Chapter 13 Finare
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Finare
Finare looked over at Ivy. She was trembling. He wasn’t sure what transpired between her and Killian, but it’d left her rattled and he hated it.
He couldn’t help but wonder what Killian’s endgame was. He had three brushes with her, but all were subverted by either Voresta or himself. The notorious Hunter wasn’t usually this clumsy.
Finare pondered their chances of returning undetected as they neared Veldmoor.
Finare figured that if Voresta had discovered Ivy wasn’t home, he’d have torn through the clubs like a hurricane trying to find her.
He suppressed a shudder as he imagined Voresta stumbling upon her in Lunarian while she was under Killian’s hold.
He peered over at Ivy again, and she seemed lost in thought. He tried to tether her back to reality.
“Do you need to talk about what happened?” Finare asked gently. At first, Ivy didn’t respond. Finare didn’t push. Eventually, she uttered something so softly he had to ask her to repeat it.
“I did something back there.” Her words were still only a whisper.
“What did you do?”
“I bit a guy in the street. He tasted disgusting.”
“What?” Finare’s heart stalled in his chest and the car slowed down as he stopped concentrating on accelerating.
“I said, ‘he tasted disgusting’.”
“No, the other part. You bit someone?” Panic rang in Finare’s voice, and he snapped his eyes over to hers.
Ivy appeared as though she were in a trance. He pulled the car over and turned in his seat to face her. He reached over and clasped her chin, gently lifting her face to meet his eyes.
“Ivy, are you okay?” He searched her eyes for any sign that she may have ingested something harmful through the blood of whoever she’d bitten. Her eyes were clear, but he could see that guilt was plaguing her.
“Ivy, we need to fix this, okay?” Finare’s words were firm, but his touch was soft. He released her chin and traded it for her hand, which he clasped gently. He gave it a reassuring squeeze before shifting in his seat and steering the car back towards Lunarian.
Tonight just got a hell of a lot more complicated.
Ivy led Finare to the alleyway, but it was empty. Ivy stood near a small splash of blood on the pavement, but as Finare progressed down the alleyway, he noticed the splatters continued into the darkness.
“There’s so much blood. I swear I only had a mouthful.” Ivy’s confusion was clear in her voice, but Finare ignored her. This is bad. This is so, so bad. He sniffed the air as he moved further into the alley.
“Where are you going?”
“We need to find him.”
Finare tracked the male by the scent of his blood, which led him down another alleyway. Ivy trailed after him silently. A light breeze kicked up a different scent, and it caused his steps to falter.
“Wait a minute.” Finare’s voice was lined with trepidation, and he sensed Ivy tense behind him.
They edged forward slowly. The alleyway opened into a small courtyard hugged by a cluster of buildings. Finare spotted the hulking form of Killian Maurell, with his dagger in hand. He was standing over the body of an unconscious male, whose clothes were stained with blood.