by Nikki Frank
The halls shimmered with their own internal light. Yearning squeezed my chest. Camping in Setmyth forest for a week and then wandering the goblin mines sounded like a much worse idea in my beautiful palace than it had at Tomi’s.
Opening the door, Velor and Vixaria greeted me. I waved Talon inside. “Do everything as close to old times as possible. Velor and Vixaria will attend you and help pretend I’m still here. Be good to them. They’re more than simple guards.”
I created a bag with magic. “Vixaria, did you get what I asked for?”
“Yes, Mistress.” She pointed a claw at a table loaded with food.
I used magic to seal and shrink the food, loading the bag with it. Slinging the bag over my shoulder, I headed toward my balcony.
Talon reached a hand toward me. “Take care of yourself, all right?” Anxiety was written all over his face.
“You, too.” What else could I say? We both knew a regular assassination carried risk, and I was headed out on what would normally be a suicide mission. We just had to hope Iya and I would prove strong enough to make it out alive.
“Is there anything else I ought to know?”
“You’re as prepared as you’re going to be. We can’t risk calls, so if I forget anything, I’ll send a message with someone we both trust.” I grabbed his wrist and pulled him into a hug. “One last thing,” I hissed into his ear, “If I fail, you’re to kill the new demon lord and take my throne. You’ll have a small window of opportunity at the very beginning as they adjust to the power.”
“But you’ll come back―”
“In case I don’t, I want to know my district will be in good hands.” I turned the fake hug into a real one. “I’m going to miss you. Take good care of yourself and everything here. I love you, Talon Puck.”
I ran out the open terrace doors and leaped. My Hermes shoes helped me hop my way down the palace roofs and into the night unnoticed. Too bad the darkness couldn’t mask all the churning emotions. Talon, Iya, goblins, danger.
Iya caught me at the tree line. “What were you thinking? A killing binge using power which wants you to be a tyrant? Could you choose a more dangerous plan?”
“You’re right. I thought and did some despicable things.” I shuddered. “Being vicious thrilled me in the moment, though now the thought disgusts me. Do you hate me?”
Iya rubbed the top of my head. “I couldn’t hate you for something so stupid. This is your district. Where do we camp tonight?”
“There’s a thicket by a stream a couple miles from here. We can camp there and avoid traveling by daylight for a day or so until we’re out of the inhabited areas.”
“Hey, Nobi, Naruhi? Since Katriane can’t see in the dark, can one of you carry her?”
“I will,” Nobi volunteered.
Iya helped Katriane up, and we started into the woods. Looking back over my shoulder at the palace, my eyes stung. Its glass walls held everything I desired.
Iya turned me around and pushed me toward our mission. “You’re going to make yourself sad looking back.” He took my hand and held it as we walked.
Strangely, my night vision began to fail, and I stumbled. Iya caught me and swung around. “Up you get.”
He tossed me onto his back. I draped my arms over his shoulders, and his wings appeared under my arms, supporting me.
“I’m having trouble seeing in the dark.”
He chuckled. “No. You’re having trouble keeping your eyes open.”
“I’m n-n-not sleepy.” A huge yawn betrayed me.
“You’re exhausted, and it’s not surprising at all.”
“You don’t need to carry me.” I laid my head on his shoulder.
“Don’t be so stubborn and let me help you. I’m your husband, after all . . .”
Iya’s voice seemed to come from far off. His body radiated heat beneath me, and sleep sucked me down.
Chapter 16
I woke before the others. Mid-morning sunlight blazed red through the cracks between the trees. I slid silently out of bed, magicked myself a bow, and set off to hunt some breakfast. My pack held plenty of dry goods, but if we wanted meat, we’d have to hunt.
Going to the library from Tomi’s palace had taken us a day and a half last time, but we’d been flying on a dragon. Going on foot would take several more. Plus, we had to walk back to Tomi’s first.
Luckily, it sat on the edge of the Goblin Kingdom, so we should reach the mouth of the goblin mines quickly. From there, who knew? Our time underground depended on how twisted the tunnels were.
We planned on leaving Katriane in the care of Naruhi and Nobi once we reached the library. Their safety would be questionable, but it would be worse if she came with us. We’d have to hope the goblins had forgotten the library as thoroughly as our own citizens had.
I shuddered. Iya and I had to enter the goblin mines ourselves, find our way to the Goblin King’s palace, kill him, and kidnap the crown prince. Listing the tasks out, our mission sounded impossible even in my head.
I wandered a fair distance and forgot to search for food, distracted by my thoughts. Not wanting to get separated or hold up our mission, I shot the first animal I ran across. What a disappointing catch—Setmyth grouse were notoriously tough. But I’d taken five from the flock, which ought to be enough even to feed the shi. They were perfectly capable of hunting on their own, but I felt like giving them a treat.
Bagging so many turned out to be a good thing. With my hands full, I couldn’t point a weapon (natural instinct) at Emmett when he appeared out of the woods.
“Holy crap, Emmett. Do you have a death wish? Sneaking up on me in the forest is a bad idea. Especially when I’m being hunted.”
