Or maybe it had never been that impressive to begin with.
“Cheerful,” Raziel observed, his red eyes taking in the skeletal remains of what had once been a bustling commercial hub. “Terribly impressive.”
She rolled her eyes. “We make do down here.”
But the appearance of the place was only part of the reason why she felt as though she were walking not through an old home, but a tomb. Entering ruins of what should have been familiar territory, she felt the weight of those eighty years like a physical thing pressing down on her shoulders.
This wasn’t the place she remembered. This was something else entirely—something that had been broken and rebuilt as something foreign. Unfamiliar.
A place she was no longer welcome.
Kassa was leading them toward one building that stood out among the others. Unlike its neighbors, this building had been reinforced rather than consumed. Metal plates had been welded over sections where the Wild had tried to break through, and armed guards patrolled walkways that had been built into the superstructure like scaffolding.
Raziel studied the building with detached interest. “Defensible position. Good sight lines. Multiple escape routes through the water.” He paused. “Also, exactly the kind of place I’d choose if I wanted to interrogate someone without interruption.”
One of the guards laughed quietly. “If only you were so lucky.”
They headed inside the building, and into what Nadi could only describe as a great hall. The interior didn’t look much better put together than the outside. But it was at leastwarm.There was a fire in a makeshift pit. Low benches surrounded it, covered in blankets and pillows. And at one spot, a chair that clearly belonged to whomever was in charge of the Iltanis. Kassa slumped down into it with a pained, tired groan. “Sit. The three of you, sit.”
Nadi and Kalo did so without hesitation. Raziel, however, was turning around and examining his situation. Likely, he was trying to count how many people were watching them. But the building seemed empty, save for Kalo, Nadi, Raziel, Kassa, and her two guards.
“Sit,vuampi.”Kassa gestured with her gnarled hand. “If you’re done assessing the situation.”
“Mm. Mostly.” Raziel shrugged and sat. “Well enough to know what I am up against.”
“Which is what?” Kassa arched her eyebrow.
Raziel smirked. “I thought the Iltanis would be more impressive, to be honest.”
“Pah. We are nearly extinct, thanks to you and your ilk. But if you think I would have all of my warriors here, within earshot of your voice? You are a true fool.” Kassa waggled her finger at him again. “I know what you are, Serpent. I will not risk more than I need to.”
It was a smart move, keeping as few people around them as possible. It meant that…Nadi laughed. “Oh. It’s a trap, then.” She looked to Kalo. “Did you tell them we were coming?”
Kalo blinked. “I—n-no. I didn’t. How?—”
Raziel was cackling. “Oh, how fantastic! Then what’s the plan to deal with us? Explosives? Like the last time?”
“No. Burning it all down.” Kassa grinned. “I am old, Nadi. I am ready to die. If this goes poorly? None of you leave this building alive. I am sorry, Kalo.”
The other fae shook his head and swore in their native tongue under his breath. “I should have known better than to follow you two anywhere!”
Nadi stared into the flames. “This isn’t the Iltani clan I knew.” It wasn’t judgmental. It was just the truth. “So much has happened since I’ve been gone.”
Kassa’s expression softened slightly, but it was the kind of softness that came from old wounds rather than kindness. “Time’s not been kind to us, Nadi. You are not the only one who had to grow cruel in the years that passed.”
“It seems so.” Nadi shut her eyes. “I’m sorry, Kassa. I’m so, so sorry.”
“You came here to get us to agree to your suicidal war. We have far more pressing problems, Nadi. When Raziel wentmissing, Mael and Lana decided they didn’t need to maintain the old agreements. They came for the traders first.” Kassa shrugged, a gesture that contained decades of pain. “Well. They sent theirpetsto explain the new arrangement.”
“Their pets?”
“Fae clans that decided collaboration with thevuampiwas preferable to extermination.” Kassa spat the words like curses. “The Morvani. The Lesti. Your old friends, the Thessal.” She smiled, and it was unpleasant enough to sour milk. “Turns out some of our people were willing to hunt their own kind for the promise of scraps from the bloodsuckers’ tables.”
Nadi winced. The fae had always been fractured, competitive, prone to feuds and territorial disputes. But this was different. This was the kind of systematic betrayal that left entire peoples scattered to the winds. “They’re moving fast.”
“They know they have to.” Kassa reached for the poker to jab at the coals in front of them. “If they don’t, we’ll scatter and they’ll never get us all.”
Nadi sighed. It was smart. “How many remain?”
