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Kolfinna raised an eyebrow. “She’s been nothing but kind to us and even answered all of our questions. Why can’t you be more appreciative and grateful? And I took a bath because I needed one. We can’t do anything until tomorrow anyway.”

“That’s what she says—” He forcefully pointed to the staircase where Revna had gone up to. “She probably wants them to die. That’s why she’s not letting you learn.”

“What? That doesn’t even make sense!”

“She needsyouto help her escape. You’d think she’d give you more bargaining power. But she’s letting you think she has your best interests at heart, even though she never once asked you what you wanted, and that she knows better than you. She didn’t even try to compromise. Look, I’ve been around people who are manipulative, and they prey on people like you—people who want to believe them.”

“You don’t know me.” Kolfinna kept her tone low so as not to wake Revna with their arguing. She bunched her fists into the blanket and tried to keep her tone neutral. “She’s not a bad person.”

Blár laughed mirthlessly. “You just want to ignore everything and live in your la-la land where fae are accepted and normal.”

Kolfinna resisted the urge to chuck the embroidered couch pillow at his face. She instead kept her hands busy by fluffing the pillow, her words coming out rigid. “I’m not living in a la-la land. I’m keeping an open mind.”

“I say we find a weapon and make a run for it. Kill the dreki and get out of here.”

“No,” Kolfinna said a bit too sharply. She cleared her throat. “I need to learn rune magic. It’ll help the others.”

“You’re being delusional if you think she’s going to help you.”

“Why can’t you be nice for once? Why can’t you just appreciate that we’re not starving or freezing or dying anymore? We have a roof over our heads and we have full bellies. We can worry about our tasktomorrow. For now, we should enjoy the blessings we’ve been given.”

“Who says we’ll be alive tomorrow?” he snorted. “How did you survive all these years being so trusting? I really don’t get it.”

“I don’t trust—”

“The only reason you trust her is because she’s not human.” Blár’s words were like salt on a gaping sore. “We’ve eaten in her home. Now we can’t escape.”The last part came out in a whisper, like an ominous breeze.

“Not that stupid tale again.”

“Then walk out.” He pointed to the door. “Walk. Out.”

“I’m not going to play this game with you.”

“I bet my entire life savings that she won’t let us walk out of this house.”

In order to prove him wrong, Kolfinna pushed her blanket off and rose to her feet. Revna wasn’t a bad person. She fed them, sheltered them, and offered her assistance. And she had so much to offer: information, history, things about the fae nobody knew about anymore. Maybe she was the key to getting out of these ruins alive.

Kolfinna walked toward the front door. She didn’t want to leave the house and go into the cold, sandy desert that was beyond the door, but if it was to prove a point to Blár, she’d climb mountains if she had to. Besides, all she had to do was step outside for a few minutes and come back inside. Revna would never know, and maybe Blár would shut up and let her sleep then.

Her heart picked up in pace and she placed her hand on the doorknob. What if Revna was exactly what Blár thought she was? A monster in disguise? What if she was feeding them to fatten them up for the dreki? What if she was a liar? What if everything Kolfinna hoped for was actually a mountain of lies and there was no connection to her past? That there wasn’t a mysterious fae who knew all the answers?

Kolfinna twisted the doorknob and flung the door open. A chilly breeze blew against her body and she waited for her fantasy to crumble to dust like the sand sifting through the mounds. She waited. The cool touch of the night air shocked her skin and she shivered, turning her face away from the biting wind, but nothing came. Not the dreki and not Revna. She stepped outside and inhaled the scent of rocks and earth and sand. She waited again, but still, nothing happened.

The tension released from her shoulders and she released a deep breath. Her grip on the doorframe loosened and she spun around and headed inside to face Blár, whose lips twisted into a sheepish frown.

“See?” The door clicked shut behind her. “We can leave whenever we want.”

“I still don’t trust her.”

“I think you’re going to have to learn to trust people a bit more if you want us to make it out of here,” she said with a wave as she tiptoed to the couch. She bundled the blanket over her body. “She’s going to help us and hopefully I’ll be able to get us out of here tomorrow.”

“Idotrust people, by the way, but I just don’t trust her.”

“Why not? Because she doesn’t worship you?” Kolfinna scoffed; it was hard to believe the man in front of her was one of the most important men in the county. Revna didn’t need to know that the man on her floor was a great portion of the country’s military strength. “She doesn’t know about your abilities or your status in the military, so she has no reason to bow down at every word you say.”

Blár gave her a bewildered look. “Is that what you think of me? That Ilikewhen people treat me like an otherworldly being?”

“Then why else are you arrogant?”