Chapter 37
Seda
Seda quickly pulled her pants over her hips, grumbling through both anger and embarrassment as she squirmed into them. Kalon had turned away, glancing back through the darkened trees, while she and Cahir quickly separated and put their clothes back on.
“How fucking dare you!” she seethed at the back of his head, noticing that he had cut his hair. It was no longer in the long braid that ran down his back, but was trimmed above his ears now. Fuck his stupid hair. She wanted to fry his head. Now that they weren’t in a dream, she could, too.
She remembered the memory and clenched her teeth. Why would she ever wish for this asshole to come back?
“All I did was appear at the wrong time,” he replied, his shoulders rigid and unmoving.
“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Cahir growled as he tucked himself back in. Seda saw the wet spot on the front of his pants and silently groaned. They should have taken them off before doing that, but they were so caught in the moment, they didn’t even think about it.
Kalon turned around and stared at Cahir with a humorless smirk. “You had your fun, little Fae. Time for the grown-ups to get to work.”
Cahir raced forward, quickly grabbing his sword from the ground and lunging for Kalon’s chest, but Kalon flicked his fingers, and Cahir fell to the ground and writhed in pain.
“Stop!” Seda ran forward and fell to her knees at Cahir’s side. “Stop, please,” she begged him. “Don’t hurt him!”
Kalon looked at her, and the anger in his eyes quickly softened, freeing Cahir from his magical nightmare. “Tell your little plaything to calm down. We need to talk.”
Cahir snapped his eyes open, glaring at Kalon, and his magic erupted from his palms, wrapping around Kalon’s throat and hurling him violently into the tree.
“Stop!” Seda yelled, drawing his attention to her in confusion.
“Why?” he asked through clenched teeth as he held his power tightly around the man.
“Because we need him. Pull back now!” she screamed, feeling her heart race.
Elco roared and flew over the hedges, landing behind Seda and growling ferociously, causing the ground to shake. Cahir pulled his magic back. Kalon’s newly trimmed hair was ruffled and hung over his brow as he hunched over, gasping for breath.
“I deserved that one. But it won’t happen again,” Kalon rasped as he clutched his throat and inhaled a ragged breath. He coughed a few times before standing upright and dusting off the sticks on his armor. He brushed his hair back with his hand and looked at them once more.
“For you, Seda.” He held up the moonstone necklace.
She took a hesitant step toward him, glancing at Cahir first, before accepting it from his outstretched hand.
His fingers grazed hers, the contact sparking a quiet tingle.
She quickly pulled away from him and placed it around her neck.
The chain’s familiarity and the weight of the stone settled over her, giving her a sense of comfort she deeply missed.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“What’s going on here?” Elco growled, looking between the two men.
“Don’t worry about it, Elco. It’s over now,” Seda said, walking closer and running her hands down his scales. “Thanks for coming. But it’s nothing.”
Elco narrowed his eyes at Cahir and Kalon and huffed when his gaze dropped to the spot on Cahir’s pants. Seda felt her cheeks heat, but before she could say anything, he walked over to the roses, and they parted for him, forming the same pathway as before.
She looked back at the two men and cleared her throat, “Are you coming?
They looked at each other, and Kalon smirked, taking the lead. Cahir jumped to his feet and pushed in front of Kalon, trying to get closer to Seda. She heard him snarl at Kalon behind her, “Next time I won’t let go.”
She bit the inside of her cheek and walked alongside Elco, weaving their way through the bushes. She greeted Suza before seeing Roya opening her eyes.
“We have news,” Roya said as they approached, but her gaze flicked to Kalon, and her brows furrowed. “Where did you come from?”
Seda stood beside Cahir while Roya relayed Vira’s words. How and why were the Jotnar attempting to reach Umbrea? What could be the Monster King’s reason for wanting to be here? She idly played with the chain around her neck with one hand, holding the stone firmly in the other.
She was surprised that Kalon actually returned it to her, as he had promised. She chewed on her lip as she watched the sparkling light from the stone glitter across the ground.
Suza had embraced Kalon when they first approached, but now she stood beside Seda, as if trying to show him that she was doing everything she could to stick to her word.
“You should tuck that into your shirt,” Suza whispered as she looked down at Seda’s moonstone. “A lot of people are after that now.”
She tucked it into her top and refocused on the others, who were now arguing.
“I’m not leaving,” Cahir shouted. “We get to La Uma and rush back to Umbrea.”
“I can take you there now, Ael,” Kalon suggested. “If the Jotnar are on their way to your kingdom, it’s your responsibility to protect it.”
“Can you take us to La Uma directly? We can jump in, steal the stone, and transport out?” Roya asked.
“I can get us close, but not within her lair. It’s bewitched,” Kalon replied. “And despite what you may think.” He winked at Cahir. “My power isn’t endless. If we transport there now, I’ll likely need time to recharge before we can get away from her.”
“How long?” Cahir asked as he glared at him. “And how do I know you won’t just whisk Seda away from us?”
Kalon sighed and ran his hand down his face.
“I swear I’m not here to steal Seda. If I wanted to do that, I could’ve just done it hundreds of times already.
” He looked at Elco and pointed to him. “This guy’s massive.
Normally, when I transport people, it’s not magical beings of his size. I’d probably need an hour.”
“How long do you think we need with La Uma?” Roya asked.
“No fucking clue,” Cahir answered.
Roya looked at Seda. “What do you want to do?”
Seda felt her skin tighten as everyone, including Elco, watched her expectantly, waiting for her reply.
If the Jotnar were on their way to Umbrea now, they needed the stones as quickly as possible.
She inhaled and looked at Kalon. “Transport us there. We go inside, locate what we need, and return to Umbrea after you recharge. If the Jotnar were spotted beyond the border wall last night, they’ll be approaching the city soon. ”
She glanced at Cahir and saw his jaw flex, but he didn’t argue her decision.
“Alright. Here we go,” Kalon said as he raised his hands.
A blackened tornado began swirling around them as darkness swallowed the world.