Page 74 of Outcast Fae

I wasn’t being dissected, but my head still felt as if someone had been drilling in it.

Daniella’s kind face peered down at me in worry as she helped me sit up. She pushed matted hair off my forehead, her fingers feeling blissfully cool on my fevered skin.

“God, why would they leave you out here? You’re burning up. Assholes!” she said.

“What… What happened?”

She shook her head. “You tell me. Vaughn came back to the camp an hour ago, and he sent us looking for you.”

“Vaughn,” I repeated, the events of what had happened inside the dome slowly coming back to me.

“I’m glad I found you. You could have gotten heat stroke. Stand up, let’s get you in the shade.” She draped my arm over her back, helped me to my feet, then walked me to a patch of trees away from the sandy beach. There, she reclined me against a cool rock and handed me a bottle of water.

“Finish this,” she said, sitting next to me, her expression attentive as if she expected me to pass out at any moment.

I tipped the bottle to my lips and started gulping it down.

“Slowly,” she instructed. “You might throw it up, defeating the purpose.”

Reluctantly, I lowered the bottle and took small sips instead.

“Splash some on your face and the back of your neck. It’ll feel good.” She smiled encouragingly, seeming more at ease.

I did as she said, and she was right. The water dripping down my hot skin felt glorious. She watched me for a long moment, without saying much as if she understood my mind was a jumble and I needed to regain my clarity.

There were a lot of feelings whirling inside my chest, but I chose to focus on the rising anger and suspicion. All along,Vaughn had known something, had been aware that there was more to this island than met the eye. For all I knew, he was with them—Adaline, Horace, and that creep who had prodded me like a piece of meat—and had been with them since the beginning.

The children were still inside the dome. If I had known Kiana’s location with certainty, maybe I should have told them. Even though Kiana was my aunt and Alanthyl’s Queen, I owed the children more loyalty than I owed her. It was the horrid actions of her past that had contributed to the final demise of our land, after all. And once here, she had gone into hiding, abandoning all Seelie Court fae to their fate. Why should I protect her when she had forsaken us?

I was the first one to speak. “You said Vaughn came back?”

“Yes, about an hour ago,” Daniella said. “He just materialized at the camp.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. He asked right away if you were back,” Daniella added, noticing my distrust. “And he sent us in all directions, looking for you.”

The emotions whirling in my chest seemed to break free, overwhelming me. I started panting, my lungs pumping as if there wasn’t enough oxygen in the air. My face and hands tingled. My heart pounded. I didn’t know what was happening. Maybe it was the poison that man had pricked me with.

“Hey, hey.” Daniella shifted, took my hands in hers, and searched for my gaze until it locked with hers. “Calm down. Breathe slowly.”

“What’s happening to me?” I wheezed.

“You’re having a panic attack.”

I shook my head. “A what?”

“A panic attack. Just breathe slowly, and it’ll go away.”

I followed her instructions once more. Gradually, my heartbeat went back to normal as well as my breathing.

“Oh, Tally. What happened in there? You went in for a prize and you come back like this…” Daniella’s eyebrows were drawn together in concern. She squeezed my hands. I squeezed back, grateful for her support and willing friendship.

“This island… it’s not what it seems,” I said, unable to keep what I knew to myself anymore.

“What do you mean?”

I opened my mouth to say more but noticed someone running up the beach in our direction.