by JD Monroe
Aktil simply puffed air through his nose. When the elevator eased to a halt, he gestured for Erevan to go ahead of him. Two large men waited in the hall. Erevan would have bet money that their oversized coats concealed guns in holsters across their backs. For the first time, a hint of nerves tickled his belly. He might find the upper limit of Thosrin’s regard for him today.
Until now he’d been almost certain Thosrin didn’t know what Beale was doing. She would never stand for such a thing. Yet she’d refused to share Beale’s information, and this was a far cry from her usual warm welcome over lunch.
He squared his shoulders as one of the large men approached him. “Arms up,” he said gruffly. Erevan complied, and the larger man patted him down. Never mind that he could take his dragon form and bite the man in half. He kept quiet and let the man give him a first-class groping. When he was satisfied, the man stood and said, “Come on.”
Erevan followed the two men down the quiet hallway. Like most of the hotel, it was minimally decorated with pale gray walls and dark carpeting. At the end of the hall was a large sitting area with a reception desk. Lilya was at the desk, leaning over to chat with the receptionist. As they approached, Lilya looked up. She gave him a strange look and knocked on the double doors to the office. A moment later, she opened the door and gestured to Erevan. He raised his eyebrows, but her face was unreadable. Her loyalty to Thosrin was unwavering.
If Loft 19 was the Crow Queen’s palace, the lush office was her throne room, with a high-backed leather chair as her regal throne. As usual, she wore a tailored black dress that accentuated her figure. Spiked silver earrings dangled from her ears, long and thin enough to double as stilettos. She stood as Erevan entered the room, her expression guarded. “Erevan. Your presence is…unexpected. Have a seat.”
At her command, he sank into the comfortable chair across from her desk. Still standing, she stared down at him. Finally, he said, “I want to talk about the healer you’ve been using.”
Thosrin raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t come here to dance with you, Thosrin.” She raised her eyebrows at the familiar address. “The healer you mentioned, Beale? He’s using blood magic to heal. Derived from the blood of my people.”
Her mask slipped, and her amber eyes widened. “Blood magic?”
“I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise,” he said. “No offense, but Edra healing magic isn’t that powerful.”
She scowled. “And what do you know of Edra magic?”
“Does it involve this?” He took his phone out and brought up the pictures Ruana had sent him. “Feel free to swipe through. I’ve got nothing to hide.” It turned his stomach, because it was easy to picture himself or Ruana strapped to one of those tables with their blood draining into a bag.
She picked up the phone, then swiped cautiously. Her face fell as she proceeded through the album. When she was finished, she handed him the phone and sat heavily in her chair. “What the hell is this, Erevan?”
“That’s how your new pet healer does his work.”
“He’s not my pet.” The steel had melted out of her tone, leaving her shaken. “I had no idea.”
“But you admit that you used his services?”
“Yes. I assume Lilya told you.”
He swallowed hard. “I did some hunting on my own. She had nothing to do with it.”
“You’re a terrible liar with no compulsion to back it up,” Thosrin said. She reached for her phone.
“Please don’t punish her. I pressured her.” His phone buzzed, but he ignored the insistent vibration.
“No, you didn’t. She has an inexplicable soft spot for you. Completely unrelated to seeing you naked, I’m sure.” She withdrew her hand and rolled her eyes. “I’ll have a talk with her about discretion, but I won’t punish her. If you keep this from your queen.”
“I can’t promise that,” Erevan said. “I came here to get your help finding Beale and his accomplices. I believe they have more of my kind imprisoned, but I don’t know where.” His phone vibrated again. “Excuse me.” He pulled it out to see a text from Ruana.
Ruana: call me right now, it’s important
He glanced up at Thosrin. “This is important. I’m sorry.”
She gestured. “By all means.”
He punched the phone to call Ruana back. As soon as she answered, he said, “Kadirai hanaare, eia ko tohrani.” Speak in Kadirai, I’m not alone.
