She narrows her eyes. “I was trying to find my parents. They were abducted during the skirmishes between the elves and Enduares and put in a prison camp.”
I swallow.
“Well, shit.” The prison camps had been deplorable places where our kind was forced to work to the death after losing their homes, families, and villages. Having family subjected to that must’ve been awful. “Forgive me.”
She shakes her head, brushing me off. “That city seems orderly and beautiful from the outside, but I think you will hate it. Its layer of extravagance and order thinly veils its rot. Not to mention, it is dangerous—especially for our kind, but even for the untitled, penniless elves.”
“Since you have been there before, what do you recommend?”
She looks me straight in the eye. “In your case, I recommend thatyou find someone who can glamour you before they try to impale you again.”
I nod, remembering how there had been elves in the Sisterhood who glamoured other Enduares for missions in the past. Thorne had a talent for it, but now, apparently, the fucking bastard has defected.
“Do you have a connection?”
She hesitates, as if thinking. Then shakes her head.
“But Mrath might. “ Let me ask,” Liana continues. “I want you to know that I will try to help you from a distance.” I will do everything in my power to make sure Arlet is safe if I arrive in the capital before you.”
My brows furrow in confusion, but I still manage a simple, “I thank you.” Surely, as a Fuegorra reader, she has the ability to have visions that might tell her where Arlet is at a given time. But how else can she help? Does she have connections within Arion’s court?
Then she stands. “Thank you for telling me what you had done.” She hesitates, looking down at me. “Try to sleep. Change your clothes. Come to me if you need something.”
I nod, and then walk her out the front door. Once she is out of sight, I go back to the table, finding a stone paper scroll with a bit of charcoal sitting on the corner of the table. I pick it up, finding Arlet’s likeness staring back at me.
Gods, I miss her. Her wild, full hair, perfectly shaped lips, small spots dotting her skin, and piercing brown eyes.
The love of my life.
My mate.
Something that has been so hard to accept since Adra’s death, and now suddenly, so easy. It wasn’t a betrayal of Adra to love again—it is the nature of life. I loved Adra with my whole soul. She was a good person and we were good to and for each other.
But that chapter of my life has ended, revealing a new chapter. A new adventure.
A mate.
Something I have never experienced before.
Despite the desperate need for sleep and preparation, I sit downand begin sketching anew. I draw on my memory to savor every detail of her beautiful face.
I think of all the other things I might need. Knives. Rope. It would be good to bring her some familiar things as well. A gown, and maybe one of her romance scrolls. Small offerings, but ways I can prove to her that I know her. That not everything was a lie.
I have a little time left to fix this or lose her forever.
Chapter 12
ARLET
Thorne was right about the size of the dinner I am to attend. By the time the guards come to take me down, the “small” dining room is completely filled. Adult elven men and women of all ages and builds sit around an extra long mahogany table.
The second I walk into the space, I see every eye turn on me and notice the particularly pleased crinkle that comes from Arion’s sudden smile.
Jolts of fear pulse through my veins like little shocks of magic, but it’s still more manageable than earlier today. Knowing that Thorne is on my side has eased me. It doesn’t make sense, but I just keep repeating what he said in my mind.
If you die, I die.
Did that mean he already had a healer lined up to sort through the issue of my fertility?