Her cloak, clasped at her throat, billowed slightly in the wind, offering glimpses of the figure beneath as it moved. The fabric framed her like a shadow, the hood hanging loose against her shoulders, exposing the windswept strands of her hair that tumbled in defiance over her shoulder. While the other half of her hair remained intertwined with stones and gems as was custom for their Leader Superior.
“Thank you for meeting with us. There is something I wanted you to see,” Ariana greeted us briefly before holding out a sheet of paper. There was none of the warmth coming from her that was present the other night. Her entire demeanor was rigid.
I took the paper from her, noticing the blood on the bottom first. By the smell, I knew it was hers mixed with someone else’s. My eyes glided over the words, and I could not keep the growl from my throat. Handing the letter to the nearest of my brothers, I then looked into the unwavering green eyes staring at me.
“When did it come?” I asked.
“Morning of the white night,” she answered. That left just a few days until she needed to leave if she intended to go.
“You plan on meeting with him?” Iver’s eyes drifted over the letter in his hands.
“It’s an opportunity to get a better understanding of Clauseand much-needed information.Our knowledge of the Sidhe is dangerously limited. Most of it is ancient or collected from Seers over the years,” Ariana pointed out.
“We know he can take a conjuror’s powers,” Edmond stated. “Seeing as he’s also someone to play tricks, you don’t want to spend much time around him, for obvious reasons.” Edmond paused then. “We also know he’s an ancient conjuror, hundreds of years old.”
Jorn shrugged before voicing his thoughts. “I don’t see what the problem is. I say let her go. If she dies, it’s no skin off our backs, but if she returns, then she may have useful information.”
A growl rippled through me.
Edda smiled wickedly. “Clause does not take the powers of a conjuror. He just mutes them. Conjurors do not affect him, but he in return has a lot of power over them,” she corrected Edmond, who narrowed his gaze on her.
“How do you know such things?” Iver asked.
“She is a Seer,” Ariana answered, as if that was enough of a reason. “Well, I have said everything I needed to.” She reached for the letter as if preparing to take it and leave.
My voice stilled her before the paper touched her fingertips. “That’s it?” I could not believe that was all. She dropped this in our laps, and then wished to leave without sharing her plans. That would not cut it.
“What more is there?” Her gaze sliced towards us, hand falling to her side, and I realized she was angry, though I was not sure exactly about what. “I wished to keep you apprised, as this may affect your future plans. That is all.”
I took a deliberate step towards her, gaining her full attention, ignoring the way Landin inched forward as if prepared to shield her if I were to attack. “You are just going to march into this Sidhe Kingdom and hope he will allow you to leave?”
“Does it look like I march anywhere? I was thinking of taking more of a strolling pace,” she replied flippantly, and Iver’s lips twisted into a smirk.
Another rumble traveled up my throat. This was not a joke.
“Clause is a man of his word,” Edda stated, “Though he is indeed dangerous, he will uphold his promise. She will be released unscathed as long as he is not threatened.” The old woman’s willingness to agree to such a thing only further infuriated me. Being a Seer, shouldn’t she know the immense danger Ariana would be in by being within reach of the Sidhe King?
“The ancient stories told of him painted him as cruel, powerful enough that even time could not touch him, for age never wore him down. Years of life only hardened him, and he had lived long enough for several life spans.” I warned of the little we knew. My attention turned to the old bat. “You said you would protect her. That you would not allow harm to come to her.”
Edda’s lips flattened into a straight line.
“I am capable of protecting myself,” Ariana stated curtly.
“She certainly is. After all, she bested you, didn’t she, Erik?” Edmond smiled bitterly. Still cross with the choice of releasing her and the Bavadrins from our control, choosing to see it as a weak decision on my part.
Iver surprised me with the caution in his voice when he asked Ariana, “You are certain you wish to do this?”
Her gaze shifted to him, as stubborn as it had been when viewing me. “Not at all. But it is the choice I made. I only hope to come back with some answers for both you and me.”
“You think he’ll provide you with answers? That he’ll just come out and say he’s abducting Lysians?” Jorn folded his arms across his chest.
“If we assume that he is a collector of conjurors, what makes you think he won’t add you to his collection?” I asked. Unease heldme in its grimy grip, and I did not seem able to shake it off. She was willingly placing herself in danger, just as she had when she stepped into my cell after Fraser’s lashings. But not every caged beast responds identically. Just because I spared her did not mean that the next would do the same. She was gambling with her life as if it were nothing.
Ariana leveled her green gaze at me. “Careful, you almost sound worried about a Bavadrin.”
Iver snorted. “He worries, alright.”
Her delicate jaw clenched at Iver’s comment, and she turned to him, taking back the note, folding it, and placing it in a pocket. “There is nothing to deliberate. I am going. As a sign of respect and hope that we can form some sort of cooperation with one another, I decided to share this information with you.” She walked over to stand beside Rain, running a hand down the side of the horse’s neck.
