Sorrell pushed past Orion and strode off, his stomping steps reverberating up the stone corridor, each one a punch to my chest. I pressed my lips together and clenched my fists as a wave of frustration came over me. Fear for Nellie, fear for myself, and fear for all of them came to a head inside me. What had I been thinking, bringing Nellie with me? Fae and humans were enemies. She hadn’t been able to stay in the village after helping me and she was in danger here. It seemed no matter what I did, I brought devastation wherever I went.
"Don't cry, Little Bird," Roan said quietly, pulling me into his chest. I hadn't even realized I had been crying until then. I sniffed hard and reached up to wipe the evidence away. “Sorrell’s attitude isn’t just about you,” he assured me. “The Court of Frost is cold and barren of any emotions. He hates returning to his home court. He’s afraid, and fear makes people say unkind things. It's not an excuse, but he’s right—we need to be very careful while we’re in Alfheim, especially in the Court of Frost. It would be better—safer—for your friend to stay here.”
“I’m going to get her killed,” I whispered, my true fear escaping on a heavy breath.
Roan sighed. “She matters to you, and so we’ll try to keep her safe.”
“The only reason I’m even somewhat safe,” I replied, “is because I’m a Changeling. She’s not. She’s just a human. They’ll kill her if they find out—Sorrell said as much. You practically said as much about me when you weren’t sure if I was human or not.” I pushed away from him and looked up, staring into the fiery darkness of his eyes.
"As much as I disagree with the way Sorrell said it, he’s right,” Roan admitted with a grimace. “Your human friend can't come with us. What we need is for her to stay here. Groffet is much older than any of us, and because of that, he’ll have a better idea of what to do with her. He’ll come up with a high level illusion that will prevent her from being discovered as a human.”
“It was stupid of me to suggest bringing her,” I agreed with a sigh.
“I’ve got to go catch up with Sorrell before he does something stupid, like bark at the wrong visiting Fae.”
“Okay.”
Roan nodded and took a step back, releasing me completely. When I expected him to turn and walk away, though, he surprised me by staying put. His lips thinned as he sucked in a heavy breath. Oh no, I thought. I knew that look. That was a bad news look. I hated bad news looks. I had seen far too many of those particular looks in the last several days.
Those looks always meant something like Hey, Cress, I know you want to protect your best friend but you’re actually putting her in certain danger and you could be the reason she ends up executed by one of the most powerful Fae in the Realm, or even Hey, Cress, maybe don’t trust the super hot Fae princes that you’re kind of in lust with because they might just end up killing you after all.
Roan’s lips parted and, through clenched teeth, he spoke. “As unfortunate as it is”—Yup. Bad news was coming my way—“Ariana has been temporarily released from the Crimson dungeons and she’ll be coming with us.” My mouth dropped open. He couldn’t be serious. She pushed me off of the roof of the Gods damned castle! Roan held his hand up to silence my impending protests. "She's one of my mother's favorites. Her absence would bring more questions than we want to answer. Right now, we want to avoid any unnecessary attention. Plus, Mother should be able to tell if Ariana is lying, she's always been good at that. Ariana will behave around her, if only in public.”
I hissed out a breath and crossed my arms over my chest. “Are you forgetting that she tried to kill me?” I asked testily.
“No, I’m not forgetting that at all,” Roan replied. “I’ll keep her as far from you as I can. Out of sight, if possible. But she will be expected at the Court of Frost.”
What could I say? I wondered. A tantrum would get me nowhere. No matter how much I wanted to throw one. I fumed as I considered my very limited options. The next time I saw Ariana, I was going to punch her in the face … with a chair … and then I might do it again just to make a point. "Fine," I said through clenched teeth. Just as I was about to turn away from him, Roan leaned forward and gently cupped my cheeks. I paused. A warmth infused my face and burrowed down into my core. I found myself wanting to lean into the touch, to luxuriate in it. Was that normal? Was that right? I darted a look at Orion, but he didn’t look particularly upset. His eyes practically glowed as he watched us.
"Careful who you trust in the Court of Frost, Little Bird,” Roan whispered against my skin as he brought his lips to my cheek. “Solas may seem like a buffoon, but he was chosen as the Queens’ ambassador for a reason. Some will just be curious because of your status as a Changeling—there hasn’t been one in a few decades at least. But some…” He ran his lips down the length of my jawline. I shivered. “Some will mean you harm. Trust no one but us,” he finished before pulling away. I was leaning toward him, my whole body gravitating toward the pleasure of his flesh against mine. We hadn’t done nearly the same amount of sensual touching as I had with Orion—my eyes slid back to his at the reminder—but the promise of it made my mouth water. I bit my lip as Roan turned and walked away.
As soon as we were alone, Orion took a step toward me, his form towering over my smaller one. "I'm having the Pixies bring some of my warmer cloaks and blankets, so hopefully we can keep you warm enough on the road, but the temperature outside is nothing like what you're used to. I'm worried about how it's going to affect you.”
"I'll survive," I said with a shrug. Probably.
He dropped his head and planted a kiss on my cheek, very close to my lips. I almost turned my head and captured his mouth, wanting to feel something—anything—deeper. I didn’t, but I definitely thought about it, and I was pretty sure he could tell, if the smirk on his lips was anything to go by as he backed up.
"Do you mind if I go and let Nellie know that we're leaving for a while?" I asked.
“Of course.” He nodded. “I need to speak with Groffet anyway.” Orion took my hand and held it as we strode through the corridors of the castle. We made several twists and turns until we were back at a familiar doorway.
"You two look like you're up to something. Whatever it is, keep it out of my library," Groffet grumbled at us as we pushed the doors open and stepped inside.
“I need to talk to Nellie,” I said in response.
Groffet huffed as he waddled through several stacks of books before he nodded toward a corner. I turned and spotted a familiar small frame nestled there. I released Orion’s hand and approached slowly. She was tucked into the corner with a book in her face, her eyes scanning the page at an incredible speed.
“Nel?” Her head popped up. “Hey…” I hurried over and hovered for a moment before I sat down next to her.
“You’re back!” She reached for me, flinging the book around my neck as she squeezed me. It’d only been a few hours since I’d left her and I hated that I’d have to leave her again, so I squeezed her back with just as much enthusiasm. “Where’ve you been?” she demanded, pulling away and sticking her finger in her book to hold the page as she closed the cover.