Chapter 20

20

K yrie

“It’s been too long,” I say, shifting in the saddle, trying to see through the trees and underbrush. This happens to be a section of land where there is some green, mainly in the form of pine trees and honeysuckle bushes. Nothing is thriving, but neither is there as much death and decay as normal. I fiddle with the plaited leather reins in my hands.

“It hasn’t been all that long. Thesha is being cautious, that’s all.”

“Are you sure she’s okay?” I ask, gnawing on my lower lip. “It feels like we’ve been sitting here for a long time.”

“Thesha is the most skillful tracker I know. She’s extremely light on her feet. You should know that from how she snuck up on you yesterday.” He lifts his brows.

“My attention was on the horse,” I mutter and then sigh. “You’re right; I didn’t suspect or hear a thing. But I’m not a bloodfae; don’t you guys have better senses than us humans? She isn’t tracking humans; she’s tracking fae.”

“We do have better senses.” Xander nods. “But Thesh is used to hunting and killing fae of all species. This isn’t anything new to her.”

My eyes flare in shock. “She hunts and kills fae but is married to one.” I chuckle. “How does that work?”

Xander smiles. “It’s a bit of a touchy subject. Let’s just say that she used to hunt and kill fae up until she met and fell in love with one. Now, she only does it when absolutely necessary.”

I snicker. “You guys are very strange. Forgive me for saying, but you make a weird couple. Cute but weird.” I don’t know them well at all, but that much is apparent.

“That may be so, but we work well together. I’ve never met anyone like her.” His eyes get this far away, sappy look. “So, you met Damon in the salt mines?” he asks a minute or two later.

I nod. “Yes, except he looked human, and his name was Taylor. Then we had snow in the desert – as you know – and boom, he changed right before my eyes. What I don’t understand is why it happened. Why did they even cast a spell on him in the first place? What was the purpose? Do you know?”

This is the first chance I’ve had to discuss it. After our initial interaction, they caught a horse for me, and we rode hard into the night. By the time we stopped, I was almost too exhausted to eat, and then crawled into my bedroll and slept until darklift. I had ten minutes to do what I needed to do this morning before we quickly ate and drank and were on our way again. We rode too hard for chitchats. We’ve worked hard to catch up to the bloodfae.

I keep playing some of the things I heard yesterday over and over in my head, and none of it is making sense. Why did they call Damon “lord”? Why is there a bounty on his head?

“Didn’t you guys talk after leaving the mines?” Xander asks. “Surely you must have.” He narrows his eyes in question.

“We were running for our lives and…and…I was angry. I thought he lied to me. I didn’t want to listen to anything he had to say. I didn’t want to talk to him at all. I felt betrayed.”

“You do know that he had no idea that he was a fae? He truly believed he was human. He believed his name was Taylor. What he told you about his life wasn’t a lie because he wholeheartedly believed it himself.”

“I’m beginning to understand that. His appearance may have changed, but I’m starting to realize that the things that really count, the things that make you who you are, are still the same. It’s just that…I know he’s keeping something from me, something big. At first, I wasn’t open to listening, but since then…I’ve been ready to hear what it is, but he wouldn’t confide in me. All he said was to trust him.”

“And you do trust him, don’t you?”

I nod. “Yes. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. You know whatever it is he’s keeping from me, don’t you?”

“I think that is something to discuss between the two of you.”

I groan and roll my eyes. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“It’s not my place. It is Damon’s story to tell.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask Xander outright, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t think he’ll tell me, anyway.

I sigh. “We first have to get him back. I’m not sure how we’re going to get that right.”

“First, we find out exactly what we’re dealing with, then, we come up with a plan.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“It will be anything but easy.” Xander smiles as he says it.

We are interrupted by the sound of a horse approaching at a steady jog. Thesha waves as soon as we look her way. She rides the rest of the way, a smile on her face. She leans in, and she and Xander share a kiss that is far more intimate than I would like. I look away, heat rising in my cheeks. I wish they wouldn’t be quite so openly affectionate. I guess I’m not used to it.

“Did you find them?” Xander finally asks after what feels like a long time.

“Yes, of course, I did,” Thesha says with confidence. “There are fifteen fae, including two wounded and the Primus. Damon is with them. He looks well enough.”

“Fifteen,” I whisper. It may as well be a hundred. “There are only three of us.”

“Two. You’re not helping us with the rescue,” Thesha tells me.

I don’t argue; there’s no use, I can tell. It irks me that I can’t lend a hand. They need all the help they can get.

“I’m sure you don’t plan on ambushing them?” I say.

“No.” Xander shakes his head. “There are too many of them. We will rely on stealth.”

“I have a plan,” Thesha says. “We will have to wait until they are sleeping.”

“With such a high bounty on Damon’s head, they’re going to expect an attack,” Xander says.

Thesha nods. “That’s why we need to be smart about this. I’ve scouted the area and found an animal trail that leads directly to their camp. We can take them by surprise if we move quickly and quietly.”

“They’ll have guards on him. There will be several patrolling the camp.”

“We’ll have to kill them quickly and quietly.”

“I wish I could use my powers. It would be really helpful,” Xander mutters more to himself.

“Why can’t you?” I ask.

“Snow can track fae through their magic.”

“I’ve never heard of that before.” My eyes go wide.

“You haven’t spent time getting to know the fae before, either,” Thesha says. “How would you know?”

I nod. “That’s very true.”

“We’ll clear the way, grab Damon, and sneak from camp. No one will know we were even there until guard change.”

“What if things go pear-shaped?” Xander lifts his brows.

“They won’t.” Thesha folds her arms.

“What if they do? It’s always better to have a fallback plan.”

“There is no fallback plan.” Thesha shrugs. “Maybe Kyrie can create a diversion. I don’t know… We can’t get caught, that’s all.”

“I hate to tell you, love, but that isn’t much of a plan.” Xander smiles at his wife, love shining in his eyes.

It makes me long for something. Not something. For that. For someone to look at me like that.

“Those are the Absidium Mountains.” Xander looks up, his eyes hazy with thought.

“Yeah, we’re at the base. The Ice Court is in the heart of those mountains,” Thesha tells me.

“We’re close to the entrance of the old diamond mine, am I right? It should be at the foot of that hill, only a sneeze away from the fae camp.”

“Yes, but no…” Thesha shakes her head wildly. “Absolutely not. If you’re thinking of entering those mines, you can think again. Come up with something else.”

“It would be a last resort, but it is a fallback option. Damon knows the mines well.”

“Did he work there?” I ask, hoping to glean more information about Damon from these two.

“No.” Xander smiles. He gives me what seems like a pitying look. “The mines closed many sun cycles ago. Before Damon was even born.”

“And why is it that they closed the mines, Xander?” Thesha asks. I can tell she knows the answer.

“Because there was the odd tunnel collapse, and the cave rats were somewhat of a problem.”

“Somewhat of a problem.” Thesha snorts. “I heard they ate some of the workers alive.”

“Are we going to let a few pesky rats keep us from—?”

“Yes,” Thesha says with venom in her voice.

“I don’t love the sound of man-eating rats or tunnels collapsing,” I say.

“Kyrie agrees,” Thesha says.

“Kyrie is staying with the horses and out of harm’s way.” Xander gives me a look. “We’ll see if we can come up with a better backup plan; if not, the mines are it.”

“It’s a death wish,” Thesha says under her breath.

I have a feeling that Thesha has faced many perils. That she runs headfirst into danger at the drop of a helm, but she’s fearful of those caves. I pray it doesn’t come to that.