Kane bows his head. “I found you a tribute.”
I’ve heard that word before. People in Elora are paid well to go to Faerie as tributes. My cousins would giggle about what they thought was involved, but the only thing that was clear to me was that tributes never came home. I push my chair back and head toward the girl, but Pretha grabs me by the wrist and holds tight. “Brie. Don’t.”
“I didn’t ask for a fucking tribute,” Finn barks. His anger radiates off every word. “Take her home.”
“Finn.” Kane’s voice is hard and nearly matches Finn’s. “Be reasonable.”
The girl steps forward. She’s not much older than I am and very pretty. Her long blond hair is swept back from her face with combs, showing off her high cheekbones and shining blue eyes. I wonder what her name is. I wonder if she has a family who will miss her.
I yank on my arm again, but Pretha holds me tight. “She’s not doing anything she doesn’t want to do, Abriella.”
The girl bows her head. “Please, my prince. I escaped Mordeus’s court. I’ve lived in Faerie all my life, and I’ve . . . I’ve seen enough to understand what I’m doing.” She drops to her knees—bowing, I realize. “Please?”
Finn looks at her long and hard, then at Kane. With a sharp shake of his head, he storms out of the room, his wolves following quietly behind him.
Pretha winces. Kane mutters a curse under his breath. And the girl buries her face in her hands and sobs.
“I’ll talk to him,” Jalek says.
Pretha stops him with a hand to his chest. “No. I’ll do it.” She follows Finn to the library and shuts the door behind her.
“I’m sorry,” Kane tells the girl. “Just give him a minute.”
“Does someone want to explain what’s happening here?” I give a pointed look to Jalek and Tynan.
Jalek shakes his head and begins clearing the table. Tynan stoops to help the girl stand up, murmuring reassurances.
“I’m going out back,” I announce, not that they’re paying me any attention. I follow the hallway to the back of the house and welcome the summer breeze on my face as I let the door bang closed behind me.
I’m so sick of being kept in the dark. I’m so sick of the people I’m forced to trust not trusting me with anything.
The library windows are open. I cross the patio to listen, but I can’t make out the conversation happening inside. Pretha has likely shielded the room against eavesdroppers . . . against me.
I straighten. If I want to know what’s happening in there, I’m completely capable.
I close my eyes and feel myself dissolve to shadow, to darkness, to nothing. I don’t open them again until I’ve slowly slipped through the wall, through the wards they have around the house, through Pretha’s shield, and into the library.
Finn is sprawled out on the couch, one hand hanging over the back and the other massaging his temples. “Abriella isn’t ready. If I ask now, I risk her becoming suspicious.”
Pretha paces before him. “Fine. Then you need to do this.”
“Why? Because I have a small infection? You think that is what’s going to keep me from winning this war?”
“No. I think your stubborn pride is what’s going to keep us from winning this war.” She swipes at her cheeks, and I realize she’s crying. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to watch Vexius waste away?”
Vexius? Have I heard that name before?
“Do you have any idea how it feels to live each day knowing that it didn’t have to be like this?”
“You act like it’s so simple,” Finn says, “but if I take tribute after tribute, am I any better than him?”
Who’s him? Mordeus? Does he take tributes too? What do tributes do? And why?
“I think you’re still grieving over Isabel, and—” She turns toward me and scans the shadowed wall of books.
Finn sits up. “What is it?”
“I just got the feeling that we aren’t alone.”
Shit.
She flicks her wrist, and an orb of light appears at her fingertips. With another flick, it floats toward me.
I slip back out through the wall before she can see me.
“I don’t see anything,” Finn says as I slip away. “Are you sure?”
“You shouldn’t linger in the dark when she’s around.”
* * *
I’m not supposed to know that the girl is still here. I’m not supposed to see her step into the library, where Finn’s brooded all afternoon. And I’m definitely not supposed to be using my shadows to sneak in behind her and spy on them.
Ever since Pretha taught me about wards and shields and made me realize I’d unwittingly been moving through them when I slipped into shadows, I’ve been more conscious of that extra wall of magic. I can feel it now as I slip inside—an additional shield that someone placed around the library.