The Siege of Shadows: Book one

Blood and Silence (26)

The day stretched on, uneventful save for the rhythmic sound of the Kelpie's hooves on the frost-bitten ground. The tension between us remained thick, unspoken words hovering in the air like ghosts. I hated it. I hated him. I hated the way I could still feel the phantom warmth of his arms around me. Most of all, I hated the way my thoughts kept circling back to the way he'd held me, protecting me from the cold.

I needed to break the silence, to shake him from his maddening calm, to remind myself of the gulf that still lay between us.

"So," I began, keeping my voice light and pointed, "how does it feel to be the king's errand boy? Fetching this, hunting that. Is this what passes for glory among the Seelie?"

Kael didn't rise to the bait. "Better than being dead," he replied flatly, his tone betraying nothing.

I twisted in the saddle to glance back at him. His expression, hidden behind the cruel angles of his helmet, was impossible to read, but his posture remained loose, unbothered.

"Well, congratulations on such an illustrious career," I shot back, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sure your ancestors would be proud."

Silence.

A flicker of frustration sparked in me. "Is this how you handle all your problems? Stoic silence and blind obedience?"

His crimson eyes flicked toward me. "Is this how you handle yours? Petty jabs and deflection?"

The bluntness of his words hit me harder than I cared to admit. My jaw tightened, and I turned back to face the path ahead, my hands curling around the Kelpie's mane.

"Maybe if you didn't act like a—"

"A what?" he interrupted, his voice low and calm, but with an undercurrent of challenge.

I gritted my teeth, determined to press forward. "Like a cold-hearted monster. Maybe then you wouldn't need to be constantly proving your loyalty to a king who clearly doesn't care whether you live or die."

Kael let out a breath, long and slow, as though reigning himself in. "Believe what you want," he said, his voice softer now. "But if you're trying to pick a fight, you'll have to try harder than that."

Damn him.

"I'm not trying to pick a fight," I lied. "I just don't understand how someone like you can live with themselves."

"You think I don't ask myself the same question?"

The quiet vulnerability in his tone made me pause. I glanced over my shoulder again, startled by the rawness in his voice, but his gaze was fixed firmly ahead, his helmeted face unreadable.

I didn't know how to respond. I didn't know if I even wanted to.

We rode in silence for a while longer, the words I couldn't say weighing heavily on me.

Eventually, Kael spoke again, his tone lighter this time, almost teasing. "If you're done trying to provoke me, we should pick up the pace. The sooner we reach the court, the better."

"Fine," I muttered, my frustration now directed inward.

But as the Kelpie surged forward, I couldn't shake the feeling that, somehow, I'd lost whatever battle I'd been trying to fight.

The journey to the Seelie Court stretched endlessly before us. The road was a narrow trail, winding through dense forests where the trees seemed to loom ever closer, as though they were watching us. The world felt quiet, too quiet, with the faint hum of magic that hung in the air like an unspoken warning. We had Stepped through the Veil a weak shimmering thing, hours ago and were now inside the world of the Fae.