Chapter 9
SKY CASTLE
"There are no free Fae save for the Shade, and to call them free would be to play with the truth. All Fae are slaves to one degree or another in this world."
—Kal'Hallen
I can't let go of his hand, but we are all wet and bloody, and my head is fuzzy. My knees weak. I start to fall. Someone… Fen… grabs me. He carries me to shore. I lean against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. He lays me down, studies my body. Bruised and cracked ribs is the prognosis. He carries me to the castle, to a room, to a bed. Women I have never met before tend to my wounds, wrapping them in clean bandages. They give me a thick elixir for the pain. I fall asleep and dream of Stonehill, of the waterfalls that rumble like thunder, of the rivers that turn rocks smooth. There is pine on the wind and snow beneath my feet. And there, in the distance, beside a frozen pond, stands Fen. I smile and hug him, and for the first time in a long time, I feel home.
I sit on a white bed, a fireplace crackling near me, purple curtains blocking most of the light. A thick rug decorated with an eagle covers the stone floor. This is my room at Asher's Castle. It is beautiful, but it feels too sparse, too foreign, to call home.
Fen arrives with Baron by his side. He is clean, his thick brown hair less messy than usual, and dressed in thin brown leathers, having dropped his furs due to the warmer weather. Baron wags his tail and lays his head on my lap. I nearly cry, seeing the big wolf again. I rub his head. "I've missed you, boy."
Fen smiles and takes a seat next to me on the bed. "He's missed you too. Wouldn't stop whining for you in fact."
I smile. "Was he the only one missing me?"
Fen holds my eyes. "What happened to you, Ari? You scared me near to death when you disappeared."
I want to tell him everything. About the Fae, about his father, about the contract, but the moment I try to speak, physical pain grips my throat. I choke and Fen hands me a glass of water.
"I'm sorry," he says. "You've just been through a significant ordeal. I didn't mean to interrogate you. I'm just glad you're back, glad you're safe."
I let him think it's my recent injuries causing the pain, because I can't speak the truth. But there is something I can try. "Fen, what really happened with your father?"
He pauses.
"Did you find the killer?" I'm hoping to get to the truth, to get him to talk about the poisoning. Maybe I can lead him to answers without telling him outright, thus circumventing the contract rules.
"I've been pre-occupied," Fen says, avoiding my question. He puts a hand on my knee. "There have been more important matters."
I smile, holding his hand.
Yami yawns, waking up from a nap on my shoulder. He hops down and roams the room, and Baron gets up to explore this new creature, sniffing his black tail. Apparently the wolf can see the dragon. Interesting. Does Yami only hide himself from people?
"Ari…" Fen leans closer. "There is something I must tell you, but I struggle to find the words. I…" He looks away.
I touch his face, turning it back to mine, gazing into his blue eyes. The world fades, and there is nothing but us, but my hand on his skin, but the breath between us. "Tell me," I whisper.
His voice is warm and soft. "When you were taken, it felt like my heart was ripped out. I can't lose you again. I won't."
I choke on the tears I can't shed. I want to ask him so much. Does he know I am Fae? Does it matter to him? There is one thing I can say though, that no contract can stop. "Fen, I thought about you every moment I was gone. I missed you so much it hurt. I don't know what we're going to do. I don't know what the future holds for either of us. I don't know how to handle the fact you don't want to be king and I must pick and marry the next ruler. All I know is I can't be without you again. I won't. Somehow we must make this work."
He looks about to say something else, when Baron licks Yami, and the dragon makes a trilling sound and bounces up and down, his wings flapping. The two have made friends.
Fen frowns, looking confused. "Why's he licking the air? Did you get knocked on the head, boy?"
There's a knock on the door, and Asher walks in, carrying drinks for us all. Baron bares his teeth at the prince, and I remember how much he dislikes anyone but Fen and me. And apparently Yami. "I thought we might want something stronger than juice after slaying a water spirit," Asher says, pulling up a chair next to us.
We each take our cups and I sip at my drink, hoping it doesn't land me with another hangover like last time. It doesn't glow, so that's a good sign. "Is it really dead?" I ask. "The water spirit?"