“I could see your hands were full, or I’d have said something out loud.”
“Why did you wander off?” I asked. “It’s not safe out here for a human.”
“Don’t I know it. Actually, that point ties into what I wanted to talk to you about. I can see how miserable you are since you came back from Earth. I wanted to see how my best friend was doing.”
“Crappy. But I’ve hashed this out enough trying to talk sense into Talon and Iya.” I gave him the warmest smile I’d dished out in quite a while. “Thanks, though. I really miss having you close by like when we lived on Earth.”
“Look, I know you don’t want to talk, but can I say one quick thing?”
“Only because it’s you.”
He took a deep breath. “It’s been a year since Elita forced me to bond with her as a source. Every time she takes power from me, we have to kiss. But she flat out told me she wouldn’t ask me to pair bond.”
I stopped walking and stared at Emmett. “Seriously? I thought a source and the magic-folk they were tied to always got pair bonded.”
“It’s not a rule. Elita told me the choice was mine. She felt so guilty about forcing me into the source bond in the first place. Now I’m stuck at the palace or a couple of safe spots in the city unless I take a guard. A human in the Borderlands is too tasty for so many creatures to resist. She said she refused to chain me down further, and left me to pick my mate, to use the local phrase.”
“Well, that was nice of her, right?”
“Yeah. Point is, Elita was a total bitch when we met her. She thought humans were worthless, except the one which satisfied her desire for unlimited magic. But she started to thaw and help us, then quickly became a friend. Now . . .” Emmett blushed a brilliant scarlet. “I’m thinking I will ask her to pair bond.”
“That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you. What exactly does that have to do with me?”
“I was forced into a loveless bond, too. But the other person was kind, and slowly, the love came.”
I gave a giggle. Wow, I could still laugh? “You and Elita are in love?”
>
He went red again. “Yup, and I think you can be too. I mean, I think you’re like me. Your feelings are probably super muddled right now. Iya’s aren’t. These things can be hard to see from inside the situation, and if you’ve only talked to Talon and Iya, they’re bad choices for clarity.”
I shot him a mocking look. “What is it you see, oh, wise love-guru?”
“Iya’s head over heels for you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and a year ago, it would have made me insanely jealous.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because I would have been able to tell immediately that he planned on taking my best friend away the moment she said yes. He’s serious about you. Well, seriously in love with you.”
“But he deliberately ruined Talon and I.”
“Did he?”
I blushed and looked down at the birds in my hands. “No. I threw myself at him. But I was drunk. He’d refused every time I tried with the demon magic. He could have said no.”
Emmett gave me a look like I was an idiot. “Then he’s even more noble than I thought. Even on Earth, guys can only take so much. A willing girl is hard to resist. I’d struggle, and Iya’s a demon. Were you under the influence of the demon magic?”
“No, just the alcohol.”
“I can see where he might have given up at that point. If he was holding off because he thought the demon magic was the cause of your interest, and then it was gone, he could very well have assumed your attention was genuine. Why did you keep making passes at him?”
“Demon excess?” My answer sounded weak. “Okay, fine. I thought he was hot. The demon magic took it from there. Or the alcohol. He spent so much time helping me. I got drawn in.”
Emmett shook his head. “You got feelings.”
“But I had Talon.”
“Unless you seriously buy into the human idea that there’s only a single person who’s ‘the one’ for you, you just happened to meet another guy you’re compatible with. In some ways, you got off easy.”
“How do you figure?” I snapped.
“Fate chose for you. Can you imagine agonizing over the two of them? Now you don’t have to . . . case closed.” He gave me a hug from behind to avoid the birds. “Don’t worry about Talon. He’s tough. And like you, there’s other people out there he’s a match for. All you have to do is stay his friend until then and be nice when he meets someone.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve spent a lot of time with the two of you. And hearts are hearts, no matter who they beat in. Time will heal this. I know you. I can see you shouldering the guilt. Let it go. Maybe you’ll even have fun with Iya. I don’t know him very well, but given the information I have, I like him. You have my blessing to let yourself be happy with him.”
I let out a sigh. To my surprise, a good deal of those ugly feelings went away with the exhale. “What would I do without you? I promised myself I’d let go, but I haven’t. Lean over.” He tipped toward me, and I pecked a kiss on his cheek. “I can’t hug you with five dead birds in my hands, but that’s to say thank you.”
“Livy, any time you need me, I’m yours. I owe you my life how many times over? The whole time you were saving me, all I wanted was to help you in some way. Being a source doesn’t matter in situations like those. Channeling magic doesn’t make me anything but human.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “Now who’s selling themselves short? You kept us alive. Elita, Omri, Talon, Yumiko, and I would all be dead if not for you. You owe me nothing.”
“Fine. I’m still holding to the ‘I’m yours’ part on account of the fact that I’ve known you since you still played with dolls . . . no, wait. I guess I should have known something was off even way back then. You didn’t have a single doll. But you did have an impressive collection of knives. Who gives their grade school kid knives?”
