Brave (A Wicked Trilogy 3)

“Leave?” He stopped beside me. “Okay. I feel like I’m missing a vital part of some story. Did something else happen?” His eyes flared a vivid green. “Did someone try to attack you again?”

“There wasn’t an attack between the time I left you in the hallway and now.” I placed the pants in the bag and looked up at him. “Did you know that the Prince can get through the glamour here?”

His expression smoothed out. “You’re safe here, Ivy. No matter what. I’m going to make it so—”

“I’m not worried about me being safe!” My frustration rose. “Why does everyone keep bringing that up like I need to be taken care of? I got my ass kicked. I almost died, but I’m alive and I’m not scared.”

Confusion filled his striking eyes. “I’m not saying that you’re scared, but it would be okay if you were, Ivy. No one could blame you for that.”

Cursing under my breath, I spun and grabbed a handful of underwear. The thing was, I wasn’t scared. I was angry. Furious. Enraged all the time, but I wasn’t scared. Not for myself. “I’m not afraid.”

There was a pause while I shoved my underwear into the bag. “Ivy—”

I whirled on him. “Do you guys even realize that I’m the only one here that the Prince won’t kill? Unless he finds another halfling somewhere in the world, spoiler alert, I’m surviving this story. I can’t say the same for all of you.”

“Yeah, and what he wants from you isn’t a walk in the park, Ivy.”

My hands tightened. “I know exactly what he wants from me. Trust me. I got front row tickets for that.”

Ren drew back, wincing. “I’m sorry. That was callous of me to throw that out there like that.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I waved him off. “I can’t be here. Not when the Prince knows damn well I’m still in New Orleans. He has to be out there looking for me. It’s only a matter of time before he follows a fae here.”

“So you’re . . . leaving the one place that could protect you from him to protect the fae here?”

“Yep.” I moved to the dresser, searching for tops. “That sums it up quite nicely. And let’s not forget, it’s not like everyone is happy to have me here. Not that I can blame them for not wanting me here. If I go, they’re safe.”

“That’s absurd.”

“I don’t think you really believe that.”

“I’m going to get real with you. I don’t give a fuck about the fae here.”

I gasped as I faced him. “Wow, Ren.”

“What?” His chest rose with a heavy breath as he met my wide eyes. “It’s the truth. I’m not wishing ill on them. Except for the very dead bastards who went after you, the rest seem cool, but there is no choice when it comes between you and them.”

That kind of made me feel all warm and fuzzy in my chest for all the wrong reasons. “It’s not just the fae that are in danger because of me. Tink is. You are.” Panic spread in my stomach, reaching my chest. “The Prince would love nothing more than to kill you. You know that.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I would love nothing more than to come face to face with that fucker.”

Horror seized me. The mere thought of Ren going toe to toe with the Prince made me want to scream until my voice gave out. “Are you serious? You know what he’s capable of. It’s not like fighting a normal fae or even an Ancient. The Prince—”

“I know what he’s capable of,” Ren growled, eyes glimmering. “Do not underestimate the strength of my hatred for that son of a bitch.”

“I don’t, but—”

“I can take care of myself. So can Tink. You’re not doing us any favors by leaving.”

Grabbing shirts, I walked them over to the bed. “I don’t think I’m doing you a favor. I’m. . . .” Squeezing my eyes shut, I shook my head and tried again. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you or Tink. Do you understand that? I couldn’t deal with that.”

“And we feel the same way about you. I think you know that already.”

I did.

Look what they’d already done to save me. Ren would live with the guilt of forcing me to feed for the rest of his life. Tink probably didn’t feel all that bad about it, but whatever. They were already making sacrifices and horrifying choices because of me.

It stopped now.

His voice was closer, more even. “I get that you don’t want to put these people in danger. That you want to protect Tink and me, but Sweetness, you’re just . . . you’re reacting because of what happened to you. Knee jerk. You’re not thinking this through.”

I dropped my shirts into the bag. “I’m reacting because I have to do something. I can’t sit around and just wait for him to storm this place or wait for one of the other twenty percent you haven’t talked to that may or may not want to kill me to protect their families. I’m not going to do that.”

Ren placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, but I still jumped at the contact. This time, though, he didn’t pull his hand away like he normally would when I was jumpy. Instead, he carefully turned me to him.

I drew in a deep breath. “I can’t stay here, Ren. You know that I can’t do that. I can’t be okay with putting other lives in danger, and I know you’re not okay with that either.”

He looked like he was about to disagree with the last statement. “We have help coming. Fae that can find the Crystal. Tomorrow.”

“But what if it doesn’t work?” I asked. “What if they can’t find the Crystal in time? And if we get this Crystal, how in the hell are we going to trap the Prince, and get his blood and my blood on it in the Otherworld?”

His jaw tightened. “We haven’t exactly crossed that bridge—”

“That’s the point. I don’t even think that bridge has been built yet, so what if we never cross it?”

“We will,” he said, voice hard. “Even if I have to build that fucking bridge myself with my own two damn hands.”

I sighed. “We should be focusing on finding a way to weaken him. There has to be something out there, someone who knows.”

There was a pause. “And that’s what you want to do out there? Find out if it’s possible?”

“It has to be possible. He has to have a weakness, and even as hard as killing him will be, it has to be easier than completing the ritual of blood and stone.”

And I knew exactly where I was going to start.

The Order and the Elite. If any two groups out there had any idea, it would be them, and it was far past time for them to start talking.

A long moment passed. “Okay.” His shoulders squared as if he had come to some kind of conclusion. “Where would we go?”

“I haven’t exactly thought that far ahead,” I admitted, leaving out the whole paying a visit to the Order thing. I wouldn’t be able to stay in New Orleans long. My visit with them would have to be quick and I had a feeling it would be bloody. This time I wouldn’t be unprepared. Oh hell no. “But I think I’d have to get as far away as possible. Maybe Europe? I have money saved up. I think I can get out before he realizes where I am.”

“And then what?” he asked, cupping my cheeks in his broad hands. He brought me to him, against his chest. One arm circled my waist. “Tell me what the next step is.”

Relaxing into his touch, I let out a little sigh. Weariness invaded my bones and muscles. I didn’t want to leave him. God, that was the last thing I truly wanted to do. “I don’t know. Keep moving until . . . we figure out how to put him back in his world or can kill him, but I’ll be wherever and you—you and Tink will be safe.”

Everything about Ren changed in an instant. A small tremor went through him and then his entire body stiffened. “Wait. You’re planning

to leave without me?”

A slight frown turned the corners of my lips down. “I don’t want to, but if I’m not around you, then you’re not in danger—well, you’d be in less danger. The Prince will go where I go. You’ll just be in . . . normal danger, which is a lot better than psycho Prince danger.”

Ren pulled back, tilting my head up so our gazes met. His lips parted on a sharp inhale. “You were in here packing your stuff to leave without me. That’s what you were doing.” Understanding seeped into his features. “Holy shit. If I hadn’t walked into this room, would you have even stopped to say goodbye? Or were you planning to sneak out of here without saying a word?”

Crap.