Page 58 of The Heir the Fae Forgot
His tongue darted out to swipe nervously across his lips. “There’s a good chance that Icarus planned for this…contingency…too. At least, if we get separated, you can always ask the Oracle how to get out alive.”
That chill gripped me even tighter. “But you, what about you? And Finch? And Zev?”
A slight smile creased his face. “We’ll be fine, Aurra. Just, know this…” he paused again. “There is a price to be paid if you see the Oracle.”
“A price?”
“A bond,” he said, nodding. “In order for her to answer your question, she will sever a bond between you and another. Once severed, it cannot be formed again.”
I felt something think at the back of my throat that made it difficult for me to swallow. The price for the oracle is the sacrifice of a bond.
I knew, without having to ask Shiel for more details, exactly what he meant. I knew, too, just how much I had to lose.
“I just, I wanted to tell you before…” Shiel trailed off, his eyes suddenly not meeting mine. My thoughts went straight back to what he’d said to Icarus before we left, how he’s responded when the dark fae demanded to know what reason he had for coming to my aid.
It was my turn to put a hand on Shiel to try and reassure him.
My touch seemed to solidify something in him. He straightened, taking hold of me in return. He looked deep into my eyes when he made his last request before he shifted too.
“If it comes down to it, Aurra, think only of yourself. This kingdom will survive if I die. The same cannot be said for you.”
* * *
So much had happenedin the last week, the last day, the lasthour,that somehow crawling for what felt likemilesthrough dark, dirty tunnels with nothing but the distant yelp of foxes to lead me onward didn’t seem too out of the ordinary.
It did, at least, buy me a little time to think.
Shiel’s warning about the Oracle had struck me harder than it had a right to. It was more than the fear I saw in his eyes, the worry that it would beourbond that got sacrificed, a bond that I’d thought up until his proclamation before Icarus wouldn’t have had any sort of hold on him.
But it had made me realize that this same fear must have been the reason that Icarus had refused to take me to her.
Because Shiel wasn’t the only one with a bond at stake…and the bond I shared with the dark fae that had now betrayed me more times than I could count, was far stronger, as much as I hated to admit it.
I’d let him get close to me, willingly, and now here I was, crawling for my life through underground tunnels that were more likely to lead to my death or capture than anything else.
Just when I was starting to worry that I’d be stuck in those tunnels forever, I heard the distant yelps die off. I stopped for a moment, forcing my breaths not to quicken in the tight space. It was already hard enough not to let the creeping claustrophobia get ahold of me as it was.
Behind me, I felt the gentle nudge of Shiel’s fox snout as he sniffed around my ankles.
I felt my cheeks redden as I considered whatelsehe might scent, and hoped against all odds that the arousal Icarus had so proudly announced he could smell had faded before we entered the stifling tunnels.
The silence stretched on until I began to worry, that sensation of everything starting to close in staring to tighten, when instead of soft yelps, I heard a voice.
“We’ve found the exit!”
I’d never been so happy to hear the sound of Finch’s voice before.
He and Zev waited at the far end to pull me up into the forest after them. A moment later, Shiel came barreling up, transforming the moment he exited the tunnel so he could gulp in a breath of fresh air himself.
Only to discover what we had, already.
Smoke.
Somewhere, not far off, Icarus’ precious Wildness was on fire.
All three fae exchanged glances, and I saw the way their hands reached for the swords they’d had to leave behind. The glamour that transformed them into animals may have allowed them to keep their clothes, but unfortunately the same could not be said about their weapons.
I turned in a circle, my neck craning up at the trees of the deep Wildness. They were tiny in comparison to the trees of Icarus’ court.
