NINE
Ace
After leaving behind the man who'd let them ride with him they'd seen no signs of the thieves. Ace and Shelby moved in the general direction of Farah's castle. Ace was getting used to traipsing through the woods at this point though the quiet that continued to stretch between her and Shelby made her more uneasy with each passing minute.
How did that feel? Greshta purred. Did you feel all that power?
Ace squinted up into the sky avoiding the goddess and her questions. She didn't want to admit that it felt good. That every step she took felt as if she was holding herself back from sprinting for miles. That small ounce of holy fire inside of her had given her more energy than any good night of sleep Ace had ever gotten.
Then Petu had called her an angel.
And nervous fear had reared its ugly head inside of her. Ace knew she wasn't an angel. If anything she felt more like a demon. She shouldn't exist; this second life had been born from the four queens’ wrongdoings and the gods’ thirst for it to be righted.
She wasn't an angel. She was a puppet and she never knew when the gods would pull on her strings.
Instinct drove her to cling to the feeling that gave her strength when everything went to shit, but afterward, when she wasn't terrified that Shelby would be ripped away from her again, she wasn't sure how she'd found that sliver of power within her or how she could access it again.
The gods weren't very forthcoming either. They'd been more content to discuss the side effects of whatever Ace had done rather than how she'd been able to do it. Tamar had already told her how beautiful she looked when the holy fire lit her up from the inside out. Fareesh had commented that she looked healthy which caused Nathalian to comment on how holy fire provides the best nourishment. All of them spoke over Ace's own thoughts.
Occasionally, Shelby would look back at her. Maybe she was muttering to herself? She wasn't really sure. The orange streak in his eye caught a glimpse of the sun in it and sparked off the light.
The pair paused as they stopped at a fallen tree. Shelby extended his hand and when she set her palm in his, fire licked up her arm. There was a familiarity in their touch, his soul called to hers. Which made sense to Ace since his grandma had suggested that he now carried part of her soul. Shelby had a piece of her.
As she stepped up onto one of the tree trunks, she asked the question that had burned up her throat for minutes if not hours. "Are you afraid of what I am? Or what you now are?" Her question was softly spoken, caught on the wind and carried away.
Maybe that was what indeed happened, that her question was taken away with the breeze because though Shelby stared up at her, he never answered the question.
***
When they finally reached the next town, the sunset was blocked out by thick black clouds. It hadn't rained yet but moisture filled the air and clung to every part of their bodies making them sticky.
"We need to find a place for the night," Shelby said, breaking the painful silence.
This town, introduced to them with a large engraved sign as Berona, was smaller than the last. Ace wasn't sure if they could call it a town when it appeared more like a village that reminded her of River Bend. The streets were not paved, the sidewalks nothing more than better worn dirt, and only a few lit street lamps were perched outside of select businesses. There was a barbershop, a diner, and an inn that towered over everything else. All of it was shoved between small homes.
The inn itself had a lean to the building that could have been from the construction or perhaps was only an illusion since all the shutters were crooked. Paint was peeling off the door, a sun-bleached blue color giving way to old wood. A vacancy sign hung in the lowest level window. Ace pointed down the street, if you could call it that.
"We don't have any money." His tone was more sad than angry.
Ace's mouth opened into a wide grin. She held up a single finger, and Shelby's eyes narrowed in blatant suspicion. From her pocket, she pulled a small pouch of coin she hadn't been able to avoid the temptation of grabbing. Petu had it so loosely tied to his belt as they'd gotten into the cart that he hadn't noticed when Ace had taken a large stretch and plucked it off of him. He’d probably attribute its loss to the thieves.
Coins clanked together as she shook the small cloth bag. "We have some money."
"Where did you get that?" Shelby sighed, his hands planting on his hips like some sort of disappointed father figure.
"Sticky hands." Ace crinkled her nose. "Let's go."
He must be getting used to my thievery, Ace thought as she set off toward the inn and Shelby followed along behind her without further complaint.
