Only the man with the severed arm still remained kneeling by our door now.
“You too,” Timur snapped, sounding more tired than enraged now. I hadn’t seen him calm down so quickly after a fight before.
Clutching the bleeding stump of his arm, the man staggered to his feet unsteadily. Timur kicked him away from our door and off the Wall.
With the patio finally cleared, Timur opened the door, flew inside, and shut it closed behind us right away.
He landed in front of the closed door and leaned a shoulder against it, propping his and my weight on his left leg. His rightleg couldn’t support any weight at all. The sight of his right foot lifelessly dropped below the hem of his skirt was another painful reminder about the poison slowly eating away at his body.
“I’ll have to get the chair,” he said calmly. “Lock the door and keep it locked until I return.”
I nodded, doing what he said, then promptly letting him in when he flew back with the chair.
“Is everything okay out there?” I asked as he lowered himself into his chair inside our cave, behind the securely locked doors.
“Yes. But we’ll have to keep the doors locked at all times now. Even when I’m here. Alright?”
He looked at me closely, then probably noticed my downturned mouth and guessed my disappointment.
“It upsets you,” he exhaled, his shoulders dropping.
“No.” I faked a smile. “I understand.”
My smile didn’t fool him.
“Come here.” He took my hand and guided me back onto his lap. “I know you love to see the sun, but it’s no longer safe, not even during the day, not even when I’m right next to you. They know where we live, and they’re getting bolder. Sooner or later, someone sneaky enough will snatch you while I’m not here. Or they will gather an army big enough to overpower me, and I wouldn’t be able to protect you.”
I released a breath, resting my head on his shoulder. Timur was a brave man and a fierce warrior with unusual weapons at his disposal. But he wasn’t invincible.
“We’re not staying here forever, anyway,” I said. “We planned to leave as soon as we’re able.”
“Actually, it might be better to leave here even sooner than we planned.”
I shook my head. “But we don’t have enough money yet.”
“We have enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life,” he said firmly.
“But not enough to buy all the other humans in Ashgate.”
He heaved a long breath, leaning his head against the back of his chair.
“You can’t buy something that isn’t for sale, Elaine. There isn’t enough gold in the world that would convince Ray or Mazra to part with their Joy Vessels.”
I took off my glasses and rubbed my tired eyes. My mind felt tired too. “I need to get them out, Timur. It’s been too long already. I can’t leave Ashgate without them.”
My head ached, and my heart felt heavy.
Cupping the back of my head, he kissed my hair. “We can’t take them with us, my sweet. Not now. I can’t save them, and the longer we stay, the more I risk losing you too.”
I put my glasses back, not giving up. “We need to find a way to take them with us.”
If we left, I feared Erik, Mia, and the others would lose their only chance to ever get free.
He kept quiet for a few minutes, tracing small circles on my bare arm long enough for me to wonder if he deemed this conversation over.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said finally. “Let the queen find them.”
“The queen? What do you mean?”
