Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The longer Fedra stayed in Marcus’s arms, the more she never wanted to leave. His hold was intimate, but also familiar and comfortable. It made her feel cherished. It wasn’t real. She knew that. But that didn’t change how she felt.
“You doona believe me.”
She rested her head on his arm once more. “I don’t know what to believe.”
“Is it so hard to take my word for it?”
“That isn’t what I’m saying.”
“It is,” he replied softly. “Tell me, the man who came and told you about the dragons, did you take his word for it without investigating?”
She made a sound at the back of her throat as her frustration grew that he kept bringing everything back to the damn dragons. “How was I supposed to investigate?”
“That means you didna. Yet you willna take my word for this.”
“I barely know you.”
“So, you knew the man? I thought you said you didna even know his name.”
Fedra squeezed her eyes closed. How had he managed to do that to her yet again?
He used the arm lying across her stomach to tuck her closer to him.
His bare chest branded her back with its warmth, just as his arm did across her midsection.
The contact made her very aware of his body contoured against hers from shoulder to feet, with only her underwear separating them.
She had dreamed of being held like this.
Sten hadn’t been able to tolerate anyone being close to him while he slept.
Finally experiencing such an embrace muddled her brain and confused her body.
But she still didn’t want to move. As long as Marcus wanted to remain locked together, she would stay right here.
“I didn’t know his name,” she answered. “And you’re right, I did trust what he said. I wanted an answer to why everything had happened to us, and he provided it.”
“Directly to you?”
She shook her head and opened her eyes. “Of course not. I wasn’t an important figure. It was later circulated among those of us who survived.” She looked to the side without moving her head. “You think we grasped whatever explanation was given to us, don’t you?”
“I’m no’ blaming you for that. It’s human nature. Someone arrived and brought answers where none had been before. No one refuted it, so it stands to reason that you would believe it.”
“No one’s refuting what you’re saying about Eurielle, either.”
He chuckled, and his breath slid along her ear, making chills race over her skin. “The difference between the two situations is that I’m no’ sending you to a new place alone and asking you to kill.”
She couldn’t deny that. She hated that she still wasn’t looking at him while they talked, but if she moved at all now, he might get up. “That assumes I can trust everything you’ve said.”
“I’ve no’ lied to you.”
“You omitted the fact that you have magic.”
He moved his head so his cheek rested against her hair. “You never asked. I could point out that you didna tell us about your ability, either.”
“Fair enough. We both omitted things, but you’re right, as far as I know, you’ve not lied to me.”
“You doona relent easily, do you?”
She grinned when she heard the amusement in his voice. “No, I don’t.”
“Good. Is there anything more you can tell me about the man?”
“He was handsome and dressed wealthily.”
Marcus asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“The fabric he chose was some of the most expensive in the city.”
“He was from Tyren?”
The question gave her pause, because she had always been under the impression that the man had come from somewhere else.
“What are you thinking?” Marcus pressed.
“He wasn’t from my planet, but he wore our clothing. Everything was destroyed. I suppose someone could’ve found something for him to wear, but why bother?”
Marcus grunted. “Why, indeed? It sounds as if he wanted to blend in.”
“I wouldn’t have thought about his clothing had you not asked.” And why hadn’t she? Because she had been too wrapped up in her grief and anger. It made her wonder what else she had missed. “Is there any way to investigate what happened on my realm?”
“We’re already looking into it.”
She was so surprised by his response that she jerked her head around, dislodging his arm in the process. “What? When? How?”
“The moment you told us, we reached out to some friends who might be able to help.”
He probably meant the Star People since they could move about so easily, but she still wanted confirmation. “To whom?”
“We have enemies, but we also have allies. While I’m here with you, the others are digging into what you’ve told us to see what we can find.”
“And if everything I told you is true, will you still stop me from my mission?”
His movements were languid as he looped his arm around her midsection again.
“If a group from a neighboring village kills everyone in another, is it right to blame and wipe out from the first village? I believe you saw a dragon, but we want to know why it was there and what made it commit such atrocities. Then we will find those dragons and bring them to justice.”
“You’re going to bring dragons to justice?” she repeated in disbelief. “How are you going to do that?”
“We have our ways that will get it done.”
He was omitting something again. She could call him out on it, but now wasn’t the time. “No one does something for nothing. What do you want?”
“Exactly what I asked for earlier.”
“To use me against Eurielle.”
He shifted his head downward. “Aye.”
Delicious tingles of heat started where his lips brushed her ear, spreading outward throughout her body. “Will you investigate her as you are my case?”
“Of course. Eurielle was a friend. Something happened to change her. If someone did something to her, we want to reverse it. If she turned on her own…we’ll have to come up with another solution.”
“You won’t kill her.”
