Page 30 of A Sword of Ice
“Let’s go, little lord,” Julius whispered, though there was no levity in his tone. “The prince awaits.”
* * *
“Is the Fae still alive?”That was the first thing Julius asked as they barged into their hideout.
Shula was leaning against a corner, her hands in her pockets, eyes staring at the ceiling but also through it, as if she were somewhere else entirely.
At the sound of Julius’ voice, she looked at him and slipped her hand into her pocket, pulling the map she carried around with her since they’d left Castle Aileach. She unfolded it and stared down, her brown-gold eyes squinting.
Because she saw something they couldn’t.
“The light is still bright,” she said, looking up and wrinkling her nose. “What’s going on?”
Julius raked a hand through his hair. “We need to find them quickly. The soldiers are rounding everyone up and testing them with iron. They either kill or take the Fae away.”
“Then we need to find the Elemental before the soldiers can.” Valerio paced the ground, a sudden fervency in his movements that came out in short, clipped steps. He paused. “Julius, Uric, Ryker,Weylyn…” He turned to the Fae they all avoided and met his golden eyes. “You’re coming with me.” He turned back. “Clay, Shula, you stay here until we get back. Shula, tell me exactly where she is.”
Julius cut his gaze back over to Shula and watched her puzzled mien change. Her hands trembled, her body went taut, and beneath the parts of her visible skin, he could make out the beginnings of the soft glow of fire. He was familiar enough with her now to know when she was primed for a fight.
“Why can’t I go with you guys?” she demanded.
“Because your face is splattered on every wall out in the streets, Fire Dancer,” Julius answered for the prince.
She slashed a glare his way that let him know if they were facing off on the field, she’d go for the kill.
“So is Valerio’s,” she argued.
Valerio waved off her statement. “Your portrait is more recognizable than mine. You are not going.”
Shula’s nostrils flared. “Then I won’t tell you the location.”
Oh, shit.
Julius sighed, though a smirk touched the corner of his mouth, and propped himself against a wall, reaching to his holster to pull out his dagger to pick at his nails.
Shula was just getting started.
And he knew it was going to be a while.
* * *
Shula felther anger build in a fiery sensation in her chest. How dare he? He, and all of them, were just as wanted as she was, and she was the only one capable of finding the next Elemental.
She also knew her threat was a low blow. The logical, calmer part of her mind said it didn’t matter who found the Fae, as long as they were found. But the part inside her that she equated tomagic, the fiery part attached to her soul blazed with anger and pride.
She was an Elemental, therefore it was her Mana given right to find this Fae.
Why should she stay behind? Was it because they didn’t trust her even after she’d proved they could? Was she notenoughfor them? The insecurities threatened to drag her under, and she gave into it with the sharp rupture of anger.
“Shula,” Valerio began, and she could hear the fraying notes of patience in his voice. “There are dozens of soldiers out there. We cannot risk you.”
Her hands shook and she crumbled them into the map she held so they wouldn’t see how much she was affected by those words.
“I am not your prisoner anymore, Valerio,” she spat. “I am just as much a part of this as you all are.”
Valerio’s dark brows pulled together in a frown. “Of course you are not a prisoner, but that does not mean it is wise to take you with us.”
“Why not?” She stepped forward, her voice rising an octave. “I can find the Fae. I canhelp.”
