“Then stop telegraphing so loudly,” he returned.
If I had a gun, I’d shoot him in that perfect ass of his. Maybe I could set fire to his pants instead. After we found Exos.
Which reminded me… “How do you think your brother is going to feel about this?”
He shrugged. “I assume he’ll be too relieved at being freed to care. Besides, you wouldn’t be the first fae we’ve shared.”
I stumbled over the flat ground, causing him to whirl around and catch me by the waist before I fell on my face. We stayed like that for a long moment, him holding me precariously in the air while I remembered how to breathe.
You wouldn’t be the first fae we’ve shared.
Oh God.
Fuck.
I didn’t like the picture that came into my thoughts with that comment. Mainly because it was one of me sandwiched between them. And no.
No. No. No. No.
My head was shaking with the thought, eliciting a deep chuckle from Cyrus. “You humans and your sensibilities. I’ve always found it amusing. Fae are far more passionate creatures, little queen. Why else do you think Exos approves of your mating with other males?” His lips feathered over my temple as he righted me beside him. “We’ll talk more about that later. I need you focused.”
Focused.
Yeah.
Like that was going to happen.
He’d just admitted to sharing women with Exos. Which… was fucking hot. And so, so, so wrong.
“Stop fretting,” he whispered, his palm sliding to my lower back. “Do you see the dark patch up there?” He pointed with his opposite hand, highlighting a particularly ominous-looking hole in the landscape ahead. “That’s the entrance to the death fields.”
I swallowed. “Okay. What exactly is a death field?” He’d mentioned the taunts, but that really didn’t tell me anything. I mean, how did a field talk?
“I believe you would call them cemeteries,” he murmured, his touch a brand against my spine. “But these are Spirit Fae tombs. Tormented Spirit Fae.”
“The plague,” I whispered.
“Yes. It’s where we buried the dead.”
Hence, death fields, I translated. Right. “But their souls still live?”
“To an extent.” He started walking again, the pressure along my lower back forcing me to move alongside him. “Most fae live several hundred years, but Spirit Fae are known to live longer. We embody life and death, after all. But most of the victims lying in that field died far too young, long before their spirits were ready to leave.”
He continued in silence, his heartache a
palpable presence in the link we’d forged. Deep inside, he felt responsible, like he’d let his people down. The guilt of it washed over me, the hardship of having to lead a dying breed and the helplessness that accompanied it. He and Exos were the last of their kind, the last Royal Fae, and if they didn’t continue their legacy, his entire kingdom would die.
“It does something to a fae to have their bodies die before their souls are ready to move on,” he added, his voice gruff. “And that’s what the death fields have become. That’s what Titus feared, what everyone fears. The words I said to you are just a taste of what you’ll hear here, Claire. These spirits are desperate and deteriorated, and all they do is writhe in a sea of despair.”
“Can nothing be done for them?” I asked, feeling the desolation creeping over me with every step closer to the vapid hole before us. Maybe it was all in my mind, maybe it was from the link with Cyrus, but I suspected it was more. I could almost hear their screams.
“We’ve tried.” His palm flexed against my back, his demeanor shifting. “They were originally buried in family plots, but the darkness spread, infecting those nearby and driving what few remained insane. It’s why we created this place, why we reburied them all here, as far away from Springfall as possible. But they’ve only grown harsher, more restless, and there are those who believe the sickness will spread once more.”
I stopped midstep, glancing up at him. “Am I putting myself in danger by crossing that threshold? Can I become sick?”
“Yes.” He didn’t hesitate, the answer certain. “As can I. But if you ignore the taunts, realize they’re just words and not reality, you’ll be okay.”
“I don’t understand.”