The drow brushed invisible dust off his shirtsleeve and rolled his shoulders. “I wouldn’t keep calling him a kid, Cheyenne. He’s much older than you.”
“That doesn’t matter. In a world where everybody lives practically forever, he’s still a kid, and this is crossing a line.”
“There is no line.” L’zar stalked around the table. “If there were, I’d say you’re crossing it right now. Don’t speak against me like that again.”
“I don’t take orders from you.”
“Oh, that wasn’t an order.” L’zar’s smile faded as he pointed at her. “That was a warning. We do what we have to do, so my sister doesn’t rip this world apart from the inside out. I’m not going to hurt him. He’s family. Nothing better than family, isn’t that right?”
Cheyenne scowled at him. “So far, my O’gúleesh family has been pretty disappointing.”
“Aw.” He cocked his head and winked. “We’ll grow on you.”
Without waiting for anyone else to share their opinion, the drow thief strolled past her and slipped into the hall. He was gone before the wooden door stopped swinging toward the wall.
Cheyenne looked at Corian. “He can’t do this.”
“I know. And so far, he hasn’t,” The nightstalker said, “It’s the only option we have right now. He’s right, though. Talking won’t hurt the kid.”
“It will if he’s lived four hundred years, not knowing anything about this world.”
“Can you honestly say living hidden and in ignorance is the better path, even when the truth is hard to swallow?”
She clenched her fists. “It’s not the same.”
“It’s close enough, Cheyenne. Maybe you’ll feel differently about it when you wake up in the morning.”
Ember stuck a finger in the air. “Hey, does anyone remember we’re on a time limit here?” The other magicals stared at her. “I mean, Cheyenne and I have a life to get back to Earthside. You know, after the weekend’s over. Maleshi too, probably.”
Maleshi gave the fae girl a sympathetic smile. “Time doesn’t run quite the same way over here.”
“No, but we have to go back, right?” Ember looked at the nightstalkers on either side of the table. “I mean, we are going back.”
“Try not to worry about that right now, huh? We have slightly more important things to think about before we make another crossing. We’ll make this as quick of a trip as we can.” Maleshi exchanged glances with Corian, then the nightstalkers headed toward the door.
Corian paused when he passed Cheyenne, leaned toward her as if he wanted to say something, then nodded with a weak smile and stepped out of the room.
Lumil clapped her hands together and rubbed them vigorously. “All right. Time to see what kinda luxury suites these raugs are hiding behind all this dead stone, huh?”
Byrd chuckled. “I heard they’re pretty good cooks.”
“Not if we’re talking about Foltr.”
“I didn’t say Foltr. Just raugs in general.” The goblin man pumped a fist in excitement. “I bet they know how to party, too.”
Cheyenne stared at them. “You were just fighting them outside the gates.”
“Yeah, that was fun, huh? Come on.” Laughing, Lumil waved her toward the door before she and Byrd disappeared down the hall.
Cheyenne looked down at Ember. “We’re running all over the place trying to fill in this hole, and it keeps getting deeper.”
“Corian’s right. Nothing’s happened yet.” Ember swiped the control panel on the crawler, the edge bumping against the table as the legs lifted in response. “Honestly, the only thing on my mind right now is finding something to eat in this place. I don’t know if it’s the long day or dumping all my magic into a raug chief, but I’m starving.”
Cheyenne snorted. “One step at a time, huh?”
“Exactly.” Ember slapped the side of the crawler, producing a metallic echo. “Or eight.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The raugs had given Cheyenne and Ember adjoining guest quarters that shared a central room and a small terrace overlooking the center of Hirúl Breach. Cool air spilled through the open stone wall connecting the terrace to the main room, bringing with it the scent of strange cooking spices, sweat, and ground stone.
Just as Cheyenne set Ember down on one of the giant cushioned lounges in the shared room, there was a knock on the door. “Yeah?”
The door creaked open, and a comparatively skinny raug with tattoos on his face bowed slightly. “The Zokrí sends a meal with his gratitude.”
Ember grinned. “Food.”
“I wouldn’t get too excited until we see what it is,” Cheyenne muttered out of the side of her mouth.
The raug flicked his clawed fingers into the room, and a metal table walked through the doorway on four mechanical legs, carrying a massive lidded tray, a pitcher of water, and two cups.
“Okay.” Cheyenne hesitantly approached the table and handed the cups and pitcher to Ember before grabbing the tray. “Thanks.”
The raug nodded. “Anything else, Healer?”
“Oh. No, thanks. I think we’re all good here.”
With a final glance at Cheyenne, the raug recalled the table machine and waited for it to walk out ahead of him before he closed the door again.
Cheyenne sat on the low lounge stacked with pillows in front of the low table. “It’s like they threw out the idea of wheels altogether.”
Ember snorted and poured them each a glass of water before setting everything on the table beside the tray. “Why use wheels when everything you need gets up and walks on its own?”
“Not completely on its own.” Cheyenne tapped the back of her ear, where her activator was placed. “It’s a little weird.”
“This whole place is weird. I like it.” Ember leaned forward to remove the lid from the tray and paused. “Maybe I spoke too soon.”
The dish was piled high with a steaming mix of what looked like rice and noodles with various colorful chunks layered throughout. Cheyenne leaned closer. “Huh. Smells like—”
“Chili dogs.” Ember set the tray down and wrinkled her nose. “The kind you slop out of a can.”
“Not the whole thing.”
The fae playfully rolled her eyes
