Ward wasn’t the type to get ruffled, but he dragged Evie’s chair a bit closer to his.
“As well-mannered as ever,” Dane grumbled. His wife, Ruby, elbowed him in the side.
Noth looked like he wanted to spit something back at the Druid but this Calix must be important because he kept his gaze on Ward.
“In Portsgrave Harbor, my friend,” Ward said.
I took a bite of Vival Greens, thinking that was the end until we finished dinner. Noth pushed back his chair and clapped Ward on the shoulder.
“That meticulous mind of yours can find anything,” he said and turned to leave the room. “I’ll be forever in your debt.”
Disbelief struck through me.What!? Everyone was just going to let him toddle off?
I spat out the Greens. “Wait!” I called. “You can’t just leave.” I hadn’t figured out how to kill him in his sleep.
He swung back, his hair fanning out behind him in a dizzying display. Rushing to my side, he grabbed my face and planted a giant kiss on my lips that arrowed straight between my legs. I didn’t even have time to fight him before he opened his arms wide.
“Oh, Pumpkin. Wait for me with that shattered heart.I will return to our fun and games with a crown on my head.”
The kiss and the declaration were so over the top, everyone laughed but me. He even did a little finger wave as he left the room.
Burning rage lit inside me. This would not stand. Him alone, on the road, might be my perfect opportunity. Because the only way that Rat Face was going to finish this quest was in his grave.
Chapter 3
Noth
Giant Scorched Salamanders were not the noblest of mounts. Orange with black bursts that looked similar to fireball blasts, they slimed a sticky, blood-red secretion that repelled predators and riders alike. You had to tuck your legs against the saddle if they were long like mine.
But since I almost lost my life to tooth and claw suggesting Evie should be my noble mount, I picked a wide-skirted saddle for the salamander and got on with it. Ward handed over his research, which amounted to about a million useless scrolls and a one-page summary, and I set off into the countryside as fast as the creature's nubby legs would take us.
The upside of a salamander was its ability to eat a man whole and its propensity for it. At least my mount was kind of deadly, if not a dragon. If I pushed him, hewould make it through Oakjour Thicket to Portsgrave Harbor in two days. I would deal with the resulting disgusting lather once I had the Calix in hand. I wouldn't let a little slime, nor a lack of sleep, deter me. According to Ward’s extensive network, one crusty mermaid was all that stood between me and greatness.
Rally the townsfolk to your side. Flex your power.My father’s voice rang in my head. He was full of helpful advice even after his death. Power did fix everything. It was the answer to every shrewd look, hidden jibe and lonely night.
I missed him more than was reasonable. Anyone with the balls to leave the crown behind and marry a Nightmare Walker would carry his title wherever he ended up. I did him proud by reclaiming the Elven throne through guile and force. At least he lived long enough to see the crown back on my head. Long enough to make me promise I would look after Mother. Not that any oaths stopped the mate bond from taking her once he faded away.
The salamander slammed to a halt, and I almost tipped over its broad, flat head. Only a tight grip on the saddle saved me. The stand of trees and brush stood impenetrable before us. Nothing for an Elf. I didn’t even know why the salamander stopped. Before it settled into a nap, I called to the trees, and they reached back. Inquisitive, bright, the trees didn't get many visitors if their excitement was any indication. I hadn't felt a forestlike that since I had visited the witch in the human village. It hummed with the radiant energy of living.
Killing that witch had been one of the hardest things I'd ever done. That she was Maggie’s mentor made it so much worse. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t wonder if I had done the right thing.
The trees also gossiped about something or someone in their crowns. That might mean anything from a Bakh bull uprooting trees to the answer I hoped for–my Pumpkin followed me. The thicket was so dense with its interwoven branches and competing undergrowth; I had no idea how she wiggled in there, but her tenacity was part of her charm.
I joined my magic with that of the thicket and politely requested a path through the rowan and ash trees. All the trees and the undergrowth held the magic of protection, rebirth and healing. That must be why they clustered together in the first place. A path just wide enough for the salamander and me opened before us. The dappled sunlight and smell of churned earth, decay, and leaves put me in a good enough mood to whistle. My bodyguard, Ailred, always said I couldn’t hold a tune. That bitch handed me over for torture, so her opinion held little weight. Besides, it was more about expressing joy than any ability. That joy increased tenfold as my Nightmare woke up, scenting the air for earth and poppy, humming in the back of my mind.
I didn’t want him regularly out and about, but hewas helpful for locating danger and one dangerous Pumpkin in particular. The wind whispered a trilling laugh as it followed me. Each tree waited to see what happened. Their anticipation was infectious. They made my path smoother, wider, but I stopped urging the salamander forward. I had to make this somewhat fair for Maggie.
To give her due credit, I didn’t hear her fall from one of the top branches even if I did scent earth and the pink poppy before all of her weight slammed into me, flattening me to the saddle. The shard of vivianite pierced my neck, blood spilling over my chest. I gasped out of sheer surprise.
“Just let me realign your neck chakra, bitch.”
Kneeling on my back, I expected the final blow to rain down before I could do more than clutch my neck, but Maggie hesitated, unsure. She had come fatally close to ending me out of sheer luck.
I moved with her next strike, and crystal met my shoulder. My Nightmare gobbled up the death the crystal grew in - closing the wound in an instant. He had a tougher time healing our torn neck, but I had a packet of heal-all mint that I slapped on it. My Elven magic amplified the balm to knit my neck together quickly.
Levering herself in front of me, she snapped her fist back to throat-punch me with brass knuckles bristling with vivianite. It grazed my cheek, whistling past my ear. Maggie’s knee met my side, her other foot jamminginto my hip. Hopefully, she didn’t feel the raging hard-on she inspired. Maggie had more anger than talent at fighting.
She was here for vengeance. Again. Respect swelled every part of me, but also my heart. Maggie was most beautiful when she turned bold.
