Cheyenne watched their interactions with a small frown. Nobody wants to come right out and say it. Whatever it is.
Corian shook his head. “We’ve been Earthside a long time, Persh’al.”
“You said you’ve had reports.”
“I have eyes back home, sure, but not enough to see everything.” The Nightstalker’s nose twitched into the beginning of a snarl as he glared at the fallen spires. “And I only know one person who’d be able to sniff out the truth behind this.”
Lumil scoffed. “Well, good thing we know where she is. Oh, that’s right. We don’t.”
“True.” Corian turned toward Cheyenne and fixed her with his glowing silver eyes. “But Cheyenne does.”
“What?”
“You know where to find Maleshi Hi’et?” Lumil folded her arms and grinned despite the dark frown wrinkling her turquoise brow.
The halfling glanced at the goblin woman and the Nightstalker. “Not on a Sunday.”
Persh’al chuckled softly.
“Cheyenne, we need to find her.” Corian stepped toward the halfling and dipped his chin to look at her beneath the furry tufts of his brows. “She’s the only magical I know who has the skill to track the origin of this new portal without us having to make a crossing back to Ambar’ogúl.” He glanced quickly over his shoulder at the crumbled stone. “Which I’m even more hesitant to do after the last ten minutes.”
The halfling swallowed, pursing her lips and trying to keep her composure. “Are you serious?”
“I can’t imagine I’ve given you the impression that I’m overly fond of joking, kid.”
“You think—” She laughed sharply before she shook her head. “No way. Mattie won’t want to have anything to do with this, I know that much. She almost stopped talking to me because I asked questions about the FRoE.”
“Ugh.” Lumil rolled her eyes.
“Who the fuck is Mattie?” Byrd cocked his head, one giant gauged ear flopping onto his shoulder.
Corian’s head turned toward the goblin man, but his gaze didn’t leave Cheyenne’s. “Maleshi took a new name for herself.”
“Say what?”
The Nightstalker ignored him. “Listen, Cheyenne. I don’t want to run the risk of letting this portal open again. If I had to take a guess, I’d say whatever comes out of it next time will be a lot worse than what all five of us almost couldn’t put back in. You want that kinda weight on your shoulders?”
“Don’t talk about it like it’s my fault,” the halfling snapped.
“It’s not your fault, but doing nothing will be your fault. I have a feeling you understand that very well.”
Cheyenne scowled at him. He doesn’t know about Ember. “Mattie’s my friend, okay? She made it perfectly clear she left all this crazy shit behind her when she crossed over and that she doesn’t want anything to do with it anymore.”
“She might think that’s what she wants.” Corian pointed at the border ridge. “But if we tell her what’s happening, I know she’ll change her mind.”
Folding her arms, the halfling tilted her head and frowned at him. “How do you know that?”
The smile he gave her was tight and bitter. “Just a feeling.”
Byrd sniggered. “Yeah, you guys had plenty of feelings once upon a time, didn’t you?”
Lumil slapped him on the back of the head and shot him a disgusted look as she shook her head. “Really?”
The Nightstalker ignored them both. “I’m asking you for a favor, Cheyenne. Please. Tell us where she is.”
Cheyenne bit her lip. “I can’t. I don’t know where she lives.”
“But you know how to find out, don’t you?”
“Oh, no.” She shook her head a little and returned his bitter, humorless smile. “No, I’m not sitting down at a computer to find out where she lives. Especially not so you can knock down her door and force her to help you with this...whatever this portal’s doing.”
“Ha.” Lumil shook her head. “Nobody forces Maleshi Hi’et to do anything, kid. I’m surprised you haven’t figured that one out by now. If you really are friends with her.”
The halfling spared the goblin woman a quick glance. “I’m not gonna spy on her and dig up her personal information so people she wants nothing to do with can find her. She hasn’t reached out to any of you, and if you haven’t found her on your own, I’d say that’s a pretty clear sign she doesn’t want anyone to find her.”
“Except for you.”
Cheyenne turned to see Persh’al regarding her with raised eyebrows. “That’s different.”
“Yeah? She told you who she was. Revealed herself to you, L’zar Verdys’ only living spawn.”
“Mattie doesn’t know who my dad is.” The halfling shook her head. “We never got that far.”
The troll’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything else.
“She might not know he’s your old man,” Corian added, “but trust me, Cheyenne. Maleshi definitely knows who L’zar Verdys is.”
“You all fight for the Crown together or something?”
The four O’gúleesh exchanged another round of knowing glances.
Corian shrugged. “Or something. If you won’t help us find her, kid, I’ll do it myself.”
Persh’al snorted. “You mean, you’ll have me do it for you.”
The Nightstalker smirked. “Sure. And then we’ll pay the general a little visit. It’s long overdue.”
Cheyenne glanced at the group of magicals, all expecting her to give in. Shit. They’re not bluffing, and I can’t stop them if they really wanna find her. “I won’t help you find her. I won’t give her up like that. But if you figure out where she lives, I’m coming with you.”
The Nightstalker dipped his head in concession. “Sounds fair to me.”
“Let’s get the hell outta here, huh?” Persh’al pounded the heel of his hand against his forehead. “This buzz around here is starting to make me hear voices.”
Lumil snorted. “You’ve been hearing voices since before you came Earthside, troll.”
“I’ve heard enough of yours, that’s for sure.” Persh’al turned to head back into the forest.
Laughing, the goblin woman came up alongside Cheyenne and clapped a hand on the halfling’s shoulder. “L’zar would’ve gotten a kick out of that little show you just put on.”
Byrd snorted. “The guy would’ve made us all bow down and offer ourselves before the next in