He shook his head. “Star People are no’ easy to kill. It took Lotti, Villette, and Eurielle, along with—”
Fedra waited for him to finish. He had been about to say something and only stopped at the last minute. “Who?”
“Along with many of us from Iron Hall to weaken Miena.”
“So, it was all of you combined that caused her to lose her life?”
Marcus was quiet for a moment. “We weakened her, but it was ultimately Kora who delivered the fatal blow.”
“You make it sound as if she’s special.”
“She is. She’s a Hellhound. They’re the only ones besides other Star People who can kill them.”
Fedra had never heard of such a being. “Does Kora live in Iron Hall?”
“Aye.”
“You aren’t afraid of her?”
He chuckled softly. “Why would I be?”
“She could turn on you with that kind of power.”
“I told you about Lotti being a Star Person. She lives freely alongside Kora. We’re all family.
Besides, just because someone has magic doesna make them scarier than anyone else.
Humans without kill all the time indiscriminately.
It doesna matter if they have magic or not.
Your realm had magic. You make it sound as if you’ve no’ been around it. ”
A breeze ruffled the fur along the cloak’s collar and tickled her cheek. “I’ve never gotten to see anything up close.”
“Of course. I forgot.”
She pressed her lips together as she stared out over the land, watching the sun continue to rise. “Where do we need to go to find Eurielle?”
“I think she’ll find us.”
“In other words, we don’t need to travel. We can stay here. Unless we aren’t far enough from Iron Hall.”
His chest expanded as he inhaled. “We’re far enough away that it should be fine. There’s no shelter here, though. It didna snow last night, but more is coming.”
That meant they would have to get up soon and head out. Unless she came up with a reason to remain for just a little longer.
“You were in frigid water last night,” he continued. “I want to make sure you’ve no’ caught a chill.”
“Then I should stay like this since I’m warm.”
“Aye. We can head out in a bit.”
Fedra couldn’t stop her smile. Marcus had given in easily. Could it be that he wanted to stay just as they were, too?
“I have more questions,” he said.
She nodded. “An exchange as before?”
“That’s what I was thinking. Do you want to limit it to three questions again?”
“Let’s play it by ear.”
His thumb began to lightly rub back and forth over her arm. “Tell me more about your life on Tyren.”
“There isn’t much to tell.”
“I think there’s a lot.”
She didn’t like thinking about those days. They had been fraught with fear of being found, finding food, and having a place to shelter.
“If it’s too painful, forget I asked.”
“Pain shapes us, doesn’t it?”
His voice was soft as he said, “Among other things. But, aye, pain does, indeed.”
“Every day was a struggle. I could never remain in one place for long. The moment someone’s magic stopped working, they would begin hunting for me.
At first, I was able to stay a day, maybe two, before being run off, but eventually, word began to spread.
There were pictures of me posted throughout the region.
Cities employed people to look for me and make sure I couldn’t enter. ”
“And when they found you? What did they do?”
“It was enough to run me off in the beginning. After that…”
“They hurt you, did they no’?”
She nodded. “What people fear, they hunt. And they feared me.”
“Did they try to take your life?”
“A group got together and hired mercenaries to get rid of me. That’s what sent me into the mountains, where Sten found me. He kept them from finding me. He was the only one who didn’t care that he couldn’t use his magic around me. With him, I found a home for the first time.”
Marcus tightened his arm a fraction. “Which is why his death hurt you so deeply.”
“It’s hard to be saddened at the loss of those who wanted me dead, but no one deserved what happened to our world.”
“Nay, they didna.”
She debated whether to turn and face him since she wanted to see his face, but Fedra wasn’t brave enough to do it. “You’ve learned something about me. Tell me something about you.”
“I’m no’ from Zora.”
She swung her head around enough to catch a portion of his face out of the corner of her eye. “Where are you from? How did you get here?”
“I’m from a place called Earth, and I came through a Fae doorway.”
“What’s a Fae?”
“A magical being.”
Her face fell as she returned to her position. Why did it always have to be magic? “Why did you come here?”
“Because of the dragons.”
“So, we’ve both come because of them. Though I’m here to hurt them, and you’re here to protect them.”
He nodded once. “Aye.”
“Why?”
“It’s our duty. And because we sent them away from Earth long ago.”
Surprise rippled through her. “You mean you can send them somewhere? Did one of you send that dragon to Tyren?”
“It took a lot of magic to open a bridge for the dragons to travel off our world, and it isna something we’ve ever done again.”
“They must have done something horrible for you to force them away, yet you’re here protecting them.”
The sigh that fell from his lips held a note of sadness. “We let them down back then, and we’ve spent years searching for them. Since we found them, we’ve done everything to protect them.”
“Why did you send them away in the first place if you feel such regret?”