23. LONNIE

23

LONNIE

THE CUTTHROAT DISTRICT, INBETWIXT

N early an hour later, I strode back into the den.

The smell of roasting meat and vegetables greeted me, and my stomach growled loudly as I approached the bar area. I hadn't even realized how hungry I was, what with my adrenaline running so high for the last day or so, but now I realized that my stomach felt as if it might cannibalize itself.

I was surprised to find both Scion and Ambrose sitting together at the bar. Each had a plate of food in front of him, and there was a third plate to Scion's right, presumably for me. They weren't talking to each other, but neither were they fighting–a vast improvement overall.

As I approached both males turned to look at me. Ambrose didn't react, leaving no indication that anything had happened between us upstairs, but Scion got to his feet to greet me.

I kissed him softly before drawing back and glaring at him with a sort of mock anger. "You abandoned me this morning."

He looked affronted. "I did nothing of the sort. I went to find us something to eat."

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows. "I had no idea you could cook."

"He can't," Ambrose said over his shoulder, a note of humor in his voice. "Ask him how long he spent staring at these vegetables, practically praying for them to roast themselves."

"I don't have to ask." I laughed."I've seen it before."

"If you're referring to that inn on the coast, that's unfair," Scion interjected defensively.

I was indeed referring to the several days we'd spent, jumping from seaside village to seaside village, in the days after Ambrose's army had taken the capital. I'd quickly learned that not a single one of the Everlasts had ever prepared their own food. Even Scion, who had spent many years in the army living far less luxuriously than while in the palace, struggled to concoct anything edible.

I crossed the room and perched on the edge of the table nearest the bar. "How is it unfair?'

"We were injured."

I grinned at him. "Your pride was injured, perhaps. If Iola and I hadn't been there you all would have starved."

"Untrue." He looked down. "We literally couldn't starve if we tried."

I opened my mouth to needle him again, but stopped. His words had jogged something in the back of my mind, raising a question. "Do you think I could starve to death? Or would that not be possible."

Scion shrugged. "I don't know. Why?"

"I've just thought, maybe that's part of why I survived the dungeon for so long when no other human could. I was starving, but maybe that couldn't kill me."

Scion didn't answer. He scowled, looking angry. I knew he wasn't angry with me for bringing it up, rather with himself. I reached out almost unconsciously and ran my fingers through his black hair.

"You may be right," Ambrose said thoughtfully, as he strode out from behind the bar carrying a plate of roast sausages and diced vegetables. "I'd rather not test it, though."

I smiled at him, and reached immediately for the plate. "This smells wonderful. I assume you made it?

"Yes," he replied. "It took me several years in Aftermath, but I eventually grasped the concept. There wasn't much food in the storage cellar. I wonder if they cleared most everything out before leaving."

Scion looked grateful for the change of subject."I still want to know where they went."

"As do I," Ambrose replied darkly. "I'm not used to being so ignorant of other's movements."

Scion looked for a moment as if he might reply, but swallowed it, seeming to decide it wasn't worth needling his brother. I relaxed, grateful that for once they were—if not getting along, at least ignoring each other. That was about as much as I could hope for at the moment.

After we'd all eaten, the three of us sat around the table, passing the jewel of Inbetwixt between us and inspecting it. I held the ruby up to the light and looked carefully into its crimson depths, thinking hard.

"It really does seem to be just a gem," I said, finally.

"I think it is," Ambrose replied, taking it from me as I passed it to him. "The power isn't in the gem itself, but in the curse that Aisling placed on it and all the other parts of the crown."

"That the Source placed, you mean," I corrected. "She didn't have that magic herself, she bargained for it."

Ambrose waved me off. "Whichever."

I pressed my lips flatly together. Maybe it didn't matter, as he seemed to believe, but I couldn't escape the nagging feeling that there was something important in how the curse had come to be. Regardless, it wasn't anything I hadn't thought about before, and we had more pressing things to focus on.

"I think we should leave to look for the next gem as soon as possible," I said.

