Suddenly, the partially torn fabric at my chest is pulled away by Liana, who audibly gasps. She must have seen the scar from the witches. I growl, pushing her away.
“Vann,” Teo admonishes. “What?—”
“I am fine. As I said before, I need to heal and then get back to the elven court. I only came here to do my duty and leave you with a report before I continue.”
I look directly at Mrath. She wants information as well? Well, I won’t waste time. “After leaving your Enclave, we set out to find a solution for the curse controlling Arlet in her sleep.”
“Vann, slow down—” Teo tries.
“We found Dragonsreach, which is where we were gifted the dragon. They sent us to an island in the middle of the ocean where we were met with a colony of human witches who promised to help us.”
“More humans?” Queen Estela interjects.
I nod. “Ones like those who helped the giants when you were taken by Rholker.”
“Thebrujaswho helped Rholker were evil,” she spits.
“These women were not malicious. They agreed to try to lift the curse, but they could not, and we were found by the elves. Arlet…” My lips stay slightly parted. I blink twice. Feeling the pain surge up and heat my limbs. Still a stark and unsettling contrast to all the years I’d spent with a freezing cold sensation flowing through my veins. “Arlet has gone with them to marry the king to break the curse and keep Enduvida safe.”
Estela’s hand flies to her forehead, and she lets out a string of curses in the human tongue, Teo grits his teeth while putting an arm around his mate, and Liana gives me a pitying look while Mrath’s unsettlingly green eyes seem to dance with a forest flame.
“You have no other information? Did you see anyone familiar when the elves took Arlet?”
I shake my head. “Who would I have seen?”
“Thorne,” she says quickly. “He has been working for Arion, it seems.”
I hold my breath.
“Did he have anything to do with Arlet’s disappearance?”
She nods,
I curl my lip. These fucking elves. I knew we couldn’t trust him. Maybe not any of them.
“Did Arion tell you anything else? Did he mention anything other than marriage to Arlet and the threat against Enduvida?” Mrath presses.
“No, but?—”
“Did he mention the artifact? TheCumhacht na Cruinne?”
“No!” I practically shout as my irritation mounts. “I know very little of his plans except his threats.”
Arion’s sister purses her lips, but anger still burns under the surface of my skin.
“So, the redhead has gone to bear the next heir for the Elven Kingdom,” she says, her voice measured.
I nod, tightening my fists.
“Curious that he should want to fill the castle with half-bloods.”
I snarl. “I need to find her and rescue her before he hurts her even more than he already has. You know elven customs. You should be the one telling me how long we have until the wedding.”
She narrows her eyes. Something about her looks different, more ancient. I almost miss the familiar necklace hanging around her throat. Where had I seen that before?
My mind places it almost instantly. That is how she transported the artifact.
“Depending on when she arrived, I would say somewhere between ten and fourteen days. There will be preparations…formal and informal presentations to the court. We have been planning something special once we know the date of Arlet’s official presentation.”