Page 88 of Fate and Flame
“I’ve got to get the serum to the rebellion, Nadra. I have to go.”
“You could come shopping with me if you want,” Wren offered. “I’ve got some things I need to get for the compound.”
“Sweet baby boggarts, I haven’t shopped in so long, I think I forgot how,” Nadra answered.
Rhogan rubbed his hands together. “I heard the giant is training today. We should go check that out.”
“A lot of fae will be down there,” Wren warned. “He always draws a crowd. Especially if Ara joins in.”
Nadra’s eyes lit from within. She had crossed the world to be reunited with her friend. I only hoped she wasn’t disappointed. The female I met in the north was vicious, and there wasn’t an ounce of kindness to her.
Later, Rhogan and I entered the repair shop just as we had before, but this time it was empty. I shifted the weight of the bag on my shoulder and pushed through the door in the back of the store. The chairs were full of fae and Murtad stood at the front of the room.
“At least he buttoned his shirt this time,” Rhogan murmured.
We stood at the back of the full room. A few curious heads turned to see the massive male standing beside me, but for the most part, Murtad held the attention of the crowd like he was offering them deliverance. We waited until he was done with his sugar-coated sermon. The rebels rose from their seats and several familiar faces moved toward me.
I felt my heart leap as Iva’s beaming smile approached.“You made it out,” I said. “Both of you?”
“Yes. Roe’s with Oravan and his family right over there.” She pointed and my eyes followed until I eyed a large group of northern fae in the crowd.
“I’ll catch up with you soon,” I told her. “Don’t let them leave, Rhogan.”
He moved to block the door, expanding his enormous wings until there was no way around him.
“What’s this?” Murtad asked, picking invisible lent from his unbuttoned shirt.
“It’s time to weed out the traitors from the rest of the rebellion. I’m sure the Weaver told you why we’ve come.”
“She mentioned it.” He shrugged.
“About what Nadra said yesterday—”
He shook his head. “I’ve heard it before. Things aren’t the same down here as they are in the north.”
“But if you choose not to fight with King Fenlas, they will be.”
“That’s why I’ve asked you to come today. I already sent word that we would join the south, but I won’t be offering frontline rebels.”
“I think that’s our decision to make,” I balked.
“Not everyone is meant for battle, Temir,” he said casually as he stepped away from me and toward Rhogan at the door.
“How the fuck did that guy become the leader of the rebellion?” I asked Roe as I made my way back to them.
He reached up to clap me on the back. “You’ll get used to him.”
Voices rose across the crowd and I was instantly moving toward Rhogan at the door. “You cannot keep us trapped in here like criminals,” a male centaur shouted.
“Actually, he can.” Murtad stepped forward, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’ve called you all here today because the king has asked us to join him in the war against the northern king, and we will. But first, we need to know who is loyal to this rebellion. Fenlas had a traitor in his own inner circle. There’s no reason to believe we don’t as well. I’d be interested to find out who let that fucking harpy in here a month ago.”
I lifted the bag from my shoulder and set it on a table in the back. Iva and Roe joined me as we laid out the unbreakable vials I’d gotten from the glassmaker before leaving the Marsh Court.
“It’s a quick and simple process. You there.” I pointed toward a short fae in the crowd with a long neck and feathers covering half his skin. “Would you be willing to volunteer, so I can demonstrate?”
He pulled his head down to his chest and stepped bravely forward.“I will be the first.”
I lifted a small vial with blue liquid and handed it to him. His hands were steady as he took the vial and drank. The crowd watched, but no one moved or said a single word.
