Chapter 4

CHAPTER4

Abraxas walked into the satyr’s house before Lore. Though the other woman was clearly uncomfortable with him being there, he wasn’t here to make her life easier. Lore forgot that she was known throughout the kingdom. People looked at her as some otherworldly being, and they needed to remember that she wasn’t theirs to keep.

His gaze swept over all the details in the small home. One wall had been built with what looked like a window seat that the satyr clearly used for a bed. The pillows and blankets were still mussed from when she’d risen this morning. A small fireplace on the back wall served also as the woman’s kitchen, and a small pot still bubbled above the cheery flames.

The floors were covered with carpet, and he figured out why as the satyr walked away from him. Her cloven hooves made no sound as she meandered through her home. Carefully, the satyr set her basket down next to the door and gestured for them both to come in.

“You’re safe here for now,” the woman said. “My name is Myrna.”

Abraxas only grunted. Lore could make the small talk with the woman if she wanted, but he would waste no time on such things. All he cared about was their next step. And this woman could apparently give them such information.

His elf gave him a glare as she walked into the room, clearly unimpressed by his rudeness to their host.

“Thank you for your time, Myrna,” Lore said. “I’m going to drop the spell now, if you don’t mind? I know this must be all rather uncomfortable for you.”

Myrna cleared her throat. “Alyss was a dear friend of mine. I was very sad to see her go, and I’ll admit, it is rather nice to see her face again.”

“Would you prefer I continued the spell?”

The satyr shook her head. “No. I think it would be best if I talked with you.”

Abraxas narrowed his gaze at both women. He didn’t think it best if Lore revealed herself. At least right now, no one could say they’d actually seen her. The story would remain muddy. This woman had only seen an old friend, one who shouldn’t be here, but who claimed to be their Goddess Divine.

As Lore lifted her hand, he caught her gaze and slowly shook his head.

“You disagree?” Lore asked, her voice low.

The other woman caught her tone and looked over at the dragon standing in her living room. Tension built in the room until he could cut it with a knife if he wanted.

“Leave the spell,” he grumbled. “No one can know you were actually here if you do.”

“I would never tell anyone—” Myrna tried, though he interrupted her almost immediately.

“Right now, you never saw her. You could be spreading rumors and lies, for all that anyone would know. If you see her, then there are more details you could use to make this story seem plausible. Not to mention if any magical user went through your memory, they would not see her face.” He glared, his eyes burning with flames. “I would find you and kill you if I found out you were the one to give us up, but hunting a single woman takes a very long time. I’d rather avoid such a hunt entirely.”

The woman paled again, and Lore glared even harder. But the spell remained.

His woman stepped in front of him as though her slight form could hide him as she gently guided the satyr to sit on her bed. “We just want to know what happened. Obviously, I have not been here for a very long time.”

“You died.”

“I did.” Lore never hesitated from the truth. “But I did not stay that way for very long.”

“Obviously.” The satyr waved her hand up and down, gesturing to Lore’s body. “You look healthier than I am.”

He watched the pain twist Lore’s expression, and he knew the reasoning why. She didn’t want someone like herself, a woman who had spent months on a ship traveling here, to look more healthy than the people who were farming. He agreed with her. These people should be prosperous and live a quiet, happy life. Not wondering why a woman like Lore looked so good when they were struggling.

Still wincing with her thoughts, Lore asked, “Can you tell us where everyone went?”

“Oh.” Myrna looked down at her blunt fingers and curled them into fists in her lap. “They all went away. We don’t know what happened to them, only that once you were gone, and the castle turned over to the elves, humans started getting rounded up. They were good folk here. We moved knowing that there was enough space near the sea, and my neighbors weren’t like the guards. Those people in the city deserved what they got, but I quite liked everyone here. They were welcoming. My neighbor used to cook me dinner when she saw me working hard in my garden. Good people. They lived off the land and respected it.”

“How long ago?”

