Page 17 of The Crown the Fae Forgot
We’d not had much time to speak before Vestele appeared, but what little Icarus had managed to croak past those burned lungs of his had been enough to send me stumbling from the bedroom and into the next as fast as my shaking knees would carry me.
Shiel sat up in bed, his eyes widening as the book he’d been using to write more letters slid from his lap with a loud thud.
I met his eyes with my own, wide and fearful.
“He knows, Shiel,” I breathed, barely able to force the words past my own lips.
His eyes, confused, widened as I breathed out the rest.
“Icarus,” I said. “He knows who I am, and he knows where we’re headed next.”
CHAPTER NINE
A moment later,I wasn’t the only one suddenly standing.
Shiel was on his feet before I had the chance to register why he was ripping back the blankets, half-written letters scattering across the floor in the sudden flurry.
His face was white, and only half from the sudden movement. One hand shot out to steady himself against the headboard, his knees nearly buckling beneath his unexpected weight. His eyes, however, never left me.
“What are you talking about, Aurra?” he asked, his voice hoarse. “What do you mean, Icarus knows?”
“I—I saw him,” I said, still breathless, my own head spinning.
Before I had the chance to answer, Finch and Zev suddenly appeared in the doorway.
“See?” Finch said, after glancing between me and Shiel. He elbowed Zev in the stomach and gave him a pointed look. “I told you calling them was a good idea.”
Zev bared his teeth, as if he tasted something bitter on the back of his tongue. “I think drugging someone to the point of screaming hallucinations is never a good idea.”
It was Shiel’s turn to look between the three of us in confusion. His brows furrowed and his hand clenched tighter where it grasped at the headboard still for support. A second later, his face shifted, the intense look on his face softening slightly as he met my eye again.
“The tea, right,” he said, his voice softer, too. “Aurra, whatever you saw, it was just the tea?”
Concern suddenly flickered across Finch and Zev’s faces, instead. Shiel saw this and, as he slowly began lowering himself back down to sit on the edge of his bed, answered for me.
“Aurra thought she saw Icarus.”
Recognition dawned on both their faces.
“That was what all the commotion was about, then.”
Zev took a step towards me, the slant of his brows deepening as he readied himself to provide me exactly the kind of condescending comfort that was the last thing I needed.
“Stop!” I snapped, a little louder than I meant. My head was still spinning, my stomach twisted in knots until I was fighting off the need to vomit—and not just from the remaining effects of the tea. “Stop,” I repeated a second time, more calmly. “It wasn’t a hallucination. Not this part. Nothim.”
I expected all three of them to try and tell me otherwise, but instead, they remained silent. They exchanged a look of worry, though I wasn’t sure which it was for—me, or what I’d just told them.
My knees had started shaking again, the adrenaline that had driven me into Shiel’s room so suddenly wearing off. I reached out for the bottom of his bed and slowly leaned onto it, ignoring the crunch of more scattered papers beneath my weight. The three fae watched me carefully, patiently, waiting for me to explain as they fought off the urge to reach for me again.
So, I did.
At least, I did as best as I could.
“Vestele,” I said, breathlessly. “She came for me, didn’t she?”
Finch and Zev were the ones who nodded.
“She didn’t realize you’d taken the tea. Everyone else knew to leave you alone, but once she heard you calling out, she barged past us,” Zev said.
