Page 40 of Catastrophe

Baelen called from the tree he was resting against, “We should go back to the island in the morning where, hopefully, Clawdia and Elizabeth will meet us. Then we can discuss how to get to Zaide.”

“You don’t want to go now?” I asked.

“I can’t portal us right now.”

I eyed him. “You need … blood?”

Baelen paused, and a smug smile creeped up his face. His white fangs glinted at me from across the fire. “Are you offering?”

I stuck a finger up at him. “No.”

Baelen strode over and parked himself on the edge of the log next to Sigurd. “I’m fed. But if I portal us now, I risk endangering us if we need to escape quickly.”

“Daithi can also portal,” I pointed out.

Daithi’s nose was in the air and scrunched like he’d smelled a fart. “I am not going back to a place where hunters have already discovered us.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear him pipe up with an argument, but my eye twitched as I resisted the urge to roll them.

“It is safe now. Elizabeth has hidden the island again,” Baelen told him, much calmer than I was.

“That can’t last, though,” Laurence added quietly.

“Perhaps not.” Baelen shrugged. “But it should last long enough for our purposes.”

“We don’t really know how long it’s going to take to defeat Fafnir. We can always shield the island again. Shouldn’t we set up a base of operations where there’s already running water and no humans?” I asked.

I didn’t have the resources to find another place to hide without my phone, and to find it, I had to go back to the island anyway. To me, it was a done deal. But maybe seeing all the supernaturals being dragged off by hunters was traumatic enough to make them never want to return. Then again, it was Daithi, so he probably just wanted to make sure he had Savida wrapped in Bubble Wrap.

“And that should be an island recently invaded and stripped of its populace? Those hunters … I saw what they do to Zaide … I won’t allow Savida to suffer the same fate,” Daithi said in that stern voice which meant he wouldn’t be moving at all.

“But to hell with the rest of us, huh?” I could feel my blood pressure rising, but because I was too fucking tired to fight about it, I played peacekeeper in Zaide’s stead. “Fine. Okay. Baelen, and I will go back tomorrow. You guys can stay here or somewhere else. I don’t care. Is there any more food? I’m still starving.”

My snapping made the group quiet as Laurence spooned more food into my tin and handed it back over to me.

Maybe I was a prick, but hunger was the root of most of my evil. I couldn’t be held accountable for that. Being a dragon is hard work.

“I know you think I’m cruel, but it’s for the best,” Daithi muttered.

“This faei … I could eat him. If you wish.”

“We aren’t eating anyone, Dralie.”

I raised my eyebrow and swallowed. “I thought faei couldn’t tell lies. Or is that just something that’s been made up by humans?”

Daithi took my question seriously and shook his head. “Alfheimr is very diverse. The populace is full of different beings.” He held out his hands, and the colorful orbs appeared in front of us, hovering over the fire.

He’s used them to show me the different realms weeks ago, when we were strangers looking for a woman called Margaret—was that only weeks ago? It felt like a lifetime. It felt nostalgic. Even if I wasn’t sure he should use any more power than necessary.

The orbs reformed into the shapes of beings, and Daithi continued, “Some faei have wings and cannot portal, and some cannot lie but can trick. Some can manipulate nature. Some have an affinity for the weather and seasons. Some are creatures of the forests and are small but mighty. Some live in the water; some in the trees. It is the oldest of all the realms and, therefore, full of magic in all kinds of forms.”

“It’s magical,” Laurence breathed, his eyes wide as he watched the light show.

Between my full stomach, the dancing orbs, and the heat from the fire, a sleepy haze fell over me, and I sighed as I looked at the bags of equipment leaning against the log. I nudged Savida and picked up the tent bag to pull it all out. Savida examined each pole and hook with fascination as Daithi continued his lecture.

“It is. But because it is so diverse, there is a very strict class structure. Many of the smaller, less powerful creatures are thought of as lesser, and many do not have representation in councils or courts. Because the realm is so old and the beings are so long-lived, change rarely happens.”

“Let me guess, you fit in at the top of the food chain?” I asked as I began feeding the poles through the tent, Savida holding the other side, eager to help.

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