Through the Fairy Ring

Chapter Fourteen

"Where's Breeju?" I directed the question to Tavi so I didn't have to look at Arden. Still, the weight of his presence suffocated me, and my heart raged against my ribcage.

Tavi glanced at Arden, and then back to me. When she didn't answer, Arden cleared his throat and replied, "She said since we were here, she had something she needed to take care of and left. She'll rendezvous with us later. She thought in the morning."

I gritted my teeth and turned to acknowledge him. "And how does she expect to find us?"

"She has her ways." He looked past me, his face the tightly controlled Darag-Ward mask.

"I'm sure." I glared at him and then stomped over to Dara. I'd believed when the mask popped up it was because he was hiding his emotions. That he'd kept the distance between us because of duty. What if the truth was he just didn't feel anything for me. The realization I'd been acting like an idiot, fawning over my schoolgirl crush stoked my rage. The poor Suntaria backed away from my oncoming wrath and swung her head so I couldn't get a hold of her bridle. "Dammit, Dara. Come back here."

"Hazel." Arden's voice was sharp. "You're scaring her. You need to back off."

Great. The horse got more concern from him than my feelings did.

"You need to back off, Arden. Way the hell off." I spun to face Drostan. His eyes were wide with surprise. Good. At least I'd managed to knock the surly expression off his face. "Let's go."

He opened his mouth and then closed it, frowning, and sidled over toward Tavi. "I, um, don't know if that is a good idea. Right now, I mean. Maybe we all need to calm down."

I glared at the three of them and fought against an overwhelming sense of helplessness that was crashing over me. I couldn't make Drostan leave, I couldn't heal the kids, and I couldn't have Arden. I was ineffective, useless, and at the mercy of the world around me. My anger faltered. The flame that had been burning in my chest from the time I met Breeju flickered. My lips trembled like they had a mind of their own and before I lost all emotional control, I jerked around and stalked off the pathway, deeper into the forest.

"Hazel!" Leaves and small twigs snapped under Tavi's feet as she trotted after me. "Wait!"

"No." Single syllables were all I could handle. If I tried to say anything else, I'd have to loosen the death-grip I had on the tears stuck in my throat. Once the floodgates opened, there would be no stopping the watery rush.

"This isn't helping. Stop walking, let me talk to you."

"Fine." I halted my march, but didn't turn around. My lips screwed up into a knot, and the tears rushed into my eyes.

"Oh, Hazel. I'm so sorry." She reached her arms around me and gave me a gentle hug.

"Don't..." My voice was husky, but I continued. "Don't be nice. It'll make it worse."

She let go of me. "Okay. Let's sit for a second and just calm down."

I followed her to a downed tree trunk, slumped next to her, and wiped my eyes with the palm of my hands. It was good I didn't wear makeup in the Realm, because my face would have been a mess. After several minutes passed, and my throat wasn't burning from unshed tears, I took a deep breath.

"I can't be near Arden right now. Why did he come? Why didn't he stay in Darag-Leigh and do Daragward stuff."

Tavi stared at her feet. "When I told him about Breeju and you going to Adven, he got upset and insisted he was going to the portal. I made him take me with him."

"He got upset." My voice was flat. "What right does he have to be upset? I never kept any secrets from him. Did he tell you why he conveniently never mentioned the fact he is married? Or that there was a baby involved?"