“Not long. A few weeks, maybe? One day they were here and the next... They weren’t.” Myrna’s big eyes filled with tears. “I thought maybe I’d see if she was sick, you know? So I went into her house and everything was upended. She put up a fight before they dragged her out of that house. I’ll tell you that. But no one was left. Not her. Her husband. Not even their two children.”

Lore glanced over her shoulder at Abraxas and he knew what she wanted to do next. She wanted to save them.

Of course she did. She wanted to rush out of here like an avenging goddess and bring everyone home. But they couldn’t. Not unless she had a plan to do that, remain hidden, get Zephyr, and then high tail it out of here.

Deep in his gut, he knew this would no longer be a quick trip to save their friends. She’d never been able to deny someone help if they needed it.

And the entire kingdom needed her now.

He cracked his neck to the side and nodded. “Where are they taking the humans?”

Myrna’s gaze flicked to him, her eyes widening at the question. “Well, I don’t know.”

“There are no rumors?”

“Some say they might be brought to the castle, but there are thousands of people who have disappeared. They can’t all be in that castle.”

They could be if magic was involved. He met Lore’s gaze, trying to see if she could piece together what Margaret had done with the humans. Magic was hard to come by that could hide thousands of people, but portals were much easier. His first guess was that Margaret was bringing them all to the castle and then throwing them into a portal to keep them locked away somewhere no one would find. Of course, elven magic was strange. If she’d found a spell that could shrink them, that might be possible as well.

He didn’t really know what was possible with elven magic, if he was being honest. There seemed to be no limits to their power sometimes.

Lore hummed low underneath her breath, and then nodded. “I’d like to give you a gift, Myrna. You have been more forthcoming with us than I expected.”

“I can take no gift from a goddess.”

“You can, and you will.” Lore smiled at her. “What do you need?”

The satyr’s mouth gaped open, trying her best to say something before she shrugged. “I have everything I need here. My family is well, my friends are happy, there is food and safety. I have nothing that I wish for.”

He knew that wouldn’t satisfy his elf, and Abraxas crossed his arms over his chest as he watched her dip into the satyr’s mind. Myrna froze, apparently able to feel the cool sensation of Lore pawing through her thoughts. He knew what it felt like.

Then Lore sighed and flicked her fingers to the side. At her gesture, a spell threw itself out of her body and twined into the floor. The house shifted, rolling beneath their feet as though it had come alive. The floor unfurled, the wall stretched back, and then there was another room with a round door that opened on its own.

Lore had built the satyr a bathroom, it looked like. The tiled floor dipped into a recessed round circle, where warm water bubbled already. A hot spring? He didn’t think there were any this close to the ocean, but he wouldn’t put it past his powerful love to have summoned one to life.

“A place for you to relax,” Lore said, her gaze softening at the tears that glistened in Myrna’s eyes. “It looks very similar to your homeland, I presume? That is what it looked like in your memories, at least.”

“It’s exactly what they looked like. We haven’t been able to... that is, the land didn’t want to give us...” Myrna shook her head. “I have no words to give you in thanks.”

“You already gave them to me.” Lore touched underneath the woman’s chin, forcing Myrna to look up at her. “You told me where to find them.”

He watched as Lore’s hand slid away from the other woman’s face and then followed her out of the house without a word. Lore drew her hood up over her head.

“We need to see what’s happening at the castle.”

He struggled to keep up with her as she darted away from the hamlet. “Do you think that’s the best idea right now? I thought we were going to find Beauty first. That way, we would have some kind of backup when we go to get Zephyr?”

Apparently, she had forgotten how to use her ears. Grumbling under his breath, Abraxas picked up his pace so he could catch her. “Lore?”

Still no response. Her face had darkened with that angry expression he knew too well. The one that suggested she was going to make a massive mistake.

“Lore!” Abraxas grabbed her arm as they reached the edge of the forest, spinning her around into him. “Would you listen to me?”

She looked up at him then and he saw the tears in her eyes. He felt the frustration pouring off of her in waves and how she was struggling to hold herself together when all she wanted to do was fall apart.

