Seared

by Bethany Adams

  Fen peered at him, eyes narrowing. “If?”

  “You’re rejoining the group. You’ll undo—”

  “Kien will kill me on sight.”

  “Then I suggest you find a way to ingratiate yourself. Because if he doesn’t kill you, the king certainly will.” Vek scowled down at Fen. “Now, come on. I’ll help you until you can feed enough to restore your energy. Then you will fix what you have wrought.”

  Chapter 7

  When Ralan darted past Inona’s shield and into the alley, he found Delbin slumped against the wall. He’d taken off his shirt and shoved it against his side, but his abdomen was streaked with blood. Inona knelt beside him, digging through her backpack. Aside from the three of them, a dumpster, and the occasional skittering mouse, the alley was empty. The shield Inona had cast diverted the passing humans’ attention.

  “It’s just a graze,” Delbin said in greeting.

  Ralan cursed as he saw the blood seeping through the shirt. “Like hell it is.”

  None of the possible futures he’d checked had led to this. Maybe if he hadn’t been distracted with Cora, he would have seen the shift. Or his gift was still blocked by Megelien.

  Hardly better.

  “Take me to the carnival,” Delbin said. During his exile, Delbin had spent a great deal of time traveling with fairs. “Grunge can stitch it up.”

  Inona stood, a length of bandage in her hands. “This is spelled to stop the bleeding temporarily, but you’ll have to see an actual healer. Lial can restore you to full health.”

  “But—”

  “You have to be at your best, Delbin,” Ralan interjected. He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “What happened? I felt your pain through our link, but I had no vision of this. It wasn’t one of the strands.”

  Inona’s jaw clenched as she bent close to Delbin with the bandage. “I managed to lead Patrick into the alley, and Delbin was about to take control of him with telepathy. Then someone else showed up.”

  “Victor.” Wincing, Delbin lifted the T-shirt from his wound. “He’s been working on his mental abilities.”

  Blood gushed from the slash across his student’s side, and Ralan’s stomach roiled. But Inona appeared unaffected, wrapping the bandage around her lover’s waist without comment. He hadn’t considered himself squeamish, but he had to avert his eyes before he lost his free hotel breakfast.

  “Did he hit you with a mental blast?” he asked.

  Though pale and tense, Delbin nodded. “I wiped Victor’s memory when we carried Kien from the cave, but it must not have worked. He was tough to control. Or somebody warned him.”

  Ralan’s teeth ground together at the reminder of Kien’s near-capture. Delbin and Inona had found his brother’s cavern hideout and disrupted his poisoning spell. They’d incapacitated the guards and forced Kien to leave with them. But his brother had found a way to escape. Of course, if Ralan’s Sight had been working properly, he’d have killed Kien a month ago.

  “How were you injured?”

  “Victor attacked Inona, and I interceded.” Delbin’s expression turned sheepish. “Unfortunately, I’m not much of a fighter.”

  Inona turned a scowl on Delbin. “I could’ve taken them both if I hadn’t had to worry about you. I am a warrior.”

  His student winced again. “Yeah, I know. Sorry.”

  “It’s my fault,” Ralan said. “I should’ve monitored the strands better.”

  “Does it matter?” Delbin held his gaze. “You see the future, but you don’t make it. Give yourself a break. It was my choice to be an idiot.”

  Ralan grimaced at the reminder. Lyr had once told him something similar, but it didn’t make failure any easier. What good was being able to see the future if he couldn’t change it for the better? But he hadn’t been able to stop Kien from stealing Kenaren. He hadn’t been able to stop his father’s rejection. And he couldn’t keep his friends safe.

  “Let’s head back to Cora’s shop,” he decided. “If you have enough energy to glamour yourself a shirt so we don’t startle the humans.”

  “I can manage.”

  Inona frowned. “Milord, shouldn’t we return to Moranaia?”

  Ralan shook his head. “If there’s a local healer, that would be faster. With Patrick on the loose, I’d rather not leave Cora unguarded.”

  “She’s tough,” Delbin said. “But I’m sure she’ll help us.”

