But first, he needed to learn the piece of shit’s location, so he headed for the one person who could help him.
The streets were mostly vacant, with the occasional drunkard passed out against a wall, a few beggars asleep in the alleys, and dwarven farmers readying their carts for a day at market. The dwarves didn’t pay the fae any mind as he ate up the distance to Blu’s shop in giant, determined steps.
Orelia had been hurt. Been left for dead. Seeing her broken body lying in the ditch and hearing her sob as he carried her to the cabin nearly shredded his heart in two. Before he found her, he’d spent the better part of the night in the sky screaming his frustrations into the celestial void. He wanted her. Not just because she looked unbelievable in that silky dress, or that a whiff of her strawberry-scented soap always made his heart quicken, but because he wantedher. All of her inner and outer beauty.
Vade had never encountered someone with such persistent optimism in a world so hellsbent on offering the opposite. Initially, he’d thought it sickening how positive she was, but her light had been seeping into the dark crevices of his soul these past weeks, stoking the flames of his dying heart back to life. He’d first felt it when he’d seen her being offered up for purchase at The White Pony, and he knew then that he was fucked.
Once he’d finished yelling loud enough to send the stars crashing, Vade had paced for an hour in the cabin, debating whether to goback for her a second time. But she deserved to enjoy herself at the tavern, even if it wasn’t with him.
Only when a gut-twisting pain brought him to the floor did he know something was wrong. He searched for her for hours, their connection through the binding spell threatening to tear his insides apart as he tried every tavern, every alley, every place he could think of, panicking when he couldn’t find her.
He thought maybe she had made it back to the cabin, so he retraced his steps, and that’s when he found her—a beaten and bloody heap at the bottom of a ditch. The guilt from leaving her at the tavern crippled him with guilt after seeing what Ivan had done.
As he’d looked at the sweet witch sitting on the rim of the tub, staring at the ground, face void of emotion, he knew what heartbreak truly felt like. Orelia had lost that sense of wonder about her. And he’d do anything to give it back to her.
Listening to her say that he didn’t care about her made Vade realize what a fool he’d been. He would have told Orelia then, but she was drunk and had barely survived the assault. It wasn’t the time. The only good thing to ever come into his life had almost been taken from him, and he’d be damned if he let the black-hearted coward get away with what he’d done.
When he made it to the shop, Vade climbed the set of stairs two at a time, passing under the sign for Blu’s Bespoke Wear & Tailor. The wood creaked under his steps, but he wasn’t concerned about noise. He was about to rudely awaken the shop owner before the sun had fully risen.
Back at the cabin, he’d smoothed the beveled edge of the marker Blu had given him years ago with his thumb as he watched the steady rise and fall of Orelia’s chest. The seidr sana he’d given her would work quickly, but he wanted to ensure she had enough time to heal, so he’d mixed it with a deep sleep draught.
He’d stared at her for minutes, wanting to be absolutely certain she was still breathing. She’d asked him not to leave her, and the plea in her voice had almost been enough to make him stay. But he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to punish Ivan, and Orelia had consumed enough elixir that he knew she’d be asleep for at least five marks.
Plenty of time to do what he had planned.
He left his seidr axe and sword on the table in case, gods forbid, she needed them. He scribbled a note saying he’d be back, then checked the ward around the cabin, glancing over his shoulder multiple times on the walk into town making sure it held before fully letting himself focus on his mission.
Vade dug in his pocket for the marker Blu had given him and rapped on the door—three steady knocks, two quick knocks, a pause, then two more quick knocks.
A few seconds later, he heard someone shuffling inside, grumbling a few choice words.
A donkey brayed on the street below, and Vade leaned over the railing to see a dwarven woman driving her cart, yelling something to the human boy walking alongside her. The smells of meats cooking over fires had begun, and Vade reminded himself when he was done to grab a few items for lunch before returning to Orelia.
The rectangular cut-out in the upper part of the door slid open, pulling Vade’s focus back. He had to lean down to see inside, but only darkness waited beyond the tiny window.
Even this early, a polished voice spoke. “You better have a good reason for waking me at this hour.”
Vade held up the navy and yellow coin in front of the eyehole. The coin would grant him an audience with the man who’d given it to him, no matter the day, no matter the time. Those were the rules Blu recited when he’d bestowed the marker on the fae years ago after Vade had paid handsomely to join the tailor’s guild.
The sounds of multiple locks releasing sounded from inside before the door swung open. Even in the gray fog, Blu shielded his cobalt eyes. He blinked a few times, then his moon-white face relaxed. Somehow, he looked even younger than when Vade had last seen him.
“You,” the wizard said without a hint of surprise, though they hadn’t seen one another in a year.
Vade pocketed his coin. “Me.”
Blu wrapped a satin dressing robe around his slender body that matched the color of his eyes and tied it around his waist. The ren’s pointed ears stuck out between his silky raven hair that flopped to one side, stopping just past his groomed eyebrows. “Meet me downstairs,” he said before stepping back into his home and closing the door.
Vade paced outside the main doors to the shop, earning apprehensive stares from an elderly stiv couple sweeping their steps across the street. He forced himself to be still and leaned against a supportbeam while he waited for Blu but quickly found his foot tapping. If he lost any opportunity to find Ivan, he’d never forgive himself.
Orelia’s injured face flashed across his mind, and his throat went tight. He didn’t care that he would have died if she had, he only cared that she would have left this world not knowing how he felt about her. Not knowing she consumed his every thought, and not just because he was in charge of her safety for his own sake.
Vade knew it was because he loved her. He’d loved her for a while, and stupidly, he’d tried to talk himself out of it. He’d been cruel and unkind, and if she ever did forgive him for the things he’d said and done, he’d spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her.
The door behind him opened, and Blu ushered him inside. He wore a cobalt robe of the finest material embroidered in gold flourishes; the same kind he’d worn the other three times Vade had visited. His black boots were polished to a high shine, and he walked straight and poised, a man accurately reflecting the business he ran.
They crossed burnished mahogany floors as the wizard gave a flimsy flick of both wrists, bringing the trulights around the space to life.
Vade quirked a brow. He’d never seen someone activate an orb without touching it. The lights turned a warm, inviting orange, offering a comfort Vade wasn’t interested in.
