Page 129 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

“Since your role in all this is to appear to be accepting your fate and falling in love with the city you need to be seen to be immersing yourself into our life as much as possible. I’m going to give you a crash course.”

“The guy who lives as much outside of rules as he can is teaching me how to immerse myself?” I asked, wondering who came up with this plan.

“Who do you think sees it better, the one who lives but doesn’t see it, or the one who sees it because he doesn’t live it?” Faolan had me there.

“And why have me out on the lake? Shouldn’t we not be seen together? They know you don’t want to fit in. Wouldn’t you be better telling me what to do through Jaxus?” I gathered my hair so it would stop blowing in my face.

“If you sneak around, you are asking to be noticed and caught. Sneaking makes people act guilty. We have to be living our normal lives and be above reproach. That’s why it’s been a while since I’ve been considered a real nuisance. They think time in the guard has reformed me.” Faolan laughed, grinning ear to ear. “While it did reform me, It was not in the ways theywere hoping, and I have made more contacts and allies than I ever could have running underground crap before. I’ve learned to exist in plain sight like I said the other night.”

“So you want me to do the same as you? Exist in plain sight?”

“No, I wish you to actually embrace life here. Live, make friends, don’t act. Don’t be fake. Be yourself. Working with the healers will help with that and give you the most access to the texts and things you need.”

“They aren’t going to let me near the Amber Vessel,” I said, not sure if he thought I could take it.

“No, of course not, but you’re the balance to Jaxus while he’s the distraction. Being an upstanding citizen is in your bones.”

“How do you know that?” I huffed.

“Because you’re a healer. You forget one raised me. You can’t be any other way.”

“Then how are you any different when raised by one?” I countered.

“Because I’ve always seen the world differently. I don’t think my brain is wired like the rest of them here. Even the ones who want change don’t want it to the extremes I do. They’d be placated by little changes, which is where the elders screw up. If they’d give them even some of their wants, all of them would fall in line.”

“And why won’t that work for you?”

“Because I want to burn it all down so the world is really better for everyone. I don’t want little changes. I want grand, sweeping changes. I don’t think anyone should just get control because they were born into the right family or because they are older. Who said age makes us wiser? It can, but I’m sure you’ve seen cases where it made the fae more careful, more fearful, more stuck in their ways. Society has to work for everyone, or it’s not really working.” Every word Faolan spoke oozed passion and heart. I wasn’t surprised people wanted to follow him. Hecould probably convince me to jump off the boat this very instant if he wanted.

“Will leaving help you?”

“It might. It would give me a better view of whether I can really create change. If I keep doing it here, they’ll kill me. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I thought you said you’d fooled them.”

“Sure, for now. But if I want to enact anything, I’ll have to show my hand eventually, and I’m not opposed to dying for what I believe in, but I’m not going to for nothing.” He looked away. I’d hit a sore spot.

I recognized the look and the feelings. I’d been there when I dreaded returning to my home because I knew it meant I had to follow what was expected of me. To a lesser extent than Faolan, but it still left me without a choice.

“So why are we out here if I’m going to be an upstanding fae and work with your dad?”

“Because I can disperse prying ears out here. I can disrupt the airflow, and no one will notice. The mountain is chaotic, and no one can tell the difference between my interference and the storms. This is one of our safe places to talk. There are others, like the mushroom fields, but making excuses to use them is hard. So you will learn to sail and we will scout, and you will make friends with the fishing fae and the other guards.”

“Won’t they know?” I couldn’t imagine why they’d think a healer would be out on patrol with a guard if not for nefarious reasons.

“Dad is swamped today at the clinic. Too many chest colds. It’s going around the guard quite awfully. He asked me to take you to gather some roots that grow at the base of the mountain so he can brew them for breathing treatments. Because it’s so dangerous out here, you need a good sailor, which is where I come in! He wouldn’t trust just anyone to take you. I also have the added advantage of taking my father to this very spot a fewtimes a year so I can help you find the roots.” His grin widened as I processed his plan.

“You are good.”

“I know.” He didn’t say it in an arrogant way, like Casimir would have. He said it in a humble way. Like it was his burden.

“What else do I need to know?”

“I’m going to teach you all the passages through the city too. The quickest ways in and out. Ways to hide. Safe houses. All of it. Because if they catch any one of us at any point, the rest need to flee. You may have to do it alone, on foot without your dragon. So you will need the most instruction.”

“I understand.” Fear formed a pit in my stomach.

We’d come this far together, but now I knew saving Nyx and the Twelve Kingdoms could mean losing Jaxus.