Quinn gave a friendly wave to another fae elemental blasting pixies out of his shop with balls of fire shooting from his fingertips. Distracted by the greeting, one fireball missed its target and shot straight for Riella’s bundled form.
With quick ease, I snuffed out the blaze with a snap of inky shadow. As their darkness dispersed, the surprised look of a fire elemental came to view.
My eyes narrowed with recognition. “Lieutenant Onette?”
The elemental’s face immediately turned white, his eyes bugging even further out of his head.
“Gen–General Dark. I am…my apologies!” He sputtered, bowing and running back into his shop. The door slammed behind him before I could even speak.
Whispers broke out all around us. My name escaping their lips like a fearful prayer.
I turned towards the healer who was watching me with keen interest. “That fae’s name is Caval Anu Onette, he was a lieutenant that served in the queen’s armies. He is a fire elemental that unfortunately set one of our camps on fire during the war.”
Quinn’s grin widened and his eyes sparkled. “Did he now? Caval does, at times, still set things on fire, but now his talent serves a much better purpose.” He nodded to the sign above the shop.
“Stone fire bread.” I read it aloud and then gave the healer a hard stare. “You offered fae sent here mercy, didn't you? To lay down their weapons and join you." I pointed to the others I had noticed. "That one there is a water fae, an air elemental, another fire elemental…living among shifters."
Quinn’s chest puffed out, his blue eyes shining with pride. “Not I…our king. He despised seeing good fae die as pawns…when there are so little of us now as it is. A chance to live a new life in prosperity…to lay down hate and to turn to a new way of living.”
“A bold move. Hate doesn’t die so easily.” I said dryly. I gave the shop one final glance before moving onward, winking at the impatient Eshe who had been leading the way.
She rolled her eyes and turned quickly to march forward.
The quick shuffle of the healer’s feet told me he had caught up with us. “The fae courts were never meant to live in segregation.” He continued with his boastful pride. “We need each other, like the lands need the rain and the plants need the sun.”
I pursed my lips, shifting Riella away from a group of fae bustling by. “And the sun? What does the sun need?”
The healer hummed next to me. “Easy. Darkness. So its brightness can be seen.”
I smiled sadly. “A novel thought but it ends there healer. Darkness does not need the light, it is infinite and undying. It needs nothing.”
He stumbled next to me. “Surely, darkness relies on something.”
“It does not.” I murmured while looking down at Riella's ashen and feverish face. I pursed my lips and tightened my grip on her tiny body, hearing my words and realizing I wasn’t so sure if that was exactly true anymore.
Chapter 34
“Hereweare.”Quinnsaid quietly, no longer holding the boastful pride from moments ago.
Looking up, I scrutinized the moderate sized white building that sprawled in similar width and height as all the others.
There was no fanfare about the building itself. Indeed, it looked much like all the other buildings we had passed. Large breezeways, colorful gold shimmering fabrics in the open windows, vines growing from a garden rooftop, and directly in front of us, the entrance of a large scaled oval teak door.
“The king lives here?”
Eshe huffed in front of us and motioned me to follow with an irritated wave, the large oval door swung open. “The king has no need for extravagance. I am sure this is difficult for your kind to understand but our king lives amongst his court. Not above them in a pretentious palace.”
“How magnanimous of him.” I said dryly, responding the whispers of dormant shadows beckoning me to step inside. Instant relief from Finlandia’s brutal heat flooded through me as I stepped into the lair of my enemy and I shivered at the cool air kissing my overheated skin.
Despite the many shadows that lay in waiting here, eager for my call, I felt vulnerable entering the shifter king's home, and it was distastefully humbling. Two things I utterly disliked but was more than willing to feel so long as it meant Riella stayed safe.
I bit at my lip, if I told them I knew the so-calledgolden one, would these shifters accept me or immediately slap me in irons and refuse to help Riella in the process?
Scowling and releasing my lip, I realized even if I did tell them, I had no way of reassuring them if he was alive or dead. No—Riella would be much better off if I held my tongue. Which meant I had to rely on my impeccable charming personality and dishonorable general status.
My scowl deepened.
“This is the reception hall.” Quinn said softly next to me sensing my displeasure. “The king is not in at the moment or he would have been here to welcome you to Finlandia.”
