Page 152 of Journey to the Elderoak
She smiled. “Welcome back.”
Raine evaluated her face. “Were you crying over me, little frog?”
“Of course I was. I thought you were dead.” She wiped her face with the back of her hand.
He gave her a weak roguish grin. “Not this time.”
Ava turned to Quinn who was squirming in pain as the healer prepped her leg to be sutured.
“Can’t you give her something for the pain?” seethed Thorne. “You’re hurting her!”
“She’s going to be fine. Let him work,” said Kai.
Quinn looked at Thorne and said through clenched teeth, “Go have your hissy fit somewhere else. You’re distracting me.”
Ava stood and walked to her brother, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Come on, let’s walk.” He glared at her. “Now,” she insisted.
He rose and glanced at Quinn one last time before following Ava out from under the canopy. She sat on what appeared to have been the edge of a fountain and patted the seat next to her.
“She’s fine. Raine’s fine. We’re all okay.”
He sighed as he sat beside her and leaned over, placing his elbows on his knees.
“What’s going on? I’ve never seen you act like this,” she said.
“I watched a daemon soldier slice her open like she was nothing. I thought she was going to die.” His voice was tight.
She narrowed her eyes at him. Oh.
“You love her.”
He looked at her with conviction, but didn’t answer, turning away again.
“I thought…she said…you two just had fun sometimes,” Ava said.
He still didn’t say anything.
“You should tell her.”
“She doesn’t want to be queen,” he whispered.
“Have you actually ever asked her that?”
He grunted, confirmation enough. Stubborn fae men. They were all the same. Rolling her eyes, she rose and patted his back.
“Think about it,” she said and walked away, searching for Casimir.
She found him speaking with some soldiers, giving ordersbefore they walked off. When he spotted her coming toward him, he limped to her and grabbed her face. “Did you get assessed by a healer? Did they look at your cheek?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s barely even a scratch. Your distraction plan worked, though you could have warned me.”
“I tried,” he said. “Sorry I had to keep him talking so Aelerion could sneak up on him.”
Ava scanned the area. “Where is he anyway?”
“He and his wife are with a group of guards looking for survivors.”
“Remind me to thank him for saving my life.”
