Page 33 of Hopeless Sacrifice
Chapter Eleven
Old Friends
We land in the middle of the village just in front of Saint’s Inn; the most prosperous whore house in all the land. Or so my aunt says.
The rain soaks into me, chilling me as I stand clinging to Ryder, his lips hovering near mine as we just breathe each other in. I hate that we’re avoiding something so big. I hate that he’s keeping it from me.
Why would he keep it from me?
Deep down I know why.
“You two going to just cuddle all day or are we going to save the world and shit?” The gruff tone pulls my attention away from my dark thoughts.
I turn and I know who it is before my eyes even lock with his.
Fucking Streven.
“Being the second in command, I assumed you wouldn’t need so much hand holding.” My lips purse as I begin hiking through the mud to my aunt’s house.
The weather darkens the empty street. Deep puddles line the lane of small, deteriorating houses. Shacks with minimal shelter surround Saint’s Inn. Sleet beats against them, tapping hard to get inside the small homes.
But Saint’s Inn stands shining and proud among the storm. Impenetrable from the chaos outside.
Until the nix come.
That thought has me moving faster.
“I thought the pretty little angel might need my assistance,” Streven says, keeping pace with me as I jog across the muddy road. I don’t have time for his banter right now.
Two more fae shudder in at my side.
“I need you to spread out, get the people out of their homes. Tell them to pack only what they can carry and to seek safety as far away from the coast as they can get.” The porch steps meet my boots quickly as I storm up the stairs.
The four of them disperse. They head in all directions and a meager amount of calmness pushes into me just knowing we’ll get this place cleared out soon.
Pain shakes through my knuckles as I bang hard against the door. The small numbers 6969 above the door rattle against my force.
The door cracks open, not allowing the rain to come inside. A woman a little younger than myself peers out at me. Her amber eyes look up at me in confusion. My lips part, unsure how I should say this.
Finally, Lady Ivory steps into the hall behind the woman. Long blonde locks curl lightly around her pretty features.
“Kara, sweetheart!” My aunt’s voice makes me weak. It makes the terror in me grow into an unmanageable thing.
What if something happens to these people?
They’re so fragile.
“We have to go. I need you to get everyone together.” I pause on the lacy bra the woman in front of me is wearing. “Get them dressed. Inweather appropriateclothing. Something that’ll cover more than her boobs would probably be best.”
I push open the door and step inside. The two of them look at my drenched clothes and tangled, wet hair as if I’m a wild woman.
Maybe I am now.
“What is going on, Kara?” Lady Ivory pulls the beige cardigan covering her small frame around herself, hiding the tight black corset beneath.
Her emerald eyes, identical to my own, grow wide with worry.
My gaze shifts to the woman at her side, not wanting to panic everyone all at once, but also knowing it’s inevitable.
