She took a tiny step back but realised too late she wasn’t holding onto the carriage anymore. Her right leg almost gave out and Eyden rushed forward, steadying her. Lora’s gaze swung to where his hand touched her arm. It felt real. Hewasreal.
“You came back,” Lora whispered, her voice sounding raspy. She never did drink what the fae had left at her cell.
Eyden looked hurt but then the emotion swiftly left this face. “You thought I wouldn’t?”
“I thought that maybe…maybe our deal wasn’t worth the trouble anymore.”
Something flashed in his eyes, but she couldn’t read it, not when everything was so hard to focus on. Movement drew her eyes behind him. “Shit. Eyden—”
He spun sideways, one arm never leaving Lora. The fae had gotten up from the ground, fury burning behind his eyes. The rope was lying at his feet. He removed the throwing star from his chest, his lips curling into a cruel smile as his eyes locked on Lora. She wished she still had that stone to throw to wipe that grin off his face forever.
Then a knife flew through the air and hit its target with precision. The star dropped from the fae’s hand as he stared at the knife in his chest, a new wound atop his old one. But this one was deeper. Iron mixed with almandine piercing his heart, draining his life source. No fae could survive without it. The magic that kept him alive and made him powerful was dwindling fast.
The fae clutched at the knife as blood ran down his chest. His eyes widened in panic, the grin long gone as he fell to the ground.
Seeing the life slowly leave his eyes, all Lora felt was relief and an odd sense of satisfaction. She wasn’t sure what that said about herself, but there was no time to dwell on it now. She looked to Eyden, his hand still outstretched from when he threw the knife. She finally took him in fully. His shirt was torn at the collar and stained with blood. There was also dried blood on one of his cheeks. He must have been part of the fight.
“Most of it isn’t mine,” he said, catching her gaze.
“Whose is it, then?”
“The one with air magic. I went into the building first, trying to find you. I found him instead.”
He didn’t need to say the rest. Lora already knew how that fight had ended. His eyes seemed to be trying to tell her too many things at once.The fae got what he deserved. I came back for you. This isn’t just about some deal. Please tell me you’re okay.
Or maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her and he wasn’t trying to say half of those things. Probably the latter.
The sound of footsteps pulled her out of her thoughts. Eyden’s eyes left hers as he looked towards the group of people approaching them. The girl from earlier reached them first. Two others were trailing her, dragging the unconscious third fae with them.
The redhead took in the dead fae, then focused on Eyden, a deadly glint in her eyes. Lora opened her mouth to explain that Eyden wasn’t one of the fae who had captured her.
“For fuck’s sake, Eyden. I told you no killing unless we have everyone,” the girl said.
Lora’s mouth closed in surprise. How the hell did they know each other?
“The knife must have slipped out of my hand. You know how it is,” Eyden answered, a hint of a smile in his voice. He helped Lora lean against the carriage wall.
“Was there someone in the building?”
“Yes, but he’s dead too,” Eyden answered as he stepped away from Lora.
The girl groaned. “Great, now there’s only one fae who could tell us where the others are.”
Eyden turned to Lora. “Did they tell you anything?”
Lora stared at him for a beat too long before she pushed aside all her questions. “He only said I’d be joining their haul.”
Eyden cursed under his breath. He looked towards the path leading into the woods before seeking the girl’s gaze again. “He’s not going to talk, Elyssa. I bet they’ve taken them to the Void. That path leads to Rubien. He must have blood sworn not to reveal the location.”
Rubien, the lost kingdom? In Lora’s research, it was always described as a wasteland. It wasn’t accepted as a kingdom in Liraen anymore as it was believed that the kingdom’s god, the God of Justice, had abandoned the land after witnessing the Dark King’s sinister behaviour and misuse of his beliefs. Rubien had been completely deserted after the Dark King was destroyed, leaving only seven remaining kingdoms. Or so she’d thought.
Two humans stopped next to the girl, Elyssa. A man, who Lora guessed was in his mid-thirties, pushed the fae to the other man and stepped forward. “Just as I suspected. We helped you get your girl and we got nothing out of it. Typical fae.” The younger man struggled with the weight of the unconscious fae and then let him drop to the ground.
Eyden moved forward quickly, facing the man. “There’s no point in torturing him when I know he won’t talk. I said I’d help you get everyone so that’s what I’ll do.” His eyes briefly shifted to Lora before returning to the human. “I keep my promises.”
His voice was reassuring, yet it made Lora’s heart ache. Was this really about keeping his end of the deal? A list of promises she couldn’t keep whirled in her mind, increasing her migraine. Not to mention, this whole scenario was absurd. Why was Eyden working with humans?
“We could hide. Wait until he wakes up, follow him, and then finally give him what he deserves,” Elyssa suggested, pointing to the fae on the ground. The girl must have also noticed the items in the carriage that begged to be sold. If the remaining fae was as desperate as his companions, he would surely make his delivery even without them.
