Pretha paces before him. “Fine. Then you need to do this.”
“Why? Because I have a small infection? You think that is what’s going to keep me from winning this war?”
“No. I think your stubborn pride is what’s going to keep us from winning this war.” She swipes at her cheeks, and I realize she’s crying. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to watch Vexius waste away?”
Vexius? Have I heard that name before?
“Do you have any idea how it feels to live each day knowing that it didn’t have to be like this?”
“You act like it’s so simple,” Finn says, “but if I take tribute after tribute, am I any better than him?”
Who’s him? Mordeus? Does he take tributes too? What do tributes do? And why?
“I think you’re still grieving over Isabel, and—” She turns toward me and scans the shadowed wall of books.
Finn sits up. “What is it?”
“I just got the feeling that we aren’t alone.”
Shit.
She flicks her wrist, and an orb of light appears at her fingertips. With another flick, it floats toward me.
I slip back out through the wall before she can see me.
“I don’t see anything,” Finn says as I slip away. “Are you sure?”
“You shouldn’t linger in the dark when she’s around.”
* * *
I’m not supposed to know that the girl is still here. I’m not supposed to see her step into the library, where Finn’s brooded all afternoon. And I’m definitely not supposed to be using my shadows to sneak in behind her and spy on them.
Ever since Pretha taught me about wards and shields and made me realize I’d unwittingly been moving through them when I slipped into shadows, I’ve been more conscious of that extra wall of magic. I can feel it now as I slip inside—an additional shield that someone placed around the library.
The young woman stands before Finn with her head bowed. “Please don’t send me back.”
Finn tilts her face up to him and studies her. “You don’t understand what you’re offering.”
“I do. I was born and raised in Faerie, and I know how this works. I am not a typical human.”
“What if I sent you to the Wild Fae?” he asks, tilting his head to the side. “Would your life be so bad there?”
The girl swallows. “I do this for my brother—my half brother. He was Unseelie, and the only person who truly cared about me.”
“Where is he now?”
She ducks her head. “He died, my prince. He shouldn’t have, but the curse . . .”
“I understand.”
She pulls a pile of stones from her pocket. “Please?”
“What can I give you in return?”
She shakes her head. “I see all you do for the Unseelie. This is how I can help. I want to do this for you and for them.”
“Surely there’s something?” His voice is thick and scratchy.
She gives him a small smile. “There’s nothing.”
She reaches out to cup Finn’s face and leans toward him, her lips inches from his. His eyes remain open as he slowly lowers his mouth to hers.
The moment their lips touch, something dull and ragged tears through my core.
I turn my back on them and leave the library. I tell myself I’m upset for Pretha. Not that I’m even sure they are . . . involved. But it’s the only reason I should feel anything at the sight of Finn kissing someone.
I sit in the garden, looking up at the sun sinking low on the horizon. For the first time all day I want to return to the palace. I don’t want to be here while Finn takes his . . . tribute. I want to ignore this feeling in my chest that I can’t name. Is it jealousy? No. I don’t want some broody fae prince.
I don’t want him.
So why does seeing him touch someone else so tenderly hurt so much?
It would be easy for me to disregard my emotions as gratitude toward someone who is helping me when I desperately need it, but what about the connection I feel to him? What about how my power seems to surge when he’s close or the way it feels when we touch?
What if all that means something? What if Finn is more to me than a teacher and a friend?
The thought feels like such a betrayal to Sebastian, I wish I could physically pluck it from my mind.
“Are you ready to head back now?” Pretha asks from the doorway. She’s been trying to get me to return to the palace all afternoon.
“Do you not care that he’s in there touching that girl?”