Page 4 of Once the Skies Fade

The coin’s whirring filled the room as I contemplated my next move. I’d been in here several times since the rebels had lured us to that barn outside of town, and every time it was the same answer. Despite Lieke and Mrs. Bishop’s assertions that Mr. Marstens wouldn’t lie and could be trusted, I couldn’t ignore my intuition. After all, this male here had known where to take Lieke when she’d been sent away to her family years ago. At the time, Lieke had had no idea her family were the rebels behind the deadly attacks on the fae, but I wasn’t convinced this tavern owner was equally clueless.

The coin began to wobble unevenly under my hovering hand. My fingers twitched as if about to drop on top of it, but instead I reached up with my other hand, gripped the big male’s head, and slammed his face into the bar. He lurched back, his hands flying up to his nose. Blood seeped between his fingers as he growled.

“You broke my nose!”

I waved my hand dismissively. “Oh, calm down. It will heal soon enough.”

His nose made a satisfying crunch as he snapped it back into position. “And you wonder why the humans don’t trust the fae,” he muttered.

“Oh, but they trust you, Mr. Marstens,” I said, reaching over the bar and grabbing a glass and the nearest bottle. Unstopping it, I sniffed the contents and tried to hide my disgust at the cheapness of the liquor. Still, it would do. I poured a dram of thedeep amber swill and replaced the stopper before bringing the glass to my lips.

Mr. Marstens watched me defiantly, but when his eyes flicked briefly to Tanner, I tossed the contents in his face. He hissed in pain as the alcohol splashed into his eyes and bloodied nose. Gently, I set the glass back down and cleared my throat.

“Tell me where they went,” I said calmly. “Before I lose my patience.”

Pulling a towel from behind the bar, the demi-fae wiped his face, but instead of cleaning it, he only managed to smear blood across his cheek and down his chin.

I gestured to my own face and said, “You missed a spot.”

He showed absolutely no appreciation for my help, and threw the towel down onto the bar with another growl. “They had a camp, east of here in the?—”

“Woods. Yes, we know. We’ve been there. It was deserted long ago. Now, stop wasting my time, Mr. Marstens, before I have to drag you back to the palace for a more thorough interrogation.”

“That’s all I know,” he said, but his eye twitched ever so slightly as he spoke.

He was lying.

And I was tired.

I clicked my tongue at him. In a flash I had my dagger drawn, its tip at his throat before he could utter another word.

“Are you sure?” I asked, pressing the blade into his skin. “There isn’t something you might have forgotten? A little nugget of information you’ve misplaced in that thick skull of yours?”

He swallowed hard, wincing as the movement caused my dagger to bite into him, but still he said nothing.

Looking about the tavern, I addressed Tanner. “Would be a shame for this town to lose its only tavern, wouldn’t it?” On cue,my second produced a bundle of matches from his pocket and held them up for Mr. Marstens to see.

“You can’t threaten me,” the demi-fae said, a slight tremble in his otherwise confident voice.

I leaned forward slowly, pivoting my blade so that the long edge now lay across his throat. “I believe I just did. Now. Tell me what you know about the humans’ whereabouts, before I’m forced to spillmoreof your blood and order young Tanner to burn down your fine establishment here.”

Mr. Marstens’s glower hardened briefly before he relaxed and lifted his hands in defeat. “They’ve all left. Left Emeryn, I mean.”

“Recently? When did you last see them?”

“The last of them came through a couple weeks back and stopped to bring me this,” he said, gingerly reaching one hand into his pocket and retrieving a piece of paper.

I snatched it from his hand and noted the scrawled name on the outside.Lieke.

“Who left this?” I bit out as my stomach knotted uncomfortably. While it was possible Lieke had more remaining contacts from the years she spent training with her family, there were only two names I would recognize: one a friend, the other a traitor.

“Her Highness’s cousin, sir. Raven?”

Some of my tension eased, and an image of the young woman flashed in my mind. I’d only met her once and under less-than-ideal circumstances, but she had seemed trustworthy enough—at least, until she failed to come to the palace as Lieke had requested.

“And you haven’t bothered to send it on to the palace?” I asked.

“Haven’t had the time yet, and I didn’t want to send it by falcon.”

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