Page 83 of Raven's Dawn

Would he be safe? Yes. I didn’t adore Caeda, but I didn’t view her as a threat either. Did I want to exclude him? Absolutely not.

“That’s silly,” I said. “At least come down for breakfast. We can talk more about everything?—”

“That’s just it. I think we’ve talked plenty.” He looked at Rain, and then again at me. “Finish this trip. Kill the cannibals. Then we’ll talk more.”

“Jake—” Rain began.

He slammed the door in our faces.

We turned to each other, exhaled deeply, and started down the hall.

Breakfast was held in the same place dinner had been. The same massive table, surrounded by the same wall murals, sitting with all the same people. Minus Jake, and plus Ailas. He was Caeda’s husband. The paintings on the wall did him justice, but it was odd to see him in the flesh.

He wasn’t a bad-looking guy, somewhere between his late twenties and mid-thirties. Of course, he was at least a century older than that. His golden blond hair dangled to the middle of his chest, half swooped up to the back of his head, exposing his pointed ears. Icy blue eyes pierced everything they fell upon, his prominent brows drawn in suspicion. While paintings could capture his likeness, they couldn’t convey the unsettling aura surrounding him. Handsome as he may have been, there was something bone chilling about his expression.

Maybe that’s where the rumors began. That cold, dark look in his eyes.

“You all did very well on your quest yesterday,” Caeda said, standing before her seat. Her husband took the one at the end, the head of the table. I didn’t like that, but I minded my business. “Thank you for participating as you did. I know it may have seemed a bit odd, but you can learn a lot about people from an exercise like that. The way they handle themselves in situations they never thought they would be in.”

“We established all this yesterday,” Iliantha said. “No one requires praise. Let’s discuss what we came here for.”

“Never were one for pleasantries, were you, do gràs?” Caeda asked.

“Pleasantries were fine a day and a half ago. To be blunt, I’m not incredibly pleased with the way you handled things yesterday, and I would like to carry on.” Iliantha stood as well, blue eyes glowing. “So please. Can we discuss what we came here for?”

I appreciated that. It was rare to see Iliantha stand firm. Perhaps Caeda brought something out of her that was rare to see.

“Very well.” She turned to Laila, and then to Rain. “I was most pleased with the two of you. And I believe you,”—she pointed at Laila—“are the one who offered me knowledge. So stand, share something, and I will follow.”

“Respectfully, after what you put us through yesterday,” Laila said, standing, “it’s only fair that you extend the first peace offering.”

“Mmm.” She shook her head. “Only if you answer a question first.”

“Depends on the question,” Laila said.

“I wasn’t referring to you.” Caeda looked at Rain. “How did you heal so fast?”

Rain glanced at Laila. She nodded. Rain answered, “I’m eternal.”

Caeda laughed. “I don’t believe that.”

“Believe what you want. But I am.”

“How old are you?” Caeda asked.

“Thirty in the fall,” Rain said.

“I didn’t ask when you were made immortal.” Each word was like a thorn covered vine. “I asked how old you are.”

“Twenty-nine,” Rain said. “I was made eternal just under two months ago.”

Laughing, Caeda crossed her arms. Her glowing eyes narrowed at Rain. “Is this some kind of game to you, lass?”

“Do you want me to lie?” Grabbing the table in front of her, Rain leaned in. “I can, if that’s what you want. But if you want the truth, that’s it. Which I believe ties into the knowledge that Laila plans to give you.” She pointed down the table. “If you want to read my mind, I will let you. But not until you give us more than you have. Our group here, we’re trying to take down someone who is killing your people as fast as they’re killing the Fae. You’re the one who’s playing games, Caeda. Not us.”

Caeda’s eyes still glowed, and her jaw was still tight, but she forced it to soften. “We’ve only been able to wipe out small factions of the air an tagadh. Do not twist the facts, child. We want them dead as badly as you do.”

“Then help us,” Laila said. “What we need is more information. All we know right now is that they travel worldwide, and they communicate by carving into trees. We recently discovered that they’re using some type of dark magic created by the maalaichte cnihme. We have no idea how they travel, or where they’re traveling to, or how many of them there are.”

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