“There, all better,” Layala said as she finished bandaging a cut on the girl’s arm, trying to keep her eyes from following Thane as he walked away. The girl said she scraped it when her mother and sister ran out of the city. They’d been hiding in the Lanvore Woods. She was six with a missing front tooth that made her cuter.
The child beamed. “It doesn’t even hurt anymore. What did you put on it?”
“It’s a special tree leaf in the balm. It should be all better by tomorrow.”
“Thanks.” She hopped up off the log and ran to her mother. The mother nodded her thanks. Layala stood and stared after Thane. Why did she want to go chasing after him? He forced a kiss on her… but she’d done the same bloody thing to him. Her head was still whirling with how much she enjoyed his lips on hers. Before Thane, she hadn’t kissed anyone since Novak and never wanted to. What came over her? What was still over her? Her pulse quickened watching him leave. Her traitorous body ached to be near him again, tangled in his arms against the trunk of a tree.
Fennan strutted over with a confident swagger. His black skin was clean of the dirt and blood of battle and his curly hair bounced with his steps. He dipped into a shallow bow and smiled. “The High King requests your company.”
“Requests or demands?”
“When it comes from Thane, they are one and the same, aren’t they?”
Too true. Layala groaned but it was more for show than anything. She couldn’t deny her desire to go with him. She turned to Piper who wrapped a small boy’s hand. “I’m going with Thane and Fennan. Keep an eye on Tif will you? She’s still hiding over by the horses.” After Fennan and Layala fought off the pale ones, Tif wouldn’t come out of her hiding spot in Layala’s bag. And she probably wouldn’t come out until it was night, and she could go unseen.
Piper nodded. “Poor thing was scared before. Now she’s downright terrified a pale one is going to get her.”
Walking beside Fennan, they passed soldiers herding groups of civilians. “Please, we’re asking everyone to gather in one spot so we can help,” one soldier said. Most of the elves complied without complaint. A few looked worried but moved from their spots and followed the soldiers. It made sense to have them all in one area rather than scattered throughout the camp.
“Are these all the people without homes?” There had to be several hundred wounded, but more and more elves came in groups from the city or walked back from the north when they evacuated the day prior.
“Some,” Fennan answered. “Many of them are waiting for us to tell them it’s safe to go back inside the walls. We’re running patrols to make sure that every last pale one is gone and none are hiding.” Those walls hadn’t done them much good in keeping out pale ones. They had to be at least ten feet tall but the walls to the south must have been battered down.
“Is that what we’re going to do?”
“We’ll see when we get there.”
“You mean we’re going into the city?”
Fennan nodded. The smoke still seared her senses, and carried the sickening odor of burning flesh. Curious that Thane wanted her to go with him when the city had to be more dangerous than out here. After walking around tents and through more groups of displaced elves they found Thane patting Phantom’s neck. He was saddled and ready to go for a ride. Layala left Midnight tied to a tree next to Piper’s and Fennan’s horses at the north end. “Should I have brought my horse?” Layala asked and ran her hand over the smooth coat of Phantom’s hip.
Thane shrugged, put his foot in the stirrup and pulled himself up with ease. She was a little envious that he was tall enough to do that without assistance. He stared at the city and his shoulders sagged a little. He’d never looked so… defeated before.
One of the horse keepers led over a roan mare. He was young, maybe fifteen at most with smooth pale skin and beautiful warm brown curls. “I only readied the two horses. I can go find Midnight if you wish. It will only take me about a half-hour.”
Layala shifted looking north where she left Midnight. It took at least twenty minutes to walk there.
“I don’t want to wait. One of you can ride with me.” Thane grew a smirk. “You two can fight over who gets the honor.”
She glanced at Fennan, who said, “As much as I want to squeeze that hunky body, and feel all those muscles, sire, I’ll let the lady.”
The horse keeper laughed, handing Fennan the reins to the other horse. Thane cracked a smile. “How kind of you to relent such an opportunity, Fen.”
She didn’t know if he truly didn’t want to wait or if he just wanted to be close to her again. More nervous than ever before, Layala grasped Thane’s hand and his touch sent a pleasurable trill pooling in her middle.
“Front or back?” he asked without his usual snark. “Although I think I can already guess.”
Never one to be predictable, she said, “Front.”
His eyebrow ticked up, but he stayed silent as he pulled her up and she settled in front of him. She was hyperaware of his body pressed against her this time. His thighs straddled hers, his solid armored core a wall against her back. He closed his arms around her to grab onto the reins. Layala’s breaths became uneven, and she closed her eyes for a moment; a memory flashed to his arms around her hours before. Again, the warmness bloomed in her. Maker, her body suddenly reveled in being close to him, touching him. She blamed the mate magic.
He cleared his throat and his voice vibrated against her when he said, “Just so you’re aware, you’re going to see a lot of dead bodies.”
