Elyssa’s face broke into a smile as she held out her fist. “Excellent.”
Lora bumped her fist, but her eyes were glued to Eyden, who looked less enthusiastic and more shocked.
“You don’t have to. You know that, right? You can stay and avoid all this madness. It would be smarter—safer,” he said.
The ghost of a smile lifted the corners of her lips. “Well, someone once told me I’m insane. I guess they were right.”
She could see the tension leaving his face, but it didn’t last long. “Are you sure?”
“As sure as I can be,” Lora replied.
Elyssa nodded, pleased with her answer, while Eyden dropped his gaze. Did he really not want her to go? Had she read him wrong or was he merely concerned for her safety? In some ways, he was still this closed book she’d barely opened. But then again, so was she.
“This is great timing. Jaspen has called for a meeting. We were stopping by to get an update but since you’re joining us, you should come with,” Elyssa said.
Lora nodded, forcing her eyes to leave Eyden’s.
She was all in now. Risks, regrets…she’d take them all on, joining Eyden’s mad mission. Even if unspoken lies still lingered between them.
* * *
“Absolutely not. That was not part of the plan.” Eyden glared daggers at Jaspen, who casually leaned back in his chair. They were sitting around the big table again, talking through their strategy. The scent of caftee lingered in the air as the morning sun filtered in through the open wall.
“The plan was never finalised. Now that Lora agreed to join us, we can take our best shot at this. And I didn’t ask for your opinion, Eyden,” Jaspen announced.
Lora went through Jaspen’s plan in her head, seeing the advantages even though irritation flowed through her. The way Jaspen had spoken made it sound final, although he hadn’t yet asked for her opinion on the matter. Somehow, she had suspected as much.
Eyden placed his steaming mug on the table, the sound drawing attention. “You’re getting it anyway if you want my help. If anything goes wrong at the Void or wherever else they do their trades, it’ll be easier for me to get out of there on my own.”
Jaspen’s curt laugh was the definition of condescending. “We don’t have the luxury of running away if things go south. As long as Farren is alive, we won’t leave without him. We can’t risk anyone finding my camp.” His gaze shifted to Elyssa. “Anyone else.”
Elyssa didn’t back down from his stare. “It’s working to our advantage now, isn’t it? You said it yourself, we need Eyden. You should be goddamn thanking me.”
“That doesn’t mean he should be here. Don’t think I’ve forgotten. We will discuss this later, you can count on that.”
As Jaspen turned in his seat, Lora caught Elyssa rolling her eyes. The girl didn’t seem all that worried about Jaspen’s words even though his tone had been intimidating. Lora couldn’t make sense of Eyden’s past with the humans. If he grew up with Elyssa, then why was Jaspen so against him being here? Why did he imply Eyden shouldn’t know about this camp when he had supposedly been part of the community?
“If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. Leave Elyssa out of this,” Eyden said.
Jaspen set his jaw. “Again, I don’t need your opinion—on my camp or this plan.”
“You should at the very least ask for Lora’s opinion, seeing as it’s her life you’re risking,” Eyden countered.
In response, Jaspen turned his stoic face to Lora. When he didn’t say anything, Lora glanced at Eyden before she spoke up. “I’ll do it.” Eyden opened his mouth as if to disagree, but Lora continued on. “I know it’s risky, but it’s even riskier if you go in by yourself.”
If she was going all in, then there was no backing down now.
“Finally, someone who sees reason. It’s decided, then. Lora and Eyden will enter the trading location as buyers while Elyssa and I take watch close by. Ian, you will stay here and take care of the camp in my absence.”
Ian, the young man who always kept close to Jaspen, looked up from his cup of caftee. “Shouldn’t I go with you? I can help.”
“No, I need you here. Someone needs to lead everyone to the emergency hiding spot should we fail. You’re no use to us on this mission.” Ian’s face dropped, but he quickly recovered and nodded, dropping his gaze. “What does the tracker show now?” Jaspen asked.
Lora removed her phone from her pocket and activated the feature. It indicated her previous WiFi cube was on the move but still in Chrysa.
“The fae hasn’t left town yet,” she said.
Jaspen leaned across the table. “Can I see?”
