Page 125 of Fae Farewells

“What’s he saying?”

My Kitten shook her head. “Nothing. He’s just showing me pictures, but he’s flipping through them too quickly for me to catch them all.”

“What does he want?” Vaughn asked, approaching from our right.

“I think he wants me to change him.”

“So change him,” our fae stated, casting a glance around the courtyard. “The crowd has thinned. We know he won’t harm anyone.”

Sloane stared at all the people around us before backing up to give the pedmar space. Pete fluttered between us one moment and landed as a massive hellish elephant the next.

His ears flapped as if they were his wings. And he chittered at my Kitten, his trunk twisting around her arm to pull her away.

“Slow down,” she repeated. “I’ll go. You don’t have to drag me.”

I moved to stand beside Sloane. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed. “The only word he’s said is come.”

“I like that command, too,” Palmer mentioned to the pedmar. “I hope yours means something different, though.”

She cut her eyes at the mage. “He wants to take me somewhere, you ass.”

“So did I. You see where that got us.” He smirked as she mimed wrapped her hands around his throat. “Not me, Love. You want to choke the demon, probably the fae, too.”

I snorted, and her glare snapped to me before she focused on Pete once more. “You want to go to your village?”

The pedmar chirped, shuffling his feet happily. I surveyed our surroundings, seeing the fae in the courtyard gawking at us. They backed up dozens of feet as they observed the hellish elephant.

I got it. He was huge, and his kind hadn’t roamed the fae realm for hundreds of years. They might have even assumed the species was extinct.

But he wouldn’t hurt them.

Pete pulled Sloane with his trunk, and she chuckled. “Fine. But I’m running too. You guys can follow through the void, right?”

“Yeah, Kitten. Go. We’ll catch up.”

She shifted between one blink and the next, her silver wolf hitting all fours before shaking out her shimmering fur.

And then sneezing.

Pete trotted away, though it was more like speed walking. Sloane stayed at his side. Briggs barreled between Vaughn and me, his black wolf eating the distance to his mate in only a few strides. They flanked Pete, disappearing as the footpath curved out of sight.

I motioned for York and Novak to join us, thinking we could give the on-foot trio a few minutes before we started trailing them.

Vaughn stopped Sarge. “We’re going to—Well, I don’t know where we’re going yet, but we won’t be here to help keep an eye on everyone.”

“I’ve got it. Have fun.”

“Somehow, I think it’ll be the opposite of fun,” Vaughn muttered.

We stepped into the void as one, tracking Sloane with our marks. I was beginning to understand the complexity of the magical brands, hunting for her signature and matching it to the piece of her I had with me at all times.

When we found them, Briggs and my Kitten were in a clearing with Pete, knee-high grass swaying in the breeze. And she was shaking her head as the pedmar laid down to get comfortable.

“Are you sure you want to relive this? I don’t need to see.”

The pedmar chittered.