The Gilded Fae (Royal Fae of Rose Briar Woods 2)

I shrug, not liking the idea of it any more than he does—but I’m determined not to let him know that. “The illanté tether usually dissolves when one party passes away, but Lord Treald must have willed you to someone before he died.”

“I’m not property,” Alex snarls, leaning forward. “He cannot pass me down like a goat.”

“He can…and he apparently did.”

“To whom?” he demands.

“How would I know? I didn’t even know you were bound to Faerie. In all the time you were there, you didn’t come to me.” I lean forward, my eyes flashing. “I could have helped you—I would have helped you—but you didn’t seek me out.”

Alex’s anger begins to ebb. It washes away in front of my eyes, replaced with something that tugs at my heart. He sits back, brooding once more.

Uncomfortable, Frederick asks, “If the tether is still intact, does that mean Alex can now be tracked?”

Alex looks at me again, and this time, I can see the genuine fear in his eyes.

Not as angry as I was only seconds ago, I sigh. “It does.”