  Once Delbin had made himself presentable, they shuffled down the alley and into the street. Though the bandage had stopped the bleeding, his student still moved slowly. Ralan tried not to worry as Delbin grew increasingly pale, but there wasn’t much he could do. Nothing but hope his instinct to return to Cora was a good one.

  Cora struggled not to fidget with impatience as her customer twisted the purse around in her hands and frowned at it. It was the fourth one the woman had examined, but none of them had been right. The first two had been the wrong color. This one didn’t have a cell phone pocket, and the zipper wasn’t easy to open.

  The zipper wasn’t easy to open?

  Cora almost groaned when the lady placed the purse back on the shelf. Curse it all, she wanted to know what had happened to Delbin. Would they even come back here? If they’d captured the guy they’d been looking for, they might not. But Ralan had caught her interest. She should’ve gone with them. Then she wouldn’t be stuck wondering while her customer examined every purse in the shop.

  “Is there a certain color you’re trying to match?” she asked, careful to keep the impatience out of her tone.

  The woman’s shoulders slumped. “The dress is a summer floral. I knew I should have worn it, but it’s hideous against this.” She held up her brightly patterned bag. “Maybe I should go with something neutral.”

  Cora sorted through her stock. She thought she had… Yes, here. She held up a cream and brown purse from the bottom shelf. “How about this? It’s not as cheerful as the one you have, but it’s a great neutral. Plenty of pockets, and there’s an inside phone sleeve.”

  “Let me see.”

  As the customer inspected the compartments, Cora ducked back behind the counter. She could tell from her expression that the woman would go with her choice, but she was the type who’d have to examine others first. Sure enough, the lady set the bag beside her and took a brown purse down to look inside.

  Cora fought the urge to tap her fingers against the counter. Where were they? Maybe she should call Maddy from the back and go looking for Ralan and the others. What if they needed help? She was about to push away from the counter when the customer started toward the counter, brown and beige purse in tow.

  Yep. Called it.

  She’d just handed the lady her receipt when the front door opened. Delbin stumbled in, his face pale and haggard, followed by Inona and then Ralan. The customer’s steps hitched as she passed them, then sped up markedly. By the time Cora had rushed around the counter, the lady was gone.

  “You look like hell,” Cora said when she reached Delbin. She stretched out her hand to steady him when he wavered, only to shiver at the cool feel of magic surrounding him. “And that’s with a glamour. Why don’t you go ahead to the stock room?”

  Inona slipped her shoulder under Delbin’s arm. Abruptly, he released the glamour, and Cora gasped at the sight of his bloody, bandaged chest. She gestured toward the back room and slipped the lock closed on the shop door. Then she stuck a Be Back Soon sign on the glass so she could follow.

  They’d barely made it to the counter, so she hurried ahead and opened the stock room door. “Maddy! Counting shoes can wait. We have a problem.”

  Her friend stuck her head around the edge of a shelf. “What’s wrong?”

  “Delbin’s hurt.” She hesitated. They couldn’t take him to a human hospital without risking his elven blood being discovered, and there weren’t any other healers around. Still, she braced herself to seek another solution. “Do you think you can help?”

  Maddy’s mouth thinned into a
line, but she nodded. Cora hadn’t been certain she would. Ever since she’d almost killed someone with a healing spell gone awry, Maddy had avoided much beyond basic training. She’d tried taking nursing classes so she would understand physiology better, but she’d ended up dropping out. Nothing had overcome the memory of the experience.

  “He might just need stitches,” Cora offered.

  “We’ll see,” Maddy answered, then ducked back behind the shelf.

  Cora waved Delbin over to the small desk that held her computer. As Inona helped him into a seat, Ralan met Cora’s eyes. “Is your friend a healer?”

  “Of a sort,” she answered. “How bad is it?”

  Ralan shoved his fingers through his hair. “A gash, but it looks like nothing major was hit.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Delbin quipped. “I’m rather fond of my skin.”

  He was joking at a time like this? Cora’s brows quirked, and he winked at her. But she could see the strain beneath the forced humor. “Sounds like you’ll live.”

