AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was probably just for show.”
Tell her she was free; well, that was simple enough. “You are free, Milly.”
Had it worked? I didn’t feel any different. Maybe I needed to—
Glowing tendrils of magic appeared connecting the two of us. Was that what was binding her to me? They weren’t like the heavy chains that had bound the ifrits. I watched as the magical bonds that had been wrapped around Milly slowly unraveled, releasing her.
“I am free,” she marveled. She touched her arms and body, as if unable to believe what she was seeing. “I am free!”
She looked at me. “Thank you, Eva. You have broken the bonds holding me to this world. To this life. That is all I’ve ever wanted.” She took a step toward me with her arms open, then stopped, as if she wasn’t sure whether I would want a hug or not.
Mateo released me, and I met her the rest of the way, wrapping my arms around her and pulling the frail elf into my arms.
“No, Milly. Thank you.”
“You are my first friend here. My only friend.” Tears filled her eyes. “But I have to go now. I am old, and I just want to rest .I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. Thank you.”
She closed her eyes and grew older by the second, turning from frail to skeletal. I gasped as the skin and flesh flaked off her bones and disappeared.
“Thank you.” They were her last words as the final breath of air left her lungs, and her lips crumbled away to nothing.
I looked around in a panic. Not even ash was left of her. She’d disappeared entirely. The only thing keeping me from losing it right now were her last words which echoed in my ears, reassuring me that this was what she wanted.
She must have been kept here by magic for years after her time. Trapped in servitude.
“You did a wonderful thing, freeing her,” Mateo said softly.
I just nodded, unable to form words just yet.
Then Mateo came to me, and I found myself in his arms again.
Liam reappeared. “All right, the room next door is ours. Let me get you in there, and we can give this healing spell a whirl. I doubt it’s as good as yours, but it’ll be better than nothing.” Then they were gone.
“I’m going to go explore Miami. Never been here before, and it looks like a great town.” Then Prax too was gone, and I was alone with my manticore hero.
One look at him told me something was wrong. He looked so unsure, and I wondered if Augustine’s cruel words had impacted him more than they should.
“Come on, hero, let’s get you cleaned up.”
He didn’t move. Instead, he just held onto me like he was afraid to let me go.
“Um, Mateo? You’re still covered in blood.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that part of me.”
“What? Your tail?” I reached around him and gave the base of his tail a squeeze. “That tail helped save the day. Today I realized that yes, it’s scary, but that scary ass tail would only be used as a weapon for me, not against me. It’s a part of you, and I like you head to tail.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” He looked down at his hands. “But I meant the violence. I tore him apart.”
So that was what was bothering him. “Hey, I’m just glad you’re not cleaning yourself off with your tongue. Sriracha brought me an eviscerated mouse once, then proceeded to lick the guts off himself.”
My lighthearted attempt to shrug off the violence I witnessed didn’t work. Mateo still had a worried look on his face.
“I need to confess something, Eva. I’m really sorry about it, and I’ll understand if you are angry with me, but know that no matter what, I will do everything in my power to make it up to you. I’m not letting you go.”
“Okay.” I couldn’t imagine anything he would have done that would make me so mad I’d want to leave.
“We knew Officer Biffi was outside. We knew Augustine needed you as well as the locket. We… We used you as bait.” His arms tightened around me even more, like he was sure I was going to leave.
