The adrenaline coursing through Rayne's body on her first exhibition away from home was quickly dampened by the sour mood of a particular Fae King.

They had left early in the night after packing the essentials for both of them in one backpack that she had no problem lugging around, despite his lack of thanks. Small weapons, few toiletries items, money, and clothes that will get her through a few days before she can purchase any. Her mom packed them some quick snacks that should last them until they have to hunt and made her promise to stay in contact whenever she could in exchange for allowing her to go.

She knew she was going to miss her family, including Ronan who objected to her leaving at all, but she had to do it. She'll find a way to make the most of the dreaded trip with Jarrah's brooding silence to find that hidden elixir of his. They'd only been traveling a few hours by foot when she was squirming at the chance to speak. Usually, she was good at staying silent, or at least being patient. But on that particular night, she just wanted to know what the legend said, why he made a deal with her father in the first place, and if he thinks his people were ready enough for what was to come.

He seemed less than enthused to be there with her anyway, but a few words out of him wouldn't hurt anybody, even if they were supposed to dislike each other by their very nature. They didn't have much of a choice in terms of company and if they were going to work together, she needed to trust him.

"So . . . Jarrah, King of Fae," she started, wanting to be as respectful as possible. She glanced at him and caught his annoyed eye.

"We don't have to talk," he said back, stiffly. She controlled the emotion on her face well, though she couldn't deny that she was a little shocked by how coldly he spoke to her.

"Yes, we do. I'm not going to Crimson Peak blindsided. So as much as you probably want me to shut up the whole trip there, it's not going to happen," she snapped. He snorted at that.

"And why would I tell you anything?"

Stubborn asshole, she thought to herself. Her cheeks flushed as she narrowed her eyes in distain at the forest floor. Trying her very best to control herself, she clenched her fists at her sides. She was going to argue with people for the rest of her life, and she knew she couldn't just snap at anyone who pissed her off.

"Because—" she started, calm and collected. "We're going to have to work together as much as possible. If we don't, we're dead."

Jarrah barked out a hard laugh. "Don't you worry, alpha. I won't need your help."

Something inside Rayne snapped at his mocking tone. Before she could get a grip on her rage, she turned to him then. It took everything in her not to shove his ass against a tree and punch his face in. "Hey, I'm the one who got you out of that dungeon in the first place! If it wasn't for me, you'd still be down there rotting with no food and a weak body. Dying because of your stupid pride!"

"My pride?" he growled, whirling on her with foaming eyes. "I'm here in the first place because of your father and his selfishness. So stop acting like I'm the one who's indebted to you!"

Rayne glared at him hotly with rage and snapped her teeth at his open disrespect. "My father is a good man!" she shouted. His eyes ghosted white now and his wings were beginning to unfurl at his back, but she wasn't scared. She refused to back down to him and his foolishness.

"A good man? A good man? Because good men capture people out of desperation? Because good men trick other people into joining their fight?"

"This is OUR fight! Without the Weres help, the Fae won't survive against Ambrosius' attack either!" Rayne wanted to say more, but something about what he said made her pause mid-rant. Shifting on her feet, she pushed her chin towards him and crossed her arms over her chest. "How did my father capture you? Since that's what's pissing you off about me, tell me how a dog captured the great, untouchable Fae King?"

Jarrah's jaw twitched with the clench of his teeth, and he turned abruptly away from her then. He moved to walk forward. "I'm not talking about this with you."

"Jarrah—"

He blazed at the sound of his name again, eyes flashing. "Don't—"

"Then just tell me! I'll leave you alone if you can just fucking talk—"

"He had my fiancé captured and threatened to end her life if I didn't go with him. So, I did and now I'm stuck here with you to save your asses. Good man or not, that's the difference between me and your father," he hissed, interrupting her speech which came to a heart-stopping halt.

Too stunned to speak, Rayne watched Jarrah stomp ahead of her, having nothing left to say to him. She swallowed thickly at the thought of her father doing something so rash and imagined a desperate Jarrah ready to defend the woman he was to marry. She knew there was a story behind him coming to them, but it still shocked her that he was engaged and traded his life for hers, essentially.

Rayne didn't know much about love, but she knew he loved her enough to sacrifice his freedom. If anyone were to have threated her family, Amira, or even Ronan, she'd gladly take their places with no questions asked.

For the rest of the night, and well into the dawn of the morning, Jarrah and Rayne never said another word to each other, though it didn't stop the simmer of guilt from torching her both inside and out. She made sure to stay well behind him during their walk in the forest and gave him the space he obviously needed. She didn't know her father threatened a woman's life just to defeat Ambrosius and could hardly believe he would blackmail someone in the midst of his desperation. Though Jarrah was an asshole, he was right about a few things, and Rayne had forced it out of him, which made her wince. It was only day 1 and things were already not going as smoothly as she had hoped.

For once in her life, Rayne missed having Ronan as her much less complicated companion. She much preferred his company over the cold, and much too quiet king of the fairies, as Ronan would call him.

It was going to be a very long journey.