  Inona shot her an annoyed glance and bent to examine the bandage. Cora grimaced. If she’d hoped to be friends with Delbin’s new love, she was rapidly blowing all chances. Little did Inona know that he’d become too much of a brother-figure for Cora to want to date.

  She opened her mouth to explain but closed it at the sight of Maddy rounding the shelf. Her friend was so pale her freckles stood out like embers against her ivory skin, but her chin lifted with resolve as she took in the scene. Though her steps faltered when she saw Delbin’s blood-smeared chest, she reached his side in short order.

  “I could cauterize the wound if you don’t think you—” Cora began.

  Maddy interrupted with a frown. “I will handle this. On my honor.”

  Cora sighed. Honor was well and good, but the Sidhe transformed it into an art. “The offer stands if you change your mind.”

  “I really hope you don’t change your mind,” Delbin said.

  Unexpectedly, Maddy chuckled. “I won’t. Let me grab a chair while your girlfriend removes the bandage.”

  Inona looked taken aback by the accurate guess, but Cora didn’t even blink. Maddy had an uncanny ability to pick up on such nuances.

  “Let me get it,” Cora said.

  Cora slid a chair from the other side of the desk and settled it beside Delbin. Maddy mumbled a “thanks” before turning her attention to her patient. No one spoke, all focus on the bandage Inona slowly unwound. When the deep gash was finally revealed, Cora couldn’t hold back a gasp.

  She glanced away before her stomach revolted. Why had she been dumb enough to look? She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Good thing Maddy hadn’t backed out. Cora would’ve had to view the wound to cauterize it.

  A warm hand gripped her shoulder, and she shivered. Knowing without words who it would be, she opened her eyes to meet Ralan’s. “I’m okay.”

  “You don’t seem the squeamish type,” he said softly.

  “I’m not.” At his raised brow, she gave a low chuckle. “At least I didn’t think I was.”

  He scanned her body so intensely she wondered if he had the power to see through clothing. Not a skill she’d ever heard of, but the world was full of variety. Maybe he was secretly Superman. “What?”

  “I could find a way to distract you.”

  Cora snorted. “You really have watched too many movies.”

  “Oh, hell, would you two stop it?” Maddy grumbled. “This is hard enough as it is.”

  Her face growing hot, Cora spun away from Ralan. “Sorry.”

  The prince chuckled, but he backed off, leaning a shoulder against a shelf and crossing his arms with a smirk. Cora sighed and focused on Delbin and Maddy. But not the wound. She didn’t need to see the flesh knit back together to know her friend was at work. A low hum filled the room, and then pale green light surrounded Maddy’s hand and Delbin’s side.

  After a moment, her friend jerked away, her chest heaving with each breath. Only then did Cora rush forward to wrap her arm around Maddy’s shoulders. Cora risked a glance at Delbin and relaxed to see the wound gone, not even a scar left behind.

  “You did it,” Cora said, squeezing her friend’s shoulder. “See?”

  Maddy’s breath hissed out. “The spell almost reversed again. What is wrong with me?”

  “Hey—”

  “Don’t,” her friend snapped. Then she paused to take a deep breath. “Sorry. I’ll talk to Dad about it later. Just… I’m going to go count shoe inventory again, okay?”

  Cora studied her friend for a moment before nodding. “Fine. But if you need to talk, I’m here.”

  Maddy nodded. “I know.”

  Regret stabbed at Cora’s heart as she watched her friend dart away. But what choice had she had? No other healers were close enough to help on such short notice, and traveling to another dimension with an injury would have been time-consuming if not dangerous. Poor Maddy. Hopefully, Cora wouldn’t have to ask for her help again.

  Delbin frowned in the direction Maddy had fled. “She didn’t give me the chance to thank her.”

  “I’ll tell her,” Cora said. “She’s a bit sensitive.”

  He didn’t ask what Maddy had meant about the spell almost reversing. Had he sensed that the magic had almost gone wrong? If he had, he was kind enough not to say so in her friend’s hearing. Cora gave him a grateful smile and gestured toward the door to the shop.

  “It seems you need a shirt.”

  Delbin glanced down at his chest and chuckled. “Looks like it.”

  “Come on, then. You’re definitely in the right place.

