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He was silent for a long while. I knew I’d crossed a line, but the man eventually exhaled. He nearly deflated, like I’d taken a pin to his overgrown bubble, and he realized that I was right.
“Then I became this, the Golden Beast. I’m not even gold; I cursed my court’s name with my behavior. I fear they may never escape what I am, not even after I’m long gone.”
It was an endless cycle. A lord rose up and tried to become the one to unite us all, but they only fed into the unending fight.
9
DELPHINE
By morning, the sense of camaraderie had faded. I threw myself as far from Arven as I could get, but not before slipping a poison into his morning coffee. There was a moment where I hesitated with the vial hovering over the mug. That hesitation sent me rushing headlong into this plan.
There was no way that I would let this opportunity slip from my hands, no matter what kind of man Arven seemed to be.
With my mug cradled in my right hand, I passed him the poisoned mug and offered what I thought to be a convincing smile. That had to be what threw off the performance. Had I kept my face twisted in sourness, Arven might have been convinced. Instead, he stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
When he sniffed the mug and scowled, I knew that the gig was up. Yet, he didn’t do anything. Arven set the mug aside and went about his day with a haunted look in his eyes. I had no idea what I’d triggered, but I’d somehow conjured ghosts with that poisoned cup of coffee.
I had no patience to inquire about what was haunting him. Today, I wanted to get this mission done and over with. I’d never given up on a mission before. While the idea tempted me, determination kicked in. There was something here that I needed to get to the bottom of one way or another, which meant I had to see it through. It didn’t matter if Arven clung to my heels or not. I would prove that I was skilled enough to complete this with a handicap like him around.
I downed my own coffee—actually, it was a latte because I liked to spoil myself like that whenever I came back to my domain. I drank too much instant coffee while I worked in the mortal realm. Every once in a while, I needed a latte to remind myself of the finer things in life.
Dressed head to toe in sleek kobold leather, I flashed Arven a wink and a two-fingered wave before stepping in-between back to the mortal world. The man could sniff out my trail if he wanted to follow. Stepping out onto the mortal street, I ran my hands along the kobold leather and let my arcana ignite the latent abilities of it.
Kobolds were a kind of gremlin-like creature. They had a resistance to fire and the ability to go invisible in order to sneak around dragon hoards. They made wonderful little thieves, but they also made amazing gear. I’d had to buy this particular set at the Goblin Market because hunting kobolds these days was a bit frowned upon. I didn’t really care for the practice, either, but I wasn’t about to pass up a vintage set being traded around the underground fae circuits.
Invisibility washed over me. Arven would be able to track my scent. There was little I could do to cover that, but he wouldn’t give me away if I remained out of sight.
At the warehouse, I paused and scoped out Locke’s warehouse. I found myself looking around for any signs of Arven. When he crossed my mind, I shook myself and tried to focus on the task at hand. I wanted Arven to see me work, though. I wanted to see the shock on his face as he saw what I’d become in his absence.
When I realized I wanted to see his pride, I cursed myself and crossed my arms over my chest. When had I become a fool? More importantly, when had I become a fool with a crush on the one man I’d hated for most of my life?
At this point, I’d spent more years away from my court than I had within it. Elven aging kept me looking as fresh as I had been at twenty-two, but I was far older than that now. Arven had been my betrothed for about six months. He’d been my nemesis for a decade or more.
I brushed him out of my mind the moment that a car pulled up outside the warehouse. The back passenger door opened, and Locke unfolded himself from the back seat. He had his washed-out red hair pulled back in a leather thong, which only made his homely face stand out even more. On his lapel was a blue insignia bearing his court’s emblem.
I recognized it, but I wasn’t sure where I’d seen it before. Because I’d been in the warehouse before, I brushed it off as a detail I must have grazed over when scouring the crates. To be fair, I’d found a lot there, and it’d been wildly distracting.
Now was the moment, though. If I didn’t move, then Locke would get away again.
I materialized my crossbow and knelt for a stable shot. Memories of kneeling across from Cerridwen’s warehouse apartment came back to me. What a time to be thinking of the poor fae princess that I’d killed to save my own skin.
“I’m sorry, hun,” I whispered under my breath as I pulled the trigger.
Arven
I heardDel’s soft whisper of apology and wondered who she could have been speaking to. Certainly not Locke, that I knew for sure.
While I couldn’t see Del, I knew she had to be here somewhere. I could smell her distinctive coffee and fresh laundry scent. It reminded me of home in a way that had never been home to me before. No D’Or castle smelled that way, and yet a sense of cozy nostalgia overtook me when I found her.
That sense was shattered when a crossbow bolt whistled through the air. It raced towards its intended target, but Locke’s head snapped up at the sound. He lifted his hand in a rush and waved it. A guardsman was pulled in front of Locke, seemingly through some sort of telekinetic magic.
Elven magic didn’t quite work that way. That’s when I noticed the signet ring on his hand. It glinted in the sun as he searched for the source of the bolt. I’d written the ring off as a Lord’s item for sealing letters, but it seemed that this was an enchanted version.
I snarled when the sacrificed elf dropped to the ground. A lord had no right to sacrifice his people like that. I caught myself, foot mid-air. If I rushed Locke now, I would blow Del’s entire mission. Though rage boiled under my skin and made my horns throb, I knew that I had to keep myself in check for her.
Light rippled over her as she appeared right in front of Locke. I hadn’t even heard her move. Not so much as a pebble had been disturbed when she sprang into action. My heart flipped excitedly. I’d never seen someone this skilled in fighting.
Of course, as soon as Locke laid eyes on her, he sounded the alarm. She managed to shove him back against his car before anyone could stop her. A blade appeared in her hand just as the warehouse’s overhead door cranked open.
