Page 29 of The Light Falls
“I will,” he replies firmly. “Before I forget, I tattooed a rune on Meri last night to prevent her from sleepwalking. Just to make sure, I’ll continue to keep an eye out for her.” His lips curl.
Eyeing Rivan’s faint smile, I want to laugh. Looks like Meri’s charm is working perfectly.
“Good. One thing off my list. Took long enough.”
He winces. “We had a hiccup. Meri asked about the old rune behind her ear.”
Satisfaction sings in my veins.It’s about damn time.
Rivan continues, “She wasn’t happy to learn the sorceress limited her only power. Or my role in it. Thankfully, she chose to forgive me.” He points to me. “By the way, the rune is gone. She should gain full use of that power soon, along with the memory of how she gained it in the first place.”
Anticipation curls in my gut. It can’t come soon enough. “I’ll handle it.” I sigh. “Unfortunately, I haven’t been quite as successful as you. Unless Leandra decides to show up, we won’t find her.”
Both Rivan and Kaius scowl.
“The wily bitch made a deal with Evren that can’t be undone.” My teeth are clenched as I spit out the information. I’m not angry with Evren, but I hate the fact that Leandra found a loophole. “Finding her will have to go on the back burner for now.”
Rivan’s expression changes to confusion. “How does Evren know Leandra?”
When Lucifer asked for a list of the fastest flyers, Rivan was at the top of my list, and he jumped at the chance to leave his gilded prison for a few days. He met Evren and helped her save the world. Something very few people know. “She offered the amulet as payment to anyone who could bring her solid information on the Druids. Of course, Leandra took her up on it.”
“Maybe we can bait her into appearing,” Rivan murmurs, a calculated look on his face. “Is there something she wants? Besides Meri?”
“The dark Fae king’s head on a silver platter,” I say with a chuckle. “But for some reason, she needs Meri to get her revenge, and I’m not sure why.” A frustrated sigh slips. “It’s a puzzle I’ve been trying to solve for hundreds of years, with no luck.”
Frustration beats at me. It feels like the fucking answer is right in front of my face, but I’m blind to it, and that gives Leandra too much of an edge over us. She’s cunning and plays to win. My hands were tied by the pact I made to save Meri’s life, but those restraints are gone. I’m more than capable of taking her down if she would just show herself.
“One more thing,” Kaius interrupts my train of thought. “Lord Camon. I passed by him last night when I was taking Solandis out on a date, and the strangest look appeared on his face. As if he knew me. Can you find out if there is any connection between Kaius and Camon? I need to know in case he approaches me.”
Lord Camon. What would a half demon, half Fae have in common with the High Fae of Spring? The intrigue of such a pairing has my gut singing.
“I’ll look into it.”
Rivan glances around. “I’ll find us a better place to meet next time.”
Although I nod my head in agreement, I can’t help but think fortune favored this location. A hilt with a ruby the size of a chicken egg winks at me from the corner. “Why don’t you go first? Then Kaius. I want to check in with Meri before I leave.”
Rivan eases the door open and disappears.
Kaius gives me a knowing look. “Don’t take all of it.” He steps into the shadows and is gone.
With a half-smile, I slip the short sword into my coat, then turn toward the item in the back that has been calling to me since I arrived. I hover my hand over the pile of weapons, but their energy is cold. Quietly shifting them out of the way, I continue to dig until it appears. Practically pulsing with life, the carved brown box whispers to me.
Holding my palm over it, I pick up a benign power. Neither good nor bad, the power simply exists, waiting for someone to use it. I inch the lid up to peer inside. Two golden scarabs sit side-by-side. One with diamonds for eyes, the second with onyx. Interesting. But why is it calling to me? Sliding the box into my pocket, I slip into the shadows.
* * *
In a tailoredlightweight cream wool dress, Meri is the epitome of a queen. Stylish, poised, and elegant from her chignon to the tips of her peep toe pumps. My eyes trace every curve and line of her body. Her confidence is growing. It’s in the way she carries herself… chin up, shoulders back, more purpose in her stride.
With a casualness I don’t feel, I prop myself up against the wall. “You look good in those clothes. Way better than the rags you used to wear.” I push the words out, keeping to the role I adopted long ago. “Off to do your queenly duties?”
She swivels around with a small ball of magic in her hand. When she sees it’s me, she holds it for a solid minute before slowly extinguishing it. Normally, there would be a smirk on her face at the thought of reducing me to ash, but it’s strangely absent.
“Cormal,” she says with an irritated sigh. “I’ve got a luncheon to go to in five minutes. What do you want?”
Curious about the reason for her mood, I decide to probe a bit. “Did you get the rune?”
A soft smile crosses her face. “I did. Rivan did a beautiful job. I’d show it to you, but I’m already dressed.”