There were a few people out and about but they paid no mind to Ace and Shelby. She assumed that was because they were used to travelers coming and going along this road. That income alone was likely one of the few things that kept the small village going.
Ace reached the door first but stopped to allow Shelby in. He held out his hand expectantly as she made sure her face was shadowed and placed the bag of coins in his palm. The first thing Ace noticed about the inn as they entered was the dust that clung to every surface. The fabric of the couches was faded and the cushions sunken in. There was an empty fireplace with cobwebs under the mantle that shined in the light that came through the singular window.
Just before a staircase was a countertop with a young girl whose face was propped up by her fist, eyes closed. Her chest rose and fell slowly before she emitted a small snore. Shelby approached the counter setting the bag of coins down against the stained wood.
The snoring stopped. A single eye cracked open before the girl sat herself upright and fixed her dirty blonde hair. Her cheeks reddened as she cleared her throat and said, "How may I help you?"
"Just one night, please." Shelby opened the bag of coins and began poking his finger around it to count.
"Ten tallens, please." She held her hand out. Ace tried to look around Shelby to get a glimpse at the girl. Was she old enough to be manning the desk?
Shelby slowly looked around the room, from the girl to the dirt and rickety furniture. "I'll give you four."
The girl placed her hands on her hips. "Do we look like a charity?"
"Do I look like an idiot?"
Ace let out a little chuckle at Shelby's snarky reply earning herself a dark glare from him. She promptly closed her mouth and looked down to her feet still trying to repress a smile.
"Fine. Four tallens." The girl sighed.
Shelby counted out the four coins. In exchange, they were given a key with instructions to go to the next floor up, first room on their right. The girl only glanced at Ace one time and didn't bother to look too hard before she settled back in her seat and closed her eyes again.
Every step they took up the narrow flight of stairs was creaky and loud. Ace dared to touch a finger to the railing but quickly wiped her hands against her cloak to get rid of the tacky feeling.
They found their room easily but when Shelby stuck the old skeleton key into the lock, he had to rattle the door before the key was able to turn over. A strange musty smell that had Ace waving her hand in front of her face greeted them as they entered the small room—about the size of Ace’s borrowed apartment.
A single slanted window let in the slightest bit of light that cast itself over the lumpy mattress and threadbare quilt. On the opposite side of the room was a dresser, missing a few knobs, and a desk without a chair.
Shelby's frown was near audible. He stopped by the bed, arms crossing over his chest, and shook his head. "I should have only given her three tallens."
"I would have just given her ten in the first place." Ace flopped herself on the bed giving it a good bounce before she reclined into one of the flat pillows. Her sore muscles throbbed as she settled against the thin mattress.
"I'm not at all surprised by that," Shelby countered as he shuffled the couple of steps to the window and pulled the curtains closed. When he turned back to face Ace he found her staring up at him.
His expression was soft and Ace gave him a delicate smile in return. She patted the space next to her, an offer and a truce. Shelby hovered by the window, giving the room a sweeping glance as if another bed would materialize from the cobwebs and dust.
"I don't bite." She batted her eyelashes. "At least not very hard."
"It might not hurt but I don't doubt a bite from you would give a man rabies." He scoffed but lowered himself on the bed. There was a shadow under the curve of his jaw as he laid on his back staring up at the ceiling. His hands interlaced across his chest.
Ace couldn't look away. Her arm brushed his shoulders as she adjusted her pillow and tried to balance herself on the edge of the bed. Shelby wasn’t a particularly small man and Ace didn't think the bed was quite big enough for him alone. Even his feet hung off the end of it.
The silence that stretched between them was long but it wasn't awkward anymore. Ace had gotten used to his quiet nature and bouts of moodiness.
"Are you still mad at me?" she whispered.
"Yes," he stated, all sense of emotion drawn from the word. Slowly, he turned his head to look at her. The orange in his gaze flared as their eyes met. His voice dripped to a whisper between them. "No."
Ace forced herself still to keep from trembling. Every muscle in her body froze in anticipation as hope bloomed in her chest and the feeling in her stomach exploded into some sort of chaos. Unstable butterflies. That's what it felt like. Clinically insane butterflies.
