Page 81 of Fey Empire

Selwyn’s shoulders relax. Tension drains from his body. “Then, I am very glad you helped my brother.”

I stare at him. Nothing is ever as easy as that. Nobody is this forgiving.

“What about all the gossip I have caused?” I say.

He shrugs. “It will be useful. A diversion and distraction from my true secrets.”

My lungs freeze, and my heart drops. All of a sudden, the note in my pocket weighs a thousand tons. I had forgotten about it.

Now Selwyn is admitting he has secrets. Things he would welcome people being distracted from. It is practically a confession.

Could this night get any worse?

“Laurie? You’ve gone awfully pale. Do you need to sit down?”

I shake my head, pull the note from my pocket and shove it towards him. Passing the message on could well be a terrible thing to do, but I don’t want to keep the secret. I don’t want to hide things from my husband and be on edge all the time.

Blake said he was done with the Resistance, so maybe I can be done too. Passing this message on could be the first and last thing I am ever asked to do. I don’t have to make decisions about the greater good.

He takes the piece of paper from me with a puzzled look. He glances at it and then back up at me.

“Did you read it?”

“No,” I say with a vehement shake of my head.

Selwyn frowns. “Who gave it to you?”

A wave of dizziness washes over me. I’m going to be sick. I can’t get Blake into trouble, especially since he said he didn’t want to be involved. If I speak his name, I’m becoming a part of this, whether I like it or not.

“I don’t know. I found it in my pocket,” I say weakly.

Selwyn’s eyebrow rises. “Someone snuck this in your pocket without you noticing, and you knew it was for me even though it has no name on it?”

My bottom lip begins to wobble. I look down at the floor as my eyes water.

“Don’t cry!” blurts Selwyn. “It’s fine! It doesn’t matter who gave you the note, as long as they didn’t put you in any danger.”

Tentatively, I raise my head. Concern is swirling in Selwyn’s eyes. His expression is soft. I think he means what he is saying. He is not going to demand answers from me. He is going to allow me to keep my secrets. He trusts me.

He steps up close to me and takes a gentle hold of my shoulders. My body moves, and I fling myself against his chest and wrap my arms around him. He startles and then holds me tightly.

Fey don’t hug, but he seemed to enjoy it last time. And he is very good at them.

I sniffle and try to pull myself together. Everything is fine. He has forgiven me for everything. For Dyfri, for the note. This horrible, awful evening is finally over.

“I don’t think I want to go to any more balls,” I sniff.

Selwyn’s chest moves, moving me with it. A deep laugh rumbles out of him. His lips brush softly over the top of my head.

My lungs stop being tight and my heart remembers how to beat. Everything truly does feel okay now.

Disasters aren’t so bad when you have someone on your side.

Ilove these gardens. Even though it is drizzling and the sky is promising more rain, it is still wonderful to be out here.

Loki isn’t minding the rain at all. Droplets are gathering on her thick coat and sparkling like jewels, but she is far too busy sniffing at everything to care.

I take in a lungful of fresh air. I don’t mind the rain either, but I’m not going to linger in it long enough to try to listen to plants today. I’ll save that for better weather.