Page 10 of Taloned Heart

“You died.”

“I did.” Lore never hesitated from the truth. “But I did not stay that way for very long.”

“Obviously.” The satyr waved her hand up and down, gesturing to Lore’s body. “You look healthier than I am.”

He watched the pain twist Lore’s expression, and he knew the reasoning why. She didn’t want someone like herself, a woman who had spent months on a ship traveling here, to look more healthy than the people who were farming. He agreed with her. These people should be prosperous and live a quiet, happy life. Not wondering why a woman like Lore looked so good when they were struggling.

Still wincing with her thoughts, Lore asked, “Can you tell us where everyone went?”

“Oh.” Myrna looked down at her blunt fingers and curled them into fists in her lap. “They all went away. We don’t know what happened to them, only that once you were gone, and the castle turned over to the elves, humans started getting rounded up. They were good folk here. We moved knowing that there was enough space near the sea, and my neighbors weren’t like the guards. Those people in the city deserved what they got, but I quite liked everyone here. They were welcoming. My neighbor used to cook me dinner when she saw me working hard in my garden. Good people. They lived off the land and respected it.”

“How long ago?”

“Not long. A few weeks, maybe? One day they were here and the next... They weren’t.” Myrna’s big eyes filled with tears. “I thought maybe I’d see if she was sick, you know? So I went into her house and everything was upended. She put up a fight before they dragged her out of that house. I’ll tell you that. But no one was left. Not her. Her husband. Not even their two children.”

Lore glanced over her shoulder at Abraxas and he knew what she wanted to do next. She wanted to save them.

Of course she did. She wanted to rush out of here like an avenging goddess and bring everyone home. But they couldn’t. Not unless she had a plan to do that, remain hidