Chapter 7

Coming out of the darkness of the tunnel, the light was practically blinding. Running hadn’t exactly given my eyes time to adjust, and I shielded them, standing and straining to see who was waiting for us.

Amber was still running, barreling into a tall figure laughing in the distance. The man lifted her up and swung her around, exclaiming “Och girl, you’ll be the death of me, you will!”

I laughed, too, recognizing the big voice, even if my eyes were still acclimating to the bright yellow sun. Ewan. Apparently their separation period was over, at least for a little while.

I looked away from the happy couple, not wanting to intrude on their moment, and that’s when I saw him. Just standing there, lounging against a tree a few feet away, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Alec!?” His eyes were hidden in the deep recesses of the dark green hooded military coat he wore, but I saw the slight quirk of his lips as he tried not to smile, and I knew he was just as glad to see me as I was to see him. “Alec!”

I rushed into his arms and hugged him for all I was worth, just relieved to see him again. My face found his neck within the hood and I burrowed closer, warming the tip of my nose against his skin and inhaling deeply. With Alec, you never quite knew where the forest ended and he began, the scent of pine and coriander followed him everywhere, always reeling me in like a warm cup of cocoa.

“God, I missed you. I wasn’t sure I’d see you here, Bran didn’t tell us which team he was sending to meet us.” I felt the warm rush of the surge spreading through me, flowing from my nose to my toes, telling me with every pulse of my blood that yes, this boy was my match in every way, mentally, spiritually, physically.

His arms tightened around me, but he didn’t get a chance to answer.

“Is this some sort of family reunion Bran forgot to warn me about? Because otherwise it would seem that I should have brought a date.” Mialloch’s voice, tinged with what surely could not have been sarcasm, echoed behind me from the mouth of the tunnel.

“Mialloch,” Alec deadpanned, his arms dropping to his sides. “So nice to see you. Bran forgot to mention we’d be babysitting.”

“A pleasure, as well. You must finally have learned how to follow orders, if Bran thinks you are capable enough to serve on my team.”

“Your team?” Alec started forward, clearly intent on inflicting some bodily harm.

I stepped in front of them.

“Alec, Mialloch, you guys know each other?”

“You could say that,” Alec muttered.

“Yes, we shared classes together at the Academy, at least, until we entered separate tracks.”

“Separate tracks?”

“Guards focus on history, tactics, languages, training. Kids like Mialloch focus on…well, I don’t know, what exactly do you learn besides how to dance?” Alec asked with a sneer.

“Why, I-” Mialloch took a step forward as if he meant to threaten Alec, which couldn’t lead anywhere good.

“Boys, boys.” I stepped forward, putting myself between them. “I get it. You don’t like each other. But you are both here for a reason.” I looked at Alec and placed a hand on his chest, whispering, “Alec, please.”

I raised my voice again. “You both need to calm down.”

“Why is he here?” Alec spoke only to me.

“He’s been acting as my fae tutor for the last couple of months, they thought he might have some insight into the old Druid legends Rose wants to discuss with us. Plus, apparently both our fathers thought this would be a good opportunity for him to see a bit of the world, part of his Council training.”

“Bran planned this? He wanted you to travel together?”

“Well, yes.” My eyes widened. “But not like that! He’s just here as a, you know, an attaché! An observer. That’s all, Alec, I swear.”

I could practically see the gears turning as the walls slid back into place, Alec safely hiding behind them. Whatever ground we’d gained before he left, we’d just lost it. Alec still believed my father would think he wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted to talk to him, to tell him about my conversation with my dad, but now wasn’t really the time.

Right around this time, Amber finally climbed down off of Ewan, coming up for air.

“What’s going on, guys?” she sauntered over to us, beaming from ear to ear as she swatted Alec’s butt. “Are you happy to see us or what?”

Alec turned and grinned at her, grabbing her in a hug. “You? Always. Now, who’s ready for some donuts?”

Alec took my backpack and then walked by Mialloch to grab the duffel near his feet, slinging it over his back before he started heading away into the woods.

“Donuts?” Mialloch asked me.

“Yeah, you know,” Alec smirked over his shoulder, “big soft squishy things with no hard edges, basically just disguising a big hole? Sweet on the outside, dull on the inside? You’re going to love them. They kind of remind me of you.”

Totally oblivious to the social discomfort on the scene, Ewan wrapped an arm around Amber, pulling her close as they walked. “Yeah, we have a whole box of them in the Scout. Alec said we should pick up right where we left off last time we were all together, made me buy two dozen from Chez Boris this morning.”

The last thing we had done in Montreal before I left for Aeden was get donuts. Well, okay, buy donuts and then fend off an inept attack from a couple of Shade wannabes. Ewan hadn’t actually been there, so the fact that Alec had remembered made me feel all warm and glow-ey inside. Now all I had to do was convince Alec that nothing was going on with Mialloch, and convince him to mind his manners.