Page 30 of These Fractured Bonds

“Don’t worry, you’re safe here,” he said, closing the door.

Yareli looked at the living room to her right, noting its leather sofas, plush rug, and fireplace, but there were no discernible signs of who it belonged to.

She asked, “And where is ‘here’?”

He grinned, but it did nothing to assuage her anxiety. It made it worse. He obviously had been here before and knew many, if not all, of the residents. Yareli’s life had been upended, and she was somewhere she shouldn’t be. Again.

“Welcome to the Keepers’ Village,” he said.

Chapter 13

TheKeepers’Villagewasa sprawling settlement in a valley in the Lhuth Mountains. Inhabitants included political refugees, defectors, and their families. Founded centuries ago, it operated as the Keepers' base.

“But who are the Keepers?” she asked Leo.

Yareli stood in her quarters—a spacious room on the second floor, with its own private bathroom.

Leo strolled to the window, closing the curtain shut. “A resistance group I’m a part of.”

“Resisting what?” Her frown pulled down the corners of her mouth.

“The bad guys.”

She rolled her eyes, wanting to point out that good and bad were not a dichotomy.

“Don’t let them see your ears,” he said, “and keep your hat on at all times until Bri returns.”

“Where is she?”

“I sent her onward to the Water Court to meet with our allies. I have to discuss Endrim’s coup with the others here.” He strode to the door. “Stay out of sight.”

His sudden departure made her panic. “Wait. Wha—”

“Rest,” he said and shut the door.

Yareli’s words died on her tongue, crumbling into ash and leaving behind a gritty coating in her mouth.

With nothing else to do, she searched the cabin, learning the layout of the first and second floors, but the third floor was sealed by a bolted entrance. When she tried other doors, most were locked except for the kitchen. She returned to her room and paced on the plush fur rug in front of her bed. Noise from outside caught her attention. She inched toward her window, peeking through a gap in the curtains at the lively villagers outside. The sun had yet to rise, but every villager she saw had a spring to their step. For them, the day had already begun. For Yareli, the night had yet to end.

Exhaustion clung to her, but she couldn’t rest. In the past few hours, she had fled the one place in this foreign world that she considered home, chased by monstrous creatures, and she had fought and won against one. She had “shadowstepped” with Leo—she still had no idea what that was—and then… memories of Leo’s flirtations flooded her mind. It was enough to raise her pulse, and she was achingly aware of her need. It wasn’t the first time they had toed the line between friendliness and flirtation.However, it had been Yareli who had declined. She refused to engage in anything physical with a Fae she had barely met, regardless of how attractive he was.

But now—after what had transpired—she reconsidered her stance. Physicality between Fae and humans would likely be the same, she thought. It couldn’t possibly hurt to let loose… except her jumbled memories begged to differ. They were like a swollen appendage—a constant reminder of wrongness—and her daily mental exercise sifting through them only added to her frustration. She settled into bed and wished she could sink into unconsciousness as quickly as she had melted into its soft blankets. She traced the swirls of age lines on the wooden ceiling until her eyelids finally slid closed, and she fell into fitful sleep with fragmented dreams of sunlight, beaches, and warm weather.

A knock at her door woke her.

Yareli sat up, rubbing her puffy eyes. She felt raw, lightheaded, and nauseous like she hadn’t slept enough, which she confirmed when she saw dawn’s rays shining through the curtains. She couldn’t have gotten more than an hour or two.

The knock came again.

“Come in,” she said without much thought.

A blond Fae poked his head in. His blue eyes shone in the light, and he rubbed them. She was instantly on guard.

“Who are you?” The accusation was clear in her tone.

He opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked astounded to see her, and she realized, belatedly, that her hat had fallen off during her nap.

The door swung farther in, revealing Leo. He stepped inside.