Page 28 of Brimstone

“Don’t you dare apologize for staying. We would have lost Everlayne without you. And you’ve been helping Te Léna work the quicksilver out of Kingfisher, too. There isn’t a person here who resents your presence.”

Iseabail glowed, her eyes dancing as she laughed. Squeezing my hand, she nodded her head back over her shoulder, raising her eyebrows. “I appreciate the sentiment, I really do. But I think there’s at least one person who’d prefer it if I were dead in a ditch rather than here, fouling up the halls of Cahlish with my witch’s blood.”

Lorreth’s hearing was just as good as any of the other members of the Fae in the room. He heard every word Iseabail said, and from the thunderous look on his face, he wasn’t happy. Iseabail didn’t seem to care, though. “Don’t worry.I’mnot one for drama, even when others seem intent on causing it.”

There was a loud clatter from the table; Lorreth had knocked over his ale and was furiously trying to mop it up with a napkin.

Iseabail snorted.

“Why does he hate your kind so much?” I knew Lorreth to be funny, kind, and thoughtful. Seeing him like this around a woman who had helped us all so much was genuinely confounding.

Iseabail’s smile faded. “Ach. It’s probably best if I let him tell you that one.”

Te Léna and her mate, Maynir, wore matching outfits of gold and taupe. They overflowed with happiness as they spoke to Fisher and me, telling us all that had happened in the past fewdays at Cahlish. The light Te Léna cast off only dimmed when I asked after Everlayne’s progress, and she had to confess that Kingfisher’s sister was still sleeping and couldn’t seem to wake. She brightened quickly, though. “I’ll take you to see her in the morning, if you like. Hearing your voice might be the final push she needs to wake up.”

“I’d love that.” I’d spent only a few days with Layne at the Winter Palace before Fisher had swept me away into the night. With the exception of Iseabail and Te Léna, she knew everyone else in the dining room far better than she knew me. It was unlikely thatIwould be the one to break Everlayne’s fugue state, but I was willing to give it a shot.

Danya was last to greet me. The last time I’d seen her, her hair had flowed halfway down her back, but it was short now, cropped to her jaw on the left, shorn to the scalp on the right. Dressed in fighting leathers and a patinaed silver breastplate stamped with the head of a howling wolf, she was stiff as a board when she came to stand in front of me.

“Alchemist,” she said curtly.

“Danya,” I answered.

“Where’s the redhead?”

“Who?”

“The annoying male with witty comebacks.”

“You thinkCarrionis funny?”

Danya rolled her eyes. “Never mind.”

“He’ll be here soon,” I said quickly. “He went to the bath house. He was taking longer than expected, so we came on ahead.”

“Okay. I’ll go find him,” she said, shrugging.

“No! No, uh . . . don’t do that.” He hadn’t said as much, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Carrion had gone in search of more than a bath. The water sprites he hadbefriendedrecently apparently spent most of their time down in the baths,and I didn’t want Danya walking in on him in a compromising situation with any—or all—of them. Why, I didn’t know. Carrion and Danya together would be the kind of living hell that I had no desire to experience firsthand—but hewasmy friend, and friends watched each other’s backs. “He’ll be here any moment, and I . . . I wanted to ask you about your new hairstyle. What prompted the dramatic cut?”

She stared at me blankly. “A burning corpse set me on fire.”

Gods a-fucking-live. Perfect. “Oh. Okay. I thought it was some new, edgy form of self-expression.”

“The length of a warrior’s hair is directly related to their skill in battle. Mine was longer than Ren’s and Lorreth’s put together. I would never have cut it to look . . .edgy.”

Whew. I was not gettinganywherehere. “I heard that you were injured during the fight. Couldn’t Te Léna have restored your hair when she healed you?”

The female looked at me like she did not understand me one bit. “There are no shortcuts to glory, Alchemist. For my brother’s sake, I’m glad you didn’t die in Gillethrye. He already lost enough people to that accursed city. For my own part, I’m glad you didn’t die because an Alchemist is a rare thing.” She quickly cast her eyes to the floor, dipping her head in a perfunctory display of deference. “If you’ll excuse me.”

She took up a place at the table opposite Lorreth. She didn’t seem particularly impressed by his presence, either. Since I’d splintered her sword into hundreds of shards, reforged it, and inadvertently gifted it to Lorreth, she’d been far from civil toward the other member of the Lupo Proelia. Not that I’d seen her have a kind word for anybody, ever, mind you.

Across the dining room, I felt the weight of Fisher’s eyes on me. He stood with Ren, head bowed as he listened to his friend, but his focus was all for me. He had come to Ammontraíeth kitted out for war, but here, in his home, with his family close, hewore only a loose black shirt and black pants. The fire behind the two males painted their faces with an orange glow and lightened the waves of his thick hair to a warm, dark brown.

Gods, but he was perfect.

His cheeks were flushed from the heat of the fire, his jaw marked with dark stubble, full lips parted. He nodded, sparing Ren the shortest of sidelong glances, then looked back at me. His burning gaze landed with the force of a blow that would have taken me to my knees if we weren’t among friends.

I can hear you from here, y’know.Fisher’s deep growl brushed against my mind like velvet.