Chapter 31
The chaos was overwhelming as elves ran about getting Manu to his chamber and onto his bed. Rhi kept herself veiled since the only one she knew was Manu, and she didn’t want to find out how the elves might greet an outsider who just popped into their home without them being any the wiser.
She wasn’t completely ignorant of their race.
Esha had been very forthcoming about elves and Shecrish, in general, but that didn’t mean Rhi knew everything.
The harried, distraught faces of those in the room told her she needed to be worried about Manu.
She could get Con and be back in a flash.
Well, not exactly that quickly. He would want to know what was going on, and rightly so.
Those were minutes she wasn’t sure Manu had.
But Con could heal him with a touch. At least, she hoped Con could. Rhi stayed out of the way in a corner as she looked from face to face.
“We need a Healer,” someone said.
It didn’t seem to be a command, but rather a statement. The kind that meant they didn’t have someone there who could heal Manu. Dain might know what to do, but she had no idea where to find him.
“Found them!” another elf said after opening a drawer and holding up a jar of herbs.
Those looked like the magical herbs Esha had shown her. They were just as effective as the…she winced, unable to remember which of the races could heal. It didn’t matter. The herbs could work. They just had to get them into Manu.
Rhi watched the men and women crowded around Manu’s bed work to get the herbs, now in water, down his throat.
He hadn’t woken or even stirred. He was breathing, at least. Which he hadn’t been when she first found him.
She had done the only thing she could think of by jumping to Navara and whispering in a few guards’ ears that Manu was in danger.
It had taken them longer than she would’ve liked to heed her suggestion and head out to look for him, but they had eventually found him and dug up the rest of his party. Sadly, he was the only survivor.
Her attention moved to the doorway as another elf ran in, breathing hard. He slid to a stop at the sight of Manu.
“I need an update,” the elf demanded as he took a tentative step forward.
“Jalall,” a female said, surprise causing her voice to rise.
He looked at her. “What happened?”
“There was an avalanche,” one of the males replied. “He’s alive, but barely.”
“He went in search of you,” another stated.
Jalall’s forehead crinkled as he raked a hand through his short, dark hair. “We were attacked on our way back, which delayed us.”
The room grew quiet as Jalall moved closer to the bed, his gaze locked on Manu. Worry bracketed his mouth and furrowed his brow. The two must be close. Given the way the others deferred to Jalall, that made sense.
Suddenly, Jalall looked up and scanned the room. “Where’s Inej?”
No one answered, but he also didn’t wait to hear any responses. He ran from the room. Rhi had so many questions, and she wouldn’t get any answers from Manu anytime soon. Jalall, however, might just give her what she needed. She slipped past some elves and raced after him.
He strode with purpose out of Manu’s home.
Others took one look at him and hastened to get out of his way.
Rhi followed two steps behind him. Whoever he was, he seemed to be someone who was at least partly in charge.
She glanced around her, taking note of the light coming in from above and reflected in mirrors, giving the otherwise dark places luminosity.
There were plants, as well, but it was the homes cut into the mountain that impressed her.
The road system, along with the bridges over the river, and the stairs leading to the various levels above them, was well thought out.
The Mountain Elves were self-sufficient and well hidden.
“Jalall!”
The elf drew up at his name. Rhi saw an older male running up, apprehension cut into the deep grooves of his face. Rhi knew each elven race had different coloring, but the Mountain Elves were the ones closest to looking human. Their skin ranged in color from as pale as hers to a light tan.
“Daas,” Jalall said in greeting. “Can this wait?”
“I can’t find Inej,” the other elf stated.
A muscle in Jalall’s jaw bunched. “I was going to check on her now.”
“Mind if I tag along?”
Jalall motioned the elf along, and they continued. Rhi moved closer to the duo when she noted that their voices had lowered.
“How have things been here?” Jalall asked.
“Good. Quiet. Inej began working with me right after you left. She’s been nothing but amazing.”
Jalall grunted. “Has there been anything between her and Manu?”
“Aye. It was clear to anyone who looked. He took her to his home for dinner once that I know of.”
Jalall’s head snapped toward the elf, shock reflected on his face before he carefully hid it. “Did he?”
Rhi suspected Jalall had known about the children, but since he hadn’t been there when Manu sent them away, he wouldn’t know about her and Dain’s arrival.
“Manu’s interest in Inej was clear,” Daas said. “Just as hers was in him.”
“I saw that before I left.” Jalall glanced over his shoulder.
Could he detect that someone was there? Rhi should put more distance between them, but she wanted to hear what they were saying.
“How is Manu?”
Jalall gave a quick shake of his head as they headed across one of the bridges. “He’s alive but in bad shape. It’s going to take time for him to heal.”
“Do we have that kind of time?”
“I don’t know.”
Rhi hated not knowing what was going on.
She was getting bits of the puzzle and trying to put them together, but she didn’t have nearly enough.
Her instinct was to get Con, but this was elven territory, and she wasn’t sure how the Mountain Elves would take to the arrival of a Dragon King—even if he did come to help. So, she stayed and listened.
They headed to a large, dark house. Jalall went to the door first and stared at the handle for a moment.
