Page 114 of Red Demon

My head snapped up. “I’m no immortal. My parents aged. I look just like them.”

“You don’t smell sedo.” She cocked her head.

“You told me I did in the cabin. You specifically said I smelled ‘mostly sedo.’” I got hung up on the word “mostly” until Faruhar leaned in close, inhaling along my neck, her straight hair shining in front of me as my senses sharpened to her proximity.

A slight smile played on her lips as her eyes rolled back. “Wood, smoke, and sweat. Strong. Isn’t that what I said before?”

A heat rose in my cheeks, and I could have sworn I saw a mirror of that in Faruhar’s eyes. “Not like that, you didn’t.”

“I’ll get a sample tube,” Mira said with a glance to Ash.

Faruhar sat back down, frowning. “Would that worry you? If you found out you were … like me?”

“I just—I want to understand why it’s happening.” Rolling off a glove, I opened the cap of the lancet tube Mira gave me. “I don’t like that I’m not in control, that I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

When I looked at her again, her eyes were distant, staring right through me.

“I understand,” she whispered. She broke her gaze, darting her head to the sky. Two ravens, as large as the one I once saw perched on Mahakal’s shoulder.

“Ash, don’t look. We’re killing something with a mind,” I said as Faruhar drew her crossbow to shoot them down.

Chapter 46

Tea Shop

The last slivers of sun rolled away behind the horizon, leaving behind a spill of orange, pink, and violet light. We’d reached the roadside tea shop to intersect with Soren, and I felt like I’d stepped into a much older world than the one I knew. Low tables clustered under and between trees, lanterns flickering atop them. Children scurried and clung to the low branches in the outer courtyard. Among the many cushions on the grounds were living sofas, intricately woven from branches and soft moss. Underneath our feet, Oria shimmered and thrummed low, keeping the garden seats alive and vibrant.

Beside me, Faruhar kept the hood of her cloak up, unsettled to be near so many people. I gave her arm a reassuring pat as I pulled her beside me on one of the living sofas.

“They’ll be out in a minute.” Asher returned from inside, carrying an open bottle of wine and glasses. “Relax, we’re all safe here,” he said to Faruhar, pouring her the first glass.

Faruhar smiled, but did not lower her hood. Instead, she inched closer to me. I thought about putting my arm around her, kissing the top of her head, but I stopped myself. Mira passed me some wine. I took a hesitant sip, a frown creasing my forehead. “Wasted on me.” I turned to Faruhar. “Does wine do anything for you?”

Her hand covered mine as she borrowed my glass for a sip. “If I want it to.”

I looked up to see Soren and Telesilla, their pace slowing when they saw Faruhar, now sitting straight-backed under their sharp gaze. Telesilla saluted, then sat down at the end of the table, swinging her lone white braid in front of her.

She dropped a small, folded piece of paper on the table. I picked it up.

“That notice was delivered to nearby temples today, and Mahakal had his birds deliver them to major Asri businesses in the rural areas,” Telesilla said. “And from what I understand, he also dropped one in front of the Underground entrance you last used, just after bombing it. Perhaps that last one was more for flair.”

I swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

Telesilla glared at Faruhar before she shrugged. “No one was hurt.”

I picked up the note and read it aloud for the group. “Jesse Eirini and the Red Demon. You have three days to surrender in exchange for the lives of your friends. Asher Eirini and Mira, daughter of Solonstrong and Temar, can both be forgiven. You cannot.”

Faruhar sipped her wine, looking between Telesilla and Soren. “Have you betrayed us already?”

Telesilla blinked at Faruhar’s raspy voice, the first time she’d heard it. “No. We have kept our word to Asher. That being said, my mentor Reic urged me to be … cautious with our arrangements.”

Asher cocked his head. “Does that mean he tried to talk you out of the whole thing?”

Telesilla grimaced. “I expect his fire will cool when we tell him about the magic blocker you retrieved today.”

Soren nodded at Mira, who sat straight, holding Asher’s hand. “It’s good to meet you,” he said in Chaeten. “I’m encouraged to meet another person who escaped a Z’har pledge.”

Mira offered him a tight smile. “If you asked me three days ago who was dropping SBO, I would have said you Underground rebels. But I trust Asher’s dahn, and he trusts you.” She turned to Asher, swallowing. “Watch them closely while I ask them these next questions, please.”