Page 52 of A Touch of Poison
Elthea pursed her lips. “I can’t leave the city. As our most powerful healer, I must stay close to my king.” She glanced at me. “And the Night Queen, of course.”
“Of course.” I smiled like she hadn’t added Braea as an afterthought.
“And why do I need to be aware of this errand?” The look Kat shot me could’ve melted steel.
“It’s a few days’ travel, so you’ll need to accompany the Serpent.” Elthea fingered her pocket. “Think of it as a chance to see more of Elfhame.”
Kat had been pale when she’d arrived, but now all colour leached from her face. She had to bethrilledby the prospect of a few days alone with me.
My headache kicked up a notch. Still, I pushed my attention to Elthea. “What’s the catch?”
She lifted one shoulder, only half a shrug. “It’s in Horror territory.”
Ah.
Quite a big catch.
Horrors were difficult to kill, almost always claiming fae lives in the process. We were too few to make the kind of sacrifice required to exterminate them. Instead, in the days after the Wars of Succession, they’d managed to lure them into one area and use wardstones to keep them there.
What could be so important that she’d want it retrieved from there? Unless… it wasn’t for her, but for her king.
My pulse sped, throbbing in my head and ears. If she was invoking our bargain, I had no choice but to at least attempt to retrieve and bring it back to her. There was nothing that said I couldn’t then retrieve it fromherand deliver it to the queen.
“That’s quite a big favour you ask.”
“It’s quite a big favour you’re repaying.” She gave Kat a sidelong look.
Without Elthea, she would be dead. Truth be told, a quick jaunt into Horror territory was a small price to pay.
Still, I didn’t want her to know that. So I huffed a sigh and stopped just short of rolling my eyes. “Do you know where, exactly?”
From that pocket she’d been fidgeting with, she produced a map and spread it across my desk.
From the other side of the desk, Kat studied the map. This was probably her first time seeing the full extent of Elfhame. We tended to suppress information south of the wall, and guests into our realm were by invitation only, their visits accompanied. Even the performing troupe who came every year from Albion were met at the wall and escorted to Tenebris-Luminis. That was the only location most human maps pinpointed, and we allowed no signposts near the border.
Elthea pointed to a small town on the western reaches, barely inside Horror territory. That wasn’t so bad. I craned to read the name.
“Innesol,” she added.
The name curdled in my stomach like gone-off cream, yet I couldn’t say why.
She watched me.
Stars willing, I kept that feeling of dread off my face. “Hmm.” I shrugged. “I can do that.”
She scoffed in her humourless way. “You say that as if you have a choice.”
I gave her a sharp smile. “Allow me that illusion.”
“Very well. When do you go?”
Sooner would be better. We’d need to camp, since towns were few and far between out that way—no one wanted to live near Horrors. I gauged the distance. “We can get there and back before the new moon.” I shrugged, like the thought of returning to the city just ahead of the Wild Hunt’s ride didn’t bother me.
We’d be back in plenty of time, and it was worth it if this proved to be a lead on the artefact Dawn wanted. And if not, it was still worth it to pay back my debt with Elthea.
She gave us details of the box’s exact location and as part of our bargain included that I couldn’t open or tamper with the box. With a pleased smirk, she left.
Kat lingered, picking at the trim on her chair. “Bastian, I think we need to talk about—”
