Page 52 of Cold Hearted
I had to think of my people. Thousands of Summer fae in Faerie were currently being battered with heavy winds, black rain, and crop failures. Not to mention the weakening of powers since the sun wasn’t coming out all day.I had to put them first. He would understand that. After all, he was a leader too.
“So what business do you have in the city?” Nysa asked as she dug into the dried meat and sweet corn bread we’d bought from a passing trader with coin we’d stolen from the dead guards back at the camp. I didn’t feel bad, the guards had taken everything from me when I’d first arrived there, so this was very likely mine.
I couldn’t tell the girls that their world was linked to mine and because of an ancient curse I needed to cut out the heart of one of their beloved Ethereum lords. But I didn’t want them going into the city with me for fear they would get hurt, so I had to be somewhat honest about the dangers.
“To be honest… I’m a spy.” I let that linger in the air and both women froze, food halfway to their mouths.
Alexandria broke into a smile, chuckling, but when Nysa didn’t smile, the grin wiped right off her face.
“You’re serious?” Alexandria asked.
Nysa leaned in, as if wanting more. “I knew it! You’re too powerful to have a normal job.”
I nodded curtly. “I was sent here by Lord Roan Zander Warrick on official business.Dangerousbusiness.”
Alexandria’s eyes grew big as she swallowed hard, but Nysa just nodded as if everything made sense to her now.
“I’ll bet Lord Roan found out something and he needs to warn his brother,” Nysa offered.
Alexandria looked over her shoulder, surveying the empty woods for threats, and then peered back at us.“I’ll bet the rebellion that befell Lord Roan is coming for Lord Stryker and he’s warning his brother of that.”
I didn’t want to start a rumor, but the fact that neither of them thought I was an assassin was a good thing.
I lifted the dried meat to my mouth and ripped off a hunk. I wasn’t hungry, but I had to keep up my strength. The sunlight earlier in the day had helped, but it was dark out now.
“I can’t say obviously, but you’ve both got the right idea. I need to see Lord Stryker.”
Nysa and Alexandria shared a cautious look.
“What?”
“You’ve heard about him, right?” Alexandria asked.
I shook my head. “I’m from a humble upbringing, didn’t travel much until Lord Roan employed me.”
I hated lying, but if these women knew the truth, who knew what they would do about it. I couldn’t risk it.
Nysa’s eyebrows hit her hairline. “Well, if you’ve got an official letter from Lord Roan, you should be fine.”
I cleared my throat. “I lost nearly all of my belongings at the camp. I don’t have the letter anymore, but he’ll still see me, right?”
Both women scoffed. “You approach Lord Stryker without an official letter saying who you are, and he’ll torture and then kill you.”
Now it was my turn to freeze, food halfway to my mouth. “Oh. So he’s paranoid?”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Nysa admonished. “A year ago, around the same time that the rebellion started in the Northern Kingdom, Lord Stryker was betrayed. He’d fallen in love with a beautiful woman who seemed to have only the best intentions and…” She stopped speaking as if unable to even utter what happened.
“She attacked him in his sleep, tried to slit his throat,” Alexandria admitted.
I gasped. “His lover?”
They both nodded. “She only wanted his gold and riches.
Intended to kill him and take it all before escaping to an island off of Soleum. But he’s tougher than dirt, and being that it was the third assassination attempt on his life in two years, he was paranoid enough to sleep with a knife under his pillow.” Alexandria winced. “But she’d thrown a dampener rune beforehand and well… her poisoned blade left its mark.”
“Wow. I… didn’t know that.” My heart panged for the man, but I couldn’t get too attached. I needed to focus on the task at hand. I had to save my people.
“Why was it the third assassination attempt in two years?” I asked them.
