Page 66 of The Light Falls
Arden smirks. “I know. I missed. On purpose.”
Fallon strides toward me, full of fury. “What the hell? I thought you said it was secure. If we hadn’t thought to bring back-up, we would have been in serious trouble.”
Kaius comes to stand next to me. “Only the three of us knew the location and time.” He points to Solandis, himself, and me. “Had to be on your end.”
“What about Meri?” Arden asks, wrapping her arm around Solandis’ waist.
“We were going to secure the weapons first, then give her a second location and time to share with Camon,” I inform her, shaking my head. “The whole thing reeks. Extra weapons. A small army. Check things out on your end.”
Theron’s lip compress. “We will. I don’t like the idea of someone spying on us in our own home, and I want to rule it out as soon as possible.”
Kaius winks at Solandis.
She pulls back her arm and creates a huge portal directly into the weapons depot at the palace. “We’ll store them here.”
We quickly work to get the crates inside while Arden stands watch. Once the last one is in, I create a wall of shadows to hide them. “Nobody will even know they’re here.”
“Clever,” Fallon remarks. He turns to the cadre. “Home?”
Arden hugs Solandis tightly. “Most of us don’t get a second chance.” She gives her a pointed look, then walks over to Kaius. “I miss your face, old man. And sparring with you. Come for a visit soon and bring Solandis.” She wraps him in a fierce hug.
She turns to me and holds her hand to my side. Healing energy knits the wound back together instantly. “Give Meri a hug from me. I’ve been trying to stay away to let them patch things up.” She uses her head to indicate Solandis and Kaius. “If you need us, call.”
Moments later, they’re gone. I glance at my watch. We’re later than we thought by at least an hour. The delegation should be leaving right about now.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
MERI
Not wanting to miss the delegation’s departure, I quickly change into proper clothes, and leave a note for Cormal to let him know I’ll be back soon.
When Ansel and I get to the room, they’re all standing together. Lorn, Faris, and Estrella. Camon is giving them last-minute instructions. Ten guards enter and fan out beside them.
Lorn gives me a determined look, then enters the portal with Faris.
Estrella walks slowly into the portal. I frown, wondering what’s wrong when I see the slight limp in her left leg.
The guards follow her. Rivan looks back when he enters and meets my eyes. Then he’s gone too.
I turn to Camon. “Sorry, I don’t have any information on the delivery. Hopefully, I will have the info soon. I did have a chance to look at your proposal. I think we need to tackle slavery first. One right with a huge impact. Everything else is a moot point unless we establish their right to freedom. Plus, we’ll need the army to reinforce it. What do you think?”
His bright green eyes blink. “You’re right. I was trying to do too much at once. I’ll draft up a new proposal that focuses solely on their right to be free.”
“Thanks,” I murmur.
He turns to leave but stops in the doorway. “I heard you ordered Keir to give the Lesser Fae in the palace a wage. Is that true?”
“It is,” I reply firmly. “Why?”
“Watch your back. There are more aristocratic Fae fighting to keep the status quo than there are to change it,” he remarks quietly before leaving.
* * *
Cormal,Solandis, and Kaius walk into the room minutes after I return, reeking of magic and sweat. Cormal walks over, drags me into his arms, and kisses the hell out of me. “We were ambushed. Thankfully, Fallon brought back-up. The enemy wasn’t prepared to face all of us. Once the leader was hit, the rest fled. We brought the weapons to the palace and hid them.”
The blood soaking his shirt has me scrambling to see how bad he’s hit, but he stops me. “Arden healed me. For some reason, my spell isn’t working very quickly here.”
I pull out of his arms and head to Solandis to give her a hug. She squeezes me twice. “One is from Arden.” She drops into a nearby chair and takes a long drink of water. “Thankfully, Fallon thought to bring the entire cadre with him, including Arden.” She pauses. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The six of them alone can take out a small army. No wonder they fit so well together. They’re all fierce warriors.”
