“You’re alone now,” Kash added.
The man shook his head. “Velora knows I can take care of myself.”
In a flash, both men spun away from each other like partners in a dance. They returned and faced one another, weapons drawn, glaring and slowly circling.
Stepping out of the shadows, I made myself known. “Marco, I would hate to tell Maeve that you got blood on the marble floor.”
Hearing my voice, Marco turned and dropped his knife. He bowed and placed a fist over his heart. “Sorry, Miss Rhea. Maeve sent us. She thought you might need help.”
I shook my head and wondered if Maeve had gone crazy. Was she really expecting them to help me, or was this her way of playing a prank on me by making me babysit Velora? Or—and I hated to consider it—she really thought I couldn’t do this on my own.
As if hearing my thoughts, Velora floated out of the sitting room and gave me a look. “Can you make the white stuff go away?” she asked prettily, and then shivered.
“Sorry, Velora.” I smiled. “I’m not strong enough by myself to dispel this. It’s best to let the storm run its course.”
I wasn’t sure, but I thought I heard her harrumph and make a comment on how Maeve could probably get rid of it.
During the exchange, Kash had made his way over to me, tucking his knife into his belt. “You know them?” he asked cautiously.
“They’re um, sort of friends of the family.”
I knew little about Marco except that Maeve vouched for him. Velora was a mermaid, and her social skills were a bit lacking, having lived in the sea all her life. I found her reaction to the snow to be quite comical.
“I have to also assume that Maeve told you how to get here?” I asked Marco.
He scratched his chin and held out a charmed string with a lock of hair. “She gave us a tracking spell.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course she did.” Maeve had used the glamour charm I gave her and reversed it into a tracking spell to find me. She was smart.
Having Velora and Marco in the manor seemed to have put Kash on edge. He didn’t know what to make of the newcomers, and he kept edging himself closer to my side.
“Come, eat. We have food,” I said, stepping away from Kash.
He noticed I avoided him and frowned.
At the mention of food, Marco perked up and Velora squealed in delight.
We showed them into the kitchen and poured them soup into porcelain bowls I had found upstairs hidden in a trunk. Kash pulled his stool close to mine, leaning close, while Marco kept his hands on the table where we could see them at all times.
Velora leaned over the stew and gave it a sniff before wrinkling her nose. “You ruined it.”
“What?” Kash seemed offended. “How?”
“She likes her food raw,” I guessed.
Kash reached for his knife again, his eye narrowing in suspicion at what kind of creature she could be. Marco mirrored his actions and placed a protective hand in front of Velora.
I had to settle Kash down and reveal a secret I wasn’t sure if Velora wanted known.
“Relax, she’s not an onwae,” I whispered, referring to the shape-shifting dark fae creature that hungered for human flesh. I placed my hand over Kash’s as he gripped his knife under the table.
“Then what is she; for she definitely isn’t human. I can tell there’s something off about her.” He leaned toward me whispering, his shoulder brushing mine.
I glanced to Marco in a silent question, and he nodded.
“Velora is a mermaid,” I said. “Almost as dangerous as an onwae.”
Kash’s knife lowered. “What?” He glanced at the curious girl. Velora was oblivious to the dangerous fight about to break out on her behalf. She was picking through the soup with her spoon like it was the most disgusting thing ever.
“Do you have any butt?” she asked curiously.
A snort came rushing out, and I clapped a hand over my mouth. Kash’s lips tightened as he tried to not laugh.
Marco smiled and said, “I’ve got your butter right here.” From the folds of his bag, he produced a jar.
Velora ignored the soup and used her spoon to dig in and eat a spoonful.
I tried to hold back a gag but could feel my shoulders heave, and I had to look away.
After the mystery of Velora’s background was solved, we spent the rest of the evening in mild conversation. Marco shared that he’d grown up in Eldor and had once trained with Gridlock of the Goldiron Clan. They were a clan of dwarves that were strictly mercenaries for hire. Marco wanted to return to visit, and Maeve heard they were coming to Kiln. She begged for them to check on me.
“Have you heard the location of any more of Allemar’s apprentices?” I asked, referring to the sorcerer my sister Maeve had fought against and defeated in Florin.
Marco seemed uncomfortable. “I don’t know. I was Aspen’s friend, not Allemar’s lackey. But I know that even Allemar refused to come to Kiln. There was something here that even he was afraid of disturbing. An old magic.”
Marco’s warning made me shift on the stool uncomfortably, feeling sick to my stomach as I remembered how the sentient being I encountered wanted to devour my magic. Dare I reveal what I saw? Would they believe me? I had to try.
“I felt it when I was scrying the kingdom. I’ve encountered nothing as powerful as that entity.”
Kash stared into the fire, deep in thought. “There is something stirring beneath the mountain, causing it to become restless. Earthquakes, avalanches, and bouts of madness have erupted throughout the towns. It has many of the locals frightened, and even the king is worried.”
“Then what is the king doing about it?” I snapped. “I don’t think kidnapping people is the way to solve the problem. Or is that just a rumor?”
“It’s not a rumor,” Kash said. “The king sends his blades to find anyone with power and bring them to the palace.” He looked directly at me in warning.
“Why?” I asked.
“I don’t know why.” Kash rubbed the bridge of his nose. “But if that’s the case, then the best course of action would be to keep you hidden here. If you leave the manor, I cannot guarantee your safety.”
“So, I do nothing?”
“Exactly, you will be safe if you do nothing.”
“But what about the others?” I asked.
“I don’t care about the others.” Kash’s fist hit the table with an angry thud. The muscle in his jaw twitched as he tried to control his anger. “Only you.”
My heart thrummed in my chest as I knew it was the wrong thing to do. “I can’t do nothing. I need to get inside the mountain.”
Kash shook his head and leaned back on his stool. “You won’t survive.”
“Why?” My mouth suddenly went dry, and my fist curled around the fabric of my skirt.
“It’s a labyrinth of tunnels. Very few know their way through them, and ever since the fall of the dwarven city of Ter Dell, goblins have overrun the passageways.”
“You’ve been inside them,” I said, realizing how confident he sounded.
“I have,” Kash said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “And I barely survived getting out. I would hate for you to experience the same fate.”