Melissa Marr: Desert Tales: A Wicked Lovely Companion Novel

He glanced at Jayce, who was standing silently beside Rika. “Because of you , Jayce.”

Jayce didn’t appear moved, didn’t seem to appreciate the lengths Sionnach had gone to in order for him to have the privilege of standing at her side. “You were still wrong.”

“By Rika’s standards, by mortal standards, I was abhorrent.” Sionnach strode toward them so he was directly in front of Rika; his movements were cautious as much from habit as from injury. Slowly, Sionnach brushed her hair away and cupped her face in his hands. “But you’re a stubborn faery, Rika. I needed you alive and involved.”

“You manipulated me. You should’ve told me.” Her voice was soft, even as she chastised him, but he heard the acceptance too. Rika understood him; she forgave him and challenged him, pushing him to be better—to be worthy of her friendship. He wasn’t. He never would be, but he was grateful that he hadn’t lost her. He’d known that it was a risk, but he’d hoped against hope that it would turn out well. She’d needed to be nudged into her rightful place, out of her seclusion and into the bright desert light. He’d been willing to risk a lot to see her happy, to see her ruling over the solitaries in the desert, to have her at his side.

“My word, princess. I’ll talk to you next time I have plans to manipulate you.” He nodded and kissed her nose in a moment of impertinence. “I’m glad you calmed down and came home. Where were you?”

“Getting help.” Rika shoved him away with a small growl. “Solving the problem you created for me.”

Fear crept over him at her words. There weren’t a lot of faeries she could seek out to help her in the desert. “What did you do? Rika?”

“I’ve sworn fealty.” She started to walk past him as if she were utterly unconcerned by her admission.

“You swore fealty ?” Sionnach grabbed her arm and swung her back to face him. “How could you do that? After everything he’s done. . . .”

“But you left me so few choices.”

Sionnach stared at her in horror. He’d arranged everything he could to protect her, and she went to Keenan? He knew his outrage was nowhere near hidden as he asked, “So you gave him an excuse to come to our home? You gave him power over you? How could you do that?”

Rika stared at Sionnach without expression for several moments. She was certain she was missing something. After decades of knowing the fox faery, she found that she could often learn as much by what he didn’t say as what he did. There was more to his upset than worry that she’d let Keenan have an easy and regular influence in the desert. Quietly, she said, “I didn’t swear to him . I don’t trust Keenan.”

Expression still wary, Sionnach let go of her and took one step backward. “Who? Which court have you invited here? The High Court is in seclusion. . . . The Dark Court ?” He stepped farther away and glanced at Jayce, who was leaning against the cave wall. “And you? Why didn’t you stop her?”

Jayce shrugged. “I swore it too.”

“Are you mad ?” Sionnach looked from one to the other.

Rika walked away and dropped down on one of the pallets on the cave floor. “I offered my loyalty to Donia . She is my queen now. I’m sworn to the Winter Court.”

He stopped, glanced out the cave mouth into the desert, and then back at Rika. “Winter can’t walk here.” He nodded. “The Winter Queen is unable to be here . . . but Keenan fears her.”

“Exactly.” Rika nodded.

At that, Sionnach came to crouch in front of her. He almost looked meek for a moment. “Oh, princess . . . together we are strong enough. We didn’t need her.”

“I disagree. I can deal with the solitaries—with or without you—but she gives me peace from him.” Rika didn’t want to admit her weakness, not even now that she felt like she was finally well and truly free of Keenan. He’d been an obstacle to her peace of mind for almost her entire life.

Keenan is standing in the middle of a path in the middle of a forest. “Don’t run from me.”

“I want you gone.” Ice crystals fall from Rika’s eyes with tiny clatters. All around her it’s summer, but here, in the small circle nearest her, it’s frost-filled.

“I told you. These are the rules. You have to talk to the next mortal I choose.”

“No.”

“As long as none of them take up the test, you’re the Winter Girl.” He reaches out to her. “Remember how much you said you loved me? This is what I need from you.”

“I hate you.” Rika backs up. The ice backs up with her. “I never want to see you again.”

He sighs. “Our lives are tied together. You’ll never stop seeing me.”

“Stay. Away. From. Me.” She turns and runs into the woods, leaving icy footprints behind her like a trail.

Rika shivered. “I won’t have Keenan in my desert. I made decisions to fix it. Now, all we need to do is deal with Maili.”

After a moment, Sionnach asked hopefully, “We?”

“Yes, we. You’re a fox faery, Shy. I can’t expect you to think like a mortal,” she said gently. If she stayed angry every time he was what he was, they’d never have become friends. She knew that, but she’d needed to calm down before she could even speak with him. Yes, she was hurt, but she also realized that she should have been more suspicious of his actions; she’d known him too long to be so blindly trusting. She could simply have asked him what his motives were in helping her to be with Jayce. For all his flaws, Sionnach would never directly lie to her; she simply hadn’t been paying close attention.

The fox faery grinned. “Really? We fight together?”

Jayce walked over to stand beside Rika and Sionnach. “Don’t get too sure of yourself,” he cautioned.

Sionnach shrugged and held out a hand to Rika. “Shall we let them know they have two Alphas now, princess? Be my co-Alpha for real?”

Rika glanced at Jayce.

He shook his head. “Go work. I’d rather you two were on the same side, and I’m fine with a little quiet. The light’s great for sketching. . . .”

Rika leaned in and kissed Jayce. Although she’d once been a human too, she didn’t always understand him. Maybe it was that they were from different places and times, but the easy way he accepted everything—Sionnach, Donia, Alphas, fealty, faery fights, and faery courts—seemed . . . odd. She hadn’t been so calm when she’d discovered the oddities of faeries, but maybe it was easier being an observer than an active participant in this world.

“I trust you,” Jayce told her quietly. “And when this whole Alpha bit is resolved, you’ll be less tense.”

Rika felt Sionnach watching her, knew that he was aware that she wasn’t telling Jayce everything. Being Alpha wasn’t going to make things easier for her, not really. She’d be busier and have more conflicts to handle.

“I’ll be back soon,” she promised Jayce.

And then, avoiding eye contact with the faery she’d reprimanded for omitting truths, she walked out into the sunlight.

Sionnach and Rika crossed the desert in silence. Although Rika was trying to look serious, he was grinning. They exchanged looks a couple of times.

Finally, Rika looked at him. “Well?”

“Well, what?” His fox tail flicked behind him.

“What’s the plan?”

“Make a point. Establish clarity.”

“That’s the whole plan?” she asked.

“You mean the part where we capture Maili?” Sionnach nudged her with his shoulder. “And you”—his expression became one of feigned innocence—“‘talk’ to her?”