  Ralan stared after Cora as she followed the others out of the room. Damn, he wanted to get to know her better. But should he? All paths led to a painful death for him, so nothing good could come of a relationship between them. Then she tossed a teasing glance over her shoulder, and all bets were off.

  He’d tell her. If she could accept their short time together, maybe—

  “Dude,” Maddy said as she peeked around the shelf at him. “If you hesitate, you’re an idiot.”

  His brows rose, and he did a quick check of his shields. But she hadn’t invaded his mind. “Perceptive.”

  She snorted. “It’s not like you’re subtle.”

  With a laugh, he shoved himself away from the shelf and started after the others. Maddy was right. Couldn’t the futures shift? Then Ralan halted in the doorway as a new thought hit. Was the vision of his death any more accurate than anything else these days? Reoccurring dreams like the vision of his death always came true. Always. But the strands had never led him astray before, either, not the way they had been since he’d returned to Moranaia.

  Cora looked up from a T-shirt display and caught his gaze. “Everything okay?”

  Was it? He smiled slowly. Maybe it would be. Maybe it was time to stop waiting for the future—and create it.

  Ralan nodded. “It will be.”

  Chapter 8

  Ralan dropped into the overstuffed chair beside his bed and let his head fall back. They’d spent hours searching downtown Chattanooga for any sign of Patrick and his friend, but the two had disappeared in the time it had taken to heal Delbin. What a waste of effort. Ralan’s feet ached, and he was exhausted from trying to use his talents for so long.

  They’d followed at least ten strands that could’ve led to Kien’s servants, but the futures had always deviated just enough. In the end, the only image that had filled Ralan’s Sight was the inside of a cavern. And when he’d sent the picture to Delbin, he’d found out that it wasn’t even the same damn cave that Delbin and Inona had found Kien in before.

  Too bad he couldn’t See the strand where all three of them traveled to the cavern. That would’ve been an easy trail to follow, but no. Either the possibilities were too infinite for a clear picture or they wouldn’t find this particular place. Ralan let out a sigh and acknowledged one more possibility—his Sight could still be messed up.

  So much for
creating the future.

  Well, he’d lived without his talent as a seer before. Except for the dreams he’d been unable to stop, Ralan had forgone his Sight for more than three hundred years. At least consciously. He’d slipped back into relying upon it more quickly than he would have expected, so perhaps part of him had never stopped tapping into his gift. Could he ever truly function without it?

  There was only one way to find out.

  Ralan pushed himself to his feet and strode to the bed to find his backpack. His jaw clenched as he dug inside until he found the small vial hidden in a side pocket. Kien’s blood, provided by Delbin and Inona after their failed capture attempt. Blood magic always held risk, so he’d been loath to use it.

  Now it might be the only way—but not yet.

  He placed the vial back in its slot and pulled out a small mirror instead. After he checked with Lyr to see how Eri was behaving, he would talk to Delbin about another idea he’d had. If Delbin could reestablish himself with the carnival, he might be able to trace information through the groups of fae who hid on Earth. No risky magic involved.

  Ralan settled in the chair again and bent over the mirror in his lap. With a surge of magic, he activated the link to the other mirror on Moranaia. If his calculations were correct, it would be rather late there, but Lyr often stayed up working. Then again, now that he was bonded to Meli, he might not be at his desk. A frown creased Ralan’s brow, but the mirror flared to life before he could worry about it.

  As the image stabilized, Lyr turned in his chair to face the mirror. “Ralan. I was about to seek my bed.”

  “Sorry,” Ralan said automatically, though he was too tired to feel much remorse. “I’ve just now had a break to check on Eri.”

  “She has been suspiciously well-behaved. I haven’t had word of a single prophecy.”

  Ralan chuckled. “I’m glad she’s keeping her promise.”

  “You look terrible,” Lyr said without hesitation. “Has something happened?”

  Ralan provided Lyr a quick rundown of all that had occurred. Well, except that he’d invited Cora to dinner. Some things he preferred to keep to himself. “So far, that’s it. I’m going to see about getting Delbin rehired at the carnival. Maybe Kien will try to approach him again.”