Page 90 of The Ruins of the Heartless Fae

“I’m fine—”

Truda rolled her eyes. “Just take the help. How are you going to explore this place if you’re bleeding everywhere?”

Magni clamped his mouth shut as Eyfura helped him with his wound. Kolfinna watched the interaction silently. She couldn’t relax even though they would move forward. Half of the remaining group didn’t like her. Fenris had said he would take the party’s words into consideration when making the decision to make her a Royal Guard, so what could she expect from Magni and Truda? She had to do better than her best.

Once everyone got patched up, it was time to move. The next room was another hall like the one they had just left, but this one was three times larger and reminded her of a ballroom. Studded tiles lay flatly on the floor in a patchwork of vibrant colors and dozens of glass chandeliers hung in the ceiling in a circular formation surrounding an enormous chandelier with different glittering teardrop gemstones. Although light streamed into the ballroom through clerestory windows, it was still dim.

“I didn’t realize fae were so gaudy.” Blár tapped one of the gem centered tiles with the toe of his boot. Some of the tiles were cracked, while others were missing gemstones.

Eyfura stuck close to Kolfinna as they stepped deeper into the empty ballroom. “How are you holding up?” Eyfura asked with a hesitant smile. She had cleaned the dirt off her face, but tiny smudges remained near her jawline and temples.

“I should be asking you that,” Kolfinna said. Their footsteps echoed in the hall, and Kolfinna had to drop her voice so the others couldn’t hear. “You look …” She struggled to find an appropriate word, but came up with nothing.

“I know, I know. I probably look like crap.” Eyfura gave a short, hollow laugh. “But I want to talk about something else. Or more likesomeoneelse.” Eyfura’s gaze flicked to Blár, who took the lead with Mímir, and she grinned conspiratorially. “So what’s the scoop with you and Blár? You guys didn’t sound or look like sworn enemies back in there—” She jerked a thumb to the doorway they had just come through. “What’s between you two?”

“N-Nothing!” Kolfinna could feel the tips of her ears flush with heat. “We’re just … working together, that’s all.”

Eyfura cocked an eyebrow and gave her an unconvinced look. “That sounds very suspicious.”

“And what about you and Magni?” Kolfinna raised her own eyebrow to mimic Eyfura. “You both seemed awfully close.”

Eyfura snorted and shook her head; her purple earrings caught in the dim light and glimmered just like the glass chandeliers above them. “That’s not even close to the same thing! We work together. That’s it.” Eyfura’s gaze roved over Blár’s tall frame, and she grinned. “I didn’t think he’d be your type, but hey, I can’t fault you. Heisyounger than Captain Asulf—”

“Eyfura, you’re jumping to conclusions.” Kolfinna’s face grew hotter. “It’s not like that.”

“I don’t believe you!” Eyfura laughed, and the strain around her eyes finally seemed to lessen. “What do you like about him the most?”

Before Kolfinna could answer, screeching at the side of the room caught their attention. Half a dozen cat-like creatures were moving toward them in slow motion across the ballroom. Gray, white, and red fur tufted around their bodies like thick manes, and their eyes glowed a vicious red. Fire danced at their paws and their tails were made of flames, whipping behind them in a swirl of sparking red and yellow. In unison, high-pitched screams emitted from their mouths.

Blár raised his hand and ice splintered from the floor by the creatures’ feet, but they seemed to anticipate it because they lurched to the side, their movements lither than any of the other creatures they had seen in the ruins. One of them jumped in front of Eyfura and she hesitated, her face stilled into a shocked expression.

Kolfinna’s magic moved like a whip. She forced the stones out of the floor with such speed that they whizzed forward and clipped the creature’s head. The creature careened to the side, while the others charged at Kolfinna and Eyfura.

Ice erupted from the floor and captured two, encapsulating them in chunks of frost. The other two were impaled by a giant, sharp, ice spear. It happened so quickly that all it took was a few blinks and it was done. All the creatures lay on the floor dead—either frozen or speared.

Eyfura released a shuddered breath, a hand to her chest. “I-I’m sorry. I froze and I couldn’t think.” She stared at the frozen creature, its tail no longer fire but instead a red, furry rope. “I must seem like such an incompetent guard. I’m sorry.”

“You could’ve at least left some for the rest of us.” Magni frowned and the fire on his fingers flickered to nothing.

“You moved too slow.” Blár jammed a finger in Kolfinna’s direction. “She managed to get one. Why couldn’t you?”

Kolfinna hadn’t killed the cat creature with her stones, but it definitely died when Blár impaled it with his ice spear. Truda noticed too, because she said, “You still ended up killingallof them.”

“If you’ve got time to complain, then try to be quicker,” Blár huffed.

They continued in silence after that.

Beyond the ballroom was a hallway, and beyond that were sets of doors that led to various different rooms: a breakroom, a mini kitchen, and empty rooms. Farther down the hallway were stairs that led down into a lobby, which extended into a dormitory. Rooms paralleled each other, all with the same things: a bed, a dresser, and a bookshelf. Some of the books were still intact, and all of them were written in rune writing.

“This can’t be real,” Kolfinna murmured as she picked up a book titledTeachings of the Mer Folk. The pages were thin and cracked when she opened it. An inky drawing of a half-fish woman filled the page.

Eyfura peeked over her shoulder. “What’s wrong? What is that thing?”

Kolfinna placed the book back on the desk; half a dozen other books were stacked on the table haphazardly. She picked up another titledTheGreat Elven Wars.

“Come on, we have to move,” Mímir called from the doorway, ushering them forward. “There’s nothing in here.”

Truda, who had been looking underneath the bed frame, straightened. Blár and Magni were already in the hallway, ready to move on to the next room.

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