Page 32 of A Song of Air (Fae Elementals #4)

“B ryson, come drink with us.”

Bryson turned, staring at the blurry form of her best friend and Iona, as well as Shula and Corvina. They sat huddled together like they were the closest of friends, whispering conspiratorial secrets to one another.

That familiar surge of bitterness rose to choke through Bryson’s throat. She had to fight back the glare she wanted to throw in Iona’s direction, the hatefulness and spite that had been growing within her.

Here she was, suffering with too many thoughts and secrets shoved inside her own mind, with words she couldn’t dare say to Ev or anyone else, the betrayal weighing heavily on her shoulders, and so much anger that she had no outlet for. She wanted, now more than ever, desperately for her friend.

Yet here her friend sat.

Sipping delicately at Fae wine from a goblet with her long-lost sister.

How easily replaceable Bryson was. How nice it must be to find your family alive and well after all this time.

The envy was as vicious as a tornado, sweeping destruction through her very system. She fought against the wind, but all she managed to do was to tangle herself in the chaos. She couldn’t think. She could only feel.

She swallowed the rising lump in her throat and swiped her palms against her thighs. Among all her roiling emotions, there was a terrible longing and melancholy. She missed Malika. It felt like they hadn’t spoken to one another in so long. All the words Bryson wanted to say rushed to her lips, which she pressed tightly closed as her gaze swept around the lot of Fae waiting for her to take a seat.

“Okay,” she whispered and went to sit across from Malika.

It felt like inserting herself into a puzzle in which she didn’t belong, like she was a random piece placed onto an entirely different board. There was a stilted moment of silence and she felt eyes on her. The Fae Elementals were assessing, likely wondering, just as she did, where she fit within their sphere.

“Where have you been, stranger?” Malika asked, pressing her palm against Bryson’s knee. “I feel like we haven’t spoken in forever.”

Bryson swallowed the lump in her throat. “Arlo has been keeping me busy.” Her words tasted angry and bitter, and they put a frown on Malika’s face. But before she could ask, the Seelie Prince approached alongside his faithful, silver-haired guard.

Bryson resisted the urge to stand up and bow, aware that eyes were suddenly on her back, causing an itchy sensation to glide down her skin. She fought back a shiver as she stared at the prince, who in turn, looked right at her.

“We are leaving,” he announced with no preamble, his voice a grave whisper. “Tonight.”

The words sent a jolt of electricity down the line of everyone. Even Bryson found herself blinking with surprise. While the intimate details of his features were concealed from her, she could still make out every slashing angry line of his expression.

Something had happened.

Something grave.

“So soon?” Shula asked. Her confections and chocolate scent was oddly comforting, though it began to lace with the sharp smell of worry and fear.

“We have done what we came to do,” the prince said. “It is time we move on.”

“You’re leaving?” Bryson found herself asking.

Her own worry settled tightly in the base of her gut and wouldn’t dislodge from there. It twisted her insides, made her sick. They couldn’t leave. They couldn’t . She had waited what felt like years for them. She hadn’t even gotten to know them the way she’d wanted to thanks to Arlo, and now they’d be disappearing.

Prince Valerio’s gaze softened in her direction. “Come with us,” he said.

Bryson’s entire body jolted as though she’d been slapped with a bolt of magic.

Valerio turned to Malika. “ Both of you.”

Iona beamed at her sister, her eyes encouraging.

“What?” Malika looked to be as shocked as Bryson felt inside.

“We set out to find the fourth Elemental,” Valerio said. “We found you, Bryson. We have told you what we need from you. We have told you what is coming. The decision now is yours. Come with us. Help us fight the war. Help us restore the glory to the Fae and take back what is ours. Help remake our world.”

There was a quiet intensity to his words and a certain rightness about them that seemed to settle over her. Like they belonged within her very system. Like they were a wish, demanding to come true.

Help remake our world.

The world her mother had fought and died for. The world that had fallen and, in that aftermath, had taken her father and sister from her. The world she dreamt of before her own life had turned upside down. The world she thought she’d never have again.

He was offering her a chance to take it back.

Suddenly, a cacophony of things collided within Bryson’s own mind. Voices, reasons, arguments, parrying back and forth within her head. Her mother’s urgence, telling her to take the chance. To fight for the monarchy she’d lived and died for. To do the great things she was always meant to do. Her father’s voice, whispering words of peace. Peace that they could have if only she went with them. Arlo’s voice, his venomous hatred for the Resistance bleeding through the cracks of her mind, urging her to tell them to fuck off. Reminding her of the debt he was owed.