That’s when Rhi saw that the door hadn’t been closed all the way.
Both Jalall and the other elf held out their hands, their magic at the ready.
Rhi did the same. She might be invisible, but she would protect herself.
Jalall nudged the door open with his foot. The inside wasn’t completely dark. A small light illuminated the first room, but there were still way too many shadows about for her liking.
“Inej!” Jalall shouted and raced down the hallway.
The elder elf ran with him. Rhi lingered as she turned in a circle.
When no one jumped out at her, she teleported to the other end of the hall to shield them in case someone came out from that way.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw Inej on her back, her clothes charred, and her skin bloody from an attack.
“Inej. Fuck.” Jalall dropped down beside her. “Oh, fuck.”
Rhi quickly moved about the house to make sure it was clear. She returned to the hallway to see both elves leaning over the human.
“She’s barely breathing. Daas, get the herbs in my room, there,” Jalall said and pointed to the right. “Third drawer.”
The older elf ran into the room and searched for the herbs as Jalall gathered Inej into his arms and headed into a bedroom. Rhi followed, once more debating whether to get Con. If it were only Jalall, she might, but she didn’t know Daas.
Con could heal Inej instantly. Well, if she wasn’t dead.
If she were no longer alive, there was nothing her mate could do.
But if she brought Con, it could start a war.
The Dragon Kings had their own issues to deal with.
There was no need to add yet another thing to that ever-growing pile.
Still, Rhi hesitated. Someone had attacked Inej.
Those marks had been made by magic. Someone had gone after a human with no defenses, and that made Rhi want to hunt them down.
Daas raced back into the room with a small, cinched bag and a filled glass.
He dumped a large amount of the herbs into the water and swished it around before kneeling on the opposite side of the bed from Jalall.
The two elves worked silently to get the mixture down Inej’s throat, much like the others had been doing with Manu.
Was it a coincidence that they had both been attacked?
Dain and the rest of their crew needed to know, in case this was the Masters. Even if it wasn’t the organization, they needed to be made aware of how close to death Manu had come.
Finally, Daas got to his feet and set the herbs and glass aside on a table. “Who would do this to her?”
“I’ve been asking myself that question. Has she clashed with anyone?”
“No one,” Daas said with a shake of his head. “She spends her days at the shop baking and comes here when she’s done.”
Jalall dropped into one of the chairs. “Where Manu stayed with her. Fuck.” He sighed and slumped backward. “He hadn’t wanted to leave her alone in my house, and we didn’t want to assign someone to her.”
“If there was something budding between them, they had time alone. So what?” Daas said.
“Tahmine.”
Rhi perked up at the name. It was good that Jalall already had a suspect.
“Surely not,” Daas stated.
Jalall looked at Inej’s still form. “Tahmine has made no secret of the fact that she’s been in love with Manu. I warned him not to continue their affair. He told me he made sure she knew it was casual.”
“You think she tried to kill Inej out of jealousy?”
Jalall slid his gaze to the elder elf. “Do you have another suggestion?”
“Well, then, we’d better find out the truth before Manu wakes and discovers Inej like this.”
“Agreed. Can you stay with her?”
Rhi’s lips parted, ready to jump in with a warning. How did Jalall know Daas hadn’t been a part of Inej’s attack? She bit back her words and chose to follow Jalall out the side door. No one was about to see them, making it a perfect place for her to speak to him.
She touched his shoulder, and he immediately whirled around. Rhi ducked the fist that came flying at her, as well as the flash of bronze.
“Stop,” she said as she dropped her veil and kicked his legs out from under him. She held her hands over his face with her foot on his chest and looked down at him. “I came with Dain earlier to bring the children to safety. I’m a friend.”
“Friend, huh? Are you the one who attacked Inej?”
Rhi rolled her eyes. “I may look human, but I’m not. I’m a Fae.”
To prove it, she veiled herself once more and then dropped it. Then, she teleported into the house and back again.
“If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done it in Manu’s room when you came running in,” Rhi stated. “I’ve been veiled the entire time. He called for me when he couldn’t get out of the avalanche. I dug him out and then whispered to the guards to go find him.”
Jalall slowly sat up and stared at her with black eyes very similar to Con’s. But that’s where the likeness ended. Con was several inches taller with blond hair compared to Jalall’s dark brown.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Jalall asked.
She shrugged. “You won’t until you’re able to talk to Manu. Like I said, if I wanted any of you dead, you would never see me coming.”
“Your accent is different,” he said as he looked her up and down.
“Because I’m not from this world. Listen, we can talk about that later. I’m not sure you should leave Daas alone with Inej.”
Jalall accepted the hand she offered to pull him up. “I trust him.”
“I bet you said the same thing about Tahmine.”
He grimaced at the name. “I get your point, but there’s only me.”
“There’s also me. I’ll stay behind and watch over her.”
“Manu will be awake soon.”
She grinned at the threat. “If Dain were here, he could vouch for me.”
“But he isn’t. I also think it would be better if no one else knew you were here.”
“Way ahead of you,” she said and veiled herself. “Be careful,” she called before teleporting back to Inej.