Page 23 of The Bones of the Cursed

I’m so preoccupied with my thoughts that I don’t even notice Siveral standing by Zephyr, talking to Kailu, until Siveral is striding away and barking orders at his men. It takes only a moment to realize they’re packing up, too.

“Can they just leave their post to come with us?” I ask.

“Their shift is over. The new patrol takes over this morning.”

“I am thankful for the extra help in finding my brother, but what about their families?”

Kailu turns to look at me. “Those soldiers who went missing are just as much their family as the ones waiting at home. No matter what your first assumption of me might be, I do everything in my power to protect my own, and so do they.”

I can feel the burning behind my eyes and the warmth in my nose that I get right before the tears come. I look up towards the sky to try to keep them at bay. My brother may have joined the King’s Guard for the adventures it held, but he also got a family in return.

Part of me is so happy that he has that, but another part is sad. Maybe even a bit resentful. While I sit at home worrying, he was finding a family that doesn’t include me. Perhaps Kailu senses where my thoughts have gone, since he rests his hand on my knee and squeezes it, just once, as if in reassurance. I glance down at his hand, then up at his face, surprised to find something like sympathy in his gaze. The unexpected kindness means more than he can probably understand.

When Siveral’s men are ready, Kailu clicks his tongue at Zephyr and leads the way towards the forest where the ghoul took off, hoping to find some sign as to where it went.

- KAILU -

We are only about an hour into this dreaded journey and I’m ready to stop. I need to get off this damn horse and get some space from Alanis. I could hear her heart practically burst as we entered the wooded area. I squeezed her hand to calm her, since I didn’t need her freaking out Zephyr. But then she squeezed my hand back and I swear my heart stuttered in my chest.

What the hell is going on with me?

Now I’m stuck with her wrapped around my body and I feel as if I can’t breathe.

Siveral is leading the group since he doesn’t have a passenger to worry about, so when he raises his fist, everyone pauses, holding their breath.

The forest goes abruptly quiet. Glancing at the trees around us, I slowly reach for my sword only to startle when Alanis suddenly slips off Zephyr’s back. I whip around to spy her approaching a giant oak tree. She stops and stares for a second before I hear her whisper.

“It’s all right, we don’t mean to cause you any trouble. We’re just passing through.”

Two figures step out from behind the tree wielding daggers. The female has deep purple hair and emerald green eyes, her shorter stature making her seem less dangerous than her companion, who towers over her. He is the polar opposite, with silver hair that falls in his face. The only thing similar is their eyes and the cautious expression on their faces. All my and Siveral’s soldiers fall into a fighting position.

“Elves,” Siveral states, relaxing his stance slightly.

“What are you doing in the middle of these woods?” I call from Zephyr’s back. I don’t want to appear threatening.

The Elves give Alanis a smile. “We’re sorry to intrude on your travels. We were just collecting herbs for healing salves and such.” The female gives a slight incline of her head towards the satchel she carries.

The male Elf offers his hand to Alanis, and when she places her hand in his, he kisses the back of it and says, “I’m Novus.”

“I never did understand what the difference was between Fae and Elves,” Alanis says. “I just know our government said the Fae were too powerful and didn’t belong.”

“They were probably worried about their shapeshifting ability,” Novus says.

“Can you shapeshift?” She turns to me, and I give her a big smile that shows off my sharp teeth.

“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

I see the annoyance return to her eyes the second the words leave my mouth. She grumbles, “You probably shift into a mosquito. An annoying, buzzing, life-sucking mosquito.”

I smirk at her and shrug.

“Insufferable, smug, Fae bastard,” she grumbles under her breath before turning back to the female. “I’m Alanis.” Her voice now much softer when she isn’t grumbling about me.

The purple-haired Elf who only stands at about five feet tall, if she’s lucky, reaches out a tiny hand, her eyes looking up to Alanis. “Sarya.”

“Where are you two headed?” I ask.

The female swallows her amusement at my and Alanis’s squabble. “As I said, we were out collecting herbs. We got delayed by ghouls, though. They’ve been swarming the forest, and they pushed us further north than we wanted to go.”

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