Chapter 15

CHAPTER15

Abraxas wanted to say he spun around at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, turning around on his heels with his teeth bared. Ready to protect Lore at all costs because who would dare to speak with them during this quiet moment other than someone who intended harm?

But he’d heard that voice and his mind had disappeared into a time when he’d still had a short friend beside him. A young dwarf who had seen the world in all its shades of good and bad and still wanted to save it.

He’d thought for a few moments that Goliath was right behind them. He knew the gravelly tones and the scent of dwarven magic that filled the air. Abraxas knew it all that so well that it made him hesitate.

Such a mistake could have cost them their lives. Or it could have delivered them somewhere a little better than this.

Sighing, he turned around and straightened his shoulders. The dwarf who stood behind them wore a familiar grin on his face. His ruddy cheeks were wind burnt and bright as a tomato over a long beard that matched the color. His eyebrows were winged and wild above expressive green eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. Riotous curls spilled down his shoulders, equally red and glistening in the sunlight like burnished copper.

This was not Goliath, but it certainly was a dwarf.

Abraxas had thought they were all but gone. And they weren’t living in these fields, or at least, that’s what he remembered from when Goliath had been here. His old friend had come here seeking the help of the dwarves. As far as Abraxas knew, they were all gone.

Frowning, he glanced at Lore, expecting to see the same shock on her features. But she wasn’t surprised at all. She stood slowly, dusted her hands off on her pants, and then nodded at the man who stood before them.

“I am a long way from home.” She eyed the dwarf up and down, then lifted a shoulder. “Is there a home any more for the elves, though? You’ve all made your kingdom far underneath the earth. Lucky you.”

The dwarf tilted his head back and burst into laughter. The sound was too loud. Even Abraxas winced and took a step away from the man. Did he really have to shout with mirth?

“I forgot about the humor of elves!” The dwarf shouted before wiping underneath his eyes. “I haven’t seen one of your kind in many years, I’ll admit. Although some of the others talked about you barging in when that shadow king had us under his thumb. They saw you, you know.”

“Saw you?” Abraxas repeated, frowning and looking down at her. “What does he mean by that?”

“No one filled you in on the dwarves we found? They were the ones that made the Umbral armor.” She gestured at the other man. “Apparently those suits weren’t conjured by magic after all. Beauty said they helped free the dwarves from their chains after everything happened. Where were you?”

Probably still stuck in his madness. They’d likely told him all about the endless wealth they’d found in the dwarven kingdom, the armor and swords which would help them continue to hold Umbra as they desired. But he had been focused on nothing other than the loss of his mate. Of Lore. Of a memory filled with starlight and hope that had sent his world into a downward spiral.

Instead of telling her all that, he shrugged. “I must not have been listening.”

A shriek echoed across the battlefield and this time he felt the ripple of a change running over his entire body. What now?

Except when he looked up, smoke already curling out of his nose, all he saw was Beauty charging down the hill with her arms spread wide. She let out another joyful shriek and then gathered the dwarf up in her arms with a giant hug. The man grunted, his cheeks somehow turning even more red.

“Mirin!” Beauty jerked away from him, her hands on his shoulders so he couldn’t get far. “I thought you were all gone? You said you were leaving!”

Abraxas crossed his arms over his chest and felt the fires die inside of it. Amusement took its place as the young man in Beauty’s arms blubbered like he’d forgotten how to speak.

“Well, uh, yes, uh. We did say that, didn’t we? Considering the company you were keeping at that point, we, uh, we couldn’t afford anyone finding out what was going on. You see?” Mirin scratched at the back of his neck. “I’m awfully sorry to have lied to you, Miss Beauty.”

True to her nature, Beauty rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Oh, you know I don’t hold grudges.”

That they all did. No one could look at Beauty and assume she was anything other than a kind person. She didn’t hold grudges when she should, and she overlooked significant flaws when she should see the red flags waving in front of her.

What Abraxas was more curious about was the bright red cheeks the young man had and the way he shuffled his foot on the ground. The boy had a crush, and a big one if Abraxas was seeing this right.

Mirin caught his gaze, and that expression hardened, as though Abraxas hadn’t noticed everything that had just occurred.

The young dwarf cleared his throat and said, “Seeing the company you keep now, I think it’s fine to let you know we’re still here.”

“The company she keeps now?” Lore asked, her eyebrow lifted in surprise. “And what company would that be?”

Mirin nodded at her. “Yourself, miss. The Fallen Star.”

Now both of Lore’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s a new title. I haven’t heard that one yet.”

“Considering you’re here to save the kingdom, I think it’s fine to let you know the dwarves have been around for a long time yet. And we’re not going anywhere.” Mirin puffed out his chest, all bravado and bravery when he likely had no reason to feel that way. “We’ve been preparing all this time, you see. It’s been a long time of waiting for you, though. Even as long lived as we are, dwarves can get real impatient.”

Abraxas had never tested his ability not to smile. Now, he realized it was rather hard to keep that emotion in check when something hilarious happened in front of him. He’d always been the man no one could get to smile. And yet, right now? It was taking all he had in him to not laugh at the expression on the young man’s face.

The dwarf wanted to impress Lore so badly. He wanted all of them to look at him with shock and awe.

Instead, all he got was three people who were tired, hungry, and dealing with a grief that burned through them. It was a shame. Abraxas could have given him quite the show if they’d been warned that dwarves might still be around.

They all needed rest, a place to lay their heads after such a long journey, and some food in their bellies. If they could get all that while under the protection of the dwarves, even better.

