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Eventually, I would have to leave the safety of this little abode. I could feel Rhoan’s old wards humming at the edge of my consciousness. The magic would keep us safe. Here, we would be able to get some sleep once and for all.
Arven
I heldDel until her exhaustion claimed her. There was a lot that we needed to do. Learning that Locke was the one who split us apart had changed so much. I wanted him dead for what he’d done. He’d destroyed an entire elven court just to make sure that I never grew any stronger.
He could have come after me, but the man was too weak and scared of his own shadow. So, he’d targeted a court that had no defenses. There was a reason I’d wanted to pull Eveningwind into my own court. They’d been unlike any other court in the elven realms. I’d wanted to protect that.
Now, the last of the Eveningwind scholars had become a killer just like every other elf.
Well, perhaps not like every other elf. Del was skilled beyond comparison. She took the scholarly curiosity and studiousness of her court and applied it to hunting and killing. I’d seen the cabinets of poisonous herbs. I’d watched the way she moved, the way she sized up her opponents to find their weakness.
She killed, but she did it with her mind.
Sighing, I let my head fall back. I wouldn’t change her for the world, but I wished she’d had other options, nonetheless. Del could have studied the stars, designed fantastic dresses, conjured new foods…she could have beenanything.
But Locke took that away.
I carefully disengaged from the sleeping woman in my lap. She barely roused when I tucked a pillow beneath her head. I lingered, concerned that she might be so tired that another ambush would take her completely by surprise.
“If you want to leave, you’re welcome to go,” she mumbled without opening her eyes.
She snuggled deeper into the pillow. I grabbed a blanket from the nearby chair and threw it over her. While I considered picking her up and taking her to the bedroom, I didn’t know how she would feel about sleeping in another woman’s bed.
“Are you sure you want to sleep here?” I asked.
She snorted and clutched the stuffed cat close to her chest. “I’m not going to sleep in the same bed that Cerri and Rhoan likely fornicated in. He’s like a brother to me; it’s weird to think about.”
Something in my chest relaxed. It was as if a knot had been there this whole time, and I hadn’t realized it until it vanished. Had I been worried about her relationship with Rhoan? It seemed such a small thing, but her trust in him had left me wondering if she would ever put that same faith in me.
We’d lain together, Delphine and I, but there was more to a relationship than physical intimacy. I yearned to know that she could trust me to watch her back. It was likely a long way off, especially considering how she recently believed me to be the one behind the fall of her family’s court.
I swallowed another sigh and turned away from the sleeping woman. As badly as I wanted to stay, there were several things that I needed to do. The first was a visit to Calen.
* * *
My brother hadeverything taken care of at home. The court needed nothing from me, and it felt far more relieving than I’d expected. The visit home didn’t warm me like I expected. This far from Del, there was only a hollowness in my chest that tugged me back to her.
I couldn’t leave without a bit of information, though. If anyone knew where Locke was hiding and how to get there, it would be Calen. The master of information likely had the tidbit tucked away, ready for me.
The bigger question at hand, the one we truly needed to get over, was how I could help Del without starting another war. I’d spend most of my life working towards peace here in the elven realms. Helping Del get the vengeance she deserved would cause a domino effect. Game pieces would tumble and crush the lives of innocent elves just trying to get by day to day.
That was the last thing I wanted to happen. If anyone knew what to do next, Calen would. He’d always been the brains of this operation, while I’d been the brawn that everyone focused on.
I found Calen in the war room once more. An elf delivered a sealed envelope to my brother before bowing his head. As I entered, the unnamed elf threw me a surprised glance. My brother, however, barely bothered to look in my direction. Calen ripped the sealed envelope open and read over the contents.
“I see work never ends,” I said, claiming a seat.
The crushed portion of the table’s map that had been Eveningwind left my heart racing. There was no way that I could ever bring Del back here. This wasn’t a place for her. The marble halls and bright gardens would make her restless. She wasn’t meant to be a princess anymore.
Which meant that if I wanted to be with her, I couldn’t call this home anymore. Home was wherever Del was.
When I locked eyes with Calen, the corners of his mouth quirked in a knowing smile.
“So, how’s the wife hunt going?” he asked like we were a pair of girls at a sleepover.
“You set this up.” The realization dawned on me. “Didn’t you?”
Calen simply sat back in his seat. Pride was written all over his face. The man might have been a master of spies, but he stayed in this closed room for a reason. He couldn’t hide anything, at least not from me.
