Page 40 of Long Live the Elf Queen

He sat quietly for a moment and took a long drink. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Nah.”

“Oh, come on,” Layala pressed. “You have to tell us.”

An attractive light pink colored his cheeks, and he grabbed a piece of bread. “Shadowslayer.”

“That’s actually pretty good.”

“A Lightbringer and a Shadowslayer. The perfect match,” Kail said with a wink.

“Perfect,” Layala echoed and wrapped her fingers around the sword’s soft ivory handle. Lifting it, she tested its weight. Its symmetry and balance were unmatched. Its weight was not overbearing but heavy enough it would create quick and precise momentum.My father made this, she silently marveled. She gripped the handle tighter.He once held this sword.She imagined him placing it over hot flames and then hammering it into shape. She could almost hear the sound of metal cracking metal.

“How does it feel?” Thane asked.

“Incredible. I can’t wait to swing it around. Up for a sparring match?”

“Always. You can get me flat on my back anytime.”

“He’s such a flirt, isn’t he?” Kail drawled. “You don’t know how many maidens, human, elf and Fae alike drool over him without even knowing who he is. Not a dry seat in the house.”

“Maybe it should be Thane Heartbreaker.” Layala cocked a challenging brow.Speaking of heartbreak—she glanced at Alisara. Her talk of rewards and betrayal hadn’t left the back of Layala’s mind.

“I can’t help that I’m magnetic, my dear.”

“Big head,” she murmured. She slid her new sword into the empty scabbard on her back. The weight of it was comforting; she had a piece of her father with her now.

“Anyway,” Thane said with an eye roll. “I need to know if you’ve heard anything about the All Seeing Stone. Someone took it and I need it.”

“Interesting,” Kail said, bringing his silver mug to his lips. “In fact, I have heard about it. About six weeks ago. A group of travelers was in here bragging about someone they knew having gotten the stone. I figured it was just talk but—”

“Who has it?”

Kail’s eyes darted around the smoky room, and he shifted a little in his seat. Someone at a table nearby let out an ear-wrenching bellow. Sensing Kail’s nervous energy, Layala made a point to check who was nearby. At a nearby table Alisara sat smoking with three other maidens. The closest booth held a group of four human men with pipes in their mouths and cards in their hands. A man on stage played a violin with a light toe-tapping medley. And their three Raven companions sat at a table with human women on each of their laps. The lady with Leif hand-fed him berries like he was a High King.

“You’re not going to like the answer,” Kail said.

“Like it or not, I need to know.”

Chapter18

Layala’s eyebrows drew up. That meant someone they knew possessed the stone.

Kail set his mug down and tapped his fingers on the rim. “I know you don’t like the woodland elves here in our land, but I don’t kick anyone out of my tavern unless they cause trouble, and that’s who I heard talking about it. They said their Lord Brunard has it.”

“Brunard,” Thane said flatly. Layala could almost hear his teeth grind. She was instantly transported to Thane bleeding from a hundred little slices all over his body, slumped over with his arms held up in chains, caged like an animal. Jeers and taunts from the crowd echoed in her mind even now, and the same rage that filled her once, burned in her chest.

“I heard about your—run-in with him recently,” Kail said. “How you’ll persuade him to give it to you will be interesting. I almost wish I could be there.”

“When I cut off his head, he won’t need any persuading.”

Kail laughed. “You’ll need to get him to talk first.”

Layala took a swig of ale to wash down her food and cleared her throat. Before Thane went into a rage, cutting off heads, they needed to know more. Something substantive, more than chatter. Layala knew too well that rumors could be complete fabrications. “How do we know for certain he has it? They could be untrue claims.”

Kail shrugged. “That’s the only thing I’ve heard. I don’t see why they’d make something like that up. And if you two know for certain it’s no longer in the tomb, then someone has it.”

Layala shifted toward Thane. “Do you believe Brunard could have gotten through the traps to get it?”

“Brunard is both clever and able. It’s possible. I just don’t know why he’d want it in the first place.”

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