I finally check the state of my side, a snarl rising to my lips at the mess Dusana made of me. Blood seeps through multiple gashes in my armor and I can feel it trickling down my side.
The woman hurrying toward me wears a red crest, resembling a flower, on the left shoulder of her armor. Her hair is as black as Gliss’s with the same deep-purple highlights, and her eyes are the same shade of violet.
She rapidly takes in the fallen women—Dusana and Bethoc—before her focus reaches the Vandawolf in the distance. If she can see the detail of his appearance from her position, she doesn’t show any surprise about it. It certainly doesn’t slow her down.
Her final glance is for Gliss and in that brief meeting of their eyes, I read fear in the approaching woman’s expression. It’s a deep fear. The kind I saw in my siblings’ eyes when they were frightened for my life.
The newcomer pulls to a halt only five paces away, her focus returning to me and her gaze now leveled with mine.
“I am Elowynn of the Dawn, the rightful Queen’s Champion and Commander of the fae army,” the newcomer says. “You will stop where you are, Asha Silverspun. Or I willmakeyou stop.”
Chapter10
Istep back from Gliss and focus my attention on Elowynn.
There was a lot that Elowynn crammed into her speech and I don’t have time to contemplate it all right now.
Fae. The rightful Queen. Champion. Commander. An army.
Explanations will have to wait, assuming I ever get them.
For now, I focus on the threat in front of me—this imposing woman who seems more afraid for Gliss’s safety than concerned about the other occupants of this cave.
If her physical appearance is any indication, then she’s Gliss’s sister.
I shake my head, trying to clear it. The blood loss from my injuries is threatening to make my thoughts fuzzy.
I exhale and focus.
“If you wish to end me,” I say quietly to Elowynn, “then I invite you to try.”
“I do!” Elowynn snaps, her focus entirely on me now. “I wish to end you. I want all Blacksmiths dead.”
My left fist closes around my medallion as I speak again, this time through gritted teeth. “Thentry.”
“I would…” The snarl in Elowynn’s voice fades, her lips twist, and it seems that she’s caging her anger when she says, “But I can’t.”
Can’t?It’s an interesting distinction fromwon’t.
“Against my counsel, my Queen has decided to grant you amnesty,” she says. “To strike you would be to defy her wishes, and I will never commit treason. You will come with us?—”
“Like fuck I will!” I snap. “You expect me to become your prisoner? Well, I refuse.”
Her lips thin. “That’s not what amnesty means.”
I snort. “Isn’t it?” I advance on her before she can respond. “Why are you really here, Elowynn of the Dawn? How do you know who I am? What do you want with me?”
Elowynn’s expression is now blank. “I will answer all of your questions when you release my sister.”
I pull to a stop, casting a sideways glance at Gliss.
They’re sisters. My first guess was correct, after all.
“Your sister wasn’t trapped,” I say. “I told her to go. She refused.”
Elowynn’s eyes widen before her expression becomes blank once again. “Gliss?”
“It’s true,” Gliss says, reaching for me, even though I’m a solid three paces away from her now. “Asha’s in pain and her friend is dying?—”