Then there was that darker voice.

The one steeped in violence and wanted revenge. It wanted blood. It wanted payment for all that she’d lost. That anger overflowed through the cracks, and she pressed shaking fingers to it, lest it seep out completely from her control.

“But Arlo—”

“Arlo Blackwood has refused to help us,” Valerio interrupted Bryson. Anger seethed beneath his carefully constructed surface. “So we leave tonight. Come with us,” he urged, stepping closer. “Help us fight. Please, Bryson. Help us.”

Prince Valerio didn’t seem the type to beg. He seemed the type to take what he wanted. He was an Seelie Prince for Mana’s sake.

Bryson and Malika shared a look then. For a second, Bryson had her best friend back and she knew that Iona could not interpret the expression on Malika’s face. But Bryson could. She knew, she understood on a level that the others couldn’t.

Because they didn’t have ties to Arlo, they couldn’t understand the sudden reluctance that flowed through the both of them. The need to speak, alone, and discuss this sudden turn of events.

“We need to think about it,” Malika answered for the both of them. She pulled away from the Resistance. From her sister. And, to ignore the look of hurt that Iona flashed her way, settled her gaze on Bryson instead.

“We do not have much time,” Valerio said with barely concealed frustration. “Please decide quickly.”

“We will,” Malika assured, walking towards Bryson.

Bryson let her friend take her hand. She let herself be pulled away from the small group. She felt their eyes against their back, felt them straining to hear a word, yet neither Malika nor Bryson spoke. Not until they were well out of earshot.

“Shit,” Malika cursed.

“Yeah,” Bryson agreed. “Shit.”

They stopped, facing one another. Malika ran a hand across her curls and looked to the sky. “Arlo is going to be so pissed.”

“Yeah.”

Malika dropped her gaze once again. She bit her lip, like she was chewing on her words before finally, “I am going to go with them.”

Bryson wanted to pretend to be surprised, but she couldn’t. She’d known. Of course she’d known that Malika would choose, not Bryson, not the Resistance, but her sister.

That burned.

Tears pricked behind Bryson’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “I knew you would want to.”

Unfortunately, Malika knew her well enough to interpret her tone. She reached forward, clasping Bryson’s hands in her own. “Come with us,” she urged. “I’ve known you for years, Bryson. I’ve known you’ve always wanted more than what Arlo has offered us. I’ve seen how it upsets you when he talks down about the Resistance. I might not know the full extent of your story, but I know you are not happy here and haven’t been in a long time.”

A lump formed deep in her throat. Had her best friend really known so much? Even if Bryson had never spoken the words, had everything she’d felt been laid bare for everyone to see? If so, then Malika had to know what kept her feet tethered to this camp.

“Arlo won’t be happy.”

Malika squeezed her hands. “I know he won’t be.”

“We owe him a debt.”

At this, Malika frowned. “A debt we have paid over and over again. Look, I know he saved us, but we have done so much for him since then. We’ve helped him save others. We helped him build his camp. Our debt is settled, and now it’s time to move on from this place, don’t you think? Unless—” She broke off, tilting her head slightly to the side. “Is this about Ev? Of course it is, isn’t it? You don’t want to leave him. You love him.”

Those words only seemed to burn Bryson’s insides so much more. She closed her eyes against the onslaught of them as the memories invaded once again. Of Weylyn, of his touch and his taste, his sharp scent, and the promises he whispered darkly into her ears.

Of her betrayal.

“Malika,” Bryson whispered. “There’s so much you don’t know.”

“Then tell me.”

Bryson opened her mouth and tried to form the words. She tried to tell her about how she’d betrayed Everette. Of the awful sin she’d committed. Of how she was going to break his heart.

Instead, she whispered, “Weylyn is my mate.”

Malika jerked back, eyes widening with barely concealed surprise. “The tall, rude, weird Fae?”

A sob lodged itself in Bryson’s chest at that description. So accurate and so painful. To think that her mate, the one Mana had chosen specifically for her, was hated and viewed that way by everyone he came into contact with.

“That’s the one.”

“Oh. Oh . I see.”

But she didn’t see. How could she when Bryson had kept it inside for days, fearing judgment, fearing everything.