She continued in Kadirai. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” he said. Thosrin narrowed her eyes as he spoke. Though he spoke passable Edra, he knew Thosrin didn’t speak Kadirai beyond a few basic phrases. “What’s wrong?”
“Two things. Rosak heard about all of this, and he’s pissed. I’ve been avoiding him, but we’re going to have to meet with him before he raises hell.”
“Shit,” Erevan muttered. “Stall him. I may have answers when I get back.”
“Hurry. We also found Beale. We scoured the facility and found a copy of the building lease. Beale is actually Connor Bellamy, and he has a beautiful home in Asheville. Or he did. Someone beat us here. The house is burned to the foundation, and we found Beale hiding in a crawl space.”
“Alive or dead?” Thosrin’s head tilted like she’d caught a word.
“Alive. Barely. This place reeks of dragon, and something else. It smells like you did when I found you yesterday.”
“Were they covering their tracks?”
“Looks that way. The smoke is still thick, so I can’t be sure if it was lightning or fire that got it going, but either way, it wasn’t a normal fire. It was definitely from one of us.”
If Beale was connected to the dragon who’d attacked Natalie in her house, then maybe he was covering his tracks now. They had to move fast, before he erased the last of his trail.
Ruana continued. “We’re taking him back to Skyward Rest to let the Marashti work on him. If he lives, we can get information out of him. We confirmed he’s human, so it’ll be easy enough.”
“Good. I’ll be back soon.”
“Be careful.”
Erevan hung up. “Let’s make a deal.” The game had changed, but he knew exactly how Thosrin could help now.
“I’m listening.” The Crow Queen’s expression of shocked contrition was gone, leaving a neutral mask.
“We know where Beale lived. A dragon just scorched his house to the ground and almost killed him.”
“Then this is bigger than Beale, and someone’s cleaning up their mess. If they’re smart, they’ll cut their losses and disappear.”
A chill ran down Erevan’s spine. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Thosrin was more than a shrewd businesswoman with good taste in clothes. She commanded the respect—and fear—of every Edra in the area for good reason. “If we don’t follow up on this now, we’re going to lose the trail.”
“How can I help?”
“Can you send a few of your people to follow any trail they can pick up? Split them between Beale’s facility and his house. Follow the leads and report back if they find anything. Focus on a Kadirai trail if you find one,” he said. “Your chances of picking up something are better than mine.”
Thosrin nodded. “If I do this for you, you must ensure that when this gets to Valella, it is very clear that I had nothing to do with it, and that I have been thoroughly cooperative.”
“You have my word.” He leaned across the desk and offered his hand.
The woman grasped it, squeezing hard. For a moment, her expression softened. “You must believe me. Our people have had our differences, but I would never knowingly allow this abomination. You and your queen have my word that I will conduct a thorough investigation on the other healers in our employ and ensure that none of them are engaging in similar practices. We will police our own.”
“Thank you,” he said. He covered her hand with his. “Thank you for seeing me.”
“You’ve never given me a reason to distrust you. I ho
pe that will not change.” She released his hand and pressed a button on her desk phone. “Gena, send Lilya in.”
A moment later, Lilya sauntered into the room. Though she wore a bland smile as she approached Thosrin, her eyes were slightly wider than was natural for someone who had nothing to hide. He could smell the fear on her. She had made it halfway across the office when Thosrin put her hand up. “I know you told him about Beale.”
Lilya gaped. “Your Eminence, I—"
“Close your mouth before you make a bigger mess. We will discuss it later,” Thosrin said. “Right now, I need you to summon the Flock. Make it fast and keep it quiet.”
Twenty minutes later, Thosrin’s Flock was dispatched. The Flock consisted of a dozen of Thosrin’s strongest bird shifters. While the Crow Queen had powerful predators like tigers and panthers to protect her, a tiger couldn’t stalk the streets of Asheville tracking its prey. On the other hand, an assortment of hunting birds like hawks, eagles, and even a handful of crows, might draw passing interest but would cause little stir as they followed a trail. At her queen’s command, Lilya stripped out of her business clothing, transformed into a great brown hawk, and took to the sky from Thosrin’s balcony.
