A Thief of Nightshade(33)

Given smiled weakly. “Sometimes bearing the pain of others is the only way to heal yourself. And no, I’m a Shade, things affect me differently than they would any human, from your world or otherwise.”

“I will repay you somehow.” Aubrey couldn’t even imagine how to thank her for her selflessness.

“Save him, your prince. That will be payment enough. To see even for a short while this darkness lifted from Avalar would be worth any trial, any burden, anything.”

Aubrey nodded as the hollowing in her gut returned. Without thinking, she touched her shirt where the dragonfly rested beneath it.

Given’s eyes grew wide. “An Oran?

Still in existence?”

“A what?” Aubrey asked, taking off the necklace for Given to see. “Jullian gave this to me, it’s a dragonfly. Surely, you have dragonflies here.”

Given’s face lit up with a wide smile. She took it with painstaking care into her hands and looked at it closer.

“I’ve never seen one this close. I didn’t think they were real, to be completely honest.”

“I still don’t follow you.” Aubrey said, wondering if the fever was as imaginary as Given thought it was.

“He never told you what this was?”

Aubrey groaned. “He never told me anything, not directly anyway. He wrote books that I thought were fantasy. I couldn’t have imagined they were journals. He never mentioned anything called an Oran.”

Given was still grinning, like she’d been let in on some inside joke that Aubrey wasn’t privy to. “An Oran is a living thing that relays the feelings and emotions of its owner to the one who gifted it.” She handed it back. “Quickly, tuck it back away and don’t touch it in anyone’s presence unless you have no choice. It will glow to the eyes of a Fae, even through fabric, when it’s speaking.”

“Speaking? Jullian could read my mind?” Aubrey wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

“No,” Given laughed. “No, nothing so precise; but it responds to emotions and if you feel strongly enough about something, images of it. Aubrey, do you realize what this means? The Prince can feel you now, still. He may not be able to remember anything, but Saralia can’t stop him from sensing your presence here. That must be how she knew to send the Time Wraith. Both a blessing and a curse, I suppose.”

Aubrey needed a moment to take in the revelation. “That’s how I crossed over, isn’t it, my grief over his death?

That’s why Jullian was so insistent that I read all of his books and remember them, so that I could picture Avalar should I ever need to. He must have feared this all along.”

A very fine line exists between our world and magic. When emotions are strong enough, they will carry a person over.

“I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t have,” Given said. “Get some sleep. We have a hard day ahead of us.”

“I’m so sorry.” Aubrey smiled sadly, truly regretful for what Given was going through on her behalf.

“Don’t be. At least this way I won’t have to respond to any of Aislinn’s cutting remarks; the physical pain takes my mind off how much more his words hurt. Please don’t tell him, I don’t want him to know about this. I would rather he just think I’m quiet.”

“Fair enough,” Aubrey said. “But before I go, I do have one question that begs to be asked.”

“What?”

“Nightshade is a drug in this world, in a different way than where I come from.

But, alcohol ... does it affect humans here?”

Given looked at her strangely. “In what way?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. Given’s lack of response was answer enough. “Oh, I don’t know, say, in the same way nightshade affects humans here?”

Given laughed. “No, why would it?

The madame does have a particular liking for it. I assumed it was the taste.”

“No, it isn’t the taste,” she said. “Not unless you fancy the taste of gasoline.”

“Of what?” Given asked.

“Never mind. Goodnight.” Aubrey

couldn’t help but laugh as she made her way back to the fire.

Did you see me drink anything?

Aislinn turned around right after Given’s comment about Aubrey saving Jullian and the bit about seeing the darkness lifted from Avalar. He made it back to the campfire before Aubrey did, lying down where he’d been before she got up. Lipsey never noticed his departure and curled up against his belly as though he’d never left.

He closed his eyes and for a time he tried to sleep but he couldn’t get over the shock of what Given had done for Aubrey. It nagged at him. Why would a Shade care what happened to Aubrey save to gain favor in the eyes of the Queen by leading her into a trap? He almost believed that thought until a small voice in his head argued that were it so then Given would have hastened Aubrey’s death, not prolonged her life and she certainly wouldn’t have

taken

on Aubrey’s

suffering.

Doesn’t matter, she’s a half-breed whore.

And still, nothing about Given’s sweet nature and gentle beauty offended him, which offended him most of all.

Images of Merrial arose unbidden followed by visions of his children and the one time he’d tried to get close to them. Merrial had looked right at him, had known who he was. With pain too raw to