“What does this mean for you and Ev?” Malika asked with great care.

What did it mean for them?

Bryson knew the answer before she even opened her mouth to speak. It was high time she finally made a fucking decision. It was high time she stopped hiding behind everyone else and owned up to what she’d done. It was time she brought herself back to reality and faced the consequences.

“I need to go speak with Ev.”

She found Ev at camp. He looked surprised at her approach, though she didn’t blame him for the expression that currently painted his face.

She’d been aloof for days. She’d avoided him ever since that night. Ever since she’d scrambled off his body in tears and left him in that little tree house alone. Confused, and alone. Now, she had to face him in the aftermath of that betrayal.

“Ev,” she whispered, already feeling her insides break, shatter like glass into millions and millions of pieces. She had no right to feel what she was feeling. No right to those roiling emotions.

But when she looked at him, all she could see was someone else. Someone else clawing at her back, sinking canines into her neck. A flash of golden eyes, demanding her pleasure that she was all too eager to give and would do so again, because her treacherous body craved him like she craved air, even when she knew it was wrong.

“Bryson.” Ev stood, dusting his hands against his pants. “What’s wrong?”

That lump in her throat only hardened. “We need to talk.”

He nodded at her grave expression.

They didn’t go very far. Only a few feet...

...before everything went to shit.

Fuck , she wanted to curse as Weylyn blocked their path.

Bryson’s face heated. She wanted to flip him the finger. Pull Everette away from Weylyn’s special brand of danger and mischief. Fear, sudden and bursting, appeared inside her. What did he want? She’d avoided him too, but now that he saw her and Ev together, would he flaunt what they’d done in Ev’s face before she got the chance to tell him herself?

Ev bristled next to her, that concerned look turning into an angry stare as he took Weylyn in. “What do you want?” he demanded.

Weylyn ignored Everette as though he were nothing more than a piece of furniture and stepped closer to Bryson. “You’ll come with us, won’t you?”

Her heart bottomed out to her stomach. Her throat closed up, pushing the words she’d wanted to say behind a tightly locked closed door with no escape. Her breathing grew into shallow pants and her already blurry vision tunneled. She saw nothing at the end of it except Weylyn. His intent gaze on her and maybe, that thing she felt down the unwanted bond that tethered them together? Hope. Desire. Lust.

It all coalesced into a maelstrom of sensations and she couldn’t pick apart her own feelings from his. The voices in her head from his. It was all too much. Too overwhelming. Her magic pulsed in response to her distress, begging to be unleashed.

Above, her hawk cried out.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ev demanded. His hand slipped into hers, tight, possessive.

Bryson pulled away, ignoring the look of hurt he flashed her way.

Again, Weylyn ignored him. “You will, won’t you?” He stepped closer. So close, she could taste the spicy sweet mix of his scent against her tongue. It made her throat open, her mouth water with sensations that she wasn’t sure were his or hers.

“Bryson, what the fuck is he talking about?” Ev demanded, his voice rising.

She felt Ev draw in a crowd. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as several pairs of eyes trained on them. She’d known that the camp was tuned into the drama. Into the animosity between Weylyn, Ev, and Bryson. They hadn’t all known why, but it was a palpable thing. Like looking onto a graying-black sky and waiting for the storm to hit.

“Ev...” She choked, eyes burning. “The Resistance asked me to leave with them. Tonight.”

There was a single beat of silence. A single one before Ev was grasping her hands, holding them tightly enough that she would have bruised, had she been human.

“No,” he said firmly. “No. Forget it. She’s not fucking going with you people.”

Bryson tried to pull away, but Ev’s grip only tightened.

“That is not for you to decide, human,” Weylyn spat, the word human like a curse on the tongue.

“She’s not going with you. She’s staying here with us. With me.”

Bryson’s heart thundered in her chest.

Her familiar squawked, tuned into her emotions and swooped low.

“Bryson, tell him you’re staying with us,” Everette urged, yanking her roughly towards him. His tone had taken on a desperate edge, one he couldn’t hide. Up close, she could read the frantic gleam in his eyes, the way his nostrils flared. “Bryson, tell him.”

Bryson pulled her hands away from his, dropping them to her stomach. “Ev...”

When she didn’t speak, when she could only look at him, Ev’s expression immediately twisted into one of disgust. He took a step back, shaking his head.

