Chapter 27 #2
I dip my head and laugh, shaking my head. “I like it,” I tell him as I look up again, smiling.
Daegan gives him a funny look and Meela looks at him like he has three heads.
A few more giggles slip out before I compose myself again.
The mention of Gaethri reminded me—we have something very important to discuss.
I glance at Daegan. “Want to take a little walk?”
He meets my gaze and nods, understanding.
Meela watches us with a barely contained, mischievous smirk.
If I have to make people think there’s something going on between us to throw off their suspicions, then I will.
Spending time alone together is the only way we can really talk and plan at this point.
I know that Daegan will pass along whatever we discuss to Raef, and we’ll all be on the same page.
We leave the other two behind and walk side-by-side in silence for a while before we say anything. Until there are no more bodies passing us.
“She thinks there’s something happening here,” Daegan notes, looking ahead.
“That’s fine. It’s getting harder to talk about things. At least this way we distract from any real suspicions.”
“True,” he nods.
“If that… doesn’t bother you?”
He side-eyes me, studying me for a moment. “No.” He clears his throat, facing forward again. “So if two people wanted some… privacy. Where would we go around here?”
My stomach flutters. Yes this is all a ruse we’ve suddenly stumbled into, but I can’t help feeling like I’m going to float away at the thought of being alone with him. I need to calm myself.
“Well, you know I like the gardens at night…” I think out loud. “But then… so do other people. It’s not always so private. I suppose the best option is… my quarters?”
He glances thoughtfully at me for a moment, then finally nods.
He already knows the way.
We don’t say much on the walk there, but once I open my door and let him inside, it seems like we have twenty different things to discuss, and I’m not sure where to start.
He glances around, taking it all in, and I direct him on where to sit. I offer him a cup of tea, then sit across from him with my own cup.
I think the small sips of pink wine we’ve both had have worn off, because it’s all business now. His smile has faded, his expression becoming more neutral.
Or maybe it never was enough to affect him, and the brief smiles I saw were just him.
He leans forward, his elbows resting on his spread thighs. “We’re going to Dothron.”
“Who is we?” I ask.
“Raef and I.”
“What? You already planned this since we left the library earlier?” I can’t help the slight betrayal and hurt that I’m certain show on my face.
“We didn’t exactly plan it all out, but yes, we already decided.”
“And what about me?”
“Elysande—”
“No. We’re in this together. I’m coming with you,” I demand, my nostrils flaring.
“It’s dangerous,” he says with a stern look.
“I don’t care. I’m still coming.”
“Okay.”
“…Okay?”
His lip tugs up at the corner. “You’re cute when you’re fiery.”
I squint at him, throwing my hands in the air. “Are you joking?”
“What?” he asks, sitting back and folding his arms, appearing far too entertained.
“You just told me you’re basically excluding me from the group, then you give in far too easily, and then you tell me I’m being cute. Why are you so hot and cold?”
He leans forward again, his grin falling. “Look, we weren’t trying to exclude you, okay? I promise. I said I trust you, and I meant it. But this could be very dangerous. You know what happened in the forest…” He looks me up and down, slowly, and his voice softens. “You’re not trained for this.”
“I don’t care. I’m coming. And please don’t make any more plans without me around, okay?”
“You mean like what we’re doing to Raef right now?”
“Listen, I can handle the rumors that come with bringing one of you in here. I don’t know about both of you…”
A puff of air escapes his nose. It’s almost a laugh.
I roll my eyes. “And anyway, that’s different. You and Raef will pass everything along to each other. Whereas you two making plans without me feels like you’re going behind my back.
“I’m sorry,” he says, holding my gaze. “I was only thinking of your safety.”
“Okay,” I say softly. I believe him, but I’m still annoyed by it. “Now for my next question. What do we do about Gaethri? It’s his homeland… he might have valuable insight. I think we should get him to come along too… if he’ll agree.”
Daegan nods, staring off at nothing. “I was thinking the same.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And he and Rhydra seem like a package deal, so I would expect her too.”
“But what do we tell them?”
A thick coating of silence falls over the room as we both ponder this. Then Daegan releases a deep sigh, his hand sliding down his thigh to his knee, and glances at me.
“We could tell them the truth.”
My mouth hangs open as I stare at him. I didn’t expect that.
“Maethrel said to trust two travelers. I think… these opportunities keep appearing before us because some greater force set us on this path and wants us to keep going. Be it fates or gods or whatever it is you elves believe in.”
