“But what Drew said…he might mean the throne of the Elf King.” Winny scratches her head. “All this guessing is horrible.” I can’t disagree with her.
“Or maybe he was once human.” Drew sees the final piece to this puzzle, what I overlooked. All eyes are on him and my heart sinks. Perhaps things aren’t as simple as I once thought. It’s possible that Ruvan and I were both right, in our ways. “You said that humans can be transformed into vampir and that a group of early humans escaped Midscape to found Hunter’s Hamlet shortly after the first human was. What if this man was that experimentation?”
“It would explain his appearance being slightly different from the vampir, even one afflicted with the curse.” Ruvan strokes his chin thoughtfully.
“And he would be even more motivated to curse the vampir if he was the man Jontun wrote about when speaking of the experimentation.” Callos stands, beginning to pace on the opposite end of the room where Ventos was previously. “A human turned. Loretta was likely a lost love, equally brutalized by the vampir. He’s one of us, but doesn’t see himself as such because he was forced to take those rites. He wants revenge and our kingdom as recompense. It all makes sense.”
“Great, now is all this talking going to lead to stabbing?” Lavenzia folds her arms. “We know where the bastard is, why not get him?”
“Getting him back is going to be hard enough.” Ventos motions to Drew. “We can’t risk launching any kind of attack until the next full moon.”
“You can’t honestly think that now that we know where he is, we’re going to sit here peacefully,” Winny protests. “A month is forever.”
“You were asleep for three thousand years. What’s a month?” Quinn rolls his eyes.
“I’m also of the opinion that we should go and get the bastard before he can find another form to take and give us the slip,” Lavenzia says.
The five of them argue. Ruvan and Drew are both silent. My brother stares at his palms. Ruvan’s mind is somewhere far away.
“This is what we’re going to do.” I slam my palm on the table. That combined with the volume and tone of my voice stuns them all to silence. “Drew, before you leave, you’re going to tell Callos everything you know about how the Hunter’s Elixir is made as well as anything else you can think of about this man. Callos, you’re going to get some elixir brewing as quickly as possible for Ruvan. Quinn can assist. Winny, Lavenzia, Ventos, you’re going to begin planning our attack in conjunction with Drew—however much time he has left with us at that point. If the elixir does give us enough power to get back, Drew will be our eyes on the Natural World’s side of the Fade. After Drew leaves, we continue to plan and prepare for the attack by searching for any other history we can find on who might be the Raven Man.”
“I won’t be able to go back,” Drew says warily. “Not now that the Raven Man knows I’m free.”
“Not all the way to Hunter’s Hamlet. You can stay hidden in the marshes.” I reach for his hand and squeeze it. “I know what I’m asking is hard, but it’s only a month.” The rest of them have made their sacrifices to help end this curse. It’s time I make mine. For all I want Drew to stay here with me, I know he can’t. And I can’t go back with him. Not yet.
“The Raven Man always seemed wary of the marshes. I should be safe.” I can sense Drew’s bravery is a front. It cracks a bit when he adds, “For a month, at least.”
“And you—” I turn to face Ruvan but am stilled by his expression. There’s a shine to his eyes, a shimmer of amusement and good spirits that I haven’t seen about him in weeks. I believe that look is reserved only for me, as I’ve never seen him give it to anyone else.
“You’re relentless,” he says softly, thoughtfully. The words should be angry or agitated but he almost sounds…happy? My stomach clenches for reasons I can’t quite describe.
“When she’s set her sights on something, she charges at it with all the ferocity of a wild animal,” Drew says with a chuckle. He’s wearing a smile now too.
“I am not a wild animal,” I protest, giving my brother a glare.
“No, no, that seems about right.” Lavenzia smirks.
“Excuse me, I am not an animal,” I repeat for emphasis. “I am a forge maiden. And, yes, that means I am quite accustomed to hammering at things until I get my way.”
“She’s always like this?” Ruvan asks Drew.
“Worse, usually.”
“And to think I was lamenting I couldn’t keep you around longer.” I tilt my head to the side and narrow my eyes at my brother.
“You’ll miss me and you know it.” The jest goes soft, genuine emotion creeping in.
“Terribly,” I admit. The mood sags slightly at my tone.
Ruvan clears his throat. “Well, now that we have our plan of attack, more or less, Drew, would you care to see the smithy of the vampir?”
“Depends on how much of a mess my sister has made of it.”
“Excuse me?” I exclaim.
Ruvan stands with a laugh. “I can’t tell if she makes more of a mess of the smithy or herself after a day of smithing.”
“Goodbye, I’m leaving, I shall take my chances with the walkway alone,” I declare, starting for the door. I never thought having Ruvan and Drew together would be dangerous for me. Dangerous to each other, but not me. Yet the two of them seem to be ready to tease me endlessly. How has my brother allied with my accidental husband before he even knows of the truth of the arrangement?
