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She blinked, confused. “Is that uncommon?”
Cross snorted. “Yes. Not all Fae can do it at all, what with the way that magic has been dwindling over the years. Most can’t go long distances, and fewer still can take others with them or do it under duress. Yer man here is an exception.”
“Not the only exception,” I mumbled.
Bael might have nearly drained himself the other day, but that was only further proof of how difficult it really was to travel that far with another person, especially while under attack.
Lonnie’s brow was furrowed and lips pursed in concentration. She seemed lost in thought, and I couldn’t help but wonder if our minds had wandered to the same place.
“See,” Cross continued, “if things went wrong, the prince here could have just walked out and left us all to die, but instead, we never went in at all. We retreated before we even got there, and daddy was not pleased about the optics of that. It didn’t have the war-hero look that the crown was going for.”
“But you all survived,” Lonnie said, incredulous.
I barked a harsh laugh. “My father didn’t care that I’d saved thirty men; the ripple effect killed multiple other units in the end.”
“So what happened?”
I sighed, resigned. “I realized I was in an impossible situation. I don’t work well in a unit because my magic can’t determine who is an enemy and who is a friend in a combat situation. Anyone near me in a battle would die no matter what side they were on. So, I started going in alone.”
Lonnie looked up at me sharply. “Excuse me?”
“A lot of us who appreciated what happened stayed and kept traveling around with him.”
“But you weren’t fighting?”
“No. We stopped being frontline soldiers and became other things. Friends, healers, spies…thieves. We set up information networks in every city we visited.”
…and became the guilds,I finished for him in my head. Or, at least, bolstered existing organizations.
“Alright,” Lonnie said, a little uncertain. “But I still don’t understand. You two have been friends for years, but I know I met you at the pub. You remember me, right? You told me to look at the moondust trees.”
I shifted beside her. “What trees?”
“Ah.” Cross grinned again. “‘Don’t hide in the moon dust tree at noon.’ You know the saying?”
“You do remember,” Lonnie hissed at the same time as I said, “No.”
Cross stroked the pale red stubble on his chin. “I used to know a woman many years ago who used that expression. The moondust trees grow new leaves every night, which wither in the sun and turn to dust. If one was to hide in the tree at noon, they would be easily seen, as there are no leaves.”
“You told Lonnie not to draw attention to herself?”
“Correct.” Cross looked at her. “You were asking loud questions in public places. It was arguably quite good advice.”
She narrowed her eyes. “So you didn’t intend for me to find anything at the tree?”
He seemed genuinely confused now. “Did you?”
They stared at each other in confusion, but for once, the answer seemed glaringly obvious to me. “This sounds like exactly the kind of convoluted fucking treasure hunt of coincidences Ambrose would set up.”
Where Grandmother Celia had always been too vague with her gifts, leaving us all to fucking drown in a whirlpool of her own conjuring, Ambrose was the opposite plucking strings to pull people and events together, sometimes years in advance. Half the time, I wasn’t sure whom I resented more.
“Ambrose?” Cross’s eyebrows rose, and his attention left me entirely. “What does he have to do with this?”
“Everything, I expect.” I pushed my hair roughly out of my eyes, unable to hide my agitation any longer. “Now, if we’re all done wasting time, can we get to why we are here?”
“Fine,” Cross said. “One might think after so many years you’d want to do a quick hello and catch up, but whatever you like.”
I scowled as I poured out the entire story of the last few days in a rush, and when I was finished, Cross looked at me with an expression near enough to pity. “Sci, we’ve been down this road how many times?”