Abraxas kept his arms crossed over his chest and cleared his throat. “You make it seem like you’ve been waiting for us.”

“We have. One of our seers knew that the Fallen Star would return, and that would be a day of reckoning. We’ve been waiting for when you all might arrive.” Mirin could not look more proud if he tried. “That I am the one to find you is a great honor. My family will be so pleased when I return with you.”

“What makes you think we’ll go anywhere with you?”

The dwarf paused, then looked at Beauty before his eyes found Abraxas again. “Are you not?”

He arched his brow. “There are many people in this kingdom who want to kill us. I don’t know you. I don’t know your people, and even though you seem excited to see us, that means nothing. I’m not sure if you understand how dangerous it is for us to even be here.” The words were all a lie, but he wanted to push the young man. If the dwarf wanted them to see him as anything more than a young man, then he needed to give them a reason to see him as more than that. “So. Why should we go with you?”

Mirin’s eyes had gotten larger with every word Abraxas said until the young dwarf huffed and mirrored Abraxas’s position. “It seems to me you need a place to stay, dragon. You’re out here in the wilds where anyone can find you, and don’t think we don’t know the risk of it. Margaret and her elves have been hunting down anyone who even says her name.”

The dwarf pointed at Lore, who rolled her lips to try to not smile. Abraxas knew that look. That was the cocky look of a woman who thought it was hilarious that everyone was hunting her down, and that she’d like to see them try to harm her.

Damned woman was going to be the death of him.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he nodded. “Right. So you understand who we’re trying to escape from. And the fact that you know her name means you’ve dealt with her before. So why should we trust you?”

“Because we don’t like the shadow elf and none of us want to waste any more time waiting for this kingdom to get back on its feet.” Mirin pointed at Lore again, jabbing his finger in the air. “She’s the one who’s going to set all this to rights.”

“Why do you think it has to be her?”

The dwarf threw his hands in the air and started muttering in another language. Considering the violence with which he said all the words, Abraxas thought it very likely that the young man was cursing him.

Beauty eyed them, looking between both men as though she couldn’t quite figure out what was happening here. “We should go with him. I know him and his people very well.”

Tilting his head to the side, Abraxas sighed. “Have you been in their home before?”

“No one has been in the dwarven kingdom for years,” Beauty scoffed. “Of course I haven’t.”

“Then are you so sure you can trust them when you haven’t even been invited to eat with them?”

With a stomp of his boot, Mirin kicked a clod of dirt at him. “How dare you? The dwarves are one of the oldest races in all of Umbra and it is an honor to even be invited within our hallowed halls! I take it back. You can stay out here in the cold with all the dangerous creatures. I hope they skewer you, dragon. The other two can come with me.”

Abraxas bared his teeth, knowing they were a little sharper than before. “Please. I’d like to see anything try to skewer me.”

They were all interrupted by the bell-like sound of laughter. Lore tilted her head back and shook with the sound as it burst out of her chest. Abraxas first turned to glare at her. She was ruining his act here of intimidating the young man.

But then he found his own lips twitching with humor as well. This was all ridiculous, and they needed somewhere to stay the night. The pissing contest between him and this young man was, frankly, foolish.

Chuckling and shaking his head at her, he returned his attention to Mirin, who stared at them as though they’d both lost their minds.

“Fair enough,” Abraxas said. “We’ll go with you. But neither of them goes anywhere without me. That’s not something we can negotiate.”

The dwarf looked at Beauty, then back at them, then back at Beauty. “Have they both lost their minds?”

“A long time ago,” Beauty agreed, then slung an arm over the young man’s shoulder. “Now, when you say we have a safe place to stay, does that include food as well?”

The two of them started wandering, although Mirin cast a few glances over his shoulder to make sure Lore and Abraxas were following them. His elf was still caught up in her giggles, pressing her hand to her mouth as though that might trap the sounds inside.

With a low growl, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “If you don’t stop, they’re going to think we aren’t professionals.”

“We aren’t professionals.”

“They think you’re a goddess. A fallen star from the sky sent to save them. And I am your fearless protector who has likely ripped open the night so that you could fall. You know how stories like this get started.” He straightened with a grin on his face.

He quite liked the idea of people thinking he could tear open the very sky with his claws. As though he had ripped her out of the safety of her home, high in the air, and pulled her down to the kingdom so she could save them all.

“That’s quite romantic,” Lore said, her voice lighter than it had been for days. “Do you think we could convince them that’s the actual story?”

“I think we could convince them of a lot of things.” And maybe they should. If they controlled the narrative of the story, then that would make everything a lot easier for them. “Do you think they would believe that one? That I fell in love with a star and I couldn’t live without you? And seeing you travel across the sky every night, only to disappear during the day, broke my heart until I went mad with desire.”

Lore hummed low in her breath. “So you took to the sky, your wings beating at the north and south winds that tried to force you back to the earth. Instead, you fought and fought until you could claw at the home of the stars and I fell to your feet.”

“A vision covered in blush colored flowers,” he murmured.

“No,” she replied with a laugh. “I believe the dress was blue.”

“Pink.”

“Yellow?”

“It was pink.” Abraxas would never forget the moment he saw her in that forest. “You were covered in cherry blossoms and giant dahlias, with a dress made of spider silk and gossamer. The moment I crossed your path, I knew I would forever be mad for you. My heart stopped in my chest at the sight of you. There will never be a prettier sight than you standing in that clearing, waiting for me.”

Lore stared up at him, her heart in her eyes. “I love you so much, Abraxas. More and more every day.”

He grinned. “I know you do. Now let’s go underground again.”