He left Loft 19 with a promise of frequent updates. What he hadn’t wanted to tell the Crow Queen was that Valella would not be assuaged by Erevan’s word alone. When she found out about Beale, she might take out her anger on Thosrin because she was the closest target.
Erevan was contemplative on the drive back through town. Ruana had volunteered to bring Natalie some clothes, but she had little at Skyward Rest herself, since she lived in the city like he did. He made a detour to stop at the hotel where she’d slept the other night. Using a charming smile and a touch of compulsion, he convinced the desk clerk to give him a key card to Natalie’s room. He swept everything into her duffel bag and hauled it back to his car. As he deposited it in the trunk, he imagined the pleased smile on her face.
It was early afternoon by the time Erevan made it back to Skyward Rest. If he didn’t know what was going on, he’d never have guessed anything was amiss. The entire compound was draped in orange and yellow festival silks, and quiet music played from one of the courtyards, drifting on the gentle, cool breeze.
He texted Ruana when he arrived and arranged to meet her outside the infirmary. She emerged, looking exhausted. Soot streaked across her pretty face. “You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she replied. “I’m tired and I smell like burnt human.”
He gripped her shoulders and kissed her forehead lightly. For a moment, she leaned against him, holding his upper arms. “You do kind of smell.”
She pulled away, giving him a weak smile. “I didn’t tell the healers who he was. We need him whole to answer questions, and I don’t want them to half-ass it because of what he did.”
“Good call.” It was a good thing Ruana had been the one to handle things. He wouldn’t have had the composure to bring Beale in alive. He’d felt his body ripping itself apart. That was hard to forgive.
Ruana gestured to the bag in his left hand. “Going somewhere?”
“It’s Natalie’s,” he said. “I thought she might want her things.”
“Look at you, being thoughtful.”
“Shut up.”
“You wouldn’t even split your breakfast with me.”
“That was one time, and you take way more than your share of bacon.”
She shrugged. “You want to please a woman, ask for double bacon.” She smiled, this time a genuine expression. Her hand slipped around his waist for a gentle hug. “That’s very kind of you, Erevan Skyblaze. I’m proud of you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Do you know where she is?”
“Sohan was working with her at the training center,” Ruana said. “He’s got a wild hair up his ass about something.”
“Great. What about Rosak?”
Ruana blanched. “We should probably deal with that sooner rather than later.”
He sighed. “Then let’s go.”
He and Ruana were quiet as they walked down the narrow stone corridor to the Tempest wing. Located directly below the throne room, the sprawling wing included roomy barracks for its agents, a high-tech command center, and individual offices for each agent. It was a major upgrade from the small, dated office the Skywatch kept in the city. The Tempest included the Queen’s elite bodyguards, as well as the inner circle of agents who investigated and handled more serious crimes involving the Kadirai.
The last time Erevan had been into the wing was to speak with Rosak’s lieutenant, Adhi, for an interview. Walking down the hallway made him feel inadequate and out of place.
In the command center, security monitors showed video surveillance of the entire compound, as well as the Gate a few miles away. This was one of the few parts of Skyward Rest that was completely modern. A few well-placed cameras could do the work of a dozen guards on patrol, and the Queen spared no expense. They bypassed the command center and headed for Rosak’s office in the administrative suite.
Ruana hesitated, then tapped on the polished wooden door.
“Come in,” Rosak ordered.
Erevan took a deep breath and followed Ruana into the office. The room was a melding of modern technology with the carved stone and traditional décor of the Kadirai. Rosak sat at a large desk with a laptop in front of him. His cold stare never left Erevan as they walked into the room.
There were no extra chairs in the office, leaving them to stand as he stared up at them. Despite being seated, Rosak filled the room and dominated it with his presence. He glared in silence for a long stretch, until Erevan felt the urge to talk like an itch in the back of his throat.
