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Arkimedes grunted, scratching one of his brows. “Give me time to think.”
A wet cough left Devon’s lips. “Well, hurry. We’re at the mercy of your father out here in the open.” He reached for another potion with a shaking hand. “Don’t you have any friends that can shelter us?”
“I’m afraid you ran them all away.” Arkimedes stopped Devon’s hand before he pulled the cork out of the small potion vial. “You’ve got to pace yourself with those, Devon. We don’t have any more.”
Even in broad daylight, Devon remained as pale as the Neems they’d encountered. Not even the continual potions were easing his symptoms.
If only Nava could remember how to brew the potions, then maybe they could keep him going until they found a healer willing to help them. The thought made her heart ache with longing. If only their friends were here. Gavin, who was such a wonderful healer and human being, would have fixed them up in no time.
She peered at her soulmate’s wounded hand, and her stomach dropped. The temporary bandage he had wrapped around it back in the cellar had turned a brownish red.
Devon shook his head and opened the potion vial. “I used too much energy fighting the Neems. If you want me to walk anywhere, I have to take it.”
“I’ll get you a fresh potion later today,” Arkimedes promised.
Nava turned away from the pair. Where could they go? To the bakery—or into any of these abandoned buildings? They would be right back where they’d started.
The memory of a fae with bright red hair flashed through her mind.
That was it! Leela, the maid who’d helped Nava during her stay at the castle, lived in this part of town. They had grown close, and Leela had even helped Nava alter her horrid yellow dress before the solstice ball.
“What about Leela?” Arkimedes’s unyielding gaze met hers, making her want to squirm as butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Sometimes she was still surprised by how she reacted to him. Nava cleared her throat and reached for his bandaged hand. “I’m sure she would let us stay for one night to get our bearings. But I don’t know exactly where she lives…”
Arkimedes’s brows knitted together, his posture stiffening as she examined his injury. Her skin warmed, her magic humming to the surface as it called to him.
Arkimedes let her take apart the bindings. Although his wound was still fresh, it had stopped bleeding. Nava didn’t want to further risk infection by keeping that filthy cloth pressed against it.
“I think I know where she lives, Bee. And it’s not too far from here.”
Unlike the cemetery, the streets were busy with fae going about their daily lives, bustling about. Some were cleaning their front steps while others fixed up the flower boxes underneath their small, uneven windows.
All seemed unaware that their prince was strolling along the streets, alongside two traitors of the Crown.
This area of the city differed from everywhere else Nava had visited in the Copper Kingdom. It reminded her a lot of home—of Willowbrook—when she was growing up. The homes were built close enough to one another that they appeared to be a single unit. The houses weren’t extravagant, like the ones near the castle, nor dilapidated, like the ones near the bakery. Made of richly textured bricks and plaster and painted in a range of colors, they held the type of beauty that only came with age.
“At least nobody seems to be paying us much attention…” she mumbled as they crossed a bridge over the biggest water canal she’d seen. The rattle of carriage wheels and the cries of the seagulls drowned out the squelching noise of their hasty steps.
Somehow, the sounds of the city soothed her frazzled nerves. Finally, no alarms ringing in the distance—nor any guards flying above them.
“I think you need spectacles, Cat.” Devon scoffed, shaking his head as he indicated a group of fae on the other side of the bridge who were pointing at them with wrinkled noses. “Look at them. If you read their lips, our appearance disgusts them.”
Nava’s cheeks warmed, and she glanced down at her scratched arms and filthy clothes. She could barely stand the scent emanating from them but doubted anyone that far away could smell them.
“Should we ask for directions?” Nava looked around the area, trying to find a place that would lead her to Leela and away from city folk. The longer they were out in the open, the greater the risk of someone recognizing them. Besides, they all needed a bath, proper healing, and a place to rest. “There!” Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted an old wooden sign bolted to the stone bricks of a building.
The name of Leela’s partner stood out against the white background of the sign in green letters.
“Renna’s Creations?” Arkimedes followed her pointed finger, his brow furrowing.
“Yes, I remember Leela saying her name. She’s a seamstress.”
They weren’t far from the house, and the closer they got, the more Nava’s heart sped up. What would Leela do when she saw the prince outside her home? What if she shut the door in their faces and refused to help them?
“Let me be the one to knock—you’re too intimidating.” She dodged away from Ark’s hand, ignoring his complaint.
Leela’s door screeched open a second later, and she peered through the crack. “Miss Nava?” She gasped and stepped outside. “You can’t be here!”
She reached for Nava’s arm but froze when Arkimedes cleared his throat. “Leela.”
