Free Horizon by Christie Rich Page A

shot out to the side, moving higher with every word. “Days, weeks, years, who the hell knows?”
    I could empathize. Time didn’t seem to mean much in Faeresia. All humor drained from my face. “You’ve got to tell me what’s happening.”
    One side of her mouth tilted up before she gave a sad shake of her head. “At first, I was really encouraged. I thought we’d actually get a choice with you making such a show, but each Elemental that comes here to bond seems different than when they left. It’s like they can’t think past their hormones or something.” Her eyes grew distant, but her voice stayed strong. “Yeah, I’ll admit it—the guys here are hot, but it’s not like that’s all that counts. I’ve known some of these girls most of my life, and every time I see one of them it’s like looking at a stranger in a friend’s body.”
    My jaw clenched. “I know exactly what you mean. I saw Robin before she bonded.”
    Lacey grunted. “She was one of the worst. At the island, all she could do was talk about how she’d off herself if the fae ever got her. She refused to go with any of them, like me, for a while, but the minute she saw Strayak, her brain went on vacation. I’m not saying I think she should have killed herself instead of bonding with him or anything, but for her to come back here two weeks after meeting him for the first time all twitterpated just reeks of wrong.”
    “Bambi fan?” I asked with a chuckle.
    A bright grin covered her mouth. “You could say that.”
    I let a smirk slide onto my face while I gave her a nod. “I felt the same way. I couldn’t believe how she acted. And the way she talked about him made me want to barf. I’d have said no to him the minute I heard his name.” Lacey gave a short chuckle and her eyes lit in amusement, so I went on. “Can you imagine? Every time you said it, it’d be like throwing up a little in your mouth.”
    She laughed. At first it was a short chortle like before, but soon it morphed into a full-out belly laugh. The contagious sound grabbed hold of me and soon we were feeding off each other’s giggles. I hadn’t laughed this hard in ages…maybe even before I set off for school, and something tight inside me finally released.
    We went on like that for a while, but suddenly the light in her eyes drained, replaced by an ominous shadow. “I’m supposed to meet someone in a few hours.”
    A dark panic washed over me, but I wouldn’t let her see it. “Who?”
    Her usually boisterous voice came out barely a whisper. “They haven’t told me his name.”
    “Can’t be as bad as Strayak,” I said, but the moment for laughter had gone.
    She gave me a token smile. “What am I gonna to do, Rayla?”
    My mind jumbled with images of her and Roger at the island: secret glances every time I turned around. “Do you love him?” I asked. Roger had made it clear how he felt about her, but I’d never been able to get her take of things.
    Recognition flitted into her eyes even though I hadn’t said his name. “I don’t know. Sometimes I think I do. Then I see his dark side, and I want to run.”
    “Everyone has a dark side,” I said, thinking back to when I killed Frick. I’d gone over it so many times, but I couldn’t come up with a scenario that didn’t end with him dead. One day I was going to find out what his real name was. One day, I was going to face what I’d done. Lacey opened her mouth as if to respond, but I butted in. “I get what you mean about him. He’s kind of hard to understand.”
    She nodded. “I’ve known Roger a long time. Too bad I’ve never been good enough for his family. The closer I came to the age of power, the harder it was for my parents to handle the thought of losing me to the fae, so they defected to the rebellion. The first time I saw him after that was on the island. He seemed so different. He wasn’t the fun-loving guy I thought I knew. Part of me wants to fight for him, but the other part of me