9. Chapter 7 Tavin

Chapter nine

Chapter 7: Tavin

O ur first plan of action is to visit the town where we lost Arden. It was the last place she was seen and everyone seemed really skittish. Someone there has to know something.

We teleport into the town and begin walking through the streets like we own the place. Zorvan technically does own the place, but we haven't really visited many of these towns in the last several years.

My chest tightens when the tavern and the barn where we were loading the carriage come into view. The tavern is our first stop to see if there were any possible clues left behind, but I know there aren't any. There haven't ever been any clues left in any of the abduction sites.

"We get in and out as quickly as possible. No chit chatting. Just straight and to the point," Zorvan commands. He doesn't have to worry about me. If it doesn't have to do with Arden, I don't care.

We walk into the tavern which surprisingly has remained open despite Tirphal's death. The second we step inside it's abundantly clear why the tavern remained open. Tirphal isn't dead at all, despite Zorvan telling us he killed him.

The man goes pale and a sheen of sweat appears over his brow. "I-I-I-I can explain!" he squeaks out when he realizes there's no out running the six of us.

Zorvan stalks toward him, and Emyth is on the prowl with a malicious look in his eye and a smirk on his face. "I get to do it this time, Zorvan. You don't get to have all the fun," he says gleefully. He cracks his neck and is practically flouncing as he descends upon his prey. "I'm so looking forward to this." His death magic starts wafting off of him.

"Guys," Livarius says quietly. My eyes move to where he's looking. There are dozens of people sitting around at the different tables. All of their attention is on us. "Guys!" he says more assertively, causing Emyth and Zorvan to pause.

Emyth pulls back on his reaper magic. "We need to chat," he grinds out to the barkeep.

"You want to show us the room we were staying in the last time we were here," I say to him, using a touch of my compulsion on him. I don't like to use it. It causes the person on the receiving end an awful headache.

"Yes, of course," he says and leads us upstairs, each step shakier than the last as the light compulsion wears off.

Once we're inside and the door is closed Zorvan pulls a dagger on him. "How are you alive?" he hisses.

"One of the guards said that you didn't actually want me dead, but I knew he was lying. He said that you were just mad, and that didn't mean to take your aggression out on me. He had a healer on standby."

"Which of the guards? What did he look like?"

"I honestly don't remember. I was in so much pain that I couldn't focus on his face. I was just glad to be coming home after everything. He brought me back and dropped me off at my house. I was fully recovered within two days."

"Which of the guards would say something like that?" Livarius asks.

"None that I know of," Zorvan says. "They all mind their own fucking business. Or at least they used to."

"Who were you working for?" Lysander demands even though we've been over this with Tirphal more times than I can count. We used torture and truth serums and he couldn't give us any information that would lead to who has Arden. He didn't have any further information that could help us.

The satyr looks like he's about to piss his pants. I feel a little bit bad for the guy, but he shouldn't have sold off an innocent girl for his own benefit.

I look at the bed and my heart sinks thinking about the brief moment the four of us had together in peace and comfort before everything changed. When Livarius told me about her emotions coming through his bond, it nearly broke me. My only solace has come from knowing that our intimacy positively impacts Arden in some small way.

I reach out and touch the small of Livarius' back. He gives me a sad smile and I know he's going through a similar range of emotions. He leans into my touch and I hope that it's as grounding for him as it is for me.

The movement draws Emyth's attention, and his eyebrows knit together as he looks at me. We used to be this close, but a lot has changed since then.

"Has he been back?" Lysander asks.

"Yes."

"When?" Zorvan demands.

"A few days after I got back."

"Don't make me ask you every single possible question. Tell me everything I could possibly need to know to find the girl."

"He said basically the same thing as all the other times. If the human girl showed up, we should let him know."

"But he has her..." Livarius mutters.

"Unless he doesn't." Lysander's brow furrows in concern.

"He left you with the mirror again?" Zorvan asks.

"Yes."

"Take us to it."

He leads us to another room on the same floor. It's a smaller room with both a bed and a desk in it. I assume that this is where he stays after burning the midnight oil. It's cluttered and smells stale. He pulls a necklace out from under his vest and hanging from it is a silver key.

He inserts the key into a drawer in his desk and pulls out the mirror, then he hands it over to Zorvan who asks, "Now what?"

"Here," Tirphal says, and he knocks in a particular pattern. The glass on the mirror shimmers before a helmed face appears. The man's left eye is damaged.

"I was wondering how long it would be before you tracked down the satyr and the mirror. That poor vampire has been without his mate for nearly three weeks now. Why are you just now showing up to Belridge?"

He sounds more angry than I would expect if Arden were just a hostage. Zorvan's response pulls me from that thought before I can inspect it further.

"Well, we were working on some things at the castle, and tracking down some leads there. We thought that Tirphal was dead, so we didn't think we needed to come here to try to talk to him again.

"Why don't we meet up and discuss things; exchange information. Judging by your behavior and the fact that you asked for Tirphal's help again tells me you lost my prisoner."

"The last time I attempted to exchange something with you, I was lied to, and lost an eye. Simply put, I don't trust you."

