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“I will go and bring your friends,” Leof said. “What do you want us to do with her?”
I did not have to think long about that. Although I’d been sleeping for days apparently, I was feeling tired and my mind didn’t work as well as it should. I did not want to think about her now.
“Take her away,” I replied. “Make sure she doesn’t run away. She might be lying. She might be the queen’s spy.”
When I realized I was giving out orders like a commander, I stopped myself.
Leof did not seem to mind it. He nodded and pulled Amarra up using the chains. She did not complain or object. She went with him willingly without fuss.
When Amarra stepped outside the tent, I let out a breath of relief.
“Where are we?” I asked, and before he responded, I lifted my hand to stop him. “I mean I know we are in the in-between lands, but who are we? What is happening here?”
“We are...”
The black-haired man started, but I stopped him again.
“I am sorry,” I said. “What is your name?”
“Muir,” he said. “I was one of the monsters you’ve turned back.”
He looked at me as though he expected me to ask more questions, but when I didn’t, he started to speak.
“We were scattered in the realms, doing the queen’s bidding when we all heard your call,” Muir said. “It woke us up and the monstrosity was over. We became fae once again, and then, we could feel you. I was alone. I followed my instincts like I’d done for so many years and I found you in the in-between realms. Your friends had carried you out of the Seelie Realm and brought you here to make sure the queen couldn’t get to you. They told us what had happened. We decided to stay in the in-between realms and move around to make sure the queen could not find our trail. So far, it worked.”
“Did that woman wake me up?” I asked.
Muir’s brows lifted as he visibly thought about his answer. It made him look innocent, taking away the toughness of his appearance. His stance did not change, and as I waited for him to speak, he kept his thick arms pressed against his body.
“You have been in a deep sleep ever since I came here,” he finally replied. “She sneaked into your tent and now you are awake. That is all I know.”
I wasn’t expecting a different answer.
“Can I bring you anything?” Muir asked. “Water? Food? You haven’t eaten for so long and...”
Before I could respond, the door to the tent burst open and Brigid darted inside. The sunlight came in behind her, making me squint my eyes as Brigid ran across the tent to throw herself onto the bed.
“You are awake,” she said, hugging me so tightly that tears sprung from my eyes at once. I hugged her back and appreciated the warmth of her embrace.
“Good to see you too,” I said once she released me. Dearen came in right then. “Did you just run all the way here?”
“I did,” she replied breathlessly. “We’ve been waiting for this.”
“Yes,” Dearen added, walking to the bed and taking a seat next to Brigid. He hugged me too. “We were afraid you would never wake up.”
“We were not!” Brigid said, hitting his arm not-so-jokingly. “I knew you would wake up.”
Dearen raised his brows at that but did not contradict Brigid.
“Where is Kieran?” I asked.
“He went to Qam,” Dearen replied.
“So it wasn’t true?” I asked, excitement rising in me. “What the queen said? King Duncan...”
“It is true,” Brigid interrupted me. Then, she went on to explain everything that had happened since I’d gotten myself lost in dreams.
“King Duncan...” I whispered. “I can’t believe he’s dead.”
