Page 31 of Midnight Kingdom

I heal much faster than they do, especially Cambion. The elf is far from the light of the realms, and his powers are negatively affected by the darkness of The Veil. I, on the other hand, would give my left nut to stay here. And for a man of my sexual prowess, that’s saying something.

“How far could they have gone?” Dragan asks for the hundredth time since we walked out the front door. My irritation is beyond rational at this point.

“Who the fuck knows?” I answer. I’m not sure we should have even left to go after them. Not when we’re in the shape we are. And not when we have no fucking clue where they are. Yes, Noni left us a map and she circled the Echoing Spire but no one has ever been there and I have no idea how difficult it will be to find.

All I do know is that the three of us couldn’t stand waiting around the cottage, all the while wondering where the hell Eilish and Pyre were and if they needed help. After about an hour of doing just that, we decided to come after them, our health be damned.

“Pyre’s going to get an earful when we find them,” Dragan says. “They should have waited and taken us with them. They could have used the extra manpower.”

“Look at us,” I respond. “You both can barely move and I’m not much better.”

Dragan isn’t given the chance to respond when two small figures run right into my legs, nearly knocking me on my ass.

A stream of colorful curses fall from Flumph’s lips. “MOTHER BITCH TITS! You fuckers won’t believe what the ever livin’ hell is goin’ on in the Unseelie Kingdom!” Then he looks pointedly at Cambion. “That batshit crazy brother o’ yours is stirrin’ up some trouble.”

I shove Flumph away from me and the fucking thing flies right up to my face and grabs either of my ears, looking me dead in the eye. I want to punch him.

“Flumph, get your dirty fingers off me, you little shit!”

He seems to remember who the fuck he’s speaking to and releases me with a little yelp. Noni, however, seems entirely immune to my intimidation as she tugs lightly on my sleeve to get my attention.

“Mr. Flumph be right. Noni go to see Unseelie Court, and we find the pretty fae lady and the satyr. He real big and strong, but they make him bow to them.”

“What?” Cambion asks. He plucks heroff the ground. “You saw Kolvar and Aima?”

“Yes, Noni see Kolvar and Aima.”

Cambion shakes his head. “Pyre was supposed to rescue them.”

“Fae lady never sent word,” Noni responds. “Master believe she had everything under control.”

“Well, she don’t!” Flumph shouts. “Them Unseelie talkin’ bout executin’ Aima an’ the goat! I damn near shit myself! Theren went on ‘boutsoulfire. Noni say it’s somethin’ bout nothin’ an’ I don’t know what the fucks that mean.”

I ignore anyone who annoys me. So, that means I ignore Flumph as always, moving closer to Noni where she sits in Cambion’s hand. Her ears twitch as she shivers nervously. “Noni, can you take Dragan and me back to the Unseelie Kingdom?”

Cambion shoots me a fierce glare. But, again, I ignore anyone who annoys me.

“Yes, Mr. Vampire. Noni can take you.”

“We’re wasting time, Revenant. Theren won’t kill his lover,” the elf says.

“He turned his back on his own kin,” I respond with a glare. I don’t appreciate him arguing with me. “That means Theren doesn’t give a rat’s ass what happens to anyone else.”

“You can’t be certain,” he counters. “Theren could have killed Aima the moment he found out she betrayed him, but he didn’t.”

“That’s true,” Dragan says.

Cambion nods. “I don’t think we understand everything that’s going on here. We need to find Eilish before we do anything—”

“Look,” I interrupt. “I want to find her just as much as you do. Probably more so.”

“Not more so,” Dragan interrupts.

I ignore him and continue addressing the elf. “I don’t like the thought of her out there. But I know Pyre, and I trust that he wouldn’t have asked her to take him to the Spire if he didn’t think she could handle it.”

“Since when are you so trusting?” Cambion asks.

All right. That’s it.

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