Page 24 of A Promise so Bold and Broken (Compelling Fates Saga #2)
Chapter Twenty-Four
“W e need to act quickly.” Lessia met the eyes of each person in the room, lingering for a moment on Merrick’s when something flickered in them.
Fighting a dumb smile that threatened to break out when she realized it was pride, she cleared her throat before she continued.
“We must get to Ellow and inform Loche about what is happening. Perhaps he can do something to quell the uprising coming from within Ellow if he can convince his people of the threat coming their way.”
“Raine, do you still have that ship?” Merrick’s presence beside her grounded her, and she couldn’t help but steal another glance at him, immediately slamming into his distracting eyes, and she nearly tripped at the intensity of them.
“The ship you stole?” Raine answered slowly.
“That’s the one,” Merrick said without breaking eye contact with Lessia.
“Yes.”
Raine’s voice sounded as if it came from far away.
As if Lessia were falling right into the depths of the dark pools staring back at her.
You make me happy.
A corner of Merrick’s mouth lifted.
And it felt as if her fall increased in speed.
Someone cleared their throat.
Merrick’s lips lifted even higher when she continued to stare at him, and her eyes dropped down to the fullness of them.
The room’s sounds returned, and when someone coughed discreetly again, she turned back toward the group.
Flames of heat shot up Lessia’s neck as they all stared from her to Merrick.
“Are you done?” Raine raised a brow as he moved his glare to Merrick.
Merrick’s hand brushed hers as he leaned over the table. “No.”
Kerym broke in. “All right then. We have a ship. What next?”
Lessia shook her head before also leaning her arms on the table, using it to stabilize herself and, perhaps the tiniest bit, to stop herself from glancing again at the Fae warrior beside her.
“We need to divide into two groups once we get to Ellow. I do not know where to anchor, but we can’t sail right into Asker’s harbor. Not with me, Merrick, Ardow, and Venko being considered traitors. We’d be killed on the spot.”
“They can try,” Merrick rasped, his whispers rushing to life so fast Frelina stumbled back, and even Venko—who should have been used to them by now—let out a low squeak.
“We’re not going to kill anyone, Merrick.” Lessia fixed her eyes on Ardow when Merrick sighed deeply, refusing to risk getting sidetracked again.
“Ardow, we need to get Amalise and the children out regardless of what happens. If everything went as I hoped, they’re staying in a cave in the eastern part of Asker.” She moved her gaze to Venko. “Can you get a ship to transport them here?”
“Yes, but… children?” Venko asked, turning toward Ardow.
“They’re ours.” Ardow’s face reddened when Venko’s eyes widened, and he stuttered, “I-I meant…”
“They’re not their biological children,” Merrick hissed, his whispers flickering to life again.
Lessia frowned at him. “How do you know?”
It was as if a shock jolted her body when his eyes captured hers, and she realized she’d swayed backward when Merrick gripped her arm.
“I followed you for four years.” Merrick’s eyes dropped for a moment. “I tried my best not to go by your house, to learn as little as possible about what you were doing, but you were careless sometimes. I was in the harbor when you greeted some half-dead Faeling and wrapped him in a blanket. I immediately understood why you refused to follow my orders of showing your face every night.” He shook his head. “I stayed far away from your home after that to try to make sure Rioner didn’t ask me a question that would force me to tell him.”
Lessia blinked at him.
He’d known?
He’s been protecting you the entire time.
She took a step closer to him as she whispered, “Thank you.”
Remaining by Merrick’s side, she turned back to Ardow and Venko. “I think it’s best if you go get them. Ardow, you know them all. And…”
She glanced at the three giant Fae warriors and her father, who might not be as well built but who was still full Fae, with that intimidating stature they carried themselves with. “The children don’t have the best experiences with Fae. I fear they might not come if you’re there.”
Ardow met her eyes and nodded. “We will make sure they get out.”
She shot him a small smile, more embers of warmth settling in her chest.
