Rell exhaled, combing his fingers through his hair. "You should rest."
Elora let out a weak, humorless laugh. “Right. Like that’s happening.”
Fair. He wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon either. Down the hall he could hear Vye and Symond’s muffled voices, and lots of shattered glass crunching under their feet. He didn’t want to imagine the devastation.
He reached out, gingerly trying to help Elora to her feet, but she twisted away from him. She didn’t say anything. Didn’t move. Just stared down at her lap, eyes distant.
The muffled voices grew louder as Vye and Symond emerged from the lab. “I’m the one with an education in this shit you know. I’m telling you, ashpetal will work better than glintgrape,” Symond was saying.
“Ashpetal is poisonous.”
Symond scratched his head. “Oh, really?”
Vye’s gaze lingered on Elora for a moment before pulling a small vial from her belt and tossing it to Rell.
“Drink this.” He held the glowing healing shard out to Elora, who downed it in one go.
“The outpost is compromised,” Vye said bluntly, arms crossed, her sharp eyes scanning the wreckage. “The lab’s a mess—potions and shards scattered everywhere—but the real problem is the structure. The walls, the doors, the security. It’s all shot.”
Rell nodded grimly. “Fane did more damage than I thought,” he muttered.
“I’m sorry,” Elora said softly, barely above a whisper.
Violette turned to her, unreadable, then simply nodded. “What’s done is done. We need to focus on what happens next and how we deal with Fane.”
“She’s right to feel guilty,” Symond cut in. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the broken doorway. “She’s putting all of us in danger. She’s too much of a risk, and sheknowsit. She should leave.”
Elora flinched, but to her credit, she didn’t argue. Instead, she let out a shaky breath and nodded. “I should,” she admitted. “If I go to Kilfaire on my own, he’ll leave you all alone.”
Symond’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “Good. At least you’re not delusional.”
“Enough,” Vye said sharply.
Elora blinked up at her, startled. “But—”
“You hired us, remember?” Vye cut her off, her tone quieter but no less firm. “Rell is your sellsword until you get to Kilfaire. We don’t abandon our jobs.”
Symond scoffed in the background, muttering something under his breath, but Rell didn’t even look at him. His focus stayed on Elora.
“Vye’s right. The Hive is rooted in honor. A deal was made, and you upheld your part of it. We don’t turn our backs on that.”
Elora’s eyes darted between them. She exhaled slowly, then nodded.
Rell gave her a faint smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. This was the right thing to do. Thehonorablething. But honor wasn’t what was clawing at the back of his mind.
Fane was one problem—but he wasn’t stupid enough tothink that was theonlythreat coming their way. Elora was running from somethingbig, and nowhispeople were tangled in it.
He liked Elora; she’s a very skilled alchemist. But she wasn’t family.
And right now, hisrealfamily—Violette—was on the line for her.
Rell swallowed back the doubt. He’d made his choice.
He just hoped it wasn’t the wrong one.
Chapter 17
Elora
