I stare at her, feeling sick to my stomach. She betrayed me, I think. This is the woman who fed information about Verity to the Bloodbane. In a way, Navi caused all of this. Navi told the Bloodbane Verity was here. Navi brought them to my house.
My eyes narrow as I stare at her. She’s thinner now, I wonder vaguely if she’s eating properly. “We’re evacuating the city,” I say with no emotion.
Navi’s eyes widen. “It’s come to that?”
“It has,” I murmur. “I’m letting you go.”
“Letting me go?” She echoes quietly. “I can help you. I can fight.”
“No,” I snap. “Absolutely not. I want you on the ships to Stellium.”
Navi presses closer to the bars. “Altair, I’m the best fighter we have. I’m not some weak Fae woman or child in need of rescuing.”
“That’s not why I’m sending you.” I cut her off, glaring. “They will need someone to protect them; someone to lead them. Do that, and I may forgive you.”
The metal keys in my hand jangle as I thrust the key into the lock of her cell. It screeches loudly as I pull it open, the cold of the metal seeping into my palm. Navi stands in the open doorway, her eyes glistening with tears.
“Altair,” she whispers.
I hold up a hand, silencing her as I feel a wave of anger and confusion. “Why?” I ask. “Why did you do it?”
She smiles sadly. “Sometimes we do stupid things for love.”
I don’t answer as she steps around me wordlessly. She straightens her back, ever the soldier. Without another word or backward glance, Navi is gone. I listen to her footsteps echo up the staircase, trying desperately not to slam my fist against the stone walls. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I wait for a moment until I feel my chest relax before turning back to the stairs.
In the darkness behind me I hear cackling. I turn towards the Bloodbane witch, Cleo, with narrowed eyes. I see her eyes glimmering in the faint light. “She was devastated to betray you,” she says.
I approach slowly and her face comes into view. Cleo is smiling broadly in the dark. I stoop low, bending over her with a sneer. “Must you always dig the knife in a little deeper?” I snarl.
She flashes her teeth at me. “Sensitive, aren’t you?”
“Angry is a better word,” I say, eyes flashing.
Cleo looks at me thoughtfully. “You saw her, didn’t you? Your mortal?”
“In red, with Sadal,” I growl. My stomach drops as my thoughts flash back to that moment. My bones aches, as if they’re still broken despite being fully healed only yesterday.
“Don’t be angry with her,” Cleo murmurs. “The cloak doesn’t mean she betrayed you.”
“How do you know?” I ask bitingly, imaging Sadal draping it around her shoulders.
Cleo turns away. “Sadal has a way of taking what he wants.”
I wait for her to speak more, but Cleo is silent. She slips back into the shadows and kneels in the corner, eyes turned away. I spin and head back towards the stairs. Cleo’s words echo in my mind and I wonder if she’s telling the truth. I wonder if Verity has been trapped by Sadal.
I slam my fist into the wall, fury overwhelming me. It doesn’t matter if she’s complicit or not. Verity is mine, she vowed to bind her life with mine, not Sadal. Whatever it takes, I will get her back. And when I do, I’ll find my Verity again. I’ll help her find herself. And together, we’ll rebuild Alnembra.
My knuckles are bleeding, throbbing with pain. But I feel renewed vigor, new hope with thoughts of Verity. I close my eyes, picturing her in my mind. I think of a day before she broke the curse, when she spent her days with me under the guise of Acubens. I remember her with a smile on her face, laughing loudly while a book tumbled out of her lap. She shoved me playfully and it felt like electricity.
She looked nothing like that woman I got to know. She looked afraid, thin, and sorrowful. If I leave her with Sadal, I know she’ll wither away slowly and eventually be nothing more than a husk of herself.
I open the door and step out in the sunny hall of the main floor. Servants bustle through the halls, looks of fear on their faces. I watch as they ignore me, hurrying towards the main doors where my carriages are waiting to ferry them to the harbors. I feel my heart swell with determination in my chest as I watch my people run. We won’t run forever. And someday, I will have Verity by my side again. In a week, in a year, maybe even in fifty years when she has aged as all mortals must. But I will have her again.
Chapter 9
Verity
The war camp has moved closer to Altair’s palace. Every day, the Bloodbane pack their tents and soar above the marching demonic army towards Desmarais. The moon is high overhead now, waning, and casting a dim shadow over the hastily erected camp. We’re closer than ever now, but I can’t yet see Altair’s castle in the distance. I’m grateful for that.
I huddle under the heavy blankets of my bed, listening to the Bloodbane whisper through the heavy linen walls of the tent. Their quiet now, the jubilee of their first victory against the Fae is old now. Behind their quiet murmuring I can sense their anticipation of taking Desmarais, the greatest city in the Fae kingdoms.
My stomach churns at the thought of the Bloodbane soaring into the beautiful harbor, striking down fleeing Fae with their poisonous arrows. There are children in that city. I slip a hand beneath my pillow, to the dagger that I keep hidden there. Lately, Sadal hasn’t made an appearance in front