I laughed. “Imp assassin parents. I did have one doll, though, and I loved it.”
“What? A voodoo doll?”
I laughed even harder. “No. The one you gave me for my birthday that first year. She was my favorite because she came from you.”
“What’s so funny?” Iya asked, emerging from the trees.
“Emmett’s just now realizing how inappropriate imp toys are for human children.” I held up my catch. “I got us breakfast.”
“Perfect.” He took the grouse from my hands. “I’ll get these started.” He paused a moment, scanning me. “Though I must say, with that smile, you’re hands down the most delicious-looking thing in the forest this morning.”
Emmett elbowed me as Iya walked away. “See.”
~ ~ ~
By sunset, Katriane and Elita rode on Nobi’s back, and Naruhi carried Emmett. I desperately wanted a ride, too, but only so many could ride. Behind Iya, I stumbled, and he caught me around the waist, steadying me.
“Can you hang in there another hour or so?” he asked softly. “I’d like to push as hard as we can.”
I nodded. “I’m so sorry. I normally have more stamina than this. It must be all the stress. I haven’t really been sleeping well.”
He gave me a hug as he stopped walking. “You’re right. It’s barely been over a week since we repeatedly ripped your magic from you. I never thought about how long it might take your body to heal. Eleven hours of hiking is probably asking too much. I wanted an even twelve, but,” he kissed my forehead, “I need you in fighting condition when we reach the goblins. Let’s stop for the night.”
Elita kindly took the duty of cooking dinner. I curled against Naruhi, lulled by the warmth of her body and her red-gold fur. A wide yawn stretched my face to the point where it hurt.
Naruhi gave a rumbling laugh. “If it helps any, Master Iya is as tired as you.”
“He doesn’t look it.”
She laughed again. “He’s faking. Probably trying to impress you. But I saw the relief on his face when he ended the hike for the night.”
“Hey, now,” Iya scolded. “Remember who you serve.”
“Both of you bull-headed stinkers.” She snorted his direction. “I’m not playing games with you.”
Iya sat beside me, leaning back against Naruhi, head tipped back, eyes closed. “All right, all right. I’m so tired I could sleep on a bed of nails. And I wasn’t trying to impress you. I just didn’t want to stress you out or make you feel guilty. I thought I’d be the strong one.”
I lay my head on his shoulder. “Thanks, but I don’t need a knight in shining armor. I need a partner, and partners share.”
“How much?” His tone teased me.
“Everything. The good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between.”
“Ah.” He gave a short nod. “You brought the good, you noble-minded imp. I’ll bring the bad.” He reached down and pinched my butt, making me squeak. “And I guess you’ll be bringing the ugly, too.”
“Hey! What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you come with dragons and Talon. Pick your ugly.”
For one moment I thought of attacking that statement. But the teasing in his tone reminded me not to start a fight. He only wanted to play, and if I played along, life would be better for all of us.
I shook my head on his shoulder. “Don’t let my dragons hear you calling them ugly, unless you’d like to know first-hand what being a dragon turd feels like.”
Nobi roared with laughter. “He already knows. That one’s been a dragon turd since the day they stuck me in his nursery.”
Naruhi gave an answering growl of laughter. “I’ll second that.”
“You guys watch yourselves,” Iya warned. His eyes were closed, and his body had relaxed. “Hak shimieth parat ohn bashrab.”
The shi both growled and fell silent.
“What did you say
to them?”
“A threat in Akumian. There’s no real translation, so I’m not going to try. But they get the point. I will always win the war if they insist on teasing.”
~ ~ ~
A blood-chilling scream echoed through the dark forest. I leaped to my feet, followed closely by Iya. Magicking up a dagger, I held myself ready for anything. More screams and shouting followed the first.
“Nobi, Naruhi, guard the others,” Iya ordered. “Olivia.” He jerked his head in the direction of the noise.
“Let me lead.” I took a place in front, slinking along between shadows. Not much moonlight filtered through the crown of leaves over Setmyth, but enough for anyone watching for movement.
I caught sight of an out-of-place lump on the forest floor. Slinking closer, I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming—the charred body of a creature. I couldn’t tell their kind or gender, only that they’d been mostly humanoid.
“What is going on?” Iya hissed.
“Shh . . .”
We crept past the motionless body. Screams were being replaced with cries of anguish and tortured sobbing. What could possibly have happened? A flicker through the trees caught my attention. As the light grew brighter, so did the sounds of misery.
“Something horrible is happening,” I told Iya. “We need to find out and help.”
Iya shook his head. “We need to stay out of it and hidden. Remember the need for secrecy.”
“And we also need to be responsible lords. What’s the point of trying to save our people if we let them suffer in the meantime?”
“At least they will be alive when the suffering ends.”
“That person won’t.” I glanced back the way we’d come.
“No. Olivia―” A staggering figure interrupted Iya’s words.
“Help us.” The female satyr fell toward Iya, and he caught her, eliciting a cry of pain from her. She, too, had been badly burned. “Please.”