And I’d never let Huntyr and Wolf off the hook for insisting she come on this journey.
“Come on, Rum.” As the horse marched forward steadily, I tightened my hold on her, securing her to keep her from being jostled as best I could. “Hold on a little longer.”
I’d been overcome with true fear a handful of times in my life, but this was different. If she died like this… if she died before I could tell her the truth…
“Almost there!” Matthias yelled from ahead.
A small cluster of buildings came into view ahead. The sight was nothing like I expected. I was expecting… I don’t know, war? Crowds of people rioting and trying to break through the walls that protected a castle I’d yet to see?
This was a quaint, quiet building miles from the rest of the kingdom.
“Are you sure this is it?” I asked. From here, it looked almost abandoned. There was a single structure, without a soul in sight.
“Yes! This is it!” Matthias’s mood lightened, and I was too desperate to be picky about our location, so I followed, with Xavier at my back.
As we stopped outside the small building, Xavier swung off his horse and helped me lift Rummy off my saddle.
Letting go of her felt wrong. Foreign.
But time was of the essence. Her breathing grew shallow, and she only fluttered her eyes open for a second when I tried to wake her up.
“This way,” Matthias said.
I took Rummy from Xavier’s arms, leaving him behind to tie up the horses and gather our belongings, and stormed through the front door of the small, dark inn behind Matthias.
I’d yet to see a single living being, so when I stepped inside and found a dozen fae milling about the cozy space, I came to an abrupt stop.
“We need rooms,” Matthias said to the fae behind the counter. “What do you have available?”
The man looked from Matthias, to Rummy in my arms, to my white angel wings, his face hardening.
“I don’t want any trouble,” he said. “Perhaps it’s best if you take your business elsewhere.”
I stepped forward, gently shifting Rummy in my hold. “We don’t have time to go somewhere else. We won’t cause any trouble, you have my word. She needs to rest.”
The man was older, his face edged with age and worry. But he sighed, his shoulders lowering, and took two keys from a board hanging on the wall behind him.
“I have two rooms available. You’ll have to make do with what we have.”
Xavier appeared, already pulling coins from his pocket. “We’ll take them,” he said. “Thank you.”
Goddess above, it was all happening so fast. I should have been more concerned with the patrons who were watching us, with all the prying eyes, but I couldn’t bring myself to give a shit about anything but Rummy.
She needed help.
Now.
As Matthias took the keys from the inn owner, I turned for the stairs.
“Here.” Xavier took one key from Matthias as we made it to the second floor. “This way.”
As he wiggled the key in the lock, I couldn’t help but take in Rummy’s pale skin and use my heightened ability to listen to her heart beating. It was slower and weaker than even the last time I’d checked an hour or so ago.
“We need a healer,” I said as Xavier opened the door. “She won’t survive the night like this.”
“I know someone,” Matthias said from behind me. “She’s not far from here. I can be back within an hour.”
I carried Rummy to the bed and laid her on the clean linens before turning to face him. “Go. I’ll pay anything, just get some help.”