“Sir, I’m sorry,” Ruana finally said. “We should have let you know what was going on as soon as we got back.”
Rosak raised an eyebrow. “As soon as you got back with Skyblaze half comatose? After you let our suspects escape? You should have called me before going into that shithole.”
“Sir, we were only trying to get some answers,” Erevan started. “We were—"
“That’s not your job. If my people had gone in, we’d have taken Beale and his staff alive,” Rosak interrupted.
“Doubtful,” Erevan said.
“What did you say?”
Anger burst to life in Erevan. “I said it’s doubtful. They have a Raspolin weapon.”
Rosak scowled. “Keep that name off your tongue.”
“Fine. They have a weapon that would have hurt you the same way it did me,” Erevan said. “Sohan says it’s Raspolin.”
“I don’t give a shit what Sohan says,” Rosak said. “You are to keep this quiet. My team will take over the investigation from here. I want your files on my desk before sunset.”
Erevan jutted out his jaw. “I have sources following up leads.”
“I’ll take over,” Rosak said.
“No.”
The other man’s eyes went wide. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.” Erevan’s mouth was bone-dry as he spoke. Maybe this was what it felt like to destroy his own ambitions. “I have Edra sources. Am I supposed to pretend you didn’t insult the Crow Queen? It took us two years of kissing her ass before she’d even grant me a face-to-face meeting because of you.” He’d never gotten a factual version of the story, but the way Lilya told it, Rosak had taken umbrage to Thosrin’s refusal to let him search the hotel for a rogue Wanderer. Having worked with Thosrin and her people, Erevan doubted that it was entirely one-sided. Either way, it ended with Rosak dragging Thosrin and half a dozen of her staff back to Skyward Rest like prisoners. Even after Queen Valella apologized, the Crow Queen wanted nothing to do with Skyward Rest or its envoys for years.
Rosak’s nostrils flared. “You’re walking a thin line.”
“I’ll give you all my information. You can take the credit,” Erevan said. “This started because one of my Wanderers went missing, and I don’t care who finds her as long as she gets ho
me safe. But please, let me deal with the Edra. The Crow Queen is helping us, and she may feel much less helpful if you show up at her door.”
The other man rubbed his jaw. “Fine. You report directly to me when you hear something from her. And until I know more, you tell no one about this without my approval.”
“Fine. Are we done?”
“Get out,” Rosak said.
His limbs were hot and shaky with anger as he stormed out of Rosak’s office. Ruana waited until they’d gotten out to the central courtyard to speak. “You could have handled that more diplomatically,” she said mildly.
“You think?” Erevan growled in frustration. “He cares about kissing the queen’s ass, not about our people.”
“That’s not fair,” Ruana said. “And he’s not wrong. This isn’t our job. I know you’re invested now, but this is what Rosak does. They have resources we don’t.”
He sighed heavily. She was right, and he hated it. “I’m going to make sure Sohan isn’t terrorizing Natalie. I’ll call you later.”
Still seething, Erevan headed to the training center at the edge of the compound. After peeking upstairs and finding only a handful of Kadirai training with swords, he walked around the ring to the lower level. The bottom floor was seated in the soil and stone, giving it a natural resistance to magic. Runes and symbols were carved into the walls and even the foundations, granting it power. This was where they trained their elemental abilities without fear of destroying the palace or the surrounding forest.
He placed his hand on the security panel outside the door to alert the occupants of the training room. The room’s protective warding muffled all sound, so he couldn’t be sure if they heard. He kept his hand on the panel until the door released a hissing noise and slid open.
Teliv, one of the queen’s palace guards, answered. Sweat poured down his brow. His forearm was blistered and red. “Are you here to replace me?” he asked in Kadirai.
“Um,” Erevan said. “I came to check on Natalie.”
Teliv breathed a sigh of relief. He pointed into the room. “I think she’s fine.”
