Chapter 40
My eyes deceive me.
They must.
Because there is no way he is here.
The male who wears a golden medallion depicting him as an honored member of the mayor’s service stands in the foreboding doorway, ready to lead me out of his city.
The male's lips draw into a tight smile. “Hello, Elara.”
I stare at the Mountain Fae then swing my stare to the Shadow Prince. “Anders is your contact?”
The palace healer doesn’t so much as blink.
Rian smirks. “As you can see.”
This…this doesn’t make sense.
My gaze darts between the Fae, remembering the exchanges between the two these past few days. The pointed glares. The terse words.
They’re working together?
They’re allies?
Anders clears his throat.
“I know this is a shock, but we really should get going.” His gaze darts to the water-stained ceiling above. “The pirates have almost reached the palace wall.”
“Pirates?” Rian’s spine snaps straight. “You’re sure?”
The sharpness in his voice slices through my spiraling thoughts.
Are pirates more trouble than Sea Fae?
Anders dips his chin, eyes hard. “I am. They’re razing through the city center as we speak.”
Rian growls. “Why the fuck would pirates be here?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Anders’s blue eyes slide to mine. “Though, I imagine our guesses might be the same.”
The power in my veins thrums with warning.
A snarl tears from Rian’s throat.
A cloak of shadow rises into the air, floating to the lone torchlight, as if to cast us into darkness.
“Don’t kill the messenger.” Anders lifts his hands. “I’m simply trying to convey the need for urgency.”
The shadow recedes.
Rian rolls back his shoulders, then releases my hand and pushes me toward Anders. “Go.”
“Wait!” I stumble and pivot back around before I crash into the Mountain Fae. “What does this mean? Do pirates work with Sea Fae?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” He waves a hand to the open door. “Go with Anders. Stay with him. He will keep you safe.”
Anders reaches for me.
I jerk my elbow away.
“But I can help! We both can.” I glance at the Mountain Fae then face Rian. “We’re both healers. We should stay to help anyone injured in the pirates’ attack.”
“No,” Rian clips out, his tone hard. “While I admire your willingness to put yourself at risk for the sake of others, I’ve witnessed enough of that for one lifetime.”
I scowl. “I don’t do that.”
“No? What about the fire in Verdanthia?”
“This is different,” I insist, curling my hands into fists. “I can’t just leave when there are people who need my help.”
Not again.
Rian shifts closer.
I widen my stance, holding my ground, determined to withstand whatever he tries to say or do next to make me leave.
But I don’t expect him to cup the sides of my face with both hands and press his lips to mine.
My eyes flutter closed.
Warmth floods my body.
Anders’s sharp inhale sounds behind me, but the pulse pounding against my ears drowns it out.
Rian’s tongue slips past my lips, and a stroke of heat licks my core. I shift closer to deepen the kiss. He lets out a low, throaty groan.
Then, too soon, he draws back.
A mewl of protest falls from my lips.
“You will go with Anders.” Rian presses another gentle kiss against my mouth. “You will not allow a pirate or Sea Fae to get their hands on you.”
My eyelids part. Flecks of blue peek through his stormy stare.
“I can’t just leave.”
“You can.” He kisses me again. “And you will.”
My limbs are mush.
Rian pushes me back, and I land in Anders’s arms.
“Wait, Rian…”
The Shadow Prince’s glare lands on the Mountain Fae as he slides my satchel and leather bag off his shoulder, handing them over. “Protect your bloodline.”
Anders loops the straps over his shoulder with his free hand and nods, his other arm banded around my midsection. “Understood.”
Rian’s eyes dart to mine one last time.
Then a shadow slams the door shut on Anders and me. And I’m cast into darkness.
I stare into the dark where the door stands, unable to forget the shock in Rian’s voice when Anders told him pirates were raiding Virendrell.
He’s more unnerved by the presence of pirates than he’d been by the Sea Fae.
And that truth sends a tremor down my spine.
Anders clears his throat. “This way, Elara.”
He steps back but keeps hold of my elbow.
Having no choice, I turn and let Anders lead me into the darkness.
The ground is uneven, but it doesn’t drop. We walk on the straight surface, dozens of feet under the earth. My imagination runs wild with the sights and sounds of what’s taking place up above.
The bulging sack behind Anders knocks into me every few steps, but I don’t dare move too far away. Fae have enhanced vision in the absence of light, a skill my Fae blood has clearly not bestowed upon me. I’d fall on my face without help.
“So…” Anders drawls. “You and Rian?”
I slip on a stone and mentally curse these flimsy sandals. They’re hardly better than the slippers I wore in Verdanthia.
“There is no me and Rian,” I counter even as my stomach flips.
“Hm,” he says, the noise laced with disbelief.
“Where are we right now?” My voice bounces off the naked walls around us.
“An underground tunnel.” He guides me to the right. “This network of passages was created long ago. There aren’t many alive who remember they exist.”
“But you do?”
“A friend told me about them.”
“And you told Rian?”
“Yes.”
