Page 68 of The Rowan's Stone
Worried, I glance up at him. His mouth is compressed into a straight line, and he’s wearing his thinking face. Straightening my shirt, he escorts me back to my sleeping bag and waits while I get in it, then he lies down behind me. A second later, Valerian drops down in front of me, sandwiching me between the two. Astor and Daire have first watch, while Cormal sits with his back to a tree, watching everyone and everything.
It’s still dark when we rise. We walk all morning and finally come into a village about noon, but there isn’t a castle in sight. After stopping to get food and drinks, we quickly head out into the forest again. When we stop that night, I’m exhausted.
We’re deep into the forest, but we still don’t light a fire. I study Cormal, trying to understand what makes a man choose to be king of the supernatural criminals. Was he born into it? Did he fight his way to the top?
Cormal’s staring at his phone. “Don’t you have enough men catering to you?” he asks snidely, his piercing blue eyes coming up to meet mine.
“I’m curious about you, but not in that way,” I reply, amused by his arrogance. “Meri mentioned you the last time we spoke.”
He sits up straight. “When did you last see her?” His voice is deadly as he asks, and Theron and Daire step closer. “She was supposed to meet me two days ago, and I haven’t heard from her. It’s not like her. If she tells me she’s going to meet me, she does or she sends a text, and she’s not answering any of my messages.”
“She went to find a book,” I recall from our last conversation. “And maybe her honor.” My voice is bitter when I throw it out.
Quick as lightning, he wraps a hand around my neck and picks me up from the ground. Equally fast, Theron lays his sword on Cormal’s neck and Daire grips his wrist. They order him to let me go, but he ignores them.
Feeling his hand tighten around my neck, I smile.
“Let me go, or you’ll be of little use to any woman, or man, in the future,” I demand, flipping my wrist sideways.
He looks down and finds my Killian blade against his dick. Laughing, he tilts his head and drops me. “Touché, little bird.” He leans into my face. “But if you speak badly about Meri again, I’ll kill you.”
“Meri betrayed me,” I retort curtly. “Instead of being a true friend, she’s been spying on me since we met.”
“Explain,” he demands, then listens intently while I walk through everything. “Damn it, what is she doing?” Pacing around the camp, he mutters to himself for a minute. “I won’t give up Meri’s background, but if you caught her in the act, she meant for you to find out. She’s been taught by the best of the worst, and she can’t afford to fail. Failure results in extreme punishment, and letting you discover her is tantamount to failure. Fuck.” He shoots off a few texts. “Do you have any idea where she was going to get the book?”
“No, but I might have someone who can help search for her,” I volunteer.
He tenses. “Who?”
“Callyx Karth, my brother,” I tell him. “Him and Meri text regularly. I’ll send him a message.” Picking up my phone, I send Callyx a text, letting him know Meri is missing. I also tell him to proceed with caution because she’s been spying on me.
“Callyx Karth. Hmm…you get more interesting by the minute,” he comments in a mocking tone.
Theron gives me a pointed look. I get his silent message. It’s not good to be interesting to a man like Cormal.
My phone pings. “Callyx says he’s on it,” I inform Cormal. “He’ll text when he has any leads.”
I watch Cormal dip his chin in acknowledgement and go sit against the tree. I’m guessing he won’t sleep at all while he’s traveling with us.
Lying down on my sleeping bag, I watch the stars and think about his words. Could Meri have been doing me a favor? Truth and lies, she said. Which is it?
We rise early and start our final trek. Astor is traveling beside me today. “Why couldn’t we portal to the village?” I ask him tiredly.
“Each kingdom has alerts set to monitor any portals. If they detect visitors from other races, they usually intercede. It’s why Valerian had to alert the council when we visited his land and why Fallon opened the portal to his kingdom,” he explains.
“Interesting,” I mutter. I never realized it, since Vargas or Solandis usually created the respective portals to Underworld and Fae, but I guess it makes sense. “Does that mean we’ll need to trek back out of here too?”
“Cormal’s using someone from his network, a villager, to create a portal to get us back,” Astor murmurs. “We should start seeing the castle soon.”
After walking another ten minutes, a large, crumbling grey castle comes into view. It used to be magnificent, with several turrets and a moat, but it’s been a ruin for a long time now, as evident by the lack of a roof and a few walls.
When we walk into the village, we’re met with sullen stares. Unlike the last village we entered, these people seem defeated and the village is run down, with several homes and shops in complete ruin, much like the castle.
Theron and Cormal walk over to talk to a man and woman standing by the well.
After a minute, the woman comes up to me and grabs my hand. She pulls a medallion from her dress and shows it to me. It matches the one Glynnis and the elder from the light Elven village were wearing. Her eyes dart around as if expecting to be caught, but no one approaches us.
“Theron.” I barely finish saying his name before he’s beside me. “She’s wearing the medallion.” I smile at the woman.