“We have no deities. We trust in the land, the elements, Everrynd itself…”
His lip curls in a grin. “So do we.” He clasps his hands together, resting his elbows on his knees as he leans forward.
“So maybe the land is tired, and it’s trying to help us on this journey.
Look how you stumbled onto my path. Completely unplanned, unexpected, flipping everything I knew on its head.
And you brought us so much closer already.
Without you, I’d still be stumbling around in the dark. ”
His gaze holds an intensity that I may melt under.
But what he’s saying makes sense. It’s what I’ve been feeling for days now. I was just too afraid to say it aloud. “Or maybe it was you who stumbled onto my path,” I say teasingly, not summoning as much sass as I would have liked.
“Maybe,” he murmurs, still holding my gaze.
I pull in a deep breath and take a sip of my tea. Purely for a distraction.
“Okay. So if Raef is okay with it, we tell Gaethri why we desperately need that sword. But… we don’t need to tell him everything yet. We can just tell him that it’s vital to breaking the curse.”
“I agree. What we’ve already acquired stays between us.”
“He is smart though… he’ll likely know we’re withholding information from him, and if he’s wise, he’ll demand to know the rest in exchange for his help.”
Daegan rubs a hand at the back of his neck, his biceps flexing with the movement. “You’re probably right there.”
“So we take a big risk, and we simply tell him everything. Be forthcoming. What’s the worst thing that can happen? He wants the same thing as us.”
“The worst that could happen is he doesn’t fully trust us still, keeps the information, somehow tries to steal the blood, and finds the rest of the relics on his own.”
I lift a shoulder. “At least the curse will be broken either way? Personally, I’m not doing this for the glory.”
Daegan’s lips pull back in a grin as he laughs softly, his eyes lighting up.
I think I need him to go back to loathing me with everything he has.
I think a part of him still does.
“Can I ask you something else?”
“What?” he asks, his smile nearly disappearing.
“Why haven’t you told your father?” I ask, shifting my gaze down for a moment, afraid of this question and its answer. “I would assume he’d also want to take down the king and break the curse. I’d also assume you guys came here with the intention of gaining intel. So… why haven’t you?”
He hesitates. “To protect you.”
I flick my gaze back up to meet his. A thick silence hangs between us for a moment.
“What?” I ask stupidly.
His chest rises as he takes a deep breath. “You’d be correct in your assumption that he wants to take down the king. And believe it or not, my father is a lot more ruthless than I am.”
I raise my eyebrows at him.
“I know,” he says, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “I don’t think he’d be thrilled with your involvement. Once you gave us all the information you had… you’d no longer be of use to him.”
I take a deep breath. “You think he’d kill me?”
Something dark flashes behind his eyes, and his jaw twitches. “I don’t know. But I’m not going to let that happen.”
“So you’re lying to your father… for me?”
He nods, then glances at me. “My father and I have a complicated relationship. And you… you’re not what I expected.
We need you.” He pauses, then smirks a little.
“You might be a pain in my side, a spoiled brat even, but it would be incredibly too easy for you to do nothing and enjoy your life here… yet you still push. You’re incredibly brave, but also incredibly reckless.
You risked a lot trusting us, letting us in. I won’t betray that trust now.”
I take a deep breath, trying to process his words, trying to stay rooted in my body before I float away. I can’t believe this is the same Daegan I first met.
“I… don’t know what to say,” my voice comes out in a near whisper, breathless.
“You don’t have to say anything more,” he says in a low, even voice.
“I think you’re risking a lot more trusting me. An elf.”
He shrugs, letting silence fall between us again.
“So…” I say, then clear my voice. I’m still completely thrown off. “Rhydra?”
He pulls his lips tight, nodding and avoiding my eyes now. “Yeah… I’m assuming she comes along with him.”
“Probably,” I mutter. The liquid in my cup is suddenly incredibly interesting.
Daegan clears his throat, then rises from his seat. “Well, if there’s nothing else to discuss, I probably shouldn’t stay too long…”
I mirror him, and we stand facing each other across the short table, the silence heavy between us.
Then a knock cuts through the silence, making me jump. Even Daegan flinches. We both look toward the door.
I find a way to make my legs work, pulling it open slowly, expecting Meela, Raef, or both.
I don’t expect Adrian to be standing in my doorway.
“Adrian, what are you doing?”