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Asger scoffed into his drink. “I’ve heard enough chatter about their king to know he is rather ill-tempered and a bit of a fighter. Let us hope he is not in attendance.”
Laughter about Asger’s constant dreary responses lightened the unease. Until a flash of fiery hair entered the tavern.
I gripped Kage’s arm. “They’ve returned.”
Meals half-finished, we scrambled across the room, meeting a disheveled Ember and Hadeon.
“You made it.”
Ember gave me a jerky nod and held out her palms. There, wrapped in linen, was a green blossom, complete with tangled roots. Buried beneath the chatter of the tavern was a soft hum emanating off the bloom, a song slowly dying.
“Thank you,” I said, gingerly taking the blossom from Ember’s hands. Another glance at her and I took in the gleam of sweat on her brow, the tangles in her bright hair. I saw the tension pulsing in Hadeon’s jaw. “Something happened.”
Ember blinked, eyes glassy. “My Cerberus. She was with us. She’s hurt.”
Thoughts raced. The elven had risked a great deal, broken their own laws, all for our sake. They’d asked nothing in return. We had supplies, we were the damn potions masters in a world of magics, surely . . .
I drew in a sharp breath and faced Kage. “Grab a vial of theravidraught.”
He considered the option for a moment, then dipped his chin in agreement. Ravi was a battle elixir, used for mortal wounds in desperate moments.
Gaina had carefully arranged the vial in our supplies.You never know what you may have need of, Sweet Iron.
There was something odd about that woman, but in this moment, I was wholly grateful for her foresight. I looked to Ember again. “A cerberus, like?—”
“The three-headed dog of the Underworld.” Ember nodded as though it was nothing.
Well, damn.
Kage returned with a vial of a flowing, smoky elixir, but he hesitated. With a sly sort of grin, the thief of Swindler’s Alley, always scoping out the next deal, always looking for a better trade, emerged. “These potions are not easy to come by. What will you give me for it?”
There was a flash of darkness in his eyes. This was not Kage. It was the cruelty of the degeneration, adding a touch of ice to his words, his voice.
Ember’s lips parted, but it was short lived. Icy tendrils of smoky shadows slid between my fingers, forcing my grip to ease on theanamisibloom and the flower was plucked from my hands.
Hadeon matched Kage with his own dark sneer. “You want a trade? Sure, let’s trade. We have something you need . . . and you have something we need.”
I let out a groan, pinched the back of Kage’s arm until he jolted, light returning to his gaze. I snatched the vial out of his hand, pinning him in a glare.
I already had a need to leave the elven with little trust in us, he did not need to make it worse by poking a tentative alliance. The moment the glass touched Ember’s palms, the elven king returned the bloom.
I hugged it to my heart. “Thank you. I’m sorry your pet was injured.” It had been for us, after all. “The draught will help.”
Ember offered thanks, glancing at ominous clouds through the tavern window. “You should go before the storm really rolls in.”
A cinch gathered in my chest. Part of me was desperate to continue, but another side did not revel in the idea of bidding farewell to the only other person I’d met that truly understood what had happened to us.
Perhaps Ember felt the same. Before I could think too long on it,we were curled in each other’s arms, bidding a soft goodbye, urging the other to keep breathing as we both sought peace in our realms.
“Maybe we’ll meet again one day,” she whispered as we broke apart.
I nodded. Perhaps we’d meet and these days would be nothing but trying memories that we overcame. I strode past the shadow king, pulse racing, and offered him a slight bow. He returned it with a dubious sort of stare once I stepped back, one hand tucked tightly against my side.
With a backward glance at the door, Ember and Hadeon slipped into the night, and I breathed again.
Until Kage snatched the blade I’d hidden behind my hip.
“Wildling, what have you done?” He inspected the sleek dagger. Dark steel shaped the blade, and a pearly hilt was edged in gold. Kage chuckled, a light to his eyes that burned with pride. “The king’s blade? A risky pull. I assure you, I’ll prove how impressed I am with you later.”
