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“Do you have any others to care for?” I asked.

“Not at the moment,” she told me. “Usually, I spend the funds getting them somewhere bigger. Cereliath or even Silstra. Easier to hide in crowds.”

“And her?” I asked, nodding to where Wrae slept.

The woman smiled. “She’s actually indentured to the farmer up the road. But she’s too old to be useful. He doesn’t care that she’s here. Keeps the responsibility out of his hair and I can make sure no one gets any ideas about what to do with her,” she added darkly. Many Halflings were disposed of when their owners decided they cost more to keep than they were worth. Some were barred from their houses. Others were found with a knife in their side.

She offered her hand in greeting. “My name’s Emeline, by the way.”

I shook it but did not offer a name of my own.

“I don’t get a lot of visitors,” she said, starting to fold her laundry again. “Though I don’t get many needing my help either, so that’s to be expected.”

I pulled out a small pouch of gold. It was less than I usually gave; I needed to restock my stores when we reached Cereliath. It was all I had left.

“You may be getting more,” I told her, tossing the pouch into her linen basket. She hid it in the layers of folded sheets. “We’re trying to move as many Halflings west as we can, so if more come through, try to get them to Caerth.”

“Caerth?” she whispered. “It’s not much bigger than here. They’ll be hard to hide.”

“They won’t be staying.”

Emeline’s blue eyes widened as she realized my meaning. Most Mortals never traveled outside of their city of birth, let alone into the lands of the Dark Fae.

“Will they be safe?” she asked in a frightened whisper.

“Safer than they are under the king.”

Wrae woke with a start, her cane dropped as her chair shifted and fell to the floor with a loud ring of the bell.

“I’ll take that as my leave,” I told them. “Be ready.”

I slipped out of the tiny shack and back onto the street. I didn’t walk two paces before Riven marched out of an alley and grabbed my arm.

“What are you doing?” he whispered so harshly against my ear that I could feel the heat of his voice instead of just hear it.

“Trying to remember why I haven’t stabbed you yet,” I answered.

His fingers curled tightly around my arm, pressing hard enough that they pushed against my bone. I snarled at him. He stepped back in shock and dropped his hand. I rarely showed my fangs. Those in the Order who had them were trained to keep them hidden. Fangs were a sign of being unclean.

“I’m not going to let you lurk around with strangers and not expect an answer,” he bit back, flashing his own pointed canines. Thankfully, we were out of sight from any of the villagers.

I scoffed. “What happened toneed to know?”

“Ineedto know you haven’t just betrayed us.” His voice was a low growl.

I shook my head and shoved past him. I knew he wouldn’t cause a scene in the middle of the village. This conversation could wait until we were back on the road. I felt his eyes penetrating the back of my skull as we marched through the village without saying another word.

The moment we were out of sight of the dwellings, he jumped in front of me, blocking my way.

“Who was that woman?” he asked, his voice full of venom.

I raised a brow. “You saw her?”

“Yes.” His violet eyes traced my face. He was so close that I could feel the soft rush of air each time he exhaled. “I also saw you give her something. A message for the king?”

“What will it take for you to believe me?” I yelled, pulling at my hair with my hands. “I want the king dead. Even more than you do.” How could he doubt that now? After what had happened in Caerth? Those Shades had died for no good reason. The guilt pricked me like thorns, leaving scratches that festered and oozed each time I choked the feeling down. I couldn’t do it anymore. I had let too many thorns lash my skin. I wouldn’t take the brunt any longer. I needed to tend to my wounds, so my body would stop rotting from the inside out.

Riven turned away, ready to flee now that the tension between us was too heated. It’d been a trick he’d used many times as the Shadow, but I had already forced down that hood. His days of running from me were over. I grabbed his arm.