Page 74 of With Wing And Claw

Inga snorted a laugh, the flash of bitter amusement not nearly enough to soften the fury she emanated. ‘Oh, you and me both.’

A rare moment of agreement. It did not diminish the distrust wrapped around her heart in the slightest, Naxi couldn’t help but observe.

They were noticed a moment later by two patrolling fae, familiar faces who had been there to defend the archive doors as well. Inga didn’t return their greetings as she strode past them into the village. Naxi did, to be rewarded with two brand new stings of fear.

Damn it.

Not that she cared, of course.

A few dozen humans were standing on the sandy road, muffled cheers and cries of relief rising from their midst at Inga’s arrival. Most of them appeared to be in the process of packing their belongings, bags and trunks standing by nearly every front door. A few babies whined unhappily. A human girl of around fifteen summers stood sobbing in her father’s arms. None of them threw Naxi even the briefest glance as she slowed to a standstill on the edge of the village, unsure of what to do next.

Not that she cared about their glances either, of course.

Should she just leave them to their own devices, then? Turn back to the court, hide in the Labyrinth, and hope Thysandra would be back soon?

A few dozen feet away, the newly arrived, bargain-covered fae male named Silas landed next to Inga and exchanged a few quick words with her. Inga’s look of revulsion at the hundreds of bargain marks spokevolumes, but all the same, they swiftly reached an agreement; Silas flew off again, while Inga returned to her fellow villagers and began handing out orders with determined gestures at houses and humans. Waves of relief rose from the crowd. Of … fondness.

Perhaps, Naxi cautiously considered as she stood there and watched them scurry around with renewed frenzy, she could help out a little more?

She wasn’t sure where the thought came from. Helping people was a waste of time unless they could help you too, and there was little that this huddle of drained, worn-out people would ever be able to do for her – nothing she couldn’t do herself, at least. She didn’t feel sorry for them either. She never felt sorry for anyone. She liked making things harder for the fae, of course, but she doubted packing an elderly human’s bags would make life significantly more unpleasant for any winged citizen of the Crimson Court; if she wanted her revenge, she’d be better off just killing a few more of them.

And yet …

Yetsomethingdrove her feet forward.

Closer and closer to where the humans stood comforting each other, hauling heavy trunks from dilapidated houses together, pulling each other’s children away from passing fae. Stifling fear still permeated the air, but it was mingled with something softer – trust and camaraderie and the hard-won attachment of people who’d faced hell together.

A feeling as addictive as stolen sweets. Hell, perhaps she wouldn’t even have to help anyone? Perhaps she could just stand here and bask in the mellow softness of that sensation, the sense of home, ofbelonging—

One of the younglings screeched out in alarm.

Fear slammed down like a summer storm as every fae and human in the village snapped around at once, all amity and kinship gone in the blink of an eye.

Throwing them her most harmless smile was an unthinking reflex. Only as the fear spiked in response did Naxi remember that mortals tended to get nervous about her teeth – immortals too, for that matter – and that perhaps she should have started by explaining herself.Belatedly, she tiptoed two quick steps back, gave them a sheepish little wave, and tried, ‘Anything I can do to help?’

An infant started crying in its mother’s arms.

From behind a group of broad-shouldered men, Inga’s voice snapped, ‘Oh, for fuck’ssake.’

She came stomping into view the next moment, muttering something to the people around her before she made for the edge of the village in a straight and furious line. For a moment it seemed she would grab Naxi’s arm and physically drag her away, but she held back at the last moment; instead, she settled for a sharp jerk of her blonde head to indicate Naxi should follow.

Objecting seemed to be of little use, so Naxi didn’t.

‘You should be getting out of here,’ Inga said under her breath as they strode off the way they’d come. Her jaw was set in a grim line. ‘They’re jumpy enough already after that attack. Loitering demons is thelastthing any of them need.’

‘But …’ Naxi stammered, stumbling over her feet to keep up. ‘But I’m just helping!’

‘Not to be blunt,’ Inga said, clearly intending to be blunt, ‘but that sounds a little unlikely coming from a demon, doesn’t it?’

‘Well, yes, but—’

The girl finally stopped short in her tracks and whirled around, levelling Naxi with a cold grey glare. From that look alone, one couldn’t have known just how frightened she was … but of course the fear was still there, visible only to demon senses, hidden behind a lifetime of channelling every spark of panic into unbreakable resolve.

‘But?’ she sharply repeated.

Naxi hesitated, unsure what point to make.

But I just want Thysandra to know I’m serious about staying– which was a useless argument, as none of these humans would trust Thysandra any more than they trusted her.But I have nowhere else to go– a lie, even if she couldn’t enter Thysandra’s quarters until her return.But I’m bored– as if any human wanted to think that their life-or-death survival was nothing but an amusing pastime to her.