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“I want you to be yourself.”
They ate, made love, and were back outside with plenty of daylight to spare. She’d claimed she wanted to search for herbs, but upon seeing the snow on the ground, Arianna got a better idea.
She packed a ball, slid behind a tree, and launched the icy mush at Rion’s back.
It landed and he whirled, magic flaring and eyes hard. Arianna laughed and scooped up more snow before launching another.
Rion caught it with his magic this time and the ball of ice exploded on impact.
She placed her hands on her hips. “What’s wrong, never had a snowball fight?” Even if the world had branded him a curse, he’d still been a child once.
A smile spread across his face. Rion dove for a handful and rolled behind a tree at the exact moment she did. He launched a ball her way, and she roared with laughter when he feigned and caught her off guard from another direction.
Arianna grabbed another handful of snow, running as fast as her legs would carry her. They circled the cabin, throwing balls of ice at one another, ducking behind trees, and leaping over logs, but no matter how hard she tried Rion proved an impossible target to hit.
Arianna crept behind another tree and pulled on her magic, forming a dozen balls at once. She scented the air, searching for him. He’d circled around, coming from her front instead of behind. Arianna smiled and lunged.
A ball hit her chest, but she simultaneously launched her attack from all sides. Rion raised his arms to block the freezing snow from colliding with his face. He huffed, shaking the snow from his clothes. “That was cheating.”
“You never said we had to play fair.”
Chunks of snow fell from his hair, his nose was red, breath heavy, and eyes alight. Arianna walked up to him and wiped the pout from his face with a chaste kiss.
Rion laced his fingers through her hair and led her back into the cabin. “We should talk.” Arianna’s heart started, but Rion placed a kiss on her forehead. “About when we go back.” Right, because she couldn’t stay in the camp forever. “We can leave from here and head straight to Móirín. I packed enough reserves for the trip.” Rion brushed the hair from her face. “I should have taken you back a long time ago.”
“I—” Home. She was going to head back home. So why did it pull at her heart so much? Why did she feel like she was suffocating? “I want the slaves to come too.”
Rion nodded. “I think you’ve made enough friends that, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“And you.”
Rion pressed his forehead to hers. “Are you sure? I’m not welcome in my own country. I certainly won’t be welcomed in yours.”
“We’ll figure it out. I’ll talk to my father and explain everything.”
“Your father,” he whispered. “Arianna, there’s something you should know. I—”
A roar echoed from outside and Rion threw open the door, his magic spiraling around them both. He stood to her front, placing himself between her and whatever danger stampeded toward them. The ground shook and the monstrous Dark Fae she’d interacted with the other night came barreling through the trees. Its long strides carried it fast, but it was the normal-looking Fae in his grasp, screaming at the top of his lungs, that had her undivided attention.
She stepped back when the creature drew near. The beast halted, flinging snow everywhere and all but threw the Fae male at Rion’s feet. It roared again and Arianna covered her ears. Rion remained still.
The male curled in on himself, trying to shield his face from the terrifying Dark Fae, but he must have caught her scent. Eoghan’s eyes shot toward her. His chest heaved and he crawled a few feet away from the beast. Relief and fear warred in his gaze as he looked from her to Rion, and back to the creature now standing in silence.
He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “Móirín attacked the northern village.”
Rion’s back straightened. “Which one?”
“The one with our supplies. They were ambushed.” Eoghan’s pleading gaze turned to her then. “They’re dying. Our people are dying, and we can’t help them.”
Arianna’s heart skipped but she took a determined step forward. “Take me back.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Arianna
They flew, running through the trees at breakneck speed. Arianna leapt over logs and ducked under branches without so much as blinking, her Fae senses more than enough to keep her balanced and moving.
Rion had said nothing against her command and Eoghan had gladly jumped to his feet to lead the way. She didn’t stop to ask why. Didn’t pause to consider that Eoghan had just braved the mountain forest to find her. All she knew was Fae were dying, and he’d come to her for help.
