“Why?”
A smiled, but I couldn’t keep the taste of sadness out of it. “Because he thought it was the right thing to do.”
Alastor shrugged and shook his head. “I won’t pretend to understand it, but I’m glad you’re here.” He stepped back and rubbed his hands together. “That should be big enough—can yousee it?”
“Yes.” I turned around one last time and whispered, “Goodbye.” I couldn’t see him, but I was sure Aedan had stayed close to me. A warm gust filled the air around me. It could have been mistaken for a sudden breeze, but I knew it was a soft huff from a drekkan. One final goodbye.
It took us nearly two hours to hike to Tolva, the nearest elf community that Alastor had worked in several times during the last few months. He explained how he’d taken jobs to earn enough to buy food and supplies for a few weeks at a time, then he’d go out to the barrier until he ran out of supplies, and then he’d return here or go to another little community. Whether he was in town or in the forest, he tried to convince everyone he met to help him help me, but nobody had been sympathetic until Guyan.
He opened the door for me at a small tavern. “I don’t want a drink, Alastor.”
“This isn’t just a tavern. It’s an inn too. I’m sure they have some lunch left, and then you can rest in a real room.”
I walked in with him. “I’ve had a real room. I’ve slept on the most luxurious beds every night since I saw you last.”
“Well, you won’t have to worry about a drekkan breathing down your throat then,” he muttered.
I ignored the comment. It might take me years to convince him that Aedan wasn’t horrible. I looked around the dining room of the tavern. It was cozier than I expected, definitely more like an inn. Sleeping here might be nice—nobody was trying to kill me outside of the fortress.
Then again, would I even be able to sleep without a magical seal on my door? Or someone guarding it?
Alastor led me to an empty table. Moments later, a tall elf with black hair, a green dress, and a white apron set two steaming drinks in front of us. “Tea?” she asked.
Alastor picked up his mug. “Thank you, Arena.”
She turned and studied me. “Is this your long-lost sister?”
“Yes.”
Arena smirked. “So. Not captive to our Drekkan King after all. You just had too many drinks?” She winked at me. “Do you like how I brought him tea with no spirits?”
I smiled. I liked Arena, even if she was teasing my brother.
“No!” Alastor slammed a fist against the table. Arena raised a brow, and he ducked his head. “I’m sorry. That was not acceptable. But Callista was a captive. Guyan freed her for me.”
“Ah,” Arena said in a mocking knowledgeable tone. “So the king’s cousin defeated him and rescued the fair damsel. Strange that he did not want to keep her for himself. And does that mean the barrier is gone now that the cursed king is dead?”
“No.” Alastor rolled his eyes. “Guyan couldn’t keep her because he’d made a deal with me. And the king isn’t dead, so he’s still cursed, and his curse-formed barrier is still there.”
Wait. What? I met Arena’s eyes. “Whatactuallyhappened is that Guyan informed us that Alastor has been worried. The king brought me to the border himself so I could help my brother.”
Arena chuckled. “You two have better stories than Old Ganchin. Can I get you some soup?”
“Yes, please,” Alastor said.
As soon as she left, I faced my brother. “What kind of deal did you make with Guyan?”
He sipped his tea before he answered slowly. “He couldn’t get through the barrier, so I agreed to open it for him if he brought you back to me.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he want to get in just to rescue me?”
“Well, it wasn’tjustto rescue you. He had other reasons too. Reasons that coincided well enough with what I wanted that he was willing to help me to get in.”
I gripped my mug. Something about this deal felt wrong, but I couldn’t guess what it was. “Alastor. Tell me everything. Please.”
He gave me a wary look. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re too caught up in how helpful the drekkan is. I don’t like it.”
I didn’t like how that sounded. “Is Guyan going to hurt the drekkan? Steal the throne? What?!”
