“Some males don’t mature on schedule.”
“Some never do,” Elwen muttered.
Uther grinned. “Whatever’s going on in that thick skull of his, it’s new. New instincts…urges. Territorial issues.”
“Territorial?”
Uther nodded. “The jealousy hits like a punch to the balls at first. He’ll adjust.”
Elwen stepped forward. “We were talking, and we realized none of us know what your sister looks like.”
“Yeah,” Uther said. “Is she tall, short, blonde, bald as an egg?”
I smiled. “She’s not bald.”
“Go on.”
I hesitated. “She’s shorter than me. Dark hair, almost black. She wears it long, usually tied up.” I tugged at my own hair absently. “Her eyes are vivid. Bright gold, like a lioness.”
He smirked. “Pretty.”
“Shehatesthe fae,” I warned him, wagging a finger in his face. “She won’t come willingly. You’ll have to force her.”
“Eh. I can handle one little human.”
I raised a brow. “She’ll bite, scratch, and scream the whole way. She’ll fake an injury to lure you closer, then kick you in the throat.”
He grinned. “Some males pay good money for that kind of attention.”
A snort burst out of me, and Elwen smacked his shoulder.
I could picture Rheya stomping through Ashvar Keep, barking orders at warriors twice her size, stealing everything that wasn’t nailed down. She’d be suspicious of the fae, but eventually, she’d grow to like them. I hoped.
We’d be together soon, and I’d show her a world bigger than anything we’d ever dreamed on those rooftops. I just had to get her back first.
“Move out.” Kairos’s voice rang across the camp.
Warriors scattered to stamp out fires, and bedrolls vanished into saddlebags.
Every step to Skalgard felt like walking toward a grave I’d already dug. I just couldn’t tell yet who I’d be burying. We climbed on foot, the path too steep and narrow for riding, so the mairen followed behind in a line. Kairos led the party, his hand resting on his sword.
We came across a mine and ducked inside, the massive passages reinforced with runes. My fingersbrushed the smooth walls as we walked. Carved into a far wall, a rune shimmered in a vertical slice of light that hurt to look at.
Kairos raised a fist, and we halted.
“Portal rune. It’ll take us to the top of Wraithspine. The path ahead is riddled with defensive runes. This is faster, if it holds. From there, we descend straight into the city, but I’m not sure if it can transport everyone.”
A murmur rippled through the warriors. I remembered what he’d told me when we escaped Skalgard, how portals required vast amounts of magic.
“Can’t you use your blood?” I asked.
“My blood can fuel a lot of things. Not this,” Kairos grunted. “But a single drop of dragon blood can move a warband across realms.”
“So, if the rune exhausts its magic, we have nothing to reactivate it.”
Kairos shook his head. “I have something, but we might need it for the seal.”
Silence pressed against the tunnel walls.
