Page 11 of The Last Heir of Elsewhere

One, that he wanted to use my magic. However, as I’d barely been able to do that so far, and according to Cross, I’d created nothing but problems for the rebel army in the form of afflicted monsters, that seemed unlikely. The second option, and the one that I tended to think far more plausible, was that hedidwant to kill me—just not yet. Bael agreed.

While I’d all but completely rejected the Wilde Hunts, and had openly refused to travel to Nevermore for the third trial and had lost the obsidian crown, I was technically still the queen. If Ambrose believed in the validity of the hunting season, as the rest of his family seemed to, we suspected he wanted to kill me on the correct night to ensure that there was no challenge to his leadership. If so, there was just under two weeks until I’d meet the rebel king again, and I did not want to be in Inbetwixt if that happened. Nowhere would be perfectly safe, especially when trying to evade a seer, but I’d prefer that Cross and his thieves not have to die just to protect me from another attack.

“How will we be leaving?” I asked loudly, practically begging Cross to step in and redirect the conversation.

To my relief, he took the hint. Cross spoke as if addressing me alone, but the room listened with rapt attention. “Our tunnels extend all over the city, and we can escort you to the edge of the wall.”

“And then what?”

“And then we can ride to the nearest town.” Bael muttered under his breath. “We can always shadow walk if need be, but horses would be preferable.”

“We can get you horses,” Cross said.

I shot him a grateful look. “Fine. So you’ll be bringing me and Bael and...” I trailed off. This was a bit of a sore subject, and the ensuing pause emphasized my discomfort.

“I would like to come,” Iola said. “But…”

She trailed off, and my eyes shot to her. Truthfully, I was not sure if she would be able to handle a journey across the country with her health as poor as it was, but if she wished to come then I couldn’t leave her. I’d agreed, during the battle, that we would stay together. In a way, I felt responsible for her, at least until she learned to stand on her own.

“You do not have to if you don’t wish to,” I said quickly.

She looked uncomfortable. “It’s only, I don’t know where else I would go.”

I met Cross’s eyes over the crowd, a question in my gaze. “I’m sure there’s room for more refugees here.”

“Yes, of course,” the thief master answered.

I smiled, as did Iola. At least here, she had a good chance of recovering fully, whereas on the road to Aftermath…in truth, I was not sure she’d last a week.

“Anyone else?” I asked.

“Not us,” Gwydion’s voice said from somewhere behind me, interrupting my thoughts. “We’ll be taking Elfwyn to Overcast.”

I stood up straighter and craned my neck to see him, having not realized he was in the room. Bael’s brother stepped forward, the crowd shuffling to make room for him. Taller and more muscular than Bael or Scion, who were both large in their own right, Gwydion was the largest fairy I’d ever seen. He had the build of a fighter, rather than the healer he claimed to be.

“I suppose that’s you and Thalia, then?” I asked, lightly.

Gwydion nodded, and gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m sure you can understand, Aftermath is no place for a child.”

I snorted. I’d been raised in Aftermath, but it wasn’t worth pointing out. They all knew, they simply didn’t care, and I didn’t want to travel with Gwydion, anyway. I’d been suspicious of him since realizing that he’d not fully healed Iola. Now, looking at Scion’s face, and the multitude of injuries on everyone else, I was more concerned than ever.

I searched for Thalia in the crowd. “Are you content with returning to your parents’ home?”

She gave me a sad smile. “It’s the best option.”

That was not really a “yes” but I took it to mean that she’d made up her mind as well. I nodded, and turned away from them. “Fine. I assume Aine will go with them as well.”

“We’ll smuggle them out, much the same way we are doing with you, tomorrow evening,” Cross offered. “It’s easier to do it in two groups.”

I nodded, having not really expected their help. Most of the Everlast family—everyone who’d managed to escape with us, that was—seemed to believe I’d lost my mind wanting to go to Aftermath. Their firm belief that Aftermath was nothing but a desolate, dangerous, wasteland, won out over anything else.

Bael reached up and squeezed my thigh. “We’ll be better off in a small group, anyway, little monster.”

I smiled at him, and leaned back against the table, somehow exhausted from nothing more than this conversation. There was a long silence, and it took me a beat to realize that one person had yet to voice his intentions.

My gaze met Scion’s silver eyes across the room, as if he’d already been watching me. I expected him to look down as he had done every time we’d mistakenly caught each other’s eye in the last few days, but he didn’t.

I forgot to breathe as my heartbeat sped up, my pulse pounding in my throat. My lips parted, and I leaned forward slightly, unsure if I intended to move, or had simply lost the ability to hold myself up. I watched his hand twitch, clenching at his side, and then he tore his gaze away from me, staring at the floor.

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