They rode through the opening in the wall around Doonafell, met by an eerie silence, devoid of the bustle a city should have. Only the light crackling of dying fires made a sound. It smelled worse the further they rode along the streets. Heavy smoke burned her throat, mixed with the sulfuric odor of the rotting pale ones. She put a hand to her mouth and nose for a moment suppressing a gag. Buildings smoldered in piles of ashes. Bodies scattered, some burnt black, some stained with blood. Others looked as if they might sit up at any moment, if it weren’t for the pallor of death to their skin. A small boy of maybe three lay next to an adult male she assumed was his father, both with their eyes wide in an endless stare. Her throat constricted and she turned away, trying to stop the threatening tears.
“I’m sorry you have to see this,” Thane said. Soldiers led a horse-drawn wagon. None of them spoke as they stopped and picked up a body, tossing it in. They weren’t uncaring in the way they handled the male, but it wasn’t the manner a loved one would pick him up and set him inside. “I didn’t want to leave you back at camp in case…” he trailed off.
“In case what?”
“Fennan and I are worried that some of the citizens have been bitten and are hiding it. I’ve seen it before in other towns. The pale ones usually take the bitten with them to add to their forces, but I want you close to me.”
She felt queasy before but now she was downright nauseous. “That was why you put them in one area.” She stared at the body of a pale one. Its head was three feet away from the body. “But if someone turns, they could easily kill those close by.”
“And if they’re separated, they can run wild throughout the camp and kill. At least if they’re in one place we’ll know they’ve turned right away and can end it. I have my soldiers watching closely. They should be able to see the signs early. Their hair will start to change first.” He adjusted himself in the saddle a little, moving even closer it seemed. “Sorry my leg was falling asleep.”
“Is it because of me?” Layala tried to scoot forward but there was no room. She tried to adjust herself another way without much success in gaining space.
He lightly cleared his throat. “No, but rubbing against me is helping.”
Layala scoffed, twisted around, and smacked his shoulder. “Don’t be disgusting.”
“I was kidding,” he said with a smile. “You don’t have to do anything to turn me on.”
Her jaw dropped. “We’re surrounded by the freshly dead and you’re making wildly inappropriate jokes.”
Fennan laughed. “Wildly inappropriate jokes are how we are able to keep our sanity in the midst of all this.”
“Don’t encourage him.”
“I don’t need encouragement,” Thane said and slid his hand around her waist until his palm was flat on her belly. “You seemed a little off balance. I don’t want you to fall.”
“I’m not off balance,” she shot back but didn’t push his hand away. She let his touch linger and tried not to think about the fact that she liked it. “I’m not clumsy.”
“Certainly not. You’re quite agile and capable.”
Was that a genuine compliment? “Thank you.”
“Qualities I’m sure I’ll enjoy on our wedding night. The way you move with a sword in your hands—”
Layala smacked him on the shoulder again, harder this time. “Ha, our wedding night would be a cold, Layalaless bed for you. Your hand would be your only company.”
“Ouch,” Fennan coughed and then couldn’t recover and laughed so hard she thought he was going to fall out of his saddle.
“And besides, talk about what happens in a wedding bed for most couples isn’t appropriate in front of a lady.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, is talk about me and my hand appropriate? Are balls in the vocabulary of a lady? How about prick? Bastard?”
“Your balls are in danger right now.”
“Fine, dearest, I’ll keep my fantasies to myself.”
“Maker above, please do.”
Fennan kept it going, “You got some strange fantasies if it involves your lady with a sword in bed.”
“What if I meant a different kind of sword?”
Layala rolled her eyes. “Ugh males. There will be a sword involved if you try anything.”
“First of all, I wouldn’t try anything unless you wanted me to.” He leaned a little closer to her ear. “But it would be intriguing to see you with only a weapon.”
Layala tried not to smile as she shook her head in disbelief—disbelief that she was actually entertained by this banter. “I’m sure it would be, but you never will, except in your imagination.”
“I doubt that. Like I said, one day you’ll love me. Then you can tell me about all the ways you’ve imagined me… Against a wall, in a field of wildflowers, my bed.”
“I’ve imagined you in a grave. Does that turn you on?”
Fennan laughed again. Thane hugged her tighter. “That was before—I know your fantasies are different now.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’ve never been more certain about anything.”
She swallowed hard and turned around; with their faces so close she fought the urge to kiss him again. “Maybe you should focus on the task at hand.”
He lifted his arm to a square. “I will, on my honor. No more dirty talk involving swords.”
“Good.”
“For at least the next hour, possibly two.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
They entered the section of the city that hadn’t been touched by fire. There were a few people wandering the square stoned streets, wide eyed and shocked expressions as if they’d just come out of their homes. “We’ll start checking buildings,” Thane said. “I want them all cleared before we tell the people it’s safe.” He dismounted and Layala slid off after him. Here the homes were close together, only about ten feet in between each. Most were made of beige brick and looked almost identical. The doors were painted various colors, the only distinguishing feature from another.
