Ours was a symbiotic relationship. Or at least, it had started as such. Timur and I needed each other to survive in Ashgate. He sold my pleasure, but without him, I wouldn’t be able to benefit from it or have any control over it.
The more gold we made and my independence became reality, I no longerneededto be with Timur. I stayed because Iwantedto be with him. The deeper I fell for him, the harder his condition pressed on me. Every hug, every kiss felt stolen now as I kept subconsciously counting down how many of those I might still have before he was gone.
No wonder the clients started noticing my frazzled state. Joy was harder to master in the shadows of the impending loss. I clung to every shred of hope with the desperation of a drowning woman, even to the hope offered by Suhai’s veiled promise.
Of course I had told Timur about what the mage had whispered to me just before we parted. And of course Timur had warned me to stay away from Suhai and all his questionable magic.
“Suhai is a crook and a liar,” Timur had said. “That’s why he ended up here, in Ashgate. Can’t you see? He preys on the desperate and sells empty promises, not the actual results.”
“But we bought my glasses from him, and they work great, better than great,” I argued.
The glasses that Timur had picked up from Suhai a few days ago turned out to be truly magical. The clear crystal lenses were set into a golden hexagonal frame that looked like a jewelry piece. I would’ve been just as happy with any cheaper materials, but Suhai insisted that precious metals and rock crystals held magic better.
Since Suhai didn’t know exactly what perfect human vision was, his magic-infused glasses made me see almost as good asfae. The world had come into focus with the clarity and details that had initially overwhelmed me. After weeks of experiencing the world as fuzzy shapes and shadows, my mind had a hard time processing the multitude of sharp details that didn’t fade away even in the darkness.
At first, I could only wear the glasses for a few minutes at a time. But after a couple of days, I’d gotten used to them enough to wear them permanently while awake.
“With the glasses, the risk was minimal,” Timur replied. “Had Suhai butchered the job, you could’ve easily taken the glasses off and never put them on again. Making the seeing crystals required a simple healing spell that any hag worth her schooling or any mage sneaky enough to steal the spell could perform. But he lied when he claimed to know how to treat the incurable. Beware of Suhai and his false claims, Elaine. He doesn’t just sell magic, he trades in lies and manipulation. Please, please be careful around him.”
I’d brought it up again a couple of times since. I wanted to at least test Suhai’s claims somehow. But every time, Timur had been adamant that Suhai is not to be trusted. I couldn’t keep arguing with him about that. Suhai hadn’t left the impression of a trustworthy man on me either.
“Desperation is a dangerous thing, Elaine,” Timur had said the last time I’d brought it up. “It can push you into making a grave mistake. We have to be careful.”
I knew we had to, and I didn’t want to argue with him about it tonight. So I just leaned against his chest and let him take me across the desert to the edge of the Ashgate Wall. Once we reached it, I climbed off Timur’s lap and glanced down.
It must be close to midnight by now. The nightly activities of the city had already spilled out of the caves and shelters and onto the beach and the open patios of the Wall. With my new glasses on, I could see everything below in every detail.
The black sand of the beach was darker along the water’s edge where the ocean’s waves soaked it rhythmically. The surf beat the ocean water into a frenzy of silver foam only to calm it into delicate lace on the shore.
The fae moved along the beach or traveled from patio to patio like the elegant shadows they were. They might all be crooks, thieves, and murderers, but that didn’t diminish their natural grace.
I followed a couple of figures with my gaze as they strolled along a hanging bridge between two open caves. They walked on the top level of the Wall, which was the level with our cave. It wasn’t unusual for people to walk across our open patio at night. The intricate system of balconies, ladders, patios, and rope bridges sprawled over the entire cliff face of the Wall. And our patio was just a part of it, occasionally used by passersby.
When I found our cave, however, two figures were already there, and they didn’t move away. Keeping to the shadows of the Wall, they appeared to be waiting. For us?
“Timur,” I said over my shoulder. “There are people on our patio.”
“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath.
With a sharp swishing sound, his wings snapped open. Then his strong arms hugged me from behind and lifted me off the ground with him.
I drew in a gulp of air and held it, closing my eyes. Flying always made me dizzy. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to it, especially when Timur flew this fast.
Hugging me to his side, he descended upon our unwelcome visitors like a giant bird of prey. If they indeed were just peaceful passersby, lingering innocently by the door to our cave, they’d be running for their lives. Instead, they drew their weapons, ready to fight.
Not slowing down, Timur enclosed the talons of his clawed foot around the closest man’s head and tossed him off the patio.
The man shrieked but managed to disperse into shadows before he hit the beach. He’d dropped his sword during the fall, however, and was now searching for it on the ground below.
Drawing one of his knives from the holster on his thigh, Timur tossed it into the head of another visitor.
I squeaked in horror when another man appeared as if out of nowhere and grabbed my ankle, then kicked at the arm that tried to pull me out of Timur’s grip.
Baring his teeth, Timur lashed out with his tail and sliced through the offending arm. The man howled in pain, dropping to his knees.
The fourth man solidified from the shadows, with his sword raised above his head. His pale eyes opened wide. He screamed, launching into an attack. Holding me with one arm, Timur met his blade with his bare hand—hisrighthand. His long claws closed around the blade, scraping along the metal with sparks and screeching.
“Leave. Us. Alone.” Timur twisted the sword out of the man’s hands, then swept him off the patio with his tail.
