“Lil!”
“She’s right here.”
He turned at the sound of Myone’s voice. Both of them were staring at him as if he were mad.
Not caring what anyone thought, he pulled his wife against his chest and thanked the gods that she was all right. That the shadow hadn’t gone near her.
“Caleb?”
He couldn’t respond. His heart was in his throat, choking him with the weight of his relief. “There’s something here. Something from the Mavromino. I saw it.”
Myone began looking around. “Xev!” she called out to him through the crowd.
Xev appeared by her side instantly. “What’s wrong?”
“We have an enemy in our midst. Help me find them.”
Xev inclined his head before he stepped back and vanished.
Myone sighed as she looked at him and Lil. “I assume Xev told you the news?”
“That our enemies know how to break me? Yes.”
Myone winced. “Then we need to secure you both.”
Caleb started laughing. Until he realized it wasn’t a joke. “You want to take me to Katoteros? Are you out of your mind?”
“You have a better idea?” she asked.
“Start pulling off my body parts and feeding them to me?”
Lil scowled at them. “What are you talking about? What’s Katoteros?”
“The realm where our kind lives. We’ll be able to protect you there.”
Lil blinked twice. “Leave my home?”
“You have no choice.” Myone jerked her chin toward Caleb. “Neither of you can stay here after this. They’ll come for you.”
Lil let out a tired sigh as she faced Caleb. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Telling you to take out your sword. This is all my fault.”
He pulled her against him. “No, precious. It’s not. They would have found me eventually.”
“Caleb’s right. They would have.”
With a ragged breath, she nodded. “I shall miss our cottage. But as long as I’m with you, everything’s fine.”
Caleb was so grateful she was being reasonable. Though he was surprised. She loved her home, and he hated taking her from it. “We’ll be back here. I promise.”
She smiled. “I plan to hold you to that.”
* * *
A yearlater
