Fae by Emily White Read Free Book Online Page B

away by a silly little
boy. I kicked my door and clawed at the words, but they were
digital and would not come off.
    Thankfully, Cailen didn't
say another word as I pounded on the screen and the wall, willing
it through the sheer force of my rage to do what I
wanted.
    After a few minutes--and
long after the corridor refilled with dozens of soldiers whose
stares I felt on my back--I leaned my forehead against my door and
groaned.
    The boy was nothing to me,
and certainly not worth my precious time. I was Auri. And he was
pitiful.
    Cailen leaned against the
wall next to me, feigning nonchalance, but I knew better. I could
feel his rage just as clearly as I felt mine. "Are you ready to
leave yet?"
    With my head still pressed
against the cool wall, I thought about that. A part of me was now
very ready to go, and yet I would never give that child dressed in
a soldier's uniform the satisfaction of driving me away.
    Cailen leaned his head
down--his mouth hovering just above my ear--like he always did when
he had a secret to share. He'd been sharing a lot of secrets
lately. My ears perked, waiting. "We wouldn't have to go far." He
paused to look around the corridor before continuing. "My ship is
just above Soltak, by the moon."
    I straightened, surprised.
I could actually feel my eyes widen. "How long has it been
here?"
    "Since I came for
you."
    Cailen's ship? Here? “Why
didn’t you tell me?”
    “I knew how you felt about
transporting now, and there’s no other way to get on.”
    That tampered my
excitement a little. But as I stared at the words on my door,
thinking about that worthless pile of Soltakian crap, rage burned
away all fear. That boy could think what he wanted. For now. But
when he saw me with thousands of Auri at my side, coming in to save
his planet, then he would know to fear me.
    And when I thought about
the message on my wall written in Ladeshian--the message that felt
so much like a warning--probably from Ranen himself--the same Ranen
the guards would not let us see--I knew beyond any doubt that
something was wrong.
    I looked at the soldiers
passing us and when I saw the loathing in their eyes and heard the
whispers that passed from one to the other, I felt I could sense
their hate as clearly as any emotion I could sense from
Cailen.
    The Block had become a
dangerous place, and I no longer cared to be a part of
it.
    A group of soldiers saw
the words on my door as they passed, and laughed.
    "Yes," I said.
    "Yes to what?"
    I grabbed Cailen's wrist,
waved my hand in front of my door's screen, and pulled him into my
bedroom with me.
    As soon as the door slid
closed, I turned around and said, "Yes to leaving. Yes to going to
your ship." I paused, willing the rage to leave my voice. "But
first, I need you to help me figure out a message."
     
    ***
    We were Wrong. We did not
see.
    And Cailen had been sure
the last word was Bava cut short.
    Help.
    I tried calling up the
message for the millionth time, but my wall screen came back with
the same thing; it had never existed. And since I didn't have super
hacking abilities like my talented artist friend, I had to settle
for hoping and praying the computer was just experiencing a
temporary glitch. Unfortunately, after pushing the same recall
function for the past few hours, I had to admit this glitch was
anything but temporary.
     

    It was late--well past the
middle of the night--and Cailen was on his ship, getting it ready
for my arrival. He'd had to remind me that even though I didn't
think about my position much, everyone else still took it very
seriously. So I was alone, waiting with my bag stuffed full of my
Auri dresses and cloak sitting at my feet. It hadn't taken long to
pack. I only owned nine things and one of them--my locket--was
always on me.
    The only thing for me to
do now was to try to forget the fact I’d be transporting, and all
the terror that went along with it.
    I tried calling up the
message one more time before laying back against my pillow with