Free Arranged (Arranged Trilogy Book 1) by Julia Crane Page B

before leaving the buildings and entering into a sparse patch of woods. It was nice to see greenery even if it was few and far in-between. I looked over the somber landscape with a heavy heart. In the distance I could see miles and miles of rough terrain.
    Even though I longed to be back at my homeland, I was glad to have met Michael, and even Henrek. I had to keep Michael safe at all costs. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to him. I would protect him with my life, if I had to.
    Now I just had to convince him to come back on our side.
    It took close to forty-five minutes to make it to the compound, which meant I only had about an hour to spare. Not much time to change Michael’s mind about me.
    They were surprisingly well hidden. I wouldn’t have stumbled upon them on my own, that’s for sure, which also meant they were paranoid. Yet after running into the chimera, I could understand their need for seclusion and paranoia.
    They lived in a sectioned off cave system. Before we even made it to the entrance, we were surrounded by armed guards. Hopefully, things didn’t get ugly.
    Michael held up his hands. “I found this girl wandering on her own, and I thought I’d bring her in and feed her before she continued on her way.”
    The guards lowered their blades. One of the taller guys came forward. “Dad’s in a mood, so I’d make sure to stay out of his way.”
    This was obviously his brother. I’d always envied the bond between siblings. I wondered what “in a mood” meant.
    Michael nodded, but didn’t say anything.
    I stood there feeling awkward.
    “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your pretty little friend?” His brother took a step closer, his eyes leering down the length of my body. Every muscle tensed. I really hoped he wasn’t going to cause trouble.
    Michael took both of his hands and pushed his brother backwards. The guy stumbled and had to regain his footing.
    “She’s mine,” Michael practically growled.
    My head jerked up. I’m what?
    His brother laughed. “Hey man, can’t blame me for trying.”
    I sagged slightly as the tension left my body. For Michael’s sake, he better hope he was just talking tough.
    Michael roughly grabbed me by the arm and pulled me forward. “Sorry about that,” he mumbled. “I didn’t want him to give you a hard time. As you can imagine, there aren’t a lot of potential partners in this area. I should have given this more thought. If I’d been thinking I would of had you change into a boy. This could get nasty.”
    Inwardly I groaned. The last thing I wanted was to cause more trouble for Michael.
    “Just make sure you stay close. I knew this was a bad idea.” He blew out a breath. “Why’d you want to come here anyway? I’m not sure what you are trying to prove.”
    All I wanted to do was get through this and get back to my room. I didn’t relish the idea of being in the home of the very people that tried to kill my mother. “Can you just take me to your water supply? And then we can leave.”
    He winced. “Our what?”
    I stopped and glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one was in hearing range. “I can charge the water with my energy. It will heal your people and also help your plants grow.”
    His eyes widened in surprise. “You’d really do that?”
    I nudged him with my elbow. “What were you expecting me to do?”
    “Honestly, I have no idea. I just couldn’t tell you no when you looked at me with those big pleading eyes of yours.”
    My heart skipped a beat or two. Could he possible still be attracted to me even though the idea of me being a dark faery repulsed him?
    “Let me bring you in to meet my family and then I’ll show you where our water comes from.”
    Great. Just who I didn’t want to meet.
    We trudged down a rocky hill, and I had to hold onto Michael’s arms to keep from losing my footing on the loose rocks. Touching his warm skin sent a thrill through me. I had to pull myself together. Too much was at