Page 36 of Faerie Fate (Fae Academy for Halflings #7)

I took the remaining cup of tea—fruity and sweet—then dropped my free hand to my lap. The last thing I wanted to do was keep sucking the chocolate off my fingers like I was starving, no matter how urgently my stomach twisted and begged for more.

Elfhame stared at me like she knew that I was the kind of person who would be rescued from a shipwreck not half drowned and floundering, but with the bones of my enemies picked clean in my teeth. What else did she see when she looked at me?

At least her attention had skipped over the scar since her initial touch. A small miracle.

“We’re leaving at first light for our stronghold at EverRose. I’ve ordered retreat of every pixie village,” Elfhame replied. “Our morsana is burned in Twilight, but we have hundreds of acres growing there. We should be able to get you a bloom and then some.”

Poppy’s eyes widened. “The pixie palace? That EverRose?”

“It’s under heavy protection, both physical and magical, so the fields should still be intact.”

Elfhame reclined, composed, serene. The rest of us had dropped like wilted blooms, nowhere close to being replenished despite the food and drink.

I lifted my cup to my chapped lips again and the sweet cooling tea slid down my flayed throat. The liquid soothed the roughness as it went. I could drink this for the rest of my life, happily. The rest of my life might not be long at this rate.

“Why send everyone to EverRose?” Poppy asked. “Isn’t that a last resort?

“We’ve heard that the fae are marching on EverRose, led by the Faerie king himself.” Elfhame was defiant. “Every pixie has been summoned there to fight. The final battle will commence. The sooner we crush them, the sooner we can get on with our lives in peace.”

My eyes went round. “You’re pregnant.”

She couldn’t fight.

She flashed sharp little teeth at me. How had I never noticed that pixies had differently shaped teeth? “I’m still a warrior.”

I didn’t blame her for being miffed. I just wished I wasn’t the one to piss her off.

“So really, it’s best for you to get as far away from pixie lands as possible,” she continued, “or your lives will be in danger.”

Bronwen drummed her fingers on her knees, the movement erratic. Mike stared at the ceiling and the delicate corbels at all four corners of the room.

Poppy spoke for all of us. “We’d like a word in private, if you don’t mind, my old friend. Can you excuse us?”

Elfhame dipped her head in acknowledgment. “I’ll leave you.”

She headed out the door, disappearing in a blink and leaving a shower of sparks behind her.

Alone in the dollhouse living room, my tongue tied itself into knots. What was there to say? We’d come this far, and our options were to march into battle on the hope the fields at EverRose survived…or go back to our time with my blood curse intact.

Rock, meet hard place . I’d spent enough time there to know exactly how it felt to be crushed by either.

“We’re not going to EverRose.” Mike was adamant. He surged to his feet. “I know the palace. I know about the Great Battle of EverRose. There were mass casualties on both sides.”

For a second, he reminded me so much of his mother I wanted to cry. Yet there, superimposed, was the stern resolve of his father. Mike carried Tywin in the way he clenched his jaw, the hard gleam in his eyes, the reddening of his neck.

“Do you think we have a choice?” Bronwen offered the question neutrally. “We have to go.”

“I know we can choose not to go anywhere near there. It’s absolutely not safe for us.”

“But if we don’t get the morsana flower, then I’m going to die.”

What was left but making peace with our situation? What was left besides coming to terms with the fact that my death was the only inevitability.

“I’ll send us back farther. A few weeks before the fae bombed the morsana field here,” Mike insisted. “We’ll grab the flower and go.”

We’d still need to have a witch unlock my powers. I glanced at Poppy, who coughed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Young man, you’re spent. You don’t have the juice to go backwards. Or forwards, for that matter. You need rest or else you’re stuck here.”

“You can help. You can give me something to help replenish my magic,” Mike argued. “Like with Tavi.”

“Don’t look at me,” she warned. “You’re asking for more trouble if you try to go backwards again.”

Mike slanted her a murderous look. “We’re asking for trouble if we go to EverRose . I know the morsana fields burned here but that doesn’t mean EverRose is the only crop left. There has to be more. Another village, another field.”

“And if there aren’t?” Bronwen asked. “What then? At least we know we’d be safe traveling with Elfhame and their village. Besides, the great battle doesn’t start for another month according to history books. We’d be in and out before the fae attack.”

“I either die in some great war or I die because a zombie bit me. You don’t have to come along but there’s a choice,” I replied. “I think going to EverRose is our best option. How far is it from here?”

“A few days’ journey. Nothing more,” Poppy replied.

I stared at Mike. “It’s worth it to me.”

His cheeks flushed and abruptly he stormed out the door. He could be mad at me all he wanted. Those were the terms, simple, in black and white. We needed the flower. And he couldn’t take us back any farther.

Mike’s departure stalled our discussion. There was no point in reaching a decision without him and to be honest, with his power still out, we were stuck.

Poppy made a good point. I didn’t know if there was a way to replenish what he’d used without time and rest. If she did, she kept it to herself. But at the end of the day, he could make the choice to come with us or not.

We needed him, but if our relationship meant anything to me, I had to give him the choice.

Especially when so many of them were taken away from me. Still, we were trapped in the past if Mike decided to steer clear of EverRose.

Noren had curled at my side and fallen into a deep sleep, exhausted by the events of the day. Outside the wavy glass windows, a twilight hush fell over the fields, and beyond the orchard, black smoke brought an early and unnatural night.

Elfhame returned first and handed out blankets and pillows. “The guest rooms are on the second floor but my sense tells me you’d rather stay together.”

She lifted a hand, the graceful sleeve of her gown sliding back to her elbow, and with a twist of her fingers, she multiplied the pile of blankets until there were more than enough for all of us.

“If you have no more need of me, there are things I must do in preparation for our departure.” Her hands moved to her belly to rub soothing circles.

Bronwen and I called out weak goodnights, and Noren stirred only long enough to flick his ears. Out of all of us, he was having the easiest transition.

He hadn’t left my side once I shifted back into my body, and stuck close enough to touch without letting me out of his sight. The feeling was mutual. We were both relieved to have the company.

I scratched between his ears absently.

Bronwen snuggled underneath a blanket. “What do we do?” She worried her lower lip. “If Mike decides to peace out, we’re screwed.”

“He’ll walk off his mad. But there’s no guarantee he’ll want to talk about it when he gets back,” I muttered.

Odds were good he wouldn’t.

I knew him too well to think he’d be open to my convincing, as pitiful as it was these days. He still couldn’t look at me. He might act like things were normal, but we both knew they weren’t. They never would be again.

I didn’t know what we’d changed in the past, but I knew messing with time only complicated things. The easiest course was plotted to EverRose?—

As long as nothing else went wrong.