New World Order (War of the Fae: Book 4) Read Free

tired, I’d like you all to come with us so we can discuss what happened tonight.”
    I heard affirmations of assent around me, able to pick out everyone’s voice but Tony’s.  
    “Tony?   Are you in?”
    “Yeah,” he sighed.   “I’m in.”
    I wasn’t going to beg him.   If a guilt trip over my blindness got him there, then so be it.   Besides, he was the new training coordinator.   He obviously needed to get his ass in gear if we were going to have any hope of winning this war.  
    Just as we were leaving the exam room, Dardennes and Céline walked in.   I could hear their voices and they sounded stressed, which was very strange coming from them.  
    “Jayne, you’ve been injured,” said Dardennes, worry seeping into his voice.
    “You could say that,” I responded, wryly.   “I hear it’s temporary, though.”
    “That is truly a relief and welcome news,” said Céline, taking one of my hands in hers and squeezing it.   “What happened?   We have been fighting off attempts at entry in front of five separate doors.   Luckily we succeeded in driving them away.   We heard that you and your friends did as well.   We cannot thank you enough for your efforts on behalf of the Light Fae.”
    I gripped Scrum’s arm hard as I thought about Samantha shooting Becky and those Dark Fae elves hitting Falco with that arrow, not sure that what we’d done qualified as a success.   Scrum patted my hand reassuringly.
    “Could we talk about it tomorrow maybe?   I’m pretty tired.”   I totally wasn’t in the mood to explain how much I’d messed shit up tonight, and waiting a day wasn’t going to change anything.
    “Yes, of course,” said Dardennes.   “We will be awake well into the night, so you’re welcome to come join us after you’ve gotten something to eat, or even tomorrow, that would be fine as well.”
    “Tomorrow sounds good to me.”   I didn’t feel like eating.   Thinking about Falco and Becky made me too sad to even go into the dining hall.
    “Tony?   Will we see you with the gray elves tonight?”
    “Yes, sir, after I’ve seen to Jayne.”
    “Very good, then.   Until later or tomorrow.”
    We parted ways at the door. The rest of us went in the direction of the bedrooms, arriving at mine after quite a bit of stumbling on my part, thanks to the uneven stone floors, which originally looked pretty cool in their ancientness but now were the bane of my uninjured existence.   One trip from the clinic to my room had already resulted in one slightly twisted ankle and a wrenched arm from trying to hold onto Scrum as I went down.
    Once I was inside and seated at the head of the bed with my back against the wall, I began.   “Okay, guys.   First, thanks for coming.   I know you’re all super tired and would rather be in bed.   Me too ... only sleeping not sitting ... and with none of you here ... but I want to know some stuff, and without eyes right now, I need more of your help than usual.”
    “No need to explain, Jayne.   We’re here for ya,” said Finn.
    “Yep.   No place I’d rather be right now,” said Spike.   I could hear the smile in his voice.
    “I don’t have a choice.   I live here,” said Tim, sarcastically.   I could tell, though, that he didn’t mind.
    I didn’t wait for the others to chime in, continuing in a more subdued tone, “Okay, so first of all, I want to know about Becky and Falco.   What’s going on with ... ?”   I couldn’t finish because I was having a lot of trouble forcing the tears to stay away.   I told myself I had to be military-minded about this, just for now – until everyone was gone and it was just Tim and me.   But it was impossible to stay impassive about two of the nicest fae to ever walk this earth.   My brain kept torturing me, recalling visions of their faces during their last moments in the Here and Now.  
    Finn cleared his throat, also clogged with emotion.   “I don’t know about Becky, but I can tell