Shelby rolled to his side, the bed dipping at his weight, rolling Ace toward him. "I would have done the same thing."
"Really?" She wheezed out the last of her breath with the question. Shelby's ghost of a smile returned, his eyebrows lifting at the sound of it.
"I—" His eyes danced from her gaze to her mouth making Ace's butterflies do some sort of a dance inside of her.
"What?"
"You didn't know. I barely believed it myself." Ace was sure he was talking about the whole not having a real soul thing. "If I could have done what you did I would have done it without thinking."
And Ace hadn't been thinking when she'd done it either. His death had nearly driven her to the point of insanity and she couldn't focus on anything else.
Shelby raised his hand, slowly lifting a finger to Ace's face. He hesitated but Ace tipped her cheek to the touch and he let out a shuddering breath. His finger traced over her cheekbone leaving behind a tingling sensation that created goosebumps all over her skin. She closed her eyes as his hand glided down her cheek, along her jaw, and then under her mouth. He drew a line against her bottom lip and her eyes fluttered back open.
"I swear I can feel you now," he said quietly. "When your emotions get big, I swear there's an echo of it inside of me. We're connected now."
"Really?" When she spoke, his finger stilled against her mouth.
"Like right now." He bobbed his head against the pillow, his face lowering closer to hers with the movement.
"And what am I feeling?"
"Want." His voice was a dark rasp. A deep baritone sound that reflected the emotion that coursed through her and then in turn him. Her heart raced as he tipped her chin up to him. "Do you want me , Ace?"
Oh gods. Her entire body trembled. No one had touched her like this in so long. No one had even been this close to her since only the gods knew when. And Shelby...
Shelby was cranky and slow to trust. He was a warlock who at one point wanted to live his life quietly following the rules he'd been given. He was modest, reserved, and everything Ace wasn't.
But she wanted him. Every time the feeling rose up she tried to shove it back down, wanted to avoid it knowing there was no way Shelby wanted it too. He'd said he would have given up part of his soul for her. Did that mean he felt the same way? Did the way his eyes were falling half-hooded and their bodies were slowly aligning mean that she wasn't alone in that feeling?
"I don't not want you," she finally answered too scared to say too much. "You really feel my emotions?"
"I think so." His brows pinched together. His hand tucking her hair behind her ear and fingers playing with the ends of the strands.
Ace shivered but she wasn't sure if it was from the draft in the room or what Shelby's touch truly did to her. She leaned into him until their chests were touching and their mouths were only an inch apart. Her hand drifted up to his heart. It beat against her palm just as rapidly as her own.
His lips parted. His hot breath fanned across her face. He still smelled like soap and Ace wondered if that was something he was able to do with his magic since neither of them had time to truly bathe.
They were so close. It wouldn't take much for her to press her lips to his, to let the feeling that rose from her belly up to her chest take her over. Ace leaned in and Shelby didn't pull away. Their lips brushed—
A knock sounded. Shelby inhaled and looked up.
Dark brown waves tumbled over her shoulders as she twisted to look with him to the door. Her teeth ground together, palms sweaty, as another knock rapped against the wood.
"Maybe it's the desk girl coming back for the six tallens you didn't give her," Ace said.
Shelby stood from the bed. The moment his heat was away and the bed was empty Ace rolled to her back and glared. Maybe this was a sign from the gods. They remained oddly quiet. Maybe what they'd been about to do would have been a mistake. None of that made her want it any less and the warm feeling inside her was quickly turning sour with frustration.
The hinges squealed as the door was pulled open. Shelby's frame disappeared into the hall for a moment before he walked back into the room, his eyes wide, and an envelope in his hand. The door clicked shut.
Ace lifted herself onto her elbow. "What is that?"
He held the envelope up for her to see. A black stamp of crossing arrows with red tips marred its surface. Ace sat straight up in bed, nearly falling right off its edge as her attention snagged on the Fae King’s seal.