Rys nods.
I still don’t get it.
“Is there a hidden door in there that I missed?” I wonder. “Because I don’t see how getting tossed in a hole—”
“In the ground. Can’t forget that part.” His eyes sparkle with his light-hearted retort. It’s the first hint of humor I’ve seen from him in days and I push myself to ignore it because I need to understand this.
“Right. Ground. Anyway, if the gate to get out of the prison is up here, what makes the oubliette so important?”
Rys sucks in a breath, his cheeks hollowing as he watches me closely. The humor is gone. He nods. “I can trust you with this.”
It’s not a question. He doesn’t expect an answer. I give him one anyway.
“We’re in this together,” I promise. “The cell, the hole… it’s you and me, Rys.”
> “I’d like to believe that.”
“So do it.”
“Humans lie.”
And the fae can’t. I got it. It’s been obvious from the beginning that Rys had a bad experience with one of my kind.
“Yeah. And I can’t promise that I’ll always tell the truth. But when it comes to something important… you can trust me. It’s only fair. I’m putting all of my trust in you.”
He doesn’t say anything to that. He just studies me closely, and I stubbornly stare back. The escape is so important, the future of Faerie is at risk, but there’s more than that at play here. I know it. I’m betting he does, too.
In the beginning, I was willing to do whatever I had to to get Rys to take me with him if he ever broke out. Now that it’s happening, I still want to go—but he’s more than just my ticket out of here.
That doesn’t mean I know what exactly he is. I’m attracted to him. I’m basically addicted to his touch. I’m so grateful for all he’s done to watch out for me, and even if I’m struggling to reconcile my old life at home with my day-to-day existence inside of Siúcra, nothing is going to stop me from tagging along with him when he leaves.
Even if the oubliette is an important element of his escape plan.
Rys suddenly comes toward me again. The way he glides is hypnotic, his big body looming before me in the blink of an eye.
“Give me your palm, Elle.”
Once, I would’ve hesitated at his command. I’d spent so long protecting myself, making sure that none of the fae managed to use their touch magic on me. Then there’s the way he tacked on my human nickname at the end catches me off-guard. I don’t think he’s ever actually addressed me like that before.
It’s not my true name, but I’m helpless to resist him. I start to lean into him, pausing when I see the gleam of triumph filling his heated gaze.
I’ve seen that look before. When he was inside of me and I wrapped my legs around his waist, desperate to keep him there, Rys lowered his guard just enough that the possessive heat filled his expression.
He’s pure fire, and I find myself shivering instead of being burned.
Rys lifts his hand, fingers pointed skyward, his palm extended so that it’s right there. He doesn’t have to repeat himself. I know exactly what he’s asking of me.
I already slept with him. I wanted to do it, and if I got the chance to do it again, I totally would. I want him to touch me. I want to follow him out of Siúcra and see if my attraction to him has everything to do with being forced into his cell, or if there’s something really here. I still have this urgent need to go home—it’s where I belong, it’s where Jim is, it’s my life—but I know I’d regret it if I didn’t at least give this a chance.
I spent ten years with Jim. Even before I waltzed right through the fairy circle, I knew that I was clinging to something that faded away a long time ago. I love my Jimmy, but am I in love with him?
That question has been haunting me for longer than I’d like to admit. Hell, I chose to head toward the ring of mushrooms rather than admit the answer to that question. And then I threw myself at my cellmate and, for whatever reasons I told myself at the time, the fact that I’d do it again because I wanted to… and my answer is so obvious, I don’t know why I couldn’t see it before.
Besides, Rys is here. He’s right here. Maybe it’s the touch, maybe it’s the way he looks at me before he realizes that I’ve caught him staring… maybe it’s because he’s the only one who didn’t try to touch me… I don’t know. But it’s clear that I threw my lot in with the scarred Seelie and there’s no going back now.
I… I’m not sure I would if I could.
His hand is still outstretched toward me. With a smile that begs him to believe in me, I press my palm so that it’s flush against his.