Chapter 30 #2
“Secret getaway exit for the guild,” Finnian affirms. “At least, it was a secret. But I’ve got one bit of good news.
” He forces a tense smile. “I didn’t lose my hand.
” For dramatic effect, he parades it through the air despite the rivulets of blood trailing down his glove to his arm.
“Can’t imagine losing five fingers in one night. What a record that would set.”
Maeve sucks in a breath. “Stop waving it around. You may have your hand, but if that doesn’t heal right, you won’t feel much with it. Go sit over there and call for Nog.”
He plops down on the training mat like it’s a damn bed and pats the space beside him. “Got any injuries, Cyn?”
“Just my arm. It’s nothing.”
Someone behind us whistles. I flinch as Rune strides in through the doorway, surveying the scene. “What in the gods’ names happened here?” he asks.
Desmond levels a cold glare at him. “You conveniently missed all of it.”
Rune shakes his head. “My office is soundproofed. I didn’t know a thing had happened until Nog let me know.” His gaze stops on Nikolai’s body, and he pales. “That is most unfortunate,” he murmurs.
Desmond gives him a long, unimpressed look, then dismisses him by looking at Maeve. “I’ll start on Finnian.”
“I’ll do it,” Auri argues. She stalks toward Finnian, drops to a crouch beside him, and uncaps one of the salves. “You need to bury the bodies, Desmond.”
I shake my head, my voice raspy as I point out, “That doesn’t seem like a priority right—”
“Bodies,” she repeats, pointing.
Desmond sighs. He sheathes his sword at his hip and slides on a pair of leather gloves. Then he grabs the fomorian corpse by her arms.
“Don’t move Nikolai,” Rune says with a somber grimace. “I’ll bring him home to his family. May Osian be with his soul.”
Desmond nods and drags the corpse out of the room.
Auri waves me over. “Cyn, come here and—”
“You’re not my boss,” I snap. She’s out of her mind if she thinks she can order me around. And I don’t want to hear her gloat about taking out five fomorians. Not even for a second.
Besides, I need to know what’s going on here. Why have we been attacked again? I charge after Desmond even as Auri shouts my name.
“Who are they working for?” I demand. “And how did they know where to find us?”
“The King of the Underearth.” The boulder in the foyer is already rolled aside, no doubt where the assassins entered. Desmond pulls the body outside as I stare at the five others littering the foyer.
So much death.
He grabs another body, and this time, I follow him outside. “I don’t know where the Underearth is. Is it in my realm or yours?”
“Their own,” he answers. “They’ve historically had an easier time traversing into mine, but I’d put nothing past them.”
“And why is it called the Underearth?”
He drops the corpse and faces me. “Are we really going to stand here and debate semantics, or will you let me move these bodies?”
I bristle. “I deserve answers, Desmond. He killed Nikolai. If he had killed you, too, neither of us would be here to ‘debate semantics’.”
“You’re right.” His voice cracks. He resumes pulling the body as he says, “Half of it is underwater. They’re just as deadly under the sea as they are on land.”
“Not deadly enough for you,” I mutter.
“They didn’t send their best.” He pauses to wipe the blood trickling down his face on his sleeve. Nothing betrays that he detected the envy in my statement. “They only had one ward-maker and two nullifiers this time.”
I pause, a shiver sliding down my spine like ice. “You say that like you’ve fought them before.”
“And I almost didn’t walk away,” he confesses quietly.
I didn’t expect him to admit that he’s not invincible.
What troubles me most is knowing this is just another nightmare he’s had to live through.
The blazing fire and field of bodies around the faery door, fleeing from Avedorans as his allies fall behind him, and now I’m learning the fomorians have tried to kill him multiple times.
It’s more horrors than I ever thought one man could carry.
“Wait,” I call out as Desmond heads inside.
He stops and raises a brow at me.
“What are we supposed to do now? They know where to find us. And I couldn’t save Nikolai. I couldn’t kill the fomorian. I’m not ready for this.” The admission hurts like poison on my tongue. I was supposed to be ready for anything if I joined the adventurers’ guild.
I never dared to imagine that I could be wrong.
Desmond’s head dips, his gaze unfocusing like he’s entrenched in his thoughts. “In a better world, no one would have to be ready to kill. In this one, I hoped that I could at least protect. . . everyone.”
His mask has a crack. This unsettled him badly enough that he’s failing to hide his true thoughts.
“Go inside and let Maeve help you,” he says, with the confidence of a command but the softness of a request. “I’ll check the bodies for clues before I bury them.”
I nod. There’s one more question I can’t shake off. “I thought Nikolai warded the hideout. How did they get in?”
He tenses, chest rising as he sucks in a tight breath. “The same reason Gashil knew about the concealed tunnel. Someone betrayed us.”
I stiffen, dread squeezing my stomach.
“With the vow, it couldn’t have been you,” he continues. “Besides, the fomorians have been after me since before we met. I trust Auri with my life. So that leaves. . .”
A lump settles in my throat. My eyes widen. “Someone in the guild.”
He nods, and it feels like the world turns upside down.