“Kalian,” I took his hand. “I can’t apologize enough for even asking this of you. The last thing I want is for you to be in any danger. I’ll do everything in my power, and so will Daath and Syrion, to make sure you’re safe.”
I waited for a response, but he was still silent. I bit my lip. His eyes had drifted off away from me, and I could tell he was deep in thought. I didn’t want to do this, but I was so nervous.
I pushed my way into Kalian’s thoughts, subtly so he couldn’t sense me. He was just as nervous as I was; I could sense that. However, there was not any hesitation amongst his thoughts. He was planning.
“I can’t tell her I’ll help her until I know exactly how to do that.” I heard his voice echo throughout his mind as he tried to think of what to do. “The witches will be wary of me since I betrayed Minerva to save the Kings. But they know I can’t lie, so I can use that to my advantage. And if Raya and Vurial are still involved – I’m sure they are - they should understand. I can remind them of our pasts.” I was a bit shocked to hear that. I’d need to ask him about it later. “Maybe… maybe this can work.”
Finally, he spoke out loud. “Of course, I’ll help you, Myrcedes. Anything you need.” I felt a sense of relief in him. There was a realization that since abandoning Minerva, he’d been lost. There hadn’t been a purpose to his life like there had been for the past few thousand years. That sense of purpose was renewed when he agreed to help me. When he’d been helping me on Earth, there was resentment, and there was hesitation. He never wanted to be there, and I knew that. Since he’d opened up to me, he had spent more time confused about what his future would hold. But now I was there, and I needed him. Once again, he had someone to serve.
I silently promised that I wouldn’t ever take advantage of that. I stood from my chair and pulled him up from his to hug him. “Kalian… thank you so much. I know this isn’t a small favor I’m asking. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Myrcedes.” He repeated my name, and the smallest shiver ran down my spine as he pulled back and lifted my face to look at him, his golden eyes glinting in the light. “I am honored you’ve asked for my help. I will not let you down.”
He stepped back and bowed, his stance identical to the way an army General would present himself. I felt my mouth pull into a bright smile. For the first time in weeks of wondering, I felt like my questions would be answered.
24
Kalian
“From the middle of town, you head west,” Serriah explained. She was telling me how to get to the witches’ lair. The entire time, I bit the inside of my lip to keep from smirking. I didn’t need her instructions. I knew very well how to get to that place, but before I could tell Myrcedes that I knew exactly where they wanted me to go, the Kings had called in Serriah and asked her to advise me on how to find the witches. “All the surrounding trees will have green and brown leaves with dark bark. When you see the tree on the left with pale bark and yellow leaves, you’ll want to turn right. As soon as you enter the forest, you’ll want to be wary. They have traps amongst the trees.”
I nodded as though I was absorbing her information. Actually, most of it was wrong. Well, not wrong, but convoluted. What she must not have known was that the witches had a road that led to their home; it just didn’t lead to the town. It led to the river. All you needed to do was follow the river south until you found the entrance to the road. Also, the witches didn’t use traps. Those were definitely from hunters.
I could have easily explained to her that I knew exactly where I was going, and I knew what to expect once I got there, but I wasn’t interested in explaining how I knew the witches so well. Minerva had sent me to give and take messages for them multiple times. I’d also been there on a few personal visits. That was really the part I didn’t want to mention.
Serriah gave me a rundown of all the witches in the coven, and at that, I did laugh. She got two of their names wrong and just left one of them out entirely. I had grown to appreciate the elf, and I was sure she was doing her best in many areas. This just happened to be one in which her research had failed her.
I didn’t exactly blame her. The witches went to a lot of effort to make sure information about them was confusing and hard to find. There was a reason their road led to the river instead of the town. I knew on some level, it was hard for them to exist in the fae realm because of how exclusionary fae could be, but for some reason, they loved it there. All of them had agreed that living in the fae world in near isolation supporting Minerva was what they wanted to do with their lives. I wondered if any of that had changed after the Unseelie’s death.
I arrived in the fae realm, clad in commoner court attire. I wore a cloak with the hood pulled over my head, but more than anything, that was to avoid having to speak to anyone as I made my way to the coven. I almost wanted to take Serriah’s convoluted directions just for the fun of it, but I was nearly certain
