Page 41 of Facade

“Well, well, well. Isn’t this a bit of a surprise?”

My gaze tracked the male as he strode from the door, hands in his pockets.

“Thaddeus.”

He was just as I remembered. Eyes sharp, inviting, relaxed. However, I knew what lay dormant within—the power he held.

“Little Aniah. How long has it been?” He smiled at me, though I could see the calculation in his gaze.

“Too long.” I paused before the stairs.

He nodded. “Yes, last I heard you were dead. Yet here you stand.” He looked me over, eyes narrowing slightly as his mouth tugged up at the corner. “Why would one of the Sisters be in hiding and running around the Eastern Realm with a very… interesting choice for a travel companion?” he asked bluntly.

I masked my face into a passive expression. Thaddeus had always been fairly neutral, despite the genocide of his people, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous. There’s a reason he’s managed to stay alive this long. He got word to me after the tragedy with Ophelia, saying he was alive and that if I ever needed an ‘ally’, he'd be there.

He looked exactly the same as when I first met him as a child. He had sat on the panel with the Coven Council at my trial to observe and document. Elementals could wield all natural elements. Some had stronger powers and could manipulate time itself—though this was rare. Witches’ elemental magic came from the Elementals long ago, from a union between the two. But Witches turned to a darker entity, thus expanding our scope of power. Elementals only used light magic. But they were gone now. And so was the balance.

Ally or not, I only trusted him so much.

“I have my reasons,” I responded, mouth tight, forcing myself to keep eye contact. His smile turned feline before he let loose a laugh.

“Fine, keep your secrets, love. However, you might as well call the brute inside. I sent my remaining staff away right after breakfast.” He looked at me knowingly, then tossed over his shoulder as he turned to go inside, “And tell him to leave that ridiculous arsenal of weapons on the entry table.”

The sound of my teeth grinding filled my ears as I turned back and waved in Ryker’s direction. I had told him it was a bad idea to get close to this house. Had he listened? Of course not! Ryker has never had to deal with an Elemental. They could be tricky.

Ryker’s head twitched in every direction as he walked toward the door. He truly stood out like a sore thumb. A six-foot-five, ghost-haired, muscular sore thumb. Another reason we couldn’t travel during the day.

“Just try not to say anything more than you have to,” I said under my breath as he neared me.

“Aniah, if we can’t trust him, then why are we here?”

“We can. Just… let me do the talking. Okay?”

He nodded, and we made our way through the open door to Thaddeus’s sitting room, where he sat sprawled out in a giant, black armchair with actual diamond studs all over. It looked wildly uncomfortable if you asked me.

“Ah. So good to officially meet you. I’m Thaddeus, as you know. And you’re Ryker, I presume? Am I correct in saying I have you to thank for the excitement with the skurs? I haven’t had a run-in with one of those monstrosities in a while,” Thaddeus chuckled. He reached for the small table beside him, snatched a crystal decanter filled with amber liquid from the golden tray and poured a glass.

Ryker watched his every move. “Yes.”

I whipped my head toward him. No apology? I tried to communicate with a glare, but his eyes didn’t leave Thaddeus as he filled two more glasses.

“Then I sincerely say, thank you. It was… an awakening to how lazy I’ve become. Sit! You both must be tired.”

We sat stiffly next to each other on a matching black couch across from Thaddeus as he offered us the whiskey. I shifted uncomfortably as one of the diamond studs dug into my backside.

The room was bright with the sun glinting off the otherworldly decor. Curious statues lined the built-in shelves behind him. The few that stood out the most were an emerald statue of a bird in flight—a raven perhaps? Then there was an onyx statue of a tree, and the last, a golden statue of a dragon with rubies scattered across its scales. Wild masks adorned the wall between them, full of feathers and brightly painted designs.

I turned my attention back to Thaddeus, and when the sun reflected in his eyes, the deep gold in them brightened. An ache built in my chest as it reminded me of—never mind. I couldn’t think about him right now.

“I take it you’re here about my previous guests?” He got right to the point.

Ryker’s glare cut to me, his jaw clenched. I cleared my throat.

“Yes.” One thing about Elementals as a whole: don’t bother lying. My mother told me stories when I was little that Elementals could see through your lies with those golden eyes. And if you were caught in a lie, they would change you into a bug. I realized now that they were just stories my mother told to scare me, because she always threatened to summon an Elemental to our village if she felt I was lying. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t lie to them.

“I thought so. And how can I be of help with that?” He took a swig from his glass, keeping his attention locked on me. Mine and Ryker’s glasses sat stagnant in our hands.

“You know who she is?”