Lora woke up with a start, her eyes frantically adjusting to the light as she searched for the cave bars. But she wasn’t there anymore. She was lying on a couch in a room that looked like a tent. The rectangular-shaped room had walls made out of thick beige fabric. Her right ankle was packed with ice and propped up on a sapphire blue cushion. A second ice bag was next to her head. It must have slipped off in her sleep. Elyssa was standing in the corner of the messy room, washing the blood off of her knuckle rings.
The last few hours rushed back to Lora. Her ankle had slowed them down so much that Eyden had carried her to speed up the process. She’d had so many questions burning on her tongue as she had looked up at him, her arms around his neck. But even though she had tried to keep as still as possible, her head had still moved with each of Eyden’s steps and it made her skull throb, turning all her questions into ashes as she drifted into sleep.
The place she found herself in now was lived in; piles of clothes were on the floor, empty plates on a small table. The mess didn’t bother Lora. It was inviting and beautifully ordinary. She assumed it must be Elyssa’s room. There was a basin of sorts, a bed, a wardrobe, and the blue couch Lora was currently occupying.
Elyssa removed her weapons from the bucket filled with water and put them down on a towel. Her eyes caught Lora’s as she looked over her shoulder. “Hey, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” The young girl moved closer, sitting in the chair closest to the couch.
In this light Lora noticed the girl’s eyes were more hazel than brown. But they were still human eyes, no hint of fae magic.
“Better. I think,” Lora replied as she tried to sit up more. She gave up. “Where’s Eyden?” She was still surprised he had shown up at all. But from what he’d said to Jaspen, she gathered he had a promise he needed to fulfil.
“He went to the black market, but he’ll be back soon.”
“Not the market in Rubien, right?” That’s what Lora had understood from their conversation. That the fae had taken the humans to another market in the abandoned kingdom.
“No, we’re going to follow that neat tracker of yours. We’ll see if he’s really going into Rubien, but it seems likely. The Void is the most hellish place they could take them to. That’s where thereallydark trades are being made.”
If they were trading humans there, then Lora could only agree. If it wasn’t for Eyden and Elyssa, she would’ve been dragged there too. “I think I said it before but in case I didn’t, thank you for saving me.”
Elyssa’s face stretched into a grin. “You don’t have to thank me. There’s nothing quite like getting in a good punch. And it’s what we do—help fellow humans. If anything, thank Eyden. I have to admit, I’m really curious about you two.”
“You’re curious? I didn’t even know he had a sister. He never mentioned you.”
Elyssa didn’t seem hurt by that statement. “You could say I’m his biggest secret. Or one of them, at least. He carries too many. It’s not you, Lora. There’s a lot of danger here. Eyden learned pretty early in life that trust can be fatal.”
She could understand the need to protect his sibling. It was the human part that had caught her off guard the most. Her assumption that Eyden cared for no human life had cracked.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how are you related?” Lora asked.
“We’re clearly not blood-related, if that’s what you’re asking. Eyden’s mother was close to my family and we took Eyden in when his parents were, well, gone. He’s the only family I have left now.” A short pause, then Elyssa added, “So, you and Eyden? There’s a story there, I can tell.”
Lora shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. We made a business deal. He’s keeping his promise.”
Elyssa nodded as a small smile played on her lips. “He told me about that. Vaguely. Said you came from the human world to find a cure and he promised to help you.”
Her blood stilled, iced over. “He told you I’m not from here?”
“It’ll be our secret, I swear. Trust me, I know how to keep a good secret.”
Lora wanted to believe her, but she was scared trust would be fatal for her too. “No one can know about this.”
“No one else will,” Elyssa reassured her.
There was nothing more Lora could do, so she moved on. “You’re not going to ask me how I did it?”
Understanding washed over Elyssa’s face. “That’s what Eyden asked, wasn’t it? In return for his help?”
“Yes. For his trading business. I’m a business opportunity to him, so to say.”
“I don’t think you are. And I don’t think he had his goddamn business in mind at all.”
“Why else would he want to cross?”
“He doesn’t. He wants me to go.” Elyssa laughed under her breath as she shook her head. “That idiot. He knows very well I’d never cross. No chance in hell.”
Before Lora could question her further, she heard footsteps coming closer. She looked towards the door and Elyssa quickly followed her gaze.
The flap of the tent opened and Eyden walked in, looking between Lora and Elyssa. “Did I interrupt something?”
