“Xander!” I called out as I crossed the square, my boots slapping on the polished cobblestones.
He turned toward me in surprise. “Cara? What are you doing here?” His gaze went to Ode who was a few paces behind me. “You can’t be here. You need to go back.”
“What’s happened?” I asked, gesturing to the library. “Did the king’s soldiers do this?” I peered around, but I still couldn’t see anyone resembling the king’s elite. A strange emotion I couldn’t place flashed across Xander’s face before it was gone again, and I frowned.
“Please,” a female sobbed from close by. Her face was covered in soot like she’d run from the fire, and she shuffled on her knees closer to Xander’s boots. “I beg you, please stop this. We told you. We don’t know where the books are. We don’t know anything about curses! If we did, we would give the tomes to you!”
Curses?It took me a moment to register what the female had said, but slowly realization overcame me, and I stared at Xander in surprise. He wasn’t there for a book on portals and other worlds. No, this was something else entirely. I understood then that there also weren’t any soldiers coming, and it was possible this mission had nothing to do with the king’s elite. Ever since Corak had been killed, Xander had stepped up as the leader of the Forgotten Fae in the Eastern camp, becoming more focused on the fight against the king every day. Still, I couldn’t believe he would do this. “Xander,” I said softly. “What’s going on? No books can be worth this destruction.”
Ignoring me, Xander stared at the female with indifference. “My sources say those books are being held here, and they’re impervious to heat. You should have told us where they were when you had the chance.” He tilted his head to a Forgotten Fae who stood close by, and fire shot out from the fae’s hand, racing toward the library and climbing up the glass. The flames consuming the building crackled and popped as they grew larger.
“Stop this!” I shouted.
Xander’s expression was hard, his blue eyes emotionless and nothing like the eyes of the male who’d shared my bed not long ago. “I told you to return to the camp,” he said coldly.
I gaped, my heart pounding as I turned to the Forgotten Fae warriors. “You can’t agree with this!” I said, but they didn’t reply as they stood with stony expressions.
The wails of the fae villagers filled my ears, and for a moment I couldn’t breathe. Clenching my fists by my sides, I forced myself to suck in a sharp breath. “I-I don’t understand,” I said, turning my pleading gaze back to Xander. He still didn’t reach for me, and simply stood staring at the fire.
In a sudden movement, the double doors of the library burst open, and a tall fae male staggered out with a small boy in his arms. He walked down the steps and collapsed to his knees, cradling the child. Both of their silken robes were covered in ash and grime, the embroidered image of a stack of books only just visible beneath the soot on their chests. But while the tall fae male looked mostly unharmed, the boy was covered in burns, large red welts covering the flesh I could see, and his hair was burned to the scalp. “No!” the older male cried, his arms trembling as he rocked back and forth, tears streaking down his cheeks. “No, no, no!” The child’s chest barely moved, and I stifled my own cry as I rushed forward, not giving myself a moment to think.
Startled, the older male simply watched as I dropped beside him and touched one of the boy’s arms. Focusing my power, I let it rush out of me and into the fae child as I healed him. “It’s all right,” I said to the older male, my words a choked whisper as the boy’s skin started to smooth, his burn marks becoming healed flesh, and his hair growing longer and becoming soft and silky. The boy’s breathing became stronger, and his beautiful brown eyes blinked open as I felt the tell-tale gem forming on the inside of my arm.Thank the goddess.I knew it was a gem I would forever be proud of. I smiled, relief coursing through me as I stared at the child who was no longer fighting for his life.
“Father?” The child said, reaching up to rub his eyes as he stared at me in confusion.
The male who was holding the boy let out a strangled cry and sobbed louder as he clutched the child tighter. “Thank you. Oh, bless all the stars, thank you,” he said to me, and I couldn’t stop the tears rolling down my own cheeks. Letting go of the boy with one hand, the male went to reach for me, but strong arms pulled me backward.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Xander’s rough voice sounded from behind me, and I let out a startled cry, surprised by the way his fingers dug into my skin.
“Xander, stop!” Ode cried, and I spotted her pink hair in the crowd of Forgotten Fae. Ellis stood holding her back, his face full of regret as he kept her there.
“I don’t understand why you’re doing this,” I said as Xander held me, forcing me to watch the destruction he’d caused. “These aren’t the king’s soldiers,” I said, referring to the fae villagers still cowering on the ground. “You said the Forgotten Fae are there to help those who are in need around the realm. But you’re not helping anyone.”
Just hours ago, Xander had held me like I was the most precious being in the world, but now, he was acting like an entirely different fae. My heart shattered as a hundred memories flashed through my mind, and I second-guessed everything he’d ever said to me. All those years he’d told me he’d find a way to send me home. Had any of it been real?
“You think you saved that child, but you’ve only made this harder,” Xander whispered in my ear, his voice so cold and so unlike the fae male I’d grown to love. “He can’t be allowed to live. None of them can. Not now that they’ve seen just how valuable you are.”
“Xander, please no!” I gasped, struggling against his hold as fear made my heart clench. They were all going to die because of me.
My gaze flicked wildly to the villagers. “You need to run!” I shouted, but none of them moved. Their fearful gazes remained watching the Forgotten Fae warriors.
Xander lifted his hand, ready to let out his magic, but I flung my head back, butting into his chin and startling him. “He’s going to kill you! RUN!” I screamed at the villagers, tears filling my vision as the library continued to burn.
This time, they listened. Lifting to their feet, the villagers fled, some of them pushing past the Fae warriors who tried to stop them, and others letting out their own magic in their efforts to get away. It was obvious none of the villagers were overly powerful, but a female fae sent out a blast of wind, blowing back the two Forgotten Fae pursuing her and a few others. Another three villagers were killed as they tried to escape, but the boy I just healed managed to get away with his father, the pair of them fleeing down a street. The tightness in my chest eased a little at the knowledge they’d escaped.
Xander let out an irritated grunt, still gripping me. “Go after them,” he ordered a handful of the Forgotten Fae.
The warriors nodded and split up, sprinting past the buildings in pursuit of the villagers.
Xander’s lips brushed the side of my temple, and I flinched. “Once I find the books I’m after, you’ll understand. Those texts contain ancient knowledge that will give us the ability to create curses. With a weapon that great, we’ll be able to defeat the king once and for all. It might not seem like it, but I’m trying to free the realm.”
“By burning down buildings and terrorizing the fae just as you said the king has been doing?” I scoffed. “You’re right. It doesn’t seem like it.”
He clenched his jaw. “You’ll come to understand. It’s not like you have anywhere else to go.” At that, he jerked his head toward where Ellis was still holding Ode. She’d become limp in his arms, her eyes red and swollen from the tears she’d shed. “You and Mason take them back,” Xander ordered. “We’ll return once we’ve located the books in the rubble.”
“Will do,” Ellis replied, and Xander pushed me into the arms of a fae male who I presumed was Mason. I should have fought it. Someone needed to be there for the fae villagers, but my chest ached and deep down I knew there was nothing I could do.
“Cara, I didn’t know,” Ode said beside me as we were led away, but I didn’t look at her. It wasn’t her fault, but I didn’t have the energy to speak.
