swallows, and his silver eyes seem to darken with regret. They do that every time he looks at the scar. I’ve never actually told him that I forgive him for what he did. Maybe some part of me still holds it against him.
He offers his hand. As he’s helping me to my feet, a flash of something white in my peripheral vision catches my attention. It’s a chaos luster on Lee’s skin. He’s standing a few feet away. Water pools around his feet as he stares up at the wall of silver stretching into the sky. I can tell he’s never seen it before. His eyes are wide. He’s slightly off-balance. I’ve been in and out of the Realm enough to adjust quickly to the difference in the atmosphere. It has a lighter touch here, almost a buoyancy that can affect your equilibrium. It’s clear Lee isn’t accustomed to it. Has he been to the Realm at all before?
Has Paige? I have no idea where the remnants might have kept them and…
I look around. “Where’s Paige?”
A fissure rips through the air in answer. Trev rolls out of it with my friend, my friend who is not supposed to be able to see the fae. She’s soaking wet and pissed. Kyol and I fell through Trev’s fissure before we hit the water. I don’t envy Paige or Lee, going through the In-Between like that.
Trev tries to keep a hold on her, but she throws back an elbow, getting a lucky hit on his chin. She almost slips free then, but Trev grabs her ankle, keeping her from scrambling away. This time, he locks his arms around her like a straitjacket.
“Having trouble controlling your human?” Aren asks, grinning.
Trev glares back. “I was told this human didn’t have the Sight.”
Aren’s grin fades. He looks at Paige, who’s still struggling to get free. It’s obvious she can see the fae holding her. It’s obvious she sees Aren and the rebel swordsmen closing in on both sides of us.
Some humans with the Sight make it through their entire lives without knowing they have it. Fae rarely stay in the human world for an extended period of time, and when they do, they tend to keep to rural areas, away from tech and, therefore, away from humans. But Paige has met Kyol before. She’s met Aren. They’ve both let her see them on occasion, and she acted like they were normal humans, like she couldn’t see their chaos lusters. There’s no way in hell she wouldn’t have noticed the lightning.
“Paige,” Lee says, moving toward her with his hand outstretched as if to say “calm down.”
“They’re rebels, Lee,” Paige hisses.
“I know,” he says, almost to her side. “It’s okay.”
“You know? It’s okay?” she practically snarls.
“Paige.” I walk toward her, too. I don’t know how she can see the fae, but I don’t believe she’s lied to me all these years. “I tried to tell you before. They haven’t been holding me captive.” Not this whole time, at least. “I’m on their side. I’m helping them. The fae lied to—”
Lee kicks out without warning, landing his heel squarely on Trev’s chin. Trev’s head whips back hard enough to make me wince, and Paige wiggles free.
Lee grabs her arm and pulls her to her feet. Then he spins, putting himself between her and the fae swordsmen who’ve just arrived. His knees are slightly bent, and he’s tense, as if he thinks he might really be able to take on the three armed fae facing him.
“Karate?” she says, crossing her arms. “How stereotypical of you.”
“It’s jujitsu, Paige, and you’re welcome.”
This guy might be connected to the vigilantes, but he’s standing up for Paige. If he doesn’t turn out to be a complete jerk, I might like him.
“They’re not going to hurt you,” I say, moving toward them. “Let’s just calm down for a second.”
“Could we calm down on the other side of the wall?” Aren asks with a pointed look at the row of buildings to my left. Anyone could be inside of them, and it’s not just the remnants we have to worry about. Three humans in one place might freak out the more paranoid fae who are worried about the Realm’s magic.
“You won’t touch her,” Lee says. “And I want to see my brother.”
“Your brother?” Aren cocks his head to the side. He’s speaking to Lee, but he hasn’t taken his eyes off Paige. He knows she didn’t have the Sight when he first met her. He’s just as curious as I am to learn how she got it.
“Naito,” I tell Aren. “He’s Naito’s brother.” I turn back to Lee. “He’s in the palace, and if you don’t touch the fae, they won’t touch you.”
“You can guarantee that?” Lee asks.
Technically, I have no authority over the fae and what they do, but Aren and Kyol…
Kyol’s gone. I have no idea when he left, but he wouldn’t contradict me on this. So far, none of the rebels have gone against anything I’ve said. That might just be because they haven’t had a reason to yet, but Lee doesn’t need to know that.
“Yes. I’ll kick their asses if they do.”
Paige lifts an eyebrow my direction. As far as she knows, I wouldn’t hurt a fly. Whenever I’m around her and her friends, I never step into their debates, never argue or contradict anyone else. She thinks it’s because I’m extremely easygoing. Mostly, it’s because I’m always distracted and thinking of something or someone else.
Lee shrugs. I take that as a sign of agreement and motion them to the right. Paige looks wary of the fae, but she starts walking.
Beside me, Aren says, “I won’t mention to Lena the way you’re taking control of her people.”
“I haven’t taken control of anyone.”
“Everyone here who understands English will follow your order,” he says. “No one wants to cross the nalkin-shom.”
“You really have to stop spreading rumors about me.”
He grins. I roll my eyes.
I feel good, though. Compared to the place I held in Atroth’s Court, this is a welcome change.
It’s the middle of the day in Corrist. The city isn’t deserted like it was the last time I passed through it, but there’s still a noticeable difference in the number of fae on the streets now compared to the number on the streets when Atroth was in power, and everyone we pass seems to be on edge.
Aren doesn’t take back roads to the palace this time. He leads us down the Avenue of the Descendants. In the plaza outside the palace, guards question and search the fae who want an audience with Lena or with one of the high nobles. They have offices in the palace as well as in their residences, both here in the Inner City and back in their home provinces.