“I’d never.” The mere thought was appalling to Lora. She continued her charade, “Isn’t it obvious? I can’t risk the fae invading my world again.”
“I see. I wouldn’t do that.” A smug smile appeared on his face. “Sharing that secret would be bad for business, after all.”
Her fury reached new limits. Who was he to make light of this situation? Lora swallowed her impulsive response. “And I’m supposed to take your word for it?”
Eyden pointed to the other side of the small, cave-like room. “There’s the door if you’d rather try your luck on your own. If I find your corpse later, maybe I’ll feel generous and send it back to Earth.”
The snarky comment didn’t discourage her. No, she welcomed it. It gave her incentive to agree with him. Lora bit her lip as she pretended to mull over his statement.
After a short pause, she purposely sought out his stare. “Fine. I’ll tell you how I can cross after you help me get a cure. If something happens to me, you’ll never know. And I’m not going to sign some fae blood contract, so you better get that out of your head.”
Eyden seemed to consider her counteroffer as he shifted his feet. “I’ll have to keep a close eye on you then.” The words were meant as a warning, yet they had an undefined edge to them. Before she could dwell on them, Eyden said, “But we’re getting the cure my way. You’re in my territory. Don’t go off seeking danger. Don’t waste my time.” His voice was back to a monotone, bored tone.
Lora waited a moment, this time truly considering what she had gotten herself into. Did she have any other choice but to agree? She couldn’t picture another way forward, so she nodded.
“Then we have an agreement?” she asked.
“Sure, special one.” The mocking tone was back, much to Lora’s dismay.
“Lora. My name’s Lora.”
“We have a deal,Lora,” Eyden said, emphasizing her name. It had a strange but not unpleasant ring to it. His Turosian accent made her name sound outlandish.
An uneasy feeling crept back in. A realisation that she was far from home, in a different world, talking to a different species than her own. She turned her head to the side to examine the room. Instead of smooth, painted grey walls, all she saw was stone surrounding her. The corners were littered with unknown artefacts and onyx boxes like the ones in Marcel’s room piled on top of each other. There was no conveyor belt, only a big empty basket in front of the portal.
Lora grasped her pendant, wanting the comfort of something familiar.
When she turned her gaze back up, she noticed Eyden had moved to open a wooden box that was placed close to the door.
“What are you doing?” she asked, mistrust lacing her words.
Eyden didn’t look up and continued going through the contents of the box. “You need a disguise.”
“Right.” Her suspicion of Eyden was like a nervous buzzing in her veins. “What level are you?” She wanted to be prepared for whatever powers he might demonstrate.
If he was a level one, that would make him the least dangerous. He would merely showcase advanced senses and strength. If he was above that, then he would exhibit an additional ability. Or as the fae would say, he would beblessedwith a power. Power that allowed them to do terrible things. Power that convinced them they were superior. No one should possess such power. It was unnatural and frighteningly dangerous.
High-level fae had a more intense glow in their eyes than lower levels, their power seeping through. Although Eyden’s eyes were unnaturally striking to the human eye, Lora didn’t take note of any overwhelming power radiating off him.
“I don’t need to define myself by any level. I built myself a reputation as a trader and that’s all you need to know,” he said.
The vague answer wasn’t enough for Lora. She rephrased her question, demanding more. “Does that mean you don’t have any special powers?”
“You’re the only special one, I’m afraid.”
Not quite an answer either, but she decided to let it go. For now.
Lora quickly put her new battery in her phone and connected her phone to the WiFi cube. With haste, she messaged Maja, telling her that she had crossed and was truly fine but couldn’t talk much because of her limited data. She asked her friend to relay her message to her family before giving them her letters.
“Are we meeting a healer outside the market, then?” Lora asked, circling back to the mission at hand.
This time he did turn around, staring up at her from where he was kneeling on the floor. “Yes and no. I’ll take you to a healer but not tonight. I’ll have to—”
“What?” Lora immediately interrupted, irritation flowing over her. She had expected she might have to leave the underground market, but she had been naïve enough to hope she would be able to settle this immediately. “Why not tonight? Do I really have to explain how urgent this is? People are dying.”
“Rushing it is a stupid way to go about it. Make no mistake, I may want to know your secret, but I’m in no mood to go on a fool’s errand. You agreed to do this my way. Keep your word or walk away now. It’s your funeral.”
Lora glared at him. Not even five minutes passed and she was already regretting agreeing to this deal.
