I blink, confused. Huh. For some reason, he seems a few shades lighter than he was yesterday.
“Rys, um… is everything okay?”
At the sound of my voice, the stranger’s head swivels, lips pursed as he stares me down. Handsome and intimidating as ever, I gasp the instant I realize he’s no stranger.
It’s Helix.
Ah, shit.
That answers my question, doesn’t it? Everything is definitely not okay.
I’m like a deer in headlights. Can’t move. Can’t think. I don’t retreat, though my brain is screaming at me to run toward the stairs. The Seelie captain has me stunned, frozen in place.
The last time I saw him, I was in Siúcra and he was telling the guards to throw me to the shadows in the oubliette; I refused to tell him where I got the faerie fire that burned the shit out of Dusk and the captain made me pay for it. He had the same scrutinizing expression on his face then, too, like he didn’t know what to make of me but he really didn’t care, either.
He was like that when I first met him at Veron’s. It’s obvious that he believes humans are way beneath him, and when his gaze slides away from me, dismissing me easily, I feel my lungs ache before realizing that I stopped breathing while he gave me the once-over.
“Elle.” Rys’s eyes are flashing angrily when I’m finally able to look past Helix. His scar is stretched taut, his jaw tight. He even looks pissed, but I can’t tell if he’s mad at me or the other Seelie as he says, “Go back upstairs. I’ll be right there.”
Whoops. Looks like it’s me.
Now that Helix’s stare doesn’t have me frozen in place any longer, I immediately start to inch back up the stairs. There was something in Rys’s tone that warned me not to argue and, while I wouldn’t normally let anyone order me about like that, I’m glad for the excuse to escape.
Escape…
Because that’s why Helix is here, isn’t it?
We escaped Siúcra. And he’s the fae captain that all of the prison guards answer to. Of course he’d be the one to succeed in tracking us down. He’s probably got a rep to protect.
I was worried it might be a mistake to follow Rys home. Wouldn’t this be the first place that anyone looked for him? Especially since I already had to deal with a Siúcra guard chasing after me while I was traveling through the Shadow Realm with Morgan.
And this is Helix. The same Seelie who came to arrest me because Veron told him to, then later showed up at the Faerie prison as one of the Summer King’s top soldiers. He’s like a double whammy, and Rys might not look worried that he’s here, but I feel like I’m about to piss myself.
I’m glad Rys gave me an excuse to run away, especially since I’m wearing this see-through nightie. I don’t like feeling so vulnerable. My bravery? It has its limits. Facing off against the powerful fae who could have me thrown back into a cell with a snap of his fingers? Call me a chicken, but that’s the kind of situation I want to be fully cloth
ed in if I can help it.
Too bad I don’t get the chance.
“Tell the human to stay,” Helix commands, sounding bored as he turns to face Rys again. “She should hear what I have to say. It concerns her as well.”
I suck in a breath. It’s strangled, my heart beating out of control, and it carries even further than my shocked gasp did.
They both had to have heard it, but Helix pretends like he didn’t while Rys glares at the other Seelie.
Never taking his eyes off of the captain, Rys holds out his hand to me, his meaning clear.
If Helix is going to tell me that we’ve been caught, that we’re heading back to jail, I’d rather be holding onto Rys when I get the bad news. I cross the space between us, dodging around Helix and placing my hand into Rys’s. He gives it a tug, pulling me so that my hip hits his thigh before he lets go of my hand. He wraps his arm around my shoulder, keeping me close.
Helix’s golden gaze lands on the point where Rys’s hand latches onto my bare upper arm, tucking me into his side. He doesn’t say anything; at least, not about the obvious touch.
Instead he tuts, complaining, “I can scent the fear coming off of the human. Is that really necessary? She reeks of it.”
My jaw drops. Rys has made comments about being able to smell things that a human can’t, just like Grimly the gnome, but nothing so blunt and unimpressed as the way that Helix puts it out there like that. Wow. And here I thought the fae were all about flowery language and twisting their words to get what they wanted.
Maybe that’s how Helix got his position as top soldier in the Summer Court. Loyalty to whoever’s at the top plus the ability to cut through all the bullshit.
Seems about right.