Page 44 of The Crowned Queen

Loren lifted a hand, watching one of the shadows twine around his arm. It moved sluggishly, like a snake turned dormant by the cold. They were certainly more docile, their myriad voices reduced to a dull whisper instead of a scream. Finn and Serafina were pleased, and Raelle and the other rebels had made no secret of their relief—it was much easier to work with a dara’el that wasn’t ready to kill at any moment, whipped into a frenzy by the soul-deep knowledge that his mate was in grave danger.

He hated it.

He couldn’t feel her, only a gaping hole in his chest where she should have been. Almost as bad, the little shadow that had been so attached to her had abandoned him, dissolving back into the whole. Somehow, that felt like losing her all over again.

He didn’t even know if she was alive or dead.

“The Arcanum has pulled back,” Finn said. “Scouts report they formed a perimeter two blocks back. They have numbers, but they can’t make it through the gates more than a few at a time now with the barricades.”

Loren looked past Finn at what had once been the main gate into Farhallow. The guardhouse lay in ruins now, its broken stones heaped against the iron gate. Any Arcanum soldier that did make it over would have to navigate the maze of splintered timbers and debris that choked what had once been a wide thoroughfare, making them easy prey for the fae stationed along the perimeter.

“They’re done?” Loren asked, glancing up at the barricade.

“Finished the last one this morning,” Finn confirmed. “Fully manned with rotating six-hour shifts. Raelle has runners posted on the rooftops, so if the Arcanum does decide to test us we’ll be able to put the rest of our forces where they’re most needed.”

“Children?” Loren asked, glancing up at the roofline.

“Against my better judgement.” Finn frowned. “Raelle argued that they had every right to help defend their home. And they’re not truly in any more danger up on the roofs than they would be anywhere else.”

Because if the Arcanum broke through those lines no one would be safe. He’d signed a death warrant for every fae in Farhallow with his actions.

“We’ve consolidated anyone who can’t fight inside the perimeter,” Finn continued, leading them back the way they’d come. “People are used to collecting their rations at the community hall, so it just made sense. That’s something else Raelle will want to talk to you about. No one is starving yet, but⁠—”

Yet. Loren grimaced. Maybe the Arcanum wouldn’t attack them. Why should they when they could just wait for them to run out of food instead?

They passed three more barricades, all of them manned by fae wearing makeshift armor and wielding scavenged weapons. Layers of armored defense surrounding a soft, vulnerable center. Loren dipped his head at a pair of fae females as they passed, his heart aching as one of them pressed her fist to her chest, pride flashing in her eyes.

A warrior’s salute. Given with pride. It weighed heavier on his heart than any crown. Even with no magic and no weapons, children clinging to their skirts—they had more pride than half the warriors Loren had known.

If he wasn’t here when the Arcanum finally tested them—because they wouldn’t let this insult go unanswered forever—these people would pay the price.

Finn veered left, heading for the ramshackle community hall. Where fae had once been discouraged from lingering by a permanent Arcanum guard post, fae now crowded the street, voices rising high in conversation and laughter. The guard post stood empty, the iron door torn from its hinges and the barred windows shattered. No human would ever again stand inside and tell fae where they could gather.

“Loren!” Maya’s high voice rang out across the street, her silver hair flashing in the evening light as she dodged a pair of startled fae. She skidded to a stop in front of them, breathing hard.

“Maya,” Loren said, smiling despite the twinge of guilt that needled at him every time he saw Maerin’s daughter. If it weren’t for him, she’d still have a mother. “What do you need?”

“Raelle sent me to find you.” She bounced on her feet, not flinching away from the curious shadows that brushed her boots. “I ran all the way to the wall, but you’d already left. So I had to run all the way back⁠—”

“Why did Raelle send you to find us?” Finn interrupted.

Maya glared at him, her red-rimmed violet eyes narrowing. “She sent me to find Loren,” she said. “Not you. Kai Sterling is here⁠—”

Loren’s heart did an odd flip, simultaneously trying to drop into his stomach and leap into his throat. They hadn’t heard anything from the runesmith since that terrible night. He’d completely vanished along with the Shaws, taking any information he might have about Araya’s condition with him.

“Where?” Finn asked.

“He’s with everyone at the community hall.” Maya crossed her arms, scowling. “That’s why I said I had to run all the way to the wall and all the way back—hey!”

Loren broke into a run, the shadows trailing behind him sending fae scrambling out of his way. But he didn’t slow to apologize, every beat of his heart driving him forward toward the one person who might know something, anything about his mate.

He found Raelle leaning on the wall beside the door into the back room. She straightened, her eyes widening as she took him in.

“Is he in there?” Loren demanded.

“He is,” she said. “But they need a moment⁠—”

Loren shoved past her. He didn’t have a moment. Not when Araya was out there somewhere with Jaxon Shaw, enduring Goddess only knew what.