Page 104 of A Legacy of Poison and Lies

Across the lake, two grey shapes moved with feline grace, bodies tucked low to the snow.

Zylah held her breath as Rin and Kej made their way over, both of them already in their Fae form by the time they’d closed the last of the distance between them.

“We’re the first ones here,” Rin said, eyes flicking between Zylah and Holt. Kej was a step behind her, but as he approached, she held out an arm, urging him to stop. “Whatever you’re about to say, Kej, I’m begging you, to please shut the fuck up. I’m not prepared to carry you out of here.”

Kej’s smile was immediate, his arms clapping around Holt to give his friend a hug. “Congratulations. It’s about fucking time.” He glanced at Rin to wait for a reprimand that never came. “Zylah,” he added with a grin, but took a step back.

“Will someone explain to me what’s happening here,” Zylah asked, looking between her friends for an explanation. It was the first time she’d seen Kej since leaving to look for the key, the first time seeing him since she was no longer half Fae. “Why won’t you look at me?”

“Because newly mated males have been known to be a little… unpredictable,” Rin explained for her brother. “Congratulations, both of you.” She drew Zylah in for a tight hug, a small squeal of excitement leaving her at the same time.

They can scent the bond,Holt’s voice said in her thoughts, a hint of amusement in his tone.

The Fae part of her revelled in that fact, but the very small, human part of her that lingered couldn’t hide the flush of heat to her cheeks.Can all Fae do that, or just these two?

A quiet laugh.All.

“Unpredictable?” Zylah asked as Rin peeled away from her. She pressed a hand to her chest in mock offence, raising an eyebrow at Holt. “On my behalf? Never.”

“We’ve all seen precisely the lengths he’ll go to on your behalf, Zylah,” Kej said, his attention across the water. “But truly, we needed this good news. It’s a blessing.”

Zylah tried to stamp down the fear his statement pulled to the surface, a soft brush of affection from Holt accompanying it. She forced a quiet laugh, willing herself to sound lighter than she felt. “Careful, Kej, or I might think that carefully curated exterior is harbouring a sensitive soul underneath it all.”

Kej grinned back at her, looking her in the eye this time. “Never.”

A thrall’s cry carried across the water as if it had come from within the mine.

“We didn’t come across any patrols outside, but we think there’s around twenty thralls and two vampires down there,” Rin said in response to the sound that Zylah knew invoked more than enough bad memories for all of them. The roar of the water, the constant squeak of the pulleys and the splash of water being pumped into the lake were noisy enough to draw attention, but the area was deserted as far as Zylah could see in the darkness.

No patrols seemed unlikely, though, and from the look on Rin’s and Kej’s faces, they knew it too.

“How close were you able to get?” Holt asked, crouching down to inspect the water and running a hand cautiously across the surface. “They’re sorting the vanquicite inside. There’s only soil and rock being tipped from the carts.”

A swift nod of confirmation from Kej. “We followed the carts as far as the opening in the rockface but didn’t risk going in. We managed to get a message inside.”

“A message?” Zylah asked.

“There are members of the Black Veil down there, posing as slaves. They’re going to help us evacuate the mine before we bring it down.”

Zylah’s attention shifted back to the falls. “You’re going to flood it.”

“Fire and flood,” Kej said with far too much enthusiasm.

They followed him and his sister up the rise beside the lake, deep into the trees that bordered the Kerthen forest.

Destroying the mine was just the first step in dismantling everything Marcus had been working towards, and though it was a risk, Zylah understood Holt’s decision to begin here. Without the vanquicite, Marcus couldn’t forge more weapons for his monsters to wield, and any advantage was better than none.

When will the army get here?Zylah asked as the trees thickened around them.

Holt’s response was immediate.The scouts can evanesce several cohorts at once, but it takes them a while with so many of them.

That likely meant nothing would happen before dawn, and a shiver ran down her spine at the thought of stepping foot back into Kerthen.

We’re not going in entirely; this is only the perimeter.

It’s not Kerthen itself.She hadn’t told him before. But she didn’t want there to be secrets between them anymore, not any that could be helped, anyway.I made a bargain.

A hint of anger and worry travelled down the bond, but he was guarding it carefully. An owl cry carried through the trees before Holt could respond.

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