“Please.” I stepped closer to him. “Ask me anything. Put me under a compulsion to tell the truth. Bind me to a promise. Whatever it takes to convince you.” I had another idea. “Or don’t believe me. Come with us.Watchme speak to the king tonight and bring your horses back tomorrow.”
I closed the last remaining space between us. He could grab me now. “If you don’t trust me,” I whispered, “tie a rope to my wrist. I swear I’m not trying to steal anything or trick anyone. I justneedto warn the king.”
His eyes flicked to the dagger I still had belted at my waist. “Which cousin?”
“Guyan.”
His eyes narrowed. “And why the human?”
I forced a smile. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Fine.” He didn’t sound pleased, but I didn’t need him to be happy. “I’ll come with you. And I’m tying you to my horse.” I didn’t even care. I just needed the horse.
He waved at the lady with the apron. “I’ll pay you when I get back, Willow.”
She laughed. “Off with you then, Lyam. Go save the king.”
We followed Lyam silently down a dirt road while the pale remnants of sunlight disappeared. When we turned a corner, Lyam looked over his shoulder to make sure we were still behind him. At the same time, another elf ran toward us and crashed into him.
Lyam’s solid block of muscle knocked her backward to the ground. He bent over and offered her a hand. “Salor. I apologize. I—”
“Oh, no Lord Lyam, it was my fault for running,” she interrupted, apologizing faster.
Wait. “Salor?” I asked, stepping closer to see better.
She waved her hand and a floating light orb landed above our heads. “Callista!”
I nearly tripped in my effort to run into her hug. “What are you doing here?” we both asked at the same time, and then broke into giggles.
She waved down the street we’d turned onto. “This is where my father lives. Broomden’s been giving us one day off in ten, so I saved up for a month and came out for four days.” Her eyes skittered to Lyam and Alastor. “Your turn.”
I scowled. “One day in ten is not very many.”
She dusted a spot of dirt on her skirt. “It’s better than before I talked to you and His Majesty. Now you.”
I wanted to give her all the details, but I wanted to make sure Aedan was safe first. “It’s a long story.” I took her hands. “And I’ll tell it all to you, but right now we need to get back to the castle. I just found out about a plot that Guyanhas to hurt Ae—the king—and I want to warn him before anything happens.”
Her voice tightened. “Guyan always seemed a little too perfect.” She glanced at Lyam, but then faced me. “Should I come with you? I don’t know if I’ll be any help, but I hate sending you alone.”
“She’s not going alone,” Lyam answered. “I’ll go with her. And she has her human.”
“Alastor,” my brother sighed. “Her humanhas a name, and it is Alastor.”
Salor’s jaw fell. “Is he your—”
“Yes,” I cut her off. I threw a sideways glance at Lyam and hoped she’d interpret it as a hint that I did not want to tell Lyam any more details about us.
“Wow,” she breathed, just before gripping my shoulders in another hug. “I won’t slow you down, but you must tell meeverythingwhen I get back.”
She picked up a bag that had fallen to the ground during our conversation and ran off again.
Lyam stared at me. “You know Salor.”
I nodded. “She works at the castle. Does… that improve my believability?”
He smirked, and the shadows on his face suggested a little humor behind his intense stare. “How about I let you ride without tying you to the horse?”
Chapter 34: Aedan
