Page 32 of Black Hearted
“Tell me you’re okay,” I said to Nellie as she bounced up and down on my back, clinging tightly.
“I’m okay,” she whimpered, but I knew the jostling must have been hurting her.
At the top of the stairs, no one tried to stop us. We burst into the alley, and I sprinted at top speed.
When we reached the treasurer’s door, I made a split-second decision. Sliding Nellie off my back, I dropped the wooden box at the door and smashed the top. Reaching inside, I grabbed the faestone dagger and my winnings, leaving the rest behind. I didn’t want to give Donahue an excuse to come after us—at least not another one.
“Ethereum lord?” Nellie asked, her voice small beside me.
I glanced down to see her staring at me wide-eyed.
Right. Nellie knew I was from Ethereum, but she didn’t know I was a lord.
I nodded, hoping what I saw in her eyes wasn’t fear. “It’s stillme. I’m the same fae you’ve been traveling with these days. I won’t hurt you, I promise.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m just … impressed.”
Laughter burst out of me unexpectedly, but then a shout from down the street reminded me we had to move. They were already looking for me.
“Can you run?” I asked her.
She clutched her injured wrist to her chest and nodded.
Shoving the coins into my pocket, I clutched the dagger in one hand and grabbed Nellie’s uninjured hand with the other. Together, we bolted for the barn a few blocks away.
I hated that we wouldn’t get to say a proper goodbye to Evander and Elida, but there was no way we could spend another second in this town.
When we reached the barn, Nellie made me stay outside.
“You’re bleeding everywhere,” she told me, pointing to my thigh and face.
I glanced down, realizing I’d forgotten about the icicle wound. The shard had melted and fallen off somewhere, leaving a sizable gash that soaked the thigh of my pants with black blood.
Nodding, I handed her the amount of gold coins I’d negotiated with Jasper earlier in the day. It wasn’t more than five minutes before she emerged from the barn, leading a mare already saddled with the supplies we needed.
I silently thanked the fates I’d made arrangements earlier in the day.
Nellie handed me the reins, her concerned gaze fixed on my thigh. “Let me patch you up first,” she said, starting to reach for me.
I sidestepped her, shaking my head.
There was no way I was letting her take on my injury again. Never again. I told her I could bandage myself on the way. The most important thing was putting distance between us and the mob of angry people who wanted to carve my heart from my chest.
Grabbing Nellie, I hoisted her onto the horse before leaping into the saddle behind her. With a click of my tongue and a kick of my heels, the horse took off north, heading toward the Spring Palace.
While Nellie slept against my chest, I wrapped a tourniquet around my thigh as best as I could. Without stitches, the wound would leave a nasty scar, but it wasn’t bleeding enough to be fatal. My fae healing would close the wound soon enough.
Gripping the reins, I spurred the horse on, the throbbing in my thigh forgotten as my mind focused on one thing and one thing alone.
Getting to Lorelei.
Chapter Eleven
Lorelei
I’d been pacing in the darkness of my dream void all night, searching for a door to anywhere. Were Mother and Father not sleeping? I’d tried to reach them time and time again, to no avail. Even my eldest sister wasn’t available.
It hit me then—maybe I couldn’t reach anyone because I wasn’t sleeping during normal hours. I was imprisoned and now blinded, although thankfully, that didn’t extend to my dream state. But I had no idea what time of day or night it was. If I wasn’t sleeping when anyone else was, I’d never be able to reach them.
