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I wanted to open my mouth, but for once, I thought better of it and let Kasper take the lead. “If you’ll follow me, I can bring them to you and get you some water and food. You must be starved after your journey.”
“Thank you, Kasper Denholm.”
Kasper let out a chuckle. “You can just call me Kasper.”
The fae grinned and acknowledged him with a small nod. “Jedrek is fine as well.”
Kasper met the fae’s eyes, and I watched him swallow thickly. When he turned away, I would’ve sworn his cheeks were rosy. Hmm.
Deciding to file that away for another time, I stepped up next to Wey, and the two of us followed Kasper and Jedrek into an open tent that no one was currently occupying. It wasn’t Kasper’s personal tent, or the tent we called the war room, which was smart. This fae was a stranger, so there was no sense in letting him see our plans or giving away the whereabouts of our leader’s bed where he’d be vulnerable at night.
Kasper waved Wey and me inside but wouldn’t let anyone else enter. As soon as we had the illusion of privacy—with so many shifters around, it truly was only an illusion—Kasper met Wey’s eyes for a moment.
I saw my gargoyle nod before Kasper said, “This is Weylyn and Nica.”
Jedrek turned, eyed us, then smiled a very, very,verytiny smile. He put his fist over his heart and did the little bow thing again, saying, “It’s good to meet you in person.” He straightened. “I’ve heard enough about you that I feel as if I know you already.”
Wey shifted on his feet, then crossed his arms over his chest with a frown. “Well, we haven’t heard a thing about you.”
Maybe Mr. Grumpy Pants should let me do the talking. This fae obviously had information about Theon, Braz, and Florin. We needed him on our side so he’d talk. So we could find our boy and join him.
Jedrek took it in stride. “I have news from my cousin and his companions.”
That made me blink. “Your… cousin. Who’s your cousin?”
Jedrek glanced at me, his expression one of exasperation, as if I’d asked a stupid question. “Florin.”
Wey grunted. “In what world are we supposed to believe that?”
Jedrek’s brow furrowed. “Why wouldn’t you believe me? Florin’s mother was my father’s sister. She was taken from us long ago, so I hadn’t known she’d lived after her capture, let alone that she’d had offspring. It was a wonderful surprise to meet Florin.”
I… didn’t know what to do with that, so I said nothing.
Wey huffed. “Whatever. You said you had news from Florin, Braz, and”—his voice cracked—“Theon? Are they okay? Are they hurt? Are they…” He didn’t saystill alive, but I heard the words as if he’d spoken them aloud.
Jedrek said, “They were all healthy and unharmed when I left them with my grandfather only a week ago.”
I blew out a long breath and rubbed my face. Wey seemed less tense, but only marginally so.
“I have news. They wrote you some letters.” Jedrek reached into a pouch he carried on his hip, pulling out a large envelope. “From your friends.”
“They’re not our friends,” I said. “They’re our family.”
Jedrek accepted this with a nod, and I ignored him in order to open the envelope.
When I pulled the papers out, I could tell immediately that Theon and Braz had written on them. I would recognize Braz’s handwriting anywhere, and I’d read Theon’s note he’d left us when he’d run away so many times now that I knew this was his flowing handwriting.
“Thank you,” I said.
Jedrek nodded. “You’re welcome, tiger.”
“Can we… can we go back with you? Can we join them?” I asked before I could help myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kasper tense.
Jedrek tilted his head to the side. “I was under the impression that you had work to do here.” I couldn’t tell if it was a question or not. “Bringing you back was not part of the plan. I’d have to ask the elders first, but it’s unlikely they’d approve of more outsiders inside our city at this time.”
I frowned at that. Theon felt closer than he had in over a month, yet he was still so far away.
Wey said, “We do have work to be done here, but…” He trailed off, his gaze catching on Kasper before moving to me. “Let’s see what the letter says before we discuss anything further.”