"Agreed," Scion said. "There's no reason to wait around here, especially with Cross missing."

"Where to next though," Ambrose asked. "Overcast?"

"I assumed so." I looked at Scion. "The rest of your family is there, wouldn't they be able to help?"

"…Yes," Scion said, after a long pause. "They could if they wanted to."

"But?" I asked, resigned.

Scion glanced at Ambrose. "But, they may not be so willing to help."

"That's foolish," Ambrose snapped. "This affects them just as much as the rest of us."

"Sure," Scion said acidy. "But do you want to try and explain that to Raewyn?"

Ambrose let out a sudden bark of laughter that made me jump. "Once, I asked Raewyn for help interpreting a vision."

Scion blanched, looking at him with incredulity. "Why?"

Ambrose's grin widened. "I was barely more than five, I hadn't yet realized what she's like."

"What happened?" I asked, glancing between them.

"She lectured me on the meaning of moon cycles for over an hour, before forgetting what we were talking about at all and leaving to play croquet. Raewyn isn't malicious she's just–"

"Stupid?" Scion suggested.

"I wouldn't say that either," Ambrose said thoughtfully. "Self-absorbed feels more accurate. She cares only for herself and her own ambitions."

"In my opinion, we should go to Nevermore next," Ambrose said.

"Do you say that because you know something, or is it just a feeling?"

"Both," Ambrose said. "I think that while the family might be reluctant to help overtly, they will defend the castle if Idris decides to storm it."

"Is that likely?" I asked, aghast.

"It's not impossible," he answered vaguely. "As of this moment, I don't believe Idris knows where we are or what we're trying to do. He's arrogant enough to just assume we've given up and gone into hiding somewhere. He also believes he's done a much better job influencing us than he really has."

"What do you mean?"

"I believe you were right. He said something to me during our first meeting that made me ignore obvious signs. Now that I've realized that, however, his influence has weakened significantly."

"It was like that with Penvalle," Scion interjected. "As a child he could influence me to an extent, but once I grew older and realized what his power was, it didn't work anymore. The entire court was aware of his talent, and therefore mostly immune. That's why he focused on human servants. I think we should send a message to Gwydion in Overcast warning the family. If they know Idris has the power of persuasion, they won't fall victim to it if he contacts them."

"That's a good idea," I agreed.

"I'd send the message to someone other than Gwydion, though," Ambrose said.

"Why?"

"Because Gwydion is exactly like his mother, though he hides it somewhat better. If it doesn't affect him directly, he won't care enough to remember. Why don't you send it to our mother instead?"

Scion raised an eyebrow. "Mother doesn't talk. How is she supposed to warn anyone?"

"I think the threat of more persuasion magic might give her enough incentive to tell someone. Trust me on this. Send it to mother."

Scion watched Ambrose for a long moment, then shrugged. "Fine."

"So we'll go to Nevermore first, then?" I asked.

"I think so," Ambrose said. "The Nevermore diamond is likely to be the most difficult to get, despite the fact that I know exactly where it is."

Scion looked sideways at his brother. "When was the last time you traveled to Nevermore?"

"Oh…"Ambrose suddenly looked deeply uncomfortable, and dragged a nervous hand through his hair. "Nearly forty years ago now."

Scion smirked. "That should make this an exciting reunion."

I glanced between them. "What are you two talking about?"

"We have a history with the court there, that's all," Ambrose said vaguely.

"We don't," Scion corrected, looking happier than he had all morning. "You do."

"Shut the fuck up," Ambrose growled, though with little real anger behind his voice.

"Well, I'm not looking forward to going either," I said, sulkily.

"Why not, love?"

"They speak the old tongue there. I won't understand a single word spoken, you will have to translate for me."

Scion frowned, but reached out to squeeze my hand under the table. "That will be no problem, rebel. I wasn't planning to leave you alone anyway."

I nodded, though I hardly felt better. Scion might be planning to stay with me, but lately, nothing had gone according to plan.

