Page 48 of WitchBorn

“It’s okay,” I said.

“I don’t know how to stop. Will your fawn form return? Does that heat come with it every time?”

“Yes, and yes.”

Finn cursed, and I flinched. “It’s not that I don’t want to do that… what I mean is it’s not what we need right now. You’re sick and hurt and we need to find a way out of here.”

“Winter’s curse is draining you, and you take from me to keep going. It’s a vicious cycle.”

“At least you’re not slurring your words anymore. How do we break this curse thing?”

“True wuv,” I said, then giggled. “Mawridge…”

“The Princess Bride?” Finn asked. “There weren’t any fae in that. Can love fix this?”

I snorted. “No. I don’t know. Maybe? Summer and Spring broke theirs, but I never really asked how. Whether it had to do with finding their mates or not,” I shrugged.

“But if you’re the wolf’s mate, that means you’re my mate, too,” Finn said.

“Leave it to you to be rational.”

“That’s me… rational.”

I stared at him, memorizing the lines of his face. “You could kiss me.”

“I could, yes, but is that likely to get us out of here? Won’t it trigger your heat?”

“Eventually. But you created a portal in the water when you were all charged up. Maybe we have to do it again.”

Finn stared at me, his fingertips caressing my face. “You look exhausted, pale, and thin.”

“Ouch.”

“It’s not an insult. It’s an observation. I’d be a piece of shit if I take advantage of you when you’re not feeling well.” He traced a line down my throat to my chest, which I realized ached from the inside out. “You’re bruised, and your breathing is shallow.” He rested his palm on my forehead. “You’re a little warm, too. Fever? Can fae get pneumonia?”

“Probably not. But I’m only half anyway. The wolf was right.”

“About what?”

“Humans are weak. It’s why the fae hated the rise of the new court. They are all meant to be half fae. Part human, or something like that. Spring was the first, born in the mortal realm, though never truly human. The previous sovereigns tried to kill him, and when they couldn’t, they cursed him, froze him in ice and cast a thousand mortal curses to keep him from rising.”

“The fae don’t sound very nice.”

“If you live forever watching others die every sixty or so years, you let all that go or find yourself maddened by the loss.”

“Humanity? Or emotion?”

“Both? I don’t know. The fae were never human.”

Finn held me in silence for a few minutes, then asked, “The statues the wolf has in the sanctuary, were they all people Autumn lost?”

“I think they represent memories. Sebastian is alive. He left the cake at the cabin.”

“I forgot about the cake. Do you think that would help him find you?”

“Maybe. Autumn’s barrier is pretty strong, but Summer has always been a rival only to Winter.”

“Hmm,” Finn said. “Can you walk if you lean on me?”