The sheets didn’t smell all that dirty, but they didn’t smell fresh either. They stunk of his essence, and she didn’t doubt the two recently fuc...ed on those same exact sheets. At the sudden realization, she quickly sat up, uncovering herself before giving the bed a foul look. She stood up and began looking around his closet in order to find an extra sheet or blanket, and just as she was searching, she heard loud breathing. And although the house was fairly quiet, the walls were thin enough for. I had planned on playing my prank on a rival of my father, but Duke Gallchobhar had interfered. He ensured the Queen of Faerie walked through that trellis and triggered my trap, that she was coated in iron dust.How the queen had screamed.There was no hiding from such an assault. I could have feigned ignorance of the pain caused to Lady Oona (my actual target), but not to Queen Sidhe ... I had no choice but to grovel before the throne and beg for her forgiveness. Banishment for me while my. Her hair was streakedwith grey, her skin was pockmarked and scabbed, and her cheeks weresunken. When she smiled at me, I realized why. She was missing severalteeth."Honey?" she said, throwing her arms around me. "What the hell is goingon? Why are you in here?"That set off the waterworks again. I heard a harrowing tale of abuse andaddiction that left me feeling sad, but also filled me with a newresolve. The following Tuesday, I asked my friend Valerie Martin, who rana local drug and alcohol. It confirmed how well Nika and I got along, sharing a room and running together, utterly unaware of how well we were doing.A few weeks before Spring break, Dad asked me if I wanted to do a destination run with him. It would be the first weekend of the break. I told him I'd love to, and I wasn't going to do anything special, maybe hang out with Tanika some. I'd already done a half marathon with him and Tanika back in November. I got to know Tanika a little on that trip. This one, I was going to.