Chapter 8 #2
He straightens, suddenly towering over me, and he points to his chest with a snarl.
“My people. I have been sending my people into this realm to track you. King Elion is cruel and hateful. Do not let him make you think otherwise. He has you killing innocents,” he says, exasperated—sad and tired, it seems. “There is so much you don’t know. ”
“Then tell me.” My hands clench around my daggers. “Even if they are your people, they don’t belong here. King Elion has his reasons, and it’s not my position to question him,” I repeat. “Why have you been tracking me? How do you even know who I am?”
He shakes his head, looking off while he rubs the back of his head.
“Oh, but you will care, trust me…” He halts, turning his head as if he’s heard something in the distance before turning back to me with a sigh.
“I wish we had more time to discuss this tonight, but Ezra and Ren are headed back to the inn, and we can’t risk getting caught.
They’ll come looking for you if you don’t show up with an update.
There’s too much to tell you, but we can talk again tomorrow,” he says dismissively, ignoring my questions.
And I realize that he knows too much.
“We will discuss it now!” I hiss, my voice shaking with anger. “You brought me out here for what? To taunt me?”
He spins back to me, his tone sharpening.
“No, darling, you don’t understand. We don’t have time.
If they find us here—together—this entire thing falls apart, and I can’t risk that.
I won’t risk that.” His words come out fast, almost rushed.
“Meet me tomorrow night. I’ll explain everything then, but you need to go back before they notice. ”
“Do you think I’m going to let some Shadovar convince me to meet with him in private, again? No. I won’t do that because my loyalty isn’t with you,” I say firmly.
His brows lower as he steps closer. “No? Who is it with, then? Because I don’t think it’s with King Elion.
Deep down you must know he’s hiding something just like everyone else in the brotherhood.
I have answers about your past that you didn’t even know existed,” he breathes, scanning my face.
“I know your parents and where you come from.”
“I’m from Elderheim,” I say, but my breath catches in my throat. I hold his gaze, searching for any sign that he’s lying to me. Is he lying to me?
“Are you?” he asks quietly, challenging me.
He claims to know my parents? How—how is that possible? I’ve been an orphan since I was five, but my memories don’t extend beyond that. Yet over the last several months, I’ve been digging for information regarding who my parents are. Information I want and desperately need for my own sake.
I hate to admit that I want those answers—answers that suddenly trump lying to my brethren. I’ve already been keeping my search to myself for almost a year, so this would be no different.
I groan in frustration, turning away to pace. I’m suddenly conflicted between meeting with him for answers and reporting back to Ezra about what happened tonight.
My pacing finally halts when I face him, only to find him standing with his arms crossed, but a flicker of desperation crosses his features before he looks away. He makes it impossible to say no.
“Fine!” I huff, giving in. “How am I going to distract the other two? I have to tell them something.”
He growls, turning from me. “Don’t trust them. You don’t know everything yet, so please, don’t say anything until you hear it all so you can make that decision for yourself.”
“Of course I trust them. Honestly, you could probably kill Ren, and I wouldn’t say a word about it. I might even help you.” I chuckle at the thought. “Besides, I have to tell them something tonight. I don’t have a choice.”
He turns back around. “Just tell them you might have a lead from tonight and need to go to the Cauldron again, but nothing more or they’ll question it.”
My brows knit at his words as I realize he’s been following us for a while. How could I have not noticed it?
“What, do you think I’ve only had eyes on you?” Alec says with a smug grin.
“You’re fucking annoying.”
He laughs, deep and loud. “That’s a new one. I’ve never been called annoying before.”
But I ignore him and look away, trying to decipher everything that was revealed, as confusing as it is. I’m unsure if I should trust this stranger or stab him. Though my training tells me to lunge at him, my mind somehow forces me to hesitate. Why am I hesitating?
“Isa,” he says, snapping me back to reality. “Be careful, and don’t let them think you’re questioning the crown. They’re loyal.”
I find myself nodding because I know exactly what he means, but then I frown, realizing I just chose to trust this stranger over my own realm—my family—within seconds of hesitating.
Alec doesn’t belong here, yet I couldn’t bring myself to kill him, and the thought bothers me. I’ve trained my whole life for this—becoming a weapon. But as far as I’m concerned, I did kill him. It’s not my fault he came back.
“Tomorrow,” he confirms and begins to walk away, then pauses for a moment to turn around one last time. “Oh, I meant to thank you earlier,” he quips with a grin. Now I’m really confused.
“Thank me for what?” I ask.
“For paying for my ale.” His grin is so wide it looks like his face could split in half. It’s breathtaking and annoying all at once.
My head shakes. “I didn’t pay for your al—”
Then I stop, my eyes suddenly narrowing into a glare realizing that I did, in fact, pay for his drink. I gave him money in his boy form. That weasel.
“You owe me a drink!” I call after him as he continues to walk away, disappearing in the Veil.
He chuckles. “Looking forward to it.”
I wait a few moments under the branches before making my way down the road, my steps light and cautious as I walk to the inn.
It’s late, only a few hours left until sunrise, when I suddenly realize how exhausted I am. It’s only been a day and a half since I was sent to kill Alec, and I’ve barely had any sleep and now… Now I have to keep secrets. Something I’m not sure I want to do.
The inn door opens on a soft creak. I shut it and kick off my boots only to find Ezra waiting in complete darkness. My eyes barely make out his shape as he stands.
“How was your night?” I ask. I’m curious to hear what he might have discovered. “Did you find anything useful?”
“No, not really. I made conversation with some locals but didn’t gain anything of use. I found myself chatting with the innkeeper for most of the night. What about you?” he asks, hopeful and eyeing me.
“I might have found a lead with a local here but I’m unsure how credible it is. This mission is odd,” I lie, already mentally kicking myself for it. “I think we need to stay another day or so to see where this goes.”
He nods. “I feel the same. The scent I picked up at the Silver Lily is spotty—I’ll catch a trail, and then all of a sudden it drops off. I’ll send Ren with you tomorrow.” He turns and kicks off his boots when he bangs on the wall connecting to Ren’s room.
“I heard!” Ren calls out from the other side.
“No,” I blurt, leaving Ezra to glance at me with an arched brow.
“I don’t need Ren. He’s the last person I want ruining it.
I don’t want to spook the lead and need to go back to the tavern tomorrow night.
Let’s do what we did earlier and meet up again to report back.
It seemed to work great in my favor tonight.
” I smirk, hoping he doesn’t catch the lie.
Ezra holds my gaze, then nods. “I agree, but we need eyes everywhere. Ren can drink at the bar while you meet with your lead. He can keep an eye out.” The words instantly snuff out any relief I had just seconds ago.
“Are you sending the brute to babysit me?” I ask, anger and annoyance present in my tone, suddenly not caring if he overhears me.
“He won’t be in the way. We’ll stay another night because we only have a day left, but Ren’s going with you.”
The decision is clearly not up for discussion, so I give him a short nod, biting my tongue. It looks like I need to figure out a way to distract Ren.
“I’m going to wash up,” I mumble.
When I come back after a few minutes, he’s already sprawled out on the bed, an arm resting above his head and lightly snoring.
Exhaling, I crawl in next to Ezra, who’s quietly dozing beside me. My thoughts whirl from earlier, stuck on what exactly Alec knows and what he could be hiding.
I find it hard to believe everything that was spoken tonight was truthful. I’ve known Ezra and Ren my entire life—since childhood—but I find myself at odds with the conversation I had with Alec. If I should be worried about anyone, it would be Ren.