Bullet of Frost (An Iron Fey Fanfiction)

Chapter 13

The next morning was dreary and cold. I rose before Adne, pulling on my clothes. I had to admit, she looked beautiful, lying there under the covers, her hair like liquid as it splayed over the pillow. Her cheeks were slightly rosy. I looked away. Being careful not to wake her, I pulled on my boots and quietly exited the room, heading back to my own to gather my belongings. When I was finished, I did not bother to look around the room one more time. There was no need; I would not be returning here.

   Down in the kitchen, Daniel stood polishing a knife at the counter, his back to us. Rowan stood waiting patiently for me, Tabitha nowhere in sight. Strange. Perhaps Rowan had already pulled the plug and I was going to lose my hair after all.

     "You're off early," Daniel commented.
"We don't wish to cause you any trouble," Rowan drawled, meaning the exact opposite. He turned and headed outside, not bothering to thank Daniel for his hospitality. Doing so would only put Rowan in Daniel's debt.

     Outside, Qui and the Thornguards sat upon their horses, patiently waiting for us. We swung up on our already-tacked up horses and made to depart. I knew Adne would wake and follow us. We had to go through town anyway, so she had a little time.

     As we headed through town, the people who were awake simply stared at us with blank or disappointed faces. They weren't stupid enough to act delighted.

     We were just on the edge of leaving town when I heard two pairs of running footsteps behind us. We halted our horses and I dismounted and turned to face Adne as approached me. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw the icy glare I shot her, as if she were merely dirt on the ground. "Ash, what's wrong?" she asked, panting slightly. I had to give her credit if she'd just sprinted all the way through town to follow me. I didn't answer, just continued to glare at her.

    Tabitha came up beside her sister, opening her mouth to say something, probably to Rowan. I risked a glance at him and saw the cruelest smirk on his face. "Ash, what is going on? You didn't even say good b-"

    "Forget it, human,"I snapped. "I'm not going to waste my time saying good bye to a lowly human I never cared about." I looked at her with pure loathing, as if she were a major inconvenience and more.

    Rowan laughed. "That's a bit harsh, Ash," he said, grinning.

   Tabitha frowned and stepped forward. "Rowan, w-"

"Oh, shut up!" Rowan said, disgusted. "I'm sick of you and your petty little feelings for me. I never shared them, anyway, so forget me and us and leave! Don't even get me started on how you kept biting me during our-"

"Adne, there was nothing between us," I interrupted him. "Go home. Forget about me and my kind. We're incapable of love, anyway."

    I watched as her eyes watered and her lip trembled. At the same time Tabitha covered her mouth and looked away to hide her own tears. Adne shook her head. "Y-you can't mean that..." she began, fighting to stay composed. "You said..."

    I scoffed. "I never said I loved you. And I'll never say it. Why would I fall in love with a human?" I watched as a single tear crawled down her cheek. Tabitha was having some sort of breathing problem, her hands covering her mouth and tears streaking down her cheeks as she gasped, fighting not to break down. But it was too late. They were both broken. Their eyes said it all.
I turned and mounted back up onto Calx. Rowan gave one last disgusted look at both girls and steered his horse away. I followed close behind, the Thornguards spread out around us. I made the mistake of looking back one time at Adne, making sure to paint disgust all over my face.

    Apparently, I'd missed the gun earlier; she must have hid it in her cloak. Adne stood, her shotgun pointed straight at me, pure hatred lining her eyes that for a moment, I didn't recognize her.

   Panic shot through me as I remembered the loudness of the bang. I didn't have time to react. A strange, almost mocking smile pulled at Adne's lips a second before she pulled the trigger...

    Pain like none I'd ever felt before shot through my side and I howled in agony, falling from Calx, who reared at the bang. My ears rung and I saw out of the corner of my eye Rowan's horse jolt in fear, tossing his head and rearing. The Thornguards moved in front and around Rowan and Qui could only stare at me in shock.

    Adne lowered the gun and spoke. "You know where to find me when you need the cure," she said, smiling like a snake. Anger roiled in my gut, besides the agonizing pain that had my vision spinning.

Damn her.

She'd blackmailed me.

And I'd fallen for it.

Like a gullible little...human.