Fennan peeked in the window of the first building, and said, “I can’t see anything. It’s too dark.”
Thane slammed his fist on the door. When no one answered, he tugged a sword loose from his back and shoved the door inward. “Hello?” he called looking side to side and stepped in. Layala gripped her sword handle, heart beating faster with the anticipation of what could be hiding inside. She followed and Fennan trailed behind her. Everything looked to be in place. They cleared the living room, Layala peeked in the kitchen; pots and pans hung in the center. An ordinary black wood stove was on the left, a sink full of dishes beside it.
Thane and Fennan had gone down a hallway and came back. “It’s clear.”
They continued down the street checking each home. One had a family hiding in the backroom, but the others had been empty. It was almost dark, and they’d gone through several streets with the aid of other soldiers and some male elves who volunteered to help, and it appeared that the pale ones were indeed gone. And if any of the people were going to change, they’d be showing signs by then.
“One more and then we can head back to camp,” Thane said, stepping inside what appeared to be a pub. Layala’s boot crunched over broken glass when she walked in.
Round tables dominated the room. Some were overturned. A few chairs lay broken and splintered. It smelled of spirits; cracked bottles dripped over the bar top.
“Either they were in a hurry to get out, or there was a struggle here.” Layala high stepped over a chair that had its legs snapped off.
“My money is on a struggle,” Fennan said.
Thane led the way through a back door that opened into a kitchen. Layala peeked around Thane. Food was scattered all over the floor, pots and pans too. There didn’t appear to be anyone in sight. She turned to her left and placed her hand on the door handle. It was probably a closet. When she tugged it open a shriek pierced her ears and white hands came out of the dark and took her to the ground. Layala screamed as the pale one’s heavy weight pinned her down, his teeth snapping at her face. The smell of his breath almost made her gag. She barely held him off her, arms aching as she pushed him back. Her magic curled from her fingers, vines wrapped around the pale one’s neck and choked him until he stopped moving. Layala scrambled to her feet, shaking, to find Fennan on his back, on top of a table stabbing the pale one hovering over him in the gut. Thane fought two; his sword slashed across the chest of one and lopped off the head of the other. It all happened in a matter of seconds.
Magic humming, Layala frantically looked for more. Four pale ones hid in that closet. When it looked safe, she stared at them dead on the ground. One wore a dress, the other three had on tunics and pants. These had been patrons.
Thane touched her arm. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” But she shuddered. “You?”
He smiled and they both turned to Fennan who brushed a towel over his armor chest piece. “Got some blood on me. We were lucky that this was the only place with pale ones.”
Thane picked up a bottle from behind the bar and popped the cork. “Let’s hope when we get back to camp that is also the case.” He took a drink and then scrunched his face. “Damn that’s strong.”
Fennan hurried out. “Well give it here then.” His face soured when he took a drink. “You weren’t lying.”
Layala held out her hand. “I’ll be the judge of that. You two are used to wine, aren’t you?” After spending many nights drinking the men from Briar Hollow under the table, she expected this wouldn’t be a challenge.
“I’ll give you a ruby if you can drink that without making a face,” Fennan said, shoving it into her palm.
“You hear that? Your guard is offering to give me jewelry.” Layala arched an eyebrow at Thane.
He gave her a feline smile. “If you can accomplish the challenge, which I highly doubt.”
The smell of it pierced her nose before she even touched the bottle to her lips. She braced herself and the bitterness rolled over her tongue, and burned like fire down her throat. She tried to hold her face steady but shook her head and hissed. “Good Maker, what is this? Troll piss?”
Thane and Fennan laughed. “Perfect description,” Thane said. Then he took the bottle from her hands. “Now good little she-elves don’t drink vile stuff like this.”
Layala rolled her eyes. “Neither do wise High Kings. We’d all be flat on our asses with a few more drinks of that.”
“Thane wasn’t joking about your filthy language.” Fennan folded his arms. “Piss, asses… Did you really call him a bastard and a prick? I’ve never heard any maiden talk like you. Not even Piper.”
“Have you ever met a she-elf raised by a human woman who likes to drink and gamble, or one who grew up in a training yard with human men?”
“Nope.”
“I can mold to my surroundings. I was nice enough at the festival. Don’t worry I won’t embarrass you two in front of polite company.”
“And what sort of company are we?” Thane asked, sounding slightly offended.
She smiled. “The kind I hope accepts me for… me. Not as a savior or the Lightbringer or anything else. Just Layala.”
Thane put an arm around the back of her neck, and pulled her closer to his side. Fennan gave her a fist tap on the shoulder with a big grin. They didn’t have to say anything for her to know that despite everything, they were friends.
