Page 81 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
I have travelled to Rhianelle’s homeland in Völundr, a place not only rich in culture and an opulence of natural resources but also of knowledge. The mystery that remains in my mind is, why the fuck was my wife left starving in the forest as a child, boiling rocks into potatoes?
“So you decided to come after all.”
I recognize that voice immediately. Rhianelle’s knight is clad in his usual black armor and red hooded cloak. He must be on duty tonight.
“Is he your friend?” Shade asks. His voice is suddenly closer than it was before. The guy is standing right next to me.
Red approaches us and answers for me. “I think I’m growing on him.”
He definitely is. Like a goddamn fungus.
“But I will still stake him without question if he hurts Rhianelle,” he adds, smiling brightly.
I exhale a long, hard breath and continue my walk in the company of two of the most insufferable bastards in the city. The gods must have damned me to this purgatory because I disappoint Nel this morning.
“Does your friend have a name?” Shade asks me again after we manage several steps. Sometimes I’m baffled by some of the childish things coming out of this grown-ass elf’s mouth.
“His name is…” I pause.
For the life of me… I do not know.
“Ask him yourself.” I brush him off.
Red narrows his eyes in suspicion. “Wait. You don’t know my name?”
“You can call him Red,” I mutter underneath my breath, irritation edging on my nerves.
“A nickname. The two of you truly are friends,” the assassin concludes, toying with a flower wreathe in his hand.
This fool…
“What is that?” I ask him, gesturing to the elegant garland of roses in his possession.
“Two girls asked me to give this to the queen,” the mercenary says simply.
“Her handmaidens? Tallula and Lenna?” I’m making an effort to remember Nel’s little circle.
“Yeah…” he drawls, handling the precious thing carelessly.
If this rose circlet is vital to complete her dress or whatever, then we need to get there as soon as possible. The night is important to Rhianelle. I take the flowers from him and hasten my pace.
“You know the girls’ names, but not mine?” Red sounds genuinely disappointed. “That is cold. Do you even have a heart?”
He should have checked that fact before he threatened to stake me earlier. But a sudden notion moves through me, pulling my steps to a stop.
My two companies also halt, whirling to look at me with their eyebrows raised. For several heartbeats, I just stand there staring back at them.
“If I ever betray her, it’s right here,” I say, giving them the specific direction to the space between the fourth and fifth left ribs. No matter which form I take, the weak point remains the same. “Make sure you have a sleek enough blade to go in between the bones.”
It’s complete insanity to reveal your weakness to your potential enemies, a skilled assassin, and an elite knight. But there might come a time when I need them to stop me from hurting Rhianelle. This regard for her wellbeing is not something I’ve felt for anyone before. Not even for myself.
Staking will not end me, but it can subdue me long enough to give them time to figure out their next move. This revelation is useless because Shade merely stares back with a bored look in his eyes. But understanding enters Red’s face. It gives me hope. The guy is first and foremost, loyal to Rhianelle.
“Duly noted,” the knight says casually.
He chatters ceaselessly with the assassin on our journey. His talk may seem harmless and empty, but I recognize the pointed queries. It’s his job as part of the Queen’s security. I ignore the two as I would an annoying housefly.
I think by the end of their conversation Red has likely concluded that something is definitely unnatural with Shade. The guy is as unreadable as a rock. He’s more like Rhianelle’s ginger stray who shares its brain with other strange orange cats. Today is just not his day to own a brain.
