“What if it’s Savita?” Esha looked at Kendrick. “What if I’m wrong, and my sister turned on us?”
Kendrick drew in a breath and slowly released it. “I think it’s one thing to want to keep you from spending time with me. It’s quite another to send something like the nightwraith. I could see it if she sent it after me.” Kendrick turned his head to Dain. “Are you sure Esha is the target?”
“That’s what I heard. And my sources are reliable,” the Dark replied.
That confused Esha. “Why me? I’ve done nothing other than be a Ranger.”
“Until I arrived.” Kendrick’s lips flattened. “Perhaps they think they can no’ harm me, so the next best thing is to go after you in case an alliance develops.”
An alliance of a kind had happened. Esha couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t want an ally. “I’m not the only elf who met you,” she pointed out.
“You’re the only one who wanted to track with him,” Dain stated.
Esha cut her gaze to him. “You’re with us. Why didn’t the nightwraith get sent after you?”
“I don’t share my business with others,” Dain replied flatly.
She threw up her hands in frustration and let them slap against her thighs. “I want to find what’s killing elves and stop it. What’s so wrong with that?”
“It’s no’ the why, lass. It’s the who.” Kendrick sighed. “It comes back to me. If I hadna crossed onto Shecrish, I doubt this would be happening.”
Dain shrugged indifferently. “We can’t change what’s happened. Things have been set in motion. I’m not going to stop looking for the being, but I think it’s going to be more difficult since we’ll have to look over our shoulders for the nightwraith now, too.”
“Our?” Esha asked. “You’re including yourself now?”
He swung his yellow gaze to her. “It will smell me here.”
“But Esha has a point. It isna after you,” Kendrick said.
Dain paused before he nodded. “True. What are you thinking?”
Kendrick studied him for a moment before his gaze landed on her. “We have two choices. We trust each other or we doona. If we work together, there’s a chance we can sort this out. Otherwise, we go our separate ways right now.”
Dain was the first to speak. “I’ve been trying to track the entity thing on my own. I’ve gotten nowhere, and I want retribution. I need it.”
“All right,” Kendrick said.
Esha swallowed as she struggled to decide.
“Have I ever wronged you?” Dain asked her in a flat voice.
She shook her head.
“Has any Dark Elf?”
Reluctantly, Esha shook her head again.
“Then you’re going off what others have told you.” Dain sneered. “If I did the same, I would never trust any elf other than a Dark. You think you’ve heard horrible things about my people? I’ve heard far worse about every other class of elf. Not everything we’re told is true. It’s why I make my own decisions.”
Well, when he put it that way, Esha felt like a fool for putting up such a fuss about him. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ve had little dealings with Dark Elves. Based on what I’ve heard, I tend to keep my distance.”
“I’ve stated my intentions,” Kendrick said. “I’m willing to trust both of you.”
Dain rolled his eyes. “You’re a Dragon King. If you get tired of us, you can return to your land.”
“But I willna.”
No, Esha knew Kendrick wouldn’t. If she had learned anything about him, it was his true and loyal heart. She met his gaze and smiled. There was so much she wanted to say about their night together, but she didn’t know where to begin. And what was there to say? It was the best night of her life, and she hated that it would be the only one like it. But she had known that going in.
What she hadn’t counted on was the pain she felt knowing she wouldn’t share another night with Kendrick. It was crushing, like the weight of a mountain resting on her chest. What would she do if he wanted another night with her? Would she be strong enough to refuse him? Esha honestly didn’t know.
She could tell herself that no one would know if she were with him again, but she would. She would carry that with her, letting it corrupt her each time she stood with her fellow Rangers, all of them having taken the same vow. The Rangers were all Esha had ever wanted.
Weren’t they?
She looked at Kendrick, and for a moment, she allowed herself to imagine what it might be like if they could have as many nights as they wanted. The problem was, there were too many variables and things she didn’t know. He was from Idrias, and he would return to the dragons soon. She didn’t belong there any more than he belonged on Shecrish. So where did that leave them?
The same place they had begun—apart.
“Where do we go now? What do we do?” Dain asked. “Keep hunting the entity? Do we look for Savita? Maybe find who roused the nightwraith? Or, I suppose, we could face the beast.”
Kendrick shrugged as he looked at her. “I didna place a time limit on this mission. Savita did. If I caused any of this, then I want to be the one to help right it. I’ll go wherever you want.”
So, the decision rested with her. Wonderful. She was used to turning to Savita and having her consult the runes. Now, Esha was unsure what to do. What seemed the logical move? No one had been able to track the invisible entity. As for her sister, Esha wanted to get more information before she rushed around looking for Savita. The biggest concern right now was the nightwraith. That seemed the best course of action. Then again, Dain had said it couldn’t be stopped. She smiled as she looked at Kendrick. But they had a Dragon King.
Kendrick’s lips curved. “The nightwraith?”
“Yes.”
“Well, the blending of our eccentric group is going to be short-lived,” Dain mumbled. “You know we’re all going to die, right?”
Esha chuckled. “Not all of us.”
“I can no’ know that for certain. I’ve never faced this creature before,” Kendrick added.
Dain rolled his eyes. “Which means I’ll be the only one to die.”
Kendrick clapped him on the shoulder. “Oh, I wouldna worry, my friend.”
“I feel so comforted,” Dain muttered sarcastically.
Esha laughed despite the circumstances. They were a strange trio, but if they had any chance of survival, it was because a Dragon King had joined them.
“Are you up for taking us back underground?” Kendrick asked Dain.
Esha’s stomach twisted painfully, but she kept her thoughts to herself. She had forgotten they would have to return the way they’d come.
“I should be,” Dain said. “I’ll need a bit to recover before we face the nightwraith, though.”
Kendrick shrugged. “There is another way.”
“What’s that?” Esha asked a little too hastily. She inwardly winced, hoping neither of them noticed that she was ready to do anything but go underground again.
His green eyes met hers. “I can fly us.”
“Count me in,” Dain said, his eyes as bright as his smile.