“He would have?” I pressed my luck further.
“I have seen versions of our future when he… Yes,” Nuala confirmed with another painfully vacant smile.
Before I could say anything more, a portal gleamed in the antechamber. I turned as Ciaran strode into the yurt with a large pack slung over his shoulder.
“Good luck, Ornella. I hope we see each other again soon in happier circumstances,” Nuala said.
I could not help pausing to revel in the feeling of Summer magic flowing in my veins as soon as I stepped through my portal tree and into the Vale. I had come to love the Autumn Court, but there was nothing that could compare to the feeling of Summer.
“What would you all do without me?” I demanded of Ciaranproudly when he joined me in the lush forest.
He looked back at the portal tree that was a fusion of magics that only I could create.
“It would be better if it was mobile,” he deadpanned.
My grin flattened along with my furred ears as I glared up at him. Thankfully, I had gotten to know Ciaran well enough to know when he was teasing me back.
And that he was not very good at it.
Ciaran was unimpressed by Summer Quadrant, but he felt better once we’d made our way into the Rookery in Kórinthos. The vibrant city was in the centre of the Vale where the four elemental magics in the realm converged. This allowed every kind of fey to coexist together the way we must have once in Uile Breithà.
“Have you ever been?” I asked Ciaran when I caught him eying fey from different courts as they conversed and bartered seamlessly. He shook his head without looking away from the street vendors. “It is amazing, isn’t it?”
Ciaran grunted noncommittally and jerked his head for me to continue leading the way through the busy street toward the entertainment district. I knew it was the best place to exchange currency and haggle for cheap lodging. Rian had provided us with more than enough money to last a couple weeks, but Ciaran declined to splurge on account of a necessity for discretion.
Personally, I had no idea why we could not be discreet in luxury, but perhaps we did run more risk of running into someone who might recognize what we were.
We passed out of the fey market and entered one of the residential areas where we began to pass griffins.
“Easy there,” I muttered when Ciaran glowered at the laughing trio of females who were clearly on their way to the market with baskets on their hips.
It did not take me long to find an inn with an available room with two beds. Ciaran insisted we stayed together, which I was unhappy about since I had a habit of waking up in tears. But hewas immovable on the subject.
I heaved my pack onto the first bed, but Ciaran picked it up again and tossed it onto the bed that was the furthest from the window and door without a word. I rolled my eyes at his overprotectiveness but did not contest it.
“I am going to change, and then we can go back out to start asking around for Amira. The best place for us to get information about the comings and goings of the nobility will be the entertainment district,” I advised him.
“Sounds agreeable. I could use an ale,” Ciaran mused, although there was a calculating glint in his eye that made me smirk at him knowingly.
“Just remember that we are sharing a room,” I insisted, and he looked surprised that I’d seen through him before he scoffed at me as if offended.
“As if I would bring someone back here. I am hardly a stranger to brick walls in alleyways.”
“Eww! I don’t care where you fuck as long as it is not within my hearing or my sight!” I warned before closing the door to our private bathing chamber.
Autumn wine was good, spicy and sweet, but I had sorely missed the subtle floral taste of Summer wine.
We had already taken the Summer Court currency that Rian had procured for us and exchanged it for drachma, the currency used in Kórinthos. We could have brought óir from Autumn with us, but Rian had not wanted us to run the risk of being flagged for exchanging it.
We had then purchased a meal at a street vendor and eaten it as we wandered down brightly illuminated streets. The fall of darkness marked the commencement of the infamous nightlife in the Rookery, and I was pleased that it had not dimmedsince the last time. Pubs and patios lined the cobblestone streets where live music was played and dancers performed for coin. High above the rowdy boulevard were fine-dining establishments with balconies overlooking the river that bisected the district.
It had occurred to me that I should bring Sage one day, but then I’d thought better of that immediately. He would be lucky if I let him out of our yurt once I got him back.
“What did he say?” I asked when Ciaran returned to the little table we had secured with another round.
“He confirmed what the faun told us in the last bar. She comes into the city every three days with soup to feed the poor in the fish market,” Ciaran advised me.
“And she comes tomorrow?” I verified. He nodded, and I hummed thoughtfully before swallowing the rest of my wine so I could sip the fresh glass Ciaran had brought. “She will be heavily protected in the city. It may not be the best time to take her,” I mused aloud.
