Page 27 of The Last Heir of Elsewhere

The barn was burning—and I wasn’t sure which one of us had caused it.

12

BAEL

THE DEADEYE DISTRICT, INBETWIXT

Atremendous roar rattled across the harbor, and my heart raced as I charged back through the eastern gate of Inbetwixt.

The battle raged on, just as furious as how I’d left it. To my left, cloaked figures streamed in and out of the dark alleys between the fisherman’s shacks, and on the right the docks were coated with blood and limp bodies. The smell of blood permeated the air, causing my hair to stand on end and my nostrils to tingle with curiosity.

I swung an arm out and grabbed the nearest cloaked figure, not even bothering to glance at if they were male or female before I tore into their throat. Blood covered my hands, and I rolled my neck, feeling the surge of adrenaline that only violence could bring.

Dropping the body with a wet smack, I looked around until I saw my sister on the other side of the docks. Aine stayed on the outskirts of the battle, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t contributing.

My eyes widened as I watched several rebel soldiers walk toward her in a neat line, before drawing their swords and plunging them into their own stomachs. A smile spread across my face. She’d kept her word to use her magic.

“Feeling a bit rusty?” I shouted to my sister.

Aine scowled at me between the fighters. “Hardly.”

“I’m not so sure.” I strode toward her, stepping over one of the soldiers she’d hypnotized into ending their own lives. “That was quick. It was almost a kind death.”

Aine’s scowl deepened—she looked slightly guilty. “Not all of us are sadists, Baelfry.”

My eyes widened. She was correct, of course. Not everyone in our family took pleasure from violence—only the majority of us.

My sister, however, was not a member of the majority. Aine had a similar ability to our late uncle, but while Penvalle had reveled in controlling others, she despised it. It had been at least a decade since I’d seen her use a shred of magic.

I skidded to a halt in front of Aine and grinned widely at her. “You kept your word.”

“Is that a question?” she snapped. “What are you doing here? I thought you escaped with your pet.”

It was my turn to scowl. “Don’t call her that.”

Aine sighed heavily. “Whatever. I really don’t know what you all see in that human.”

I set my jaw, my amusement from a moment before leaving me as quickly as it had come. “She’s not human.”

“Is that what you took out of what I said?” She sneered. “What she is barely matters. I’d say the same if she were the most powerful Fae in Elsewhere. I don’t understand how she’s managed to captivate all of you.”

I didn’t bother to ask whom she meant by “all of us.” Aine was quite as close to Scion as I was, and since they’d both been avoiding me in the thieves den, she’d probably spent more time in his company in the last few days then I had in weeks. If after seeing how miserable he’d been, she didn’t understand why we’d be interested in Lonnie, there was no way to explain it to her.

“Why would you return alone, then?” Aine asked when I did not reply. “I’d like to think it was to help me, but I know you…”

I grinned, not feeling the least bit guilty. Helping had been the last thing on my mind.

After making sure Lonnie was out of harm’s way, I couldn’t resist the urge to return and finish the battle. All the members of my family who possessed an offensive magical skill were trained as warriors. Everyone, that was, except for me.

For me, violence came naturally.

I’d never allowed me to be on the front lines of the war like Scion, or fuck, even like Ambrose, and I couldn’t deny that perhaps there had been a good reason for that. I loved the fighting, and couldn’t turn away from it. It felt like a compulsion, an irresistible addiction that pulled me back in.

That wasn’t the only reason I’d returned, though. The information I needed from the rebellion was crucial and one of these pricks was going to have to give it to me, whether they liked it or not.

“I need to find whoever is leading this group,” I muttered, knowing that if any Fae were listening they’d be able to hear us even over the sounds of fighting.

Aine cocked her head to the side. “Ambrose, you mean?”

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