"The feeling is mutual, but this time we're working toward a common goal. Why don't we meet up and talk. We can fight it out once we figure out where Arden is."

There's a long pause as the leader of the Sentinels considers his options. He must be aware of the fact that we won't leave him alive. Not without very good reason.

"We need to go someplace where others can't observe us through magical means."

"My office permits that," Zorvan says.

"You would invite me into your castle?"

"If it means getting my leverage back, then yes."

"That's all she is to you? Leverage?" Now he sounds infuriated.

"Well I've grown quite fond of her in the time that she's been staying with me. So it's not all she is. No."

"Fine. Meet me in Krean in two week's time. I have a couple of things I need to wrap up and then I'll meet you there. If I'm not there by sundown in seven days, assume the worst."

"Fine. I'll be keeping this mirror. I don't know if it works both ways..."

"It doesn't; for Tirphal's sake. It also needs to be placed under a full moon to restore its magic."

"Interesting," Zorvan says flipping it around to inspect it.

"In a week then," the stranger says, clearly done with this conversation.

"A week," Zorvan says, and the mirror returns to its normal state. "Tavin. Modify Tirphal's memory."

"We're not going to kill him?" Emyth asks in disappointment.

"No. Not with all the tavern seeing us come in here."

"Fine." Emyth pouts.

"Why do I have to do it?" I ask. I hate messing with people's memories.

"Because I said to do it. Come on. We don't have time for this."

"If you want his memory changed, you can do it yourself. I'll be waiting outside."

I turn on my heel and exit the room, not slowing down until I'm standing on the street outside of the tavern. Livarius is right on my heels as I expect from the vampire.

He gently grabs my hand and pulls me to a full stop once we're outside. "What's going on?" he asks.

"I'm sick of Zorvan not considering anyone else before he makes decisions."

"Well he's the prince. It's kind of his job to make executive decisions," Livarius says.

The fact that he's siding with Zorvan makes my blood boil.

"It doesn't matter, Liv. He's the prince, yes, but he's also my friend . Or he used to be. He doesn't act like it anymore."

Livarius moves in and places a hand on my cheek. "We're all dealing with losing her. He also has to deal with the guilt of his choices leading up to her getting taken. Let that be punishment enough for him."

Livarius is the youngest of us, but emotionally he's centuries ahead of us. I think I fell for him the moment he told us about his mother and sister being taken, but I wouldn't admit any of that to myself until after Arden was gone.

"We'll get her back," he says confidently. "She's smart and she's a fighter. I'm putting money on having her back within a moon cycle."

"I hope you're right," I say quietly, pressing my head to his. If I didn't have him here with me I have no doubt that I would fall apart.

The door to the tavern swings open, and Zorvan storms out. His intent is clear on his face. I'm about to get a lecture about disrespecting him.

"Save it. You know I don't like fucking with people's memories. If you want that kind of dirty work done, you can do it yourself."

"Keeper or not, you still answer to me. If you pull that shit again I'll lock you up and replace you with your brother."

"Fuck off, Zorvan. You lost the right to boss me around the second you banished our m–"

"Tavin!" he snaps, cutting me off.

There are people staring. The one thing we all agree about is that having anyone outside of the six of us know that Arden is fated to us would put her in further danger.

"The second you banished our leverage," I finish. "I only answer to a royal who respects me. Not a giant baby who can't rein in his temper."

A muscle feathers in his jaw. "You're right. You were leaving anyway. You're not my Keeper anymore. Let's find some place to stay that isn't this Star forsaken tavern. We'll ask around the town about Arden. Then tomorrow we head to Whiteburn. I don't want to waste time waiting around for that guy to give us information if we could possibly find it somewhere else."

There's another shadier inn not far from Tirphal's place. It doesn't have nearly as many fae inside, and the ones that are there look pretty rough around the edges.

The man behind the bar is tall and broad shouldered. His blonde hair falls down to the middle of his back, and he's got tattoos on his muscular arms. Tattoos are something a lot of the people in the villages of Feldorn get, but not something the royals are ever really permitted. They never wanted us to 'mar the perfect skin the Stars blessed us with'.

The barkeep's striking green eyes lock with Zorvan's, and he gives him a challenging look. Judging by the way he holds himself, and his size, he transforms into something big and predatory.

"Two rooms for the night," Zorvan says, placing gold down on the bar.

"Why can't we just go back to the castle?" Livarius asks me in a hushed voice.

"Because our coming and going would be confusing and disruptive. Not to mention the fact that they'd think we'd given up. And appearances for the crown are already not very good. We need to be seen out and about more."

Livarius nods.

"Look at this shiny fuckin' crew," the barkeep says, wiping down a glass with a dirty old cloth. "Not a speck of dirt on your clothes, eh? The fuck you doin' in my establishment? This bar is for workin' folks."

"We need two rooms for the night," Zorvan repeats, choosing not to engage.

"Seventy gold pieces," the barkeep says with a raised brow.

"You're insane," Jarrah says with a snort. "In this dump? I wouldn't pay seven gold."

"That's the price for you lot. Take it or leave it. There are other places to stay in town. Or better yet, go back to your big fuckin' castle and go back to not carin' about what us lil' folk do.

