Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Zenith

Willowood hardly looks like the city I once knew. It's grown, sprawling three times the size I remember. More buildings, taller ones too, less foliage in the heart of town. More shops, more sweet and savory-smelling foods for sale, more people.

Less room to lie low.

I hide my wings behind my glamour, hoping to blend in. Anash and I need to eat before we collapse. We walk along the main cobbled road in comfortable silence. At least I think it's comfortable—does he?—listening to the hustle and bustle of street vendors.

I point at a pub with outdoor seating. "There?"

"Yes."

We make straight for it.

The serving boy gestures to a row of round tables with yellow linens. "Sit anywhere you like."

Anash picks the first table. We take chairs across from each other. He still looks rough. Sad. But not angry. His face is no longer puffy and red from crying.

The lad approaches. "Tonight's dishes are roasted chicken with caramelized figs, goat cheese stuffed pork tenderloin, and vegetable stew in a bowl of herb-encrusted bread. What will you have?"

Sheesh, when did Willowood become so fancy?

I order one of everything, and Anash orders the chicken and figs along with ale. Then we settle in to wait.

People pass us by, most on foot, some on horseback, even a few in wagons. The steady stream of observations takes our minds off everything we ought to be thinking about.

Our drinks arrive. We sip ale. Our food arrives. We tuck in. The odd quiet between us is in contrast with the busy city swallowing us whole.

I'm pretty sure the food is delicious, though tasting it isn't at the top of my priorities right now.

Anash breaks the silence. "What happened after you left me? I know something did."

I'm reluctant to tell him because it will mean reliving the bloody scene in the courtyard, but if there's one thing we've learned recently, it's not to keep secrets.

I relay all of it. The queen's arrival, the prisoners, the whip. Their cries of mercy, all in vain because bodies piled up at her feet. Terrible dinner conversation. The worst. We both stop eating, but we were nearly done anyway.

"That must have been horrible for you."

"I should have let them go. I would have. If I'd known."

"It's not your fault."

I'm not so sure about that, but I don't argue. I'd rather talk about anything but this. "Are you feeling any better now that you've eaten?"

"I'm feeling better, knowing you and I are going to work through this. We are, aren't we?"

I grab his hand and squeeze. "Yes. Anash, I should've been clearer right away. I'm on your side. I think you, your family, and Princess Suvi are in the right. Humans aren't the same foe as the incubi once were. They are a mortal race with but a short time here in our realm. They fall like swatted flies against the fae. There's no honor in that. They deserve good lives, the same as anyone, and they shouldn't have to fight and die for that right. I'm with you."

The tears are back, welling in his eyes like a tidal wave against a fragile dam. His gray-blue irises shine with the wetness. "I can hardly believe it. Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me."

"We move forward together."

"Together."

I hand him a linen serviette to dry his eyes while blinking back tears of my own. When was the last time I cried? I've never had someone so dear to me as Anash. Nothing so precious to lose.

He sniffles and blows his nose. "Erm, do you still have my letters?"

"Yes." I tap my hip, where they're tucked into the waistband of my breeches. I left my army jacket behind, wearing on top only the plain muslin shirt that usually lies beneath it.

"Good. We should post them. I'm worried about my mother and Suvi in Lemossin, where the streets are full of angry rebels, as we've been told. I must pen a new message. There are things Suvi needs to know as soon as possible. The sooner we put an end to all this, the better."

"I agree. But without the army messengers…where?"

"Erm." The small smile from Anash lightens my mood. "Do you maybe want to meet Rahz? The fire mage, I mean. He and his mate, they're staying in town."

That's not what I expected, and my light mood vanishes. That mage has been the bane of my existence for weeks on this mission. But the mission has changed, and so have I. "Yes, take me to meet him."

Anash looks sheepish all of a sudden.

"What is it?"

"Well, the thing is. Princess Suvi's base of operations?" Anash squints. It would be cute if it weren't so suspicious. "They're living at the incubus brothel."

Because of course they are. "I won't be welcome."

"I'll see to it you are. I'm half incubus and a prince of the realm, and Rahz is my friend. The rest can be explained once we're through the door. Besides, they won't know you're a gargoyle by looking at you, will they?"

"The old ones will. They can sense the stone of old enemies."

"Oh. I'm sure it'll be fine. Plus, they have the fastest messengers around. And we need a place to sleep while we decide what to do next."

"Actually, I have an idea about that."

"Tell me later tonight. It's getting dark. We should get there before they get slammed."

Being in a den of incubi—drinking their wine, sitting on their furniture, simply breathing their air—seems wrong. Not only am I out of place, but I also feel out of time.

But Anash is at ease, lounging on the puffy brown satin settee. As we passed through the threshold of this place, it was almost as if a calm swept over him. His hips have more sway, his tail is proudly carried high, and a flirty pout-smile takes over his lips as if he's working here rather than visiting.

He does look absolutely edible sprawled like that, one arm draped along the back, legs parted, tail curled loosely on the cushion next to him.

Despite every reason why this is a terrible time for it, my cock hardens. Heat races down my spine. I steel my gaze away from the sight of him lest I be found out.

We're in a small parlor off a medium-sized parlor off the large main parlor we were led through. Perfumed incense permeates the air, and underneath it, the scent of sex lingers. Rahz and his mate, Jindal, have been sent for, and we await their presence.

Anash chats with our host—a rather large incubus with granite gray skin, long lavender hair, and black horns that flare backward away from silver eyes—as if he's known the man all his life and not mere minutes.

"Is it always this busy?" asks Anash.

Hiluron smirks playfully, "Oh no. Usually, it's busier."

"And your clients. Mostly human?"

"And fae. And halflings, such as yourself, though I've never seen your exact charming mix," he says. I hold in a growl. Mine. "And the occasional roving preternatural. We don't have many vampires or werecreatures on this side of the realm, but the few here know us as a safe haven."

"Ooh, I've never met a vampire," says Anash. "Do they bite during sex?"

"Only if we beg."

The two of them giggle.

I stifle a wave of nausea.

"They say the Gatekeeper was turned vampire centuries ago. Is it true?"

"No idea. Might explain his absence."

Anash shifts his gaze. I follow it to where the fire mage and his accomplice—er, mate—approach from a narrow hall.

Though we're theoretically on the same side at this point, my muscles tense of their own accord, ready for a fight.

"Hello," says the smaller one. Fae. Pinky-peach coloration and a telltale shimmer to his skin. "I'm Jindal. And this is my mate, Rahz."

Anash speaks for me. "And here is mine, Zenith of Lemossin."

Rahz and I stare at each other as if neither of us wants to be here, but our better halves are hugging, so we clasp wrists and exchange stiff nods.

Everyone sits.

"They say you come in peace," says Rahz to me. "What's changed between the slaughter of the marshlands and now?"

"I finally told him everything," says Anash. "As I should have from the beginning. With all the information at his disposal, he's made his choice."

Rahz doesn't look so convinced, but neither is he outwardly hostile. "I'd like to hear it from him myself."

They all look at me. I swallow and repeat roughly what I told Anash at dinner. "I've seen Queen Aurielle's cruelty with my own eyes. No one that eager to whip a man to his death should have power over others. We must intervene."

"You mentioned earlier you had an idea of what to do next," says Anash. "What is it?"

"I believe Talus is alive, being held prisoner somewhere farther south. Probably in water so he can't communicate via the stone. He's the greatest general who ever lived. We must find him. Free him. Talus will know what to do."