The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(86)
“Do so. I want to know what is so important that Neph himself came to speak with Wisp rather than using magic to summon her,”
Hemlock whispered. He glanced around the area once more, carefully scanning the tree tops. “I will meet you in town at the bar by the front gates later tonight. You can report to me there.”
“As you say.” Ander bowed his head respectfully as he spoke. Leaning back farther into the shadows by the chimney, the half-blood relaxed. A faint trail of fog rose from his mouth as his eyes closed. With luck, Wisp wasn’t familiar enough with the Soulreaver talents to detect him, and from the information they had gathered earlier, Ash was still north in the Greenwild. Hemlock doubted Jala would think to inspect her friends with all of the distractions she had, but if she did Ander was expendable.
*
“Jala, please calm down and sit so we can talk about this.” Jail’s voice rose above the rest and Zoelyn could hear the tension in his voice. It wasn’t often that Jail visited from Sanctuary, but every time he had before, he had seemed calm and in control. Today he looked exhausted and almost desperate.
“She is too frantic right now to listen. I think she must have had a full jug of stupid with breakfast this morning,” Neph snarled as Jala moved past him once more.
Zoelyn moved farther back into a corner and watched as the High Lady snatched a piece of armor from the table and began buckling it on her wrist. Valor leaned against the wall behind her, already armored in his plate mail, with a guarded look on his face. If he had any objections to the discussion, he had apparently already voiced them.
“How can we do anything to help them, Jala?” Wisp asked as she quickly stepped out of Jala’s way. The Fae was watching everyone in the room with open curiosity on her face and didn’t seem nearly as alarmed as Jail and Neph.
“Only Valor and I are going. I am not taking soldiers with me,” Jala explained in a distracted voice. Her attention was focus ed on the armor buckles rather than her agitated friends.
“Fucking brilliant. You and Valor against eight dragons and a thousand or so Soulreavers. You are quite the tactician, Jala,” Neph growled. The Delvay took two steps to his right and intentionally stopped directly in front of Jala as she moved to gather another piece of armor. “No,” he said levelly as she looked up at him with annoyance.
Zoelyn raised an eyebrow and glanced at the others in the room. Every last one of them had a look of apprehension aside from Wisp who seemed interested and Neph who looked furious.
“What about Legacy? Last time you left the city without him the Nightblades attacked. Surely you don’t plan to take him with you?” Jail spoke up once more with a look of hope on his face.
“I am making other arrangements,” Jala said carefully. Jala turned to look back at Zoelyn and smiled faintly. “For my son as well as Zoey. No one in the city will have to worry about keeping them safe.”
“What kind of arrangements?” Wisp pressed in a concerned voice. The Fae followed Jala’s gaze and her bright green eyes settled on Zoelyn with an intensity that made her skin crawl.
Frowning, Zoelyn shifted away from her stare and looked back to Jala. Wisp had never looked at her like that before and she didn’t like it at all. It wasn’t a friendly gaze; it was predatory. It didn’t look as though Jala noticed. Once again, the High Lady was focused on her armor.
“The kind that involves me.” The soft voice rose from the shadows and Zoelyn’s breath caught at the sound of it. Seth usually appeared as a Raven first, and she hadn’t even known he was in the room. He moved forward, stepping closer to Jala, and pushed her hand away from the armor buckle. With a smirk on his handsome face he quickly fastened it and patted her gently on the cheek. “I will be guarding them both while Jala is gone,” Seth added as he gazed around the room daring anyone to object.
“A Demon? This is your solution? You are going to risk your life as well as Valor’s to help a nation that isn’t even our ally and leave your child and only heir with a demon?” Neph snapped, his eyes flashing with anger.
“Naturally it would be you that objected,” Seth sighed and rolled his eyes. “Have another candlestick handy Jala?” he asked with an amused smile as he moved to stand closer to Zoelyn.
Zoelyn stared up at him with a mixture of dread and excitement as he approached. She still hadn’t fully conquered her fear of him, but it was dwindling quickly. Seth had given her a new lease on life and a purpose, and yet as Neph so clearly pointed out, he was a demon.
“I trust Seth,” Jala began.
“And you trusted Symphony too, remember? Where has that gotten us? The Fionaveir have left everyone to rot,” Neph broke in before she could continue.
“Do not compare Seth with Symphony. He has reason to protect Legacy and you know it!” Jala snarled back with more anger than Zoelyn had ever heard from her before.
“And how do you bloody well know that his intentions are in your best interest and not his own? I, for one, sincerely doubt he is so instantly loyal to his new master. After all, if he was such a great guy, why exactly is he a demon now?” Neph bellowed in response.
“I fail to see how screaming is helping anything here,” Sovann murmured with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair.
“You need to set your priorities in Merro, Jala. Seravae isn’t your ally, Ash is, and he is living in Merro. You cannot risk Legacy and you are whether you realize it or not,” Neph continued.