“Bryson...”

“Ev, just... just give me a minute to think, okay?” She hated that her voice trembled. That everyone around them was witness to it. Even Arlo, who had come out of his tent to see what the sudden commotion was about.

She hated that he would be witness to a conversation that should have been private.

“No, Bryson. Either you’re with us or not.”

Weylyn chuckled, deep and low in his throat at those words. Ev slashed a daring glare his way before his eyes settled back on Bryson.

“It’s not that simple, Ev,” she whispered, voice weak.

“Like fuck it’s not.”

“Ev, my mother fought for the Seelie crown. She... she would want me to go. To do this.”

And by Mana, Bryson couldn’t stand the look of betrayal that carved into Ev’s face right then. The anger followed quickly. It was expected, and still she flinched when he snarled at her.

“What does it matter who the fuck your mother fought for? The Seelie crown put everyone into this fucking mess. Look where it got your mother, your family. They’re dead, Bryson. What does it fucking matter?”

The words were like a blow to her chest. She staggered back, away from Everette. He must have realized exactly what he said, because a brief flash of remorse fell over him before he masked his expression once again.

“Foolish, pathetic human male,” Weylyn’s voice whispered into her mind. “Come with us, little mate.”

“I—I don’t know if I can.”

He tsk ed a sound of annoyance. “You can. Do not refuse us this. Not for him. Not for Arlo. If you choose this, choose because it is what you want.”

“I don’t know what I want.”

“There are too many voices in your head, little mate.”

“Then get the fuck out!”

She shook her head wildly from side to side, as if that could expel Weylyn from the recesses of her deepest, darkest thoughts, though she was afraid he’d already seen and analyzed everything. Every decision, every doubt, every bit of anger... He knew what lived inside her already.

“I can’t believe you’d say that to me,” she said aloud. “Everette, I...” She shook her head, feeling the turmoil through her entire body. But it was decided. She’d already decided what she’d wanted to say. If her own betrayal to him hadn’t been the end, then those words were.

She’d betrayed him first, yes, but she’d also asked him to cease his anger, his disrespect. The insult he’d just hurled at her, at her mother, those words? They would live with her forever.

They would be what broke them.

“Everette, I can’t do this anymore.” She stepped further away from him. She was aware it was a cowardly thing to do, to pull away just so she couldn’t see the details of the expression he would wear. Lest it break her heart all over again. “I can’t. Not anymore.”

He followed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean us, Everette. We... we can’t be together anymore. We’re done.”

There was a bated breath of silence. Everyone was looking. Everyone was listening. Everyone was witness to what she’d wanted to keep hidden.

“No.” Ev’s voice cracked. “Bryson, no .”

“I’m sorry, Ev. This is how it has to be.”

“Like hell.”

He stormed over to where she was, but with every step he took towards her, she took larger ones away from him, her magic whirling around her, her senses sharp, stopping her just at the edge of a mushroom circle. He stopped in front of her, grabbing her arms roughly.

“This is because of him, isn’t it?” he demanded, shaking her once and making her head rattle and her teeth clamp closed. “It’s because that bastard is your mate, isn’t it? You’re leaving me for him, aren’t you?”

Her face heated with shame, though her anger flared higher at the way he was manhandling her. She readied her magic between them, but pulled out of his hold, pressing her palms against his chest and shoving him back slightly.

“Ev,” she warned. “Stop it.”

His eyes and cheeks reddened. “No,” he snarled. “Ever since he got here, you’ve changed! I thought you’d be brave enough to fucking be honest with me at least.”

“Careful how you speak to my mate, human,” Weylyn growled as he approached. “I’d take great joy in killing you if she hadn’t already asked me not to. Though I find that is a promise I could easily break.”

Ev rolled his eyes at Weylyn then glared at Bryson once again. “So you two have spoken about me in private? What else have you said? What else have you fucking done?” He stepped closer once again, his arms grabbing her shoulders, nails digging in. “Have you fucked him, Bryson?”

Her face reddened with shame.

“You have!”

“Everette—”

Her hawk screeched.

“You whore!” In his anger, Ev put enough force on her shoulders to shove her backwards. The action surprised Bryson, so much so that she was too late to stop it as she fell backwards and into the mushroom circle.

Distantly, she heard a growl. The screech of her familiar. She heard her name being cried.

And then, there was nothing but darkness as she fell through the void.