We veer left. I jerk when a drop of liquid hits my cheek. I swipe away the mysterious moisture quickly.
“I didn’t expect you and Rian to be allies.”
“What is the saying?” Anders huffs an unamused laugh. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend?”
I purse my lips. “Who is your enemy, then? Augustus? Helen?”
“To name two,” he mutters, then adds, “We should be quiet. Fae hearing can reach deeper than you know.”
I press my lips together.
I take solace in the silence, using it to organize my thoughts.
But my effort is swiftly overcome by images of the terrors occurring on the streets above us.
Thank the Gods Rian went back.
He’ll find Hali. He’ll help protect Virendrell from the pirates.
He has to.
My arms itch. I can’t see them, but the marks from our deal flick and dance around, just as unsettled as I am.
Minutes pass.
The ground under me begins to incline. Anders’s hold on my arm tightens, helping me navigate the changing surface. Then the stagnant, musty air starts to lessen.
Up and up we go.
I lift my head and stare into the darkness. Light magic whispers into my palms.
A subtle glow appears in the distance.
I take my first deep breath since Rian shut the door in my face.
The ground becomes rockier. Sharp. I slip on the uneven surface, scratching the sides of my feet while Anders moves with typical Fae grace.
The glow ahead grows brighter, a beacon guiding me through the hellish storm this night has become.
The sound of crashing waves reaches me first.
We step out of the dark into the moonlit night and onto an unoccupied, rocky shore. Sirens sound in the distance, but the number of ear-piercing alarms has reduced.
A look over my shoulder reveals a cavern embedded in the side of a tall cliff. The opening itself looks natural and unassuming. No one who came across it would think anything of it. Other than a source of shelter from a storm, perhaps.
Anders’s grip eases as we start to cross the sandy beach.
A sea breeze rustles my gown and hair. The sweat on my neck cools, sending a shiver through my body.
“How far away is the boat?” I ask.
“Not far.” Anders’s boots sink into wet sand left behind by the receding tide.
My steps are lighter, but the beach still sucks at my sandals.
“Will it be large enough for Hali and the others?” I hadn’t thought to ask before I insisted Rian go gather up the group of defecting Virendrellians.
“It’ll be tight, but we should be fine.” Anders leads us around a jagged boulder jutting out of the sand, a broken shard from the cliffside hovering at our backs.
I stare at the side of his face.
His eyes slide to mine. “What?”
“Did you get your nephew out?”
“Yes.” He faces forward. “He’s already on his way to the boat.”
“Good.”
Another breeze rolls over us, bringing with it the scent of decaying algae gathered close to the waterline.
I stare at the beach under my feet. Dirt stains the bottom of my gown.
A muffled shout flies through the air.
My head snaps up.
“What is—”
“Shh,” Anders hisses.
He adjusts his hold on the straps over his shoulder. His nostrils flare, and his narrowed eyes scan our surroundings.
I hold my breath. My heart beats hard against my sternum.
Long seconds pass until the tension rolls off Anders’s back. “The wind must’ve carried the sound from the city.”
I sigh, but concern for the innocent citizens immediately grips my chest. “Why would pirates attack Virendrell?”
As children, Lev regaled me and Ferria with stories of the seafaring criminals who roamed the seas long before the Shadow War.
He painted them as roguish men and clever women who stole from wealthy merchant ships of faraway lands, not villains who attack unsuspecting cities at night.
“I don’t know.” Anders keeps his gaze forward. “But the mayor’s soldiers are well trained. They should have no trouble stopping their invasion.”
Should.
Not will.
I chew the inside of my cheek.
We approach a cliff wall. I pray to Olyra that Anders isn’t going to insist we climb the rocky surface.
Then, like an answered prayer, the waves roll back into the sea, revealing a sliver of beach.
“We will have to wade through the water.” Anders looks pointedly at my fancy footwear. “You may want to remove your sandals.”
“Okay.”
He releases my arm, and I kneel and hike my skirt to my knee to access the clasp at the top of my shin.
A choked cough sounds overhead.
I lift my chin.
Silver moonlight reveals the dark hue coloring Anders’s cheekbones as he averts his gaze.
I suppress a grin and get back to work.
Only, I can’t get the clasp open.
“Gods’ curses,” I grumble when the delicate metal pinches my finger.
Anders clears his throat. “Allow me.”
He kneels in the sand and motions to my leg. “May I?”
I nod and drop my hands.
Strong, slender fingers hover over my skin before his thumb and forefinger press on either side of the tiny metal contraption. A zip of Anders’s power jolts through my shin.
My magic flickers, and my gaze snaps up as the clasp opens, and the straps wrapped around my calf give way.
Anders leans back on his heels, avoiding my gaze.
“What was that?” I ask.
His magic felt…familiar.
A sad smile tugs at the corner of his lip. “Like calls to like.”
I don’t have time to ask what he means.
A scream pierces the air.
Our heads snap toward the sound that comes from the other side of the cliff.
The direction we were heading.
Where our boat to escape awaits.