"You've been ignoring us and our needs for years, and now you want to stay here? Good fuckin' luck. I'm bettin' I'm offerin' ya the best price you'll get."

Zorvan's fists clench at his sides and he moves toward the bar about to lash out.

Livarius places his hand on Zorvan's shoulder, and steps up to the bar. "Look. We've had a long couple of weeks. And while Prince Zorvan has been...struggling," he says, giving Zorvan a sideways glance, "to relate to the people of Feldorn on a more personal level, he has recently taken on new council to help him mend relations with the people here in the towns."

"Yeah? What kind of council? Cause the last I heard he'd taken on a bunch of fuckin' vamps who are even more stuffy and clueless than he is."

"You—" Zorvan starts, but Livarius cuts him off.

"While I am a vampire, I would never call myself stuffy. My mother is a shifter, and was actually taken from one of the villages by those evil fuckers who have been kidnapping the women. I have made it my personal mission to help Prince Zorvan in the area where he is most lacking—relating to his subjects.

"We're currently working on finding the fae responsible for stealing away people of Feldorn, and it would be a big help if you were willing to let us stay here for the night. We have some business to attend to around the village. We'll spend the night, and by sun-up we'll be out of your hair."

The blonde man considers us, his eyes dancing between each of us. "Do you have any leads?" he finally asks.

"A couple. One of them has us going to Krean in two weeks, but we want to check Belridge out first, and then move to a couple of the other villages."

"My aunt was taken by that lot of thugs," the barkeep says.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Livarius replies.

"It's been eight years since she's been gone. You reckon there's any chance of gettin' her back?"

"I'm holding out hope that I'll still get to see my mother again," Livarius says with a shrug. "If they wanted those women dead, they would have done it in the villages—not waited until after they kidnapped them."

The barkeep nods. "Twenty gold total for both rooms, final offer. Consider it a fee for being a dickweed."

Livarius snorts, and Zorvan begrudgingly places more gold down on the counter.

"What's your name?" Livarius asks the man behind the counter.

"Aurelin," the big bartender says. "What's yours?"

"Livarius."

"Well, Livarius, you're welcome to stay here any time. Just leave the goon squad behind next time." Aurelin winks at Liv slides two keys across the counter. "Head up the steps and hang a left on the second floor. Your rooms are in the middle of the hall. Breakfast is at sun-up, and the washroom is down the hall from where you're stayin'.

"There will be a band in here this evening if you're interested in that kinda thing. Breakfast is included in the price of the room, but dinner is on your dime.

"Don't break shit, don't be too loud, and don't bother my other patrons."

"Yes, sir," Livarius says and reaches for the keys.

Aurelin holds on to them and leans in toward Liv and whispers something to him. Jealousy flares inside of me. I don't think either of them are interested in one another, but I don't like anyone else touching him.

"What's your deal?" Emyth whispers to me.

"Nothing," I grumble as Livarius pulls away from the barkeep and comes back to us.

"Let's go," he says, and grabs my arm. "Why are your eyes glowing?" he whispers as he leads us up the stairs.

"Nothing. What did he say to you?"

"I'll explain once we're in one of our rooms."

Once we hit the second floor he pulls us all into one of the rooms that Aurelin directed us to, shuts the door, and locks it.

"You make friends as easily as Arden does," Jarrah comments.

"It's a gift, what can I say?"

"So what did he tell you?" I ask, my jealousy begging to be doused.

"We need to watch our backs."

"He threatened you?" Lysander growls.

"No. It was a legitimate warning. He said that there are people in the village—in most of the villages—who would like to see you all dead. He's heard whispers of a possible uprising because of the lack of action toward the Sentinels."

"Bold of the fae to openly discuss treason," Zorvan says.

"They think they'd be better off if you were gone, and a new reign took over. I can't say I haven't thought the same thing myself," Livarius says. "And I'm not challenging you for your throne. But waiting around for you to respond to the people being taken has been difficult. As soon as Arden is back, we need to figure out who the Sentinels are working for."

"We can probably figure that out sooner rather than later," Jarrah says. "We can make that a part of our deal with this Sentinel fuck who took Arden."

"We'll do our best to get it from him. If he's anything like the others, he'll kill himself before he talks." Emyth plops down on one of the beds.

"What's the plan, then?" Lysander asks. "Just hang out here all night, or should we go ask around the other establishments since we've got some time?"

"Why not a little of both?" I suggest. "There's no reason we couldn't go around to the different shops and ask questions, then come back here, grab a couple drinks, and get some rest before heading out tomorrow."

Zorvan nods. "That sounds good to me. Just don't use too much of your magic. We may need it if someone decides to take a swing at us.

"Let's split into two groups. Livarius, Emyth, and I will take the eastern side of the strip, and the rest of you can take the western side. We'll reconvene back here at dinner time."

"Works for me," Livarius says.

I can't help but notice that Zorvan split up Livarius and I and also split up Emyth and Lysander. The only thing I'm not sure about is whether it was intentional or not.

We drop our things, lock our doors, and head back out into the streets to continue hunting for clues.