Page 10 of The Last Heir of Elsewhere

“Apologies for my lateness,” I called back. “I see my penance is there are no chairs left.”

The thief master grinned. “Not to worry, we’ve almost finished planning.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Planning?”

“We’ll be moving you out tomorrow night.”

My heart skipped a beat, and a real smile spread across my face. That was the first truly good news I’d heard in days.

We’d been searching for a way to leave the city safely, both because I wanted to travel to Aftermath, and because most of the Everlasts were eager to join the rest of the family in Overcast. Unfortunately, news of the capital attack had spread quickly, and now other cities were beginning to show where their allegiance lay. When we’d arrived, the streets of Inbetwixt had still been safe to walk on, but now, only five days later, we would have to leave under cover of darkness, or risk a run in with the rebellion.

“What if he’s waiting for her at the gates?” Bael asked loudly.

There was no question in my mind—or anyone else’s, as far as I could tell—whom he meant by “He.”

“Our spies in the capital report that the afflicted are keeping the entire rebel army busy for the time being,” Cross replied. “Even if Dullahan does realize we’re moving tomorrow, I doubt he’d be able to make it here.”

“Is there any way to be sure the Dullahan won’t see us?” asked one of the thieves sitting too far into the crowd for me to make out their face. “We all know he’s a seer, but every seer I’ve ever met had limitations.”

“That’s a good question,” Cross commented. “Sci, do you know how much your brother can actually see?”

All eyes turned to Scion, and he visibly stiffened. I could practically see him struggling to resist the urge to deny that Ambrose was his brother, but apparently, he was unwilling to scald his own throat twice in an hour.

“He’s not fucking omniscient, if that’s what you’re asking,” Scion ground out. “He doesn’t knoweverythingwe do.”

“But what’s his range?” Cross asked. “Is he limited by distance? A certain amount of time into the future, or certain people…” He trailed off, looking hopefully at Scion to pick up the thread of the conversation.

Scion set his jaw, looking furious as he mulled over his answer. Anyone would assume he just hated his brother, but I would’ve bet everything I owned that the real problem was Scion didn’t want to spread information about the Everlast family’s abilities to such a large audience. Ambrose Dullahan might be a traitor, a murderer, and an exile of the royal court, but he was still an Everlast, and what hurt one, hurt them all.

“Ambrose is much the same as our grandmother was,” Scion said finally. “He’s not limited by distance, but is more aware of those he is close to. He cannot see anything of his own future, however, so he always travels with a companion.”

“Anything else?” Cross asked.

Scion’s frown deepened to the point that if his face could’ve wrinkled, the expression would be permanently etched there. “I’m not certain,” he admitted. “At the height of her power, Queen Celia was plagued by such constant visions she was effectively blind to the world around her.”

I raised my eyebrows, and was far from the only one in the room to look surprised. I hadn’t known that about the former queen, though, it did make sense. In all the years I’d worked in the palace, I’d only seen Queen Celia one time. She rarely left her room, and was almost more of a myth than a living person. If she saw so much of the future that she’d lost track of the present, that explained much. It might also explain some of Ambrose Dullahan’s behavior, except…

“He didn’t seem unaware of his surroundings when I spoke with him,” I piped up. “And I certainly would have noticed if he were blind.”

Bael leaned over to me, speaking low. Though as the room was made up of mostly Fae, it hardly mattered. “Ambrose is only two hundred odd years old, little monster. Grandmother Celia was over one thousand when her visions reached that height. He’s likely not there yet.”

I pressed my mouth into a thin line. Bael had probably meant his comment to be helpful, but as with so much else he shared with me, it only sent my mind reeling. Never before had it occurred to me that magic might grow with age. Most of the Fae I knew personally were relatively young by their standards. How powerful would they be in one hundred years?

I supposed it didn’t matter. I was mortal, and wouldn’t be here to see it.

“Alright,” Cross spoke over the now whispering room, and raised a hand to call everyone’s attention back to him. “I’ve always thought it was near pointless to try to outrun a seer, and given this information, it’s best to just assume the Dullahan knows everything, which makes it all the more important that we have a strong plan in place if we’re to get everyone out alive.”

“If you’ve already determined that the rebels are busy ridding the capital of the Afflicted,” I said, trying to ignore the guilt that rose higher in my throat. “And we all agree that there’s no way to evade Ambrose Dullahan, can we return to the plan at hand?”

“You seem entirely too flippant about your own life,” Scion snapped, addressing me directly for the first time.

“He doesn’t want to kill me,” I said, my voice rising above the crowd again. “I mean, if that’s what you’re worried about…he didn’t seem that way when we spoke.”

“He doesn’t want to kill you,yet,” Bael muttered. “But if we wait too long to leave, I’m sure he’ll make a more direct threat.”

I nodded. That, I agreed with, but we weren’t talking about what might happen in several weeks, only how to leave the city.

I’d had a lot of time to mull over why Ambrose Dullahan might want me to join him, and there were only two options as far as I could tell.

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