Like a kid in a toy store. Or a psychopath who got away with murder.
Before she had the chance to decide what kind of expression to give her father in return, L’zar chuckled and turned around again to scan the incredibly high walls of the valley in front of them.
The taste of vinegar and unknown berries faded as they walked farther from the center of Nor’ieth. Good to know. Wherever the exact center is, I’m staying away from it.
Yilas stopped at the base of a steep hill rising. He watched the rest of the ragtag group of magical visitors with no expression and waited for the last of them to gather around, then swept a long arm toward the top of the hill and gazed at it. “You will find Aut Na’mor there, communing with the source.”
Cheyenne felt more than saw the glances Maleshi and Corian exchanged. She turned toward them with a questioning frown. “What now?”
“It’s just a name,” Corian muttered, shifting his gaze to the top of the hill.
“Obviously not just.”
Maleshi leaned toward the halfling. “It means ‘Lost One.’”
“Huh.” Cheyenne eyed Yilas. “Are we sure this guy knows what he’s saying?”
“Nope.”
L’zar craned his neck to peer at the top of the rising hill and grinned. “Let’s go ask for a moment of his time.”
Foltr thumped his cane on the ground and smacked his lips. “I’ll sit this one out.”
“Yeah, me too.” Ember brushed violet-tinted hair out of her eyes. “No offense, Cazerel, but I don’t trust this machine enough to make it climb something like that.”
“None taken, Healer. More time for us to sit together in peace, yes? I would hear more of your fae knowledge.”
Cheyenne glanced at the raug chief. “You’re not coming with us?”
“No. I’ve fulfilled my promise in bringing you here. The rest is up to you to decide. I have no part to play in what comes next.”
“The pleasure’s all mine.” L’zar stepped toward the narrow path winding up the steep hillside, moving as casually as if they had all the time in the world.
But we don’t. Cheyenne nodded and took off after him.
“Hey.” Ember pointed at her, violet eyes narrowed. “Be careful.”
Cheyenne nodded and shot another brief glance at the raug chief. “You too. We can compare notes afterward.”
“After you.” Byrd shoved Lumil forward. “Go.”
The goblin woman stumbled forward and snorted. “Not for the deathflame, asshole.”
“Oh, yeah? You get all shriveled and scared looking up at that hill?”
Lumil swiped the back of her hand under her nose and sniffed. “Yeah.”
Byrd ran a hand over his bald head and shrugged. “Me too.”
Corian and Maleshi passed the goblins, who shrank away when Corian leaned toward them to mutter, “I wouldn’t be so sure it’s safer down here than up there.”
“Hey, screw you.” Lumil gestured toward the mountaintop and let her hand smack back down against her thigh. “Nobody puts anything harmless at the top of a steep climb like that.”
“Just sayin’.” Corian headed for the base of the footpath after Cheyenne and L’zar.
Maleshi shook her head and started up the path right behind him. “That was less delicate than I would’ve expected from you.”
He stopped and turned around. “You should stay here.”
“What?” She chuckled, but it faded the instant she realized he was serious. “Not on your life.”
With a soft hiss, Corian glanced over his shoulder at L’zar and Cheyenne, who were halfway to the first switchback. “Not a good idea when it’s just the four of us.”
“Well, you’rethe one making a big deal out of it.”
“I’m the one trying not to make a big deal out of anything. We’ve made enough mistakes as it is.”
“I’m coming with you whether you like it or not. Feel free to throw a fit all the way to the top.” She gestured up the mountainside and raised her eyebrows. “We both know what L’zar’s likely to try when he stands face to face with his nephew. Cheyenne may suspect it, but even if she does, she can’t stop him on her own. Not yet.”
“Maleshi.”
“And you have already proven you’re not willing to stand up to him, even if it were possible. I care a lot more about Cheyenne at this point than I do about your hesitation or what L’zar might or might not understand, so turn around and get your ass up this mountain.”
Corian’s silver eyes narrowed before he snorted and spun to climb the path.
Maleshi smirked and headed after him. “And before you say anything, yes, I know how insufferable I am.”
He gave a resigned sigh and shook his head. “Not the most insufferable. I’d rather have you on this hike than the chaos twins down there.”
She glanced down the hillside at Lumil and Byrd, who’d started another round of bickering, though it was whispered and faint and they hadn’t started hitting each other yet. “I wonder if they see it that way? You think it’s a good call to mess with their heads like that?”
“It was either that or send them both to meet the deathflame, General. If I scared them long enough to keep them from deciding for themselves, it’s worth it. Trust me, if you’d spent centuries with those goblins Earthside, only to suffer their constant nagging on your first return home, you’d feel very much the same way.”
“But I wouldn’t call this home, ma gairín.”
“Me neither.” Corian lifted his gaze to see the back of L’zar’s shoe vanish around the corner where the path turned around the side of the mountain. “Not anymore.”
Chapter Forty
Cheyenne pushed herself up the steep rise. When the path curved back around the mountain again, she looked down to find the rest
