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I didn’t want to admit to her the true reason I knew he’d help me. Because the wraith king had a mate he cherished deeply and would empathize with my plight.
“Tell me what’s going on,” she demanded when I wouldn’t answer, crossing her arms and tilting her chin up defiantly. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you explain yourself.”
Closing the distance between us, I investigated her coat, realizing it wasn’t as good a buy as I’d thought. It fit her well, but there were no buttons to keep it closed. It was stained from the filth of that viper’s den and torn at the sleeve.
She didn’t deserve to be wrapped in another woman’s clothes or the homespun dress I found her in, too thin to keep her warm. She deserved better than this. It wasn’t what I’d planned. But I hadn’t planned to discover this fae female would be my mate either.
“The gods play tricks,” I murmured as I tried to close the now soiled and tattered coat.
“That’s not an answer,” she snapped.
Her irritation made me smile somehow. She was fiery, my little light fae. She’d need a backbone to deal with me, that was certain. And for what lay ahead, I was afraid.
I coasted my hands around her waist, pulling her close. She flattened her hands on my chest as if to stop me, but she gave me little resistance when I lowered my head and grazed my mouth along her neck below her ear.
“We aren’t going to Gadlizel because it’s dangerous for you there,” I informed her.
“How so?” she asked, tilting her head ever so slightly so that I could kiss her easier.
I smiled against her throat. “Seers have been banned from Gadlizel. The king considers them witches and will either kick them out of his kingdom or kill them.”
Her breath hitched. “They would kill me?”
I froze. That was true fear quavering in her voice, and I wouldnothave that. I lifted my head and cupped her face with both hands. “Hear me now, Murgha. You are mine to protect. And I will kill anyone who dares to try to hurt you.”
Her furrowed brow rose. “Even your king?”
“Anyone.”
Even the prince.
The truth of it cut deep, reminding me I needed to get her out of here, and fast.
“Come. Let’s pack quickly. We have to go before the night patrol circles lower into the foothills. They patrol wider during the nighttime.”
I strode back to collect the portable pit and frowned at the rest of our breakfast spilled all over the ground. I wasn’t a very good caregiver, it seemed. Hopefully, the wraith king would be hospitable and provide the shelter we needed while I figured out what to do next. Then she could rest and eat properly. She looked worn out from the travel and the near-death experience with the nightwyrm.
“Why do they patrol lower at nighttime?” she asked.
“To protect the world from the creatures that prowl down from the mountains in the dark.”
“So the shadow fae aren’t really keeping other fae out of their mountain but protecting them from what’s in the mountain.”
“Both.”
We managed to gather our things quickly. I hooked our satchels over one arm then hoisted her into my arms. She wrapped hers around my neck easily, her expression soft and trusting.
“You’re looking at me differently,” I said.
“Differently how?”
“Than before.”
“Well,” she murmured, her gaze meeting mine, “things are different now. Aren’t they?”
“That is for certain.”
I bent my legs and beat my wings, leaping up and lifting off into the air, heading toward the setting sun.
