Revealed in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights #9)(58)

“Is that real gold?” I scuffed the ground with my toe, not wanting to mess with the magic in case I screwed it up. This close to the elves’ home, they’d be sure to find out about it sooner rather than later, and it would be considered a serious offense. I didn’t want to add that to their list of grievances.

“Yes,” the woman to my right said, looking off into the distance at the spires of the castle. “They like to make a statement about the wealth of the Realm. They always have.”

I slowed and scuffed at the ground again. “Does anyone steal it?”

“Why would they need to? Everyone in the Realm is provided for,” she replied.

“Number one, that’s not true and never has been,” Emery said. “Number two, they most certainly do not steal it, no. The elves would hang you for that infraction. Or kill you in some other way, probably on display.”

“Stealing is a crime,” the woman said, and lifted her chin a little.

“Sure, if you get caught,” I muttered, watching my boots tread on the gleaming gold. “What a waste. I could make great use of one of those gold stones.”

“You have all the money you could possibly need,” Penny said.

“No, Darius has all the money she could possibly need,” Callie replied. “Reagan needs to get her own money.”

Dizzy scoffed. “I can’t see a blasted thing around all these bodies. But I’m sure you could take one or two and get away with it, Reagan. If you wait until there’s no one around, how would they know?”

“They’d do an inquiry, which is a very hostile way of asking questions until they find someone to blame it on,” Emery said.

“You’re familiar with how the elves do business, Emery?” Romulus called back.

“Very, which is why I am not overly enthused about heading to their castle. If I didn’t think this was the only way to clear my name, I wouldn’t go anywhere near this place.”

“Clear your name and help out a friend, I think you meant to say.” I glanced back at him with an eyebrow cocked.

“Are we friends?” A grin pulled at the corners of his lips. He watched the side, peering out between the press of bodies. “Penny seems to think you only tolerate me because of her.”

“Well, isn’t that a little self-centered, Penny?” I glanced at her this time. “You think my life revolves around you, do you?”

“It’s not like you have a friend factory you routinely visit,” she replied. “I doubt you’d give Emery the time of day if he didn’t hang around because of me. And he’d definitely keep you at an arm’s length. Admit it, I’m the reason you guys are in each other’s lives.”

“Wow. What a big head.” I clucked my tongue. “She seems so quiet and kind, and then she opens her mouth and everyone learns what she’s really about. Quite the ego.”

“You know it’s true,” she said. “Don’t try to make me the bad guy! I’m just being honest.”

“Honestly self-absorbed, yeah.” I shook my head, seeing a cluster of elves standing to one side of the path, watching us as we passed, carefully avoiding the flowers. I was tempted to unravel the magic then and there. “Very enlightening, Penny. Should we expect you to tell the elves that you taught me everything I know? That you hooked me up with Darius and found me a place to live? I mean, is there no end to the things you’ll take credit for?”

“You have been absolutely unreasonable since I accidentally barged in on you and Darius on the island. You really have, Reagan Somerset.” I could tell she was crossing her arms over her chest. “This is going to come back to you tenfold, just you wait. Stop laughing, Emery! This isn’t funny!”

My grin faltered as the castle came more fully into view. Unlike castles in the Brink, which were built for defense, this one did not have an outer wall, a drawbridge, or a moat. In fact, it looked more like an incredibly fancy hotel made to look like a castle, with a wide, gleaming path leading through an expanse of grass, with lines of flowers to a large arch with a red double door nestled inside. The spires on the roof were made out of gold, or at least covered in it, and windows dotted the front of the three-story structure, much larger than arrow slits. I didn’t sense any magic shielding the place from attackers. They were confident in their safety.

Several elves were outside, tending to grass or flowers, one chiseling part of a fountain, the water gurgling as it ran out of a fawn’s mouth and splashed into the basin below. None of them ignored us—they all stopped what they were doing and stared. Clearly they hadn’t gotten the memo that we were on the way. They weren’t important enough to hear the news.

How easy would it be to get them to rebel?

“They do their own landscaping, huh?” I asked, connecting eyes with one of the gardeners. The onlooker’s brows pinched together, its eyes rounding in surprise. I had a feeling it suspected who I was and why we were here. “They don’t hire out to other creatures?”

No one responded to me, and I wondered how many of the people in my vicinity had ever actually been to the castle.

A sinking feeling filled my gut as we drew ever closer. The insanity of what we were doing pressed down on me. I didn’t want to bet my everything on Karen and the Red Prophet.

“It’s probably wise if we nix this whole idea and just go into hiding,” I murmured as I drifted back between Penny and Emery, just in front of the older dual-mages. Halvor glanced back with a scowl. I waved him away. “You do you, bub. I played your game on the way here. Now I’m looking for a safer bet.” I lowered my voice and said out of the side of my mouth to Emery, “But seriously, probably better if we peel off now, run for it, and spend our lives in hiding.”