“Starlight,” he whispered, drawing her against his heart and squeezing. “Why are you crying, love?”

“I could have been here,” she said, her voice catching on a sob. “I could have prevented all of this from happening. What if I hadn’t gone to find you? What if I hadn’t been so selfish and stayed for them?”

His heart broke for her. And not only because of the pain, but because he would never feel guilty that she had chosen him over this kingdom. Where she could wallow in this guilt and feel it crashing over her head, all he could feel was the happiness that she’d chosen him. The same as the first moment he’d seen her.

Kissing the top of her head, he rocked her back and forth. “You are not responsible for the world, Lore.”

“Then why do I have this power? This never-ending gift that could change the very fabric of the world. That’s what the prophecy said. That’s what everyone expected of me, and instead, I left to go find you.” She tilted her head back, eyes already rimmed with red. “And I would do it again. Does that make me a horrible person? I would always choose you over everyone else in this kingdom.”

He cupped her jaw, trailing his fingers up her cheeks to gently smooth away the tears there. “No, it does not make you a bad person. It makes you a woman in love. You are mine and I am yours, Lore. We will never choose another over each other. It is who we are and there is no shame in that.”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “I cannot save them all.”

“No, you can’t.” He ghosted his lips over hers. “But we will save the ones we can. If you want to see the castle, then we can. We have to walk right by it. But we will not charge into that building and tear it to the ground without knowing what is actually going on here.”

“You’re right.” She pressed her forehead to his and sighed. “You’re always right.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear.”

He tucked her hood around her hair a little better, making sure no strands would fall out, and then took the lead. He knew these woods like the back of his hand. Abraxas had spent many evenings wandering through them, wishing he wasn’t in the position that he was. Every tree, every rock, every animal had known exactly who he was and what he could do. Now, they all rejoiced that the dragon had returned.

It was strange to be here after all that had happened. The death of the king. The hatching of dragon eggs he’d been so certain would never see the light of day. Falling in love with an elf. Seeing his homeland. All of these memories played through his mind as he brought them to a ridge that overlooked the castle.

By the time they reached the rocky precipice, the sun had disappeared from the horizon. But he’d planned it that way. He wanted Lore to see through those castle walls while the moon could fill her magical reserves.

It was the only way he could care for her. Making certain that she was glutted with power.

Lore crouched beside him, her eyes narrowing on the castle. “Where is everyone?”

“I do not know.”

There should be guards on the castle ramparts at the very least, but the monolithic building appeared empty. No movement. No sound. Nothing but empty stones and the racing sound of wind.

His eyes cast over the castle, wondering what went on in the walls, when he noticed a movement across the field nearest the castle. He pointed silently, lifting his brow as a line of humans marched across the plane.

Then there was sound. The wailing efforts of mortals pleading for their lives. Their guards, all elves, drove them forward. Tall and lithe, the elves wore armor from ancient times that had long since passed. The black metal gleamed in the moonlight.

“So they are bringing them here,” Lore breathed. “For what purpose?”

“To punish them?” Abraxas had a hard time imagining what Margaret’s plan was, but he could assume that was part of it. “To enslave them? Who knows? We won’t figure it out laying here.”

Lore huffed out an angry breath. “And you’re not going to let me sneak into the castle, are you?”

“Not until we have an army that can storm it with you.” He arched that brow again and met her fiery gaze. “Unless you agree that I can take the castle apart rock by rock to get you back?”

“We don’t know what weapons they have that might harm a dragon.”

“I’m going to take that as a no.”

“It’s a no.” Lore leaned against the rocks, turning her gaze from the humans, who screamed for help. “We need to keep moving. It’s not safe to camp here for the night.”

No, it wasn’t. He let her sink into her thoughts as she led them away from that cursed castle. So many souls haunted those halls.

Abraxas glanced back at the dark shadow outlined by the moon and wondered how many more ghosts would be added this night.