They might not be all the way back to the friendship they’d formed the past years, but the cracks in their relationship were slowly repairing themselves.
“Elessia,” Frelina said, her voice low but not soft. “I could go with them. If they’re half-Fae like us, they might find it easier to trust me.”
Their father looked as if he was about to argue, but when she and Frelina shot him a dark glare, he raised his hands, a smile playing across his lips. “Very well.”
“We’ll keep her safe,” Lessia vowed when Frelina jumped up and down, and worry flitted across their father’s features.
Alarin met Lessia’s eyes. “Thank you. I shall go to Rioner to ensure he does not get suspicious. Try to see what information I might get out of him.” He nodded toward Raine. “If you don’t mind lending me one of your eagles, I can keep you updated—give you information from the inside.”
When Lessia inclined her head, her father continued, his voice thickening with every word. “Miryn would have been so proud of you for what you’ve done. Saving those half-Fae…” Alarin sighed as his head slumped forward. “He hates them because of the curse, you know.”
“Rioner?” Kerym asked.
“Yes. He believes they play a part in the destruction he fears will be unleashed upon our people. Since the traitor is loved by Fae and human—or half-Fae—he blames them for merely existing.” Alarin threw her and Frelina a sad glance. “Even though it’s wrong.”
“Perhaps we can convince some of those still left in Vastala to fight for us?” Raine asked. “We do need the numbers.”
“They’re living on the streets,” Lessia hissed. “They won’t be in a state to fight.”
“The rebels already got to most of them,” Ardow offered hesitantly. “They’re to attack the capital in Vastala.”
Lessia’s wide eyes found her father’s, and he nodded forcefully. “I’ll warn them, Lessia. I promise.”
She ground her teeth at the thought of the rebels.
As if the half-Fae living on the streets of Vastala were any match for Rioner’s guards…
The rebels were willing to sacrifice so many in their quest.
They might have aims similar to those of the people in this room…
But the path by which they meant to achieve them was vastly different.
Raine shrugged and lifted his flask to his mouth, a scowl overtaking his face when he found it empty.
As he stalked toward the bar, Frelina stepped into his path. “You need to stop that if we’re to win.”
Raine grinned at Lessia’s sister before lifting her off her feet and placing her back behind him.
“We won’t win,” he stated as he uncorked a new bottle and brought it to his lips.
Merrick’s fingers brushed hers as she watched her sister stare daggers at Raine, and the hair on her arms rose, the sensation tingling across her body.
With a quick smile at him, she walked over to the painting of the wyvern and the Fae, her finger skimming over the thick paper, over the unyielding faces of the males, over the small stone one of them clutched in his hand.
The thought had touched her mind before, but she’d been too preoccupied with everything else going on.
A sparkling stone.
That’s what the Fae in the painting held in his hand.
The memory of the ride with Loche surged within her.
The warm, glowing stone he’d given her to keep the darkness at bay.
“What if I said I might have a way for us to get that army?” Lessia spun around to face the others.
“How?” Merrick’s eyes were glued to her as he walked around the table, not stopping until he stood next to her again.
She glanced up at him. “Those stones that control the wyverns? I think I know where we can find one.”
“Wyverns!” Kerym’s voice broke through the haze that had formed as Merrick stared back down at her, his eyes glittering. “Thissian is missing out. He used to love fighting beside them. Although, come to think of it, it was probably because siphoning their energy made us quite high.”
Merrick rolled his eyes when Lessia snorted.
As they stared across the room, a humming, vibrating energy soared through the house, spiking every nerve in Lessia.
Ardow and Venko stood straight-backed, their fingers interlocked.
Her sister smiled at her, something akin to freedom brightening her eyes.
Raine pretended to be busy by the bar, but she didn’t miss how he stroked the dagger dangling from his belt.
Looking half crazed where he stood, Kerym muttered something about his “damn brother.”
Her father looked at them all, and although his eyes were worried, there was something in them that everyone in the room shared as her gaze locked with each of theirs.
Something that Lessia felt mounting within her.
Hope.