Page 46 of Outcast Fae

“Idiots,” I said, holding my stomach, which had begun to ache around the ribs. I’d forgotten the last time I laughed so hard. Certainly, it had been before I came to this realm.

Coated with sand, they jumped to their feet and dusted themselves off, looking embarrassed. I blinked at them in surprise and shook my head. It seemed laughter could be effective in the right situations.

“Stay away from him,” Vaughn told me.

“Or what?” Sinasre growled.

I glanced at my cousin. “I think this ismyfight.”

Sinasre stepped aside, holding both hands up.

Redirecting my attention to Vaughn, I said, “You don’t give me orders.”

“You fae can’t be trusted.”

His words hurt me more than ever, and I couldn’t understand why. “I thought we were past this,” I said, remembering the conversation we had earlier.

Vaughn’s eyes widened and locked with mine. For an instant, I thought he might agree, but something beyond what we had shared on this island was troubling him, something that weighed heavily on him. If only he could trust me.

I took a step closer, without breaking eye contact. “We can help each other, Vaughn,” I whispered because I knew he wouldn’t want the others to hear.

Something in his eyes wavered, and I could see he was desperate to trust someone, to relieve himself of some of the load he’d been carrying, but in the end, the protective shell he wore settled back into place.

“I don’t need your help. I just need you to stay away from me.” He whirled, his feet spraying sand as he left.

He knew something. I was sure of it, andIneeded to find out what it was, but how was I going to get through to him?

He walked off, past the group, in the same direction as before. My eyes followed him until I realized we had an audience. Chan had stopped playing the sticks, and everyone had quit dancing.

Daniella walked tentatively in my direction. “Everything okay?”

I shrugged. “It’s fine. You know Vaughn.”

“Yeah, he has issues.” She nodded, pursing her lips. “I’m no shrink but trying to hide what he is can’t be a good thing. He needs to accept himself.”

“Shrink?”

“It’s like a doctor but for the head,” she explained, pointing to her skull.

A doctor for the head. It certainly seemed like he needed one of those. Actually, everyone on this beach did.

“The other group is pretty cool, I think,” Daniella said, redirecting my attention.

Pretty cool. Another expression humans liked to use.

“Gina and Henry are good with magic.” She sounded a little jealous as she said this and rubbed at her earlobe probably missing her earrings, her item.

I inferred that Gina was the orange-haired girl and Henry the young fire warlock. “Good at getting everyone drunk,” I said.

With the altercation over, Elon, Wally, and Patricia collapsed on the ground. Sinasre had walked away and was ankle-deep in the ocean, staring toward the horizon. The water sparkled with the noon sun, looking mesmerizing. Chan was shaking coconuts then discarding them in disgust when he discovered there was nothing left inside.

Gina and Henry were nowhere in sight, which didn’t give me a good feeling. How had they disappeared so quickly? I suspected those two liked to cause trouble.

“What now?” I said.

Daniella shrugged. “For once, my stomach is full, and I’m not thirsty. So a nap sounds good.” She glanced longingly toward the three figures sprawled on the sand. A nap did sound nice, but I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep. There was too much on my mind, and even if I trusted Sinasre, I didn’t necessarily trust his campmates.

I tested my injured wing. It felt better, but getting away now to search for the children didn’t seem the best time.