26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Ialmost felt guilty for what I’d say to Aurelie, but it was grating seeing her defend people who weren’t worth more than the dirt beneath her boots.
Azalea was the only person I had moderate faith in, the only one I didn’t think was innately evil or vindictive—but, for hiding Aurelie’s magic, I would never forgive her. She could have had a chance at defending herself when Novus took her in. It may not have been fair, and she may have still been hurt, but she could have been equipped with the skills to fight back. Now, it was a race to catch up.
And I was so, so proud of her for all she’d accomplished so far.
But, somewhere between nearly dying and restarting my life as a new man, I stopped excusing the wrongdoings of others, especially those I loved. They always seemed to hurt the most.
Sapphire had gone outside to find Aurelie, and I stood to approach the bar once more. I leaned over and offered a smile when he looked my way. “Can I get you another pitcher?” he offered.
When I shook my head, he collected the glasses I’d slid toward him. “No. I just wanted to ask you again about the owner—when will they be returning?”
“Really want to speak with Lady Oh?”
“Lady Oh?” I repeated, trying not to scoff. That had to be a fake name. “I do. Imminently, if possible.”
“Like I said, lad. She’s out.”
“And like I asked, lad,” I mocked. My smile never faltered—in fact, it only grew bitter. “When will she return?”
His arrogance snapped. When he twisted toward me, he inhaled deeply and gave me a once over. “If you don’t choose your actions carefully, I will alert the guards. They don’t like your kind around here.”
My confidence faded, and my hands balled into fists. It was a bluff—he didn’t know anything about me. “Elkyn doesn’t take kindly to travelers?”
“Not your sort,” he hissed and jerked his head toward the door. “And I’d recommend you find those two lassies before the wrong person gets a whiff of your tainted blood. The drunks may not know any better, but we watch after our own here. We don’t need your strife.”
“Strife,” I repeated, low and quiet. “And if I’m not here to cause that sort of conflict? If I need help resolving it before it gets out of hand?”
“What sort of conflict could a fae—” he paused, clearing his throat and flicking his focus around the tavern. Nobody was eavesdropping from what I could tell, but it was a dangerous conversation. I kept my ears perked for even the smallest sign of unease. I intended for this to be peaceful—in and out before anybody caught wind that we breached the treaty—but if Aurelie was threatened…I didn’t care if war broke across the realms.
I’d end it all, no matter the cost. For her at least.
“What sort of conflict could a freak like you be resolving in lands that have nothing to do with you?”
I kept my voice no louder than a hushed whisper. “The sort that looms on the horizon. If we don’t fix what has happened, your watchmen will be strung by the balls. They’ll be castrated by men and women much crueler than me. So, I’ll ask you again—where can I find Lady Oh?”
Here, the man silenced, and he glared. I didn’t let my focus falter. He didn’t faze me, and I wasn’t trying to scare him. If what Isaac had said was true, then they would help. It was in their blood to do that—especially in times like this.
Nobody here wanted more humans to die.
“Last I heard, she was visiting one of the elderly women across town. She won’t return until the morning.”
I stared, long and hard. His eyes didn’t twinkle; in fact, they were pretty hollow. Those thin lips didn’t so much as crack, and when he reached for a cloth to clean the glass, it didn’t tremble. His heart, however, was a resounding drum within his chest.
If he was lying, and my patience was in ill-will, I’d freeze him until he was wrinkled and dead. But I nodded, and I let off the bar. “Thank you,” I muttered and turned toward the door Aurelie and Sapphire had exited out of. “Your discretion is expected—and appreciated.”
But when I walked out of those doors and found the bench empty, a sense of dread washed over me. I stepped into the street and looked all around, listening for their half-fae hearts beating against stark silence. They were near.
The terror yielded, and I followed the trail. When I stumbled across a set of small wooden doors flung open, steep stairs leading into utter darkness, I furrowed a brow. The lock was shattered and flung deeper into the alleyway. My ears perked at the sound of their breaths hitching, and a weak, feeble wheeze following soon after.
I took my first step into the basement, but within an impossible instant, something sharp plunged through my back, right above my heart. Burning hot silver turned my blood to acid, and I felt all the life I’d lived flutter across my mind like a sick, twisted fairytale.
And when the blade twisted, it went black.