The closest I'd ever been to the winter island of Nevermore was when we sailed along the coast on the way to Underneath. Therefore, I had to be guided through the shadows.

If I was honest, I didn't think I'd be able to shadow walk that far anyway. It was a long distance, even for Scion, so it was agreed that Ambrose would take me and Scion would travel on his own. Having already proved he could shadow walk with three additional people in tow, I was sure Ambrose would have no trouble.

We collected the few things we'd brought with us–namely the book, the jewel, and the pocket full of gold that I'd stolen from the vault. Scion found some of Cross's clothes, so he and Ambrose could finally change out of their torn and bloody former-finary. Ambrose unearthed a sword from one of the many store rooms, and packed a few days worth of food into a bag.

And we were off.

Scion left first, walking directly into thin air and disappearing leaving not a single shadow behind.

Ambrose grabbed my arm. "Are you ready?"

I nodded, and let him tug me forward into the darkness.

For a moment we spun. The dark air pressed in on me from all sides, and I felt like I was being stretched and squeezed at the same time. Then, seemingly far too quickly, I tumbled out into the weak sunshine.

The first thing I noticed was the cold.

The chill wind whipped at my face, causing goosebumps to form on my skin. I inhaled deeply, taking in the salty scent of the ocean mixed with the earthy smell of pine trees, and opened my eyes.

I was kneeling on the ground on some kind of desolate beach, surrounded by jagged rockets, broken shells, and clumps of black seaweed. To my right, the dark ocean stretched out endlessly, disappearing on the bright horizon. To my left, there was a hill of dunes and scraggly bare trees, and behind that a wall of tall pine trees so dark I couldn't make out a thing between the branches.

I located Ambrose. He hadn't stumbled, and stood to my right facing the ocean, holding his hair back from his face with both hands as the wind whipped at it.

I stood as well, and turned around, staring back down the beach behind me. The sand seemed to go on forever, and there wasn't a single building or being in sight.

"Where are we?" I asked.

And where was Scion?

Ambrose turned around to face me, a half-guilty, half-annoyed look crossing his face. His brows furrowed and for a moment he didn't answer me. He brought his hand up to his face, shielding his eyes from the sun reflecting off the water.

He dropped his hands back to his sides. "Well, this is Nevermore."

An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. "Right…"

"…Unfortunately I have no idea where on the island we are. It's been a long time since I traveled here. I might have miscalculated."

I bit back a sigh. I really couldn't complain—shadow walking wasn't an exact art, and many factors affected where one could travel. For example, you could only move between places you had traveled to before, and had to have some general understanding of the distance between two points. Those with more magical ability could travel longer distances, while the average fae could only shadow walk a few miles at a time.

"It can't be that far to the city," I said, trying to remain hopeful.

Ambrose's eyebrows pulled even lower over his dark eyes. "Actually, it can. Nevermore is huge. Much larger than it looks on most maps, and a lot of it is mountains which are nearly impassable, even for me. Still, I'm less concerned about the distance as the time. It gets dark extremely early here and we don't want to be wandering around overnight."

"Why not?"

"Mostly because I'm not sure how much cold you can withstand before your human half succumbs to hypothermia, but there are also a great deal of monstrous creatures roaming the island. Species that don't live on the mainland."

"Like what?" I asked

As if on cue, a piercing cry filled the air. It sounded like a mix between an eagle and a banshee, and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I spun around, looking up at the sky and my heart leapt into my throat.

A massive bird soared directly above me, its wingspan stretching out almost as wide as the street itself.

No, wait.

The creature swooped lower and I saw clearly that it wasn't a bird at all. It was a monstrous looking woman with great bat-like wings protruding from her back. Feathers covered her neck and climbed down her arms, which ended in sharp talons.

Ambrose yelled beside me, and reached for my arm, yanking me nearly off my feet. His cry jerked me from my trance.

"What is that?" I demanded.

"That is one of those monsters I'd rather avoid," he ground out, dragging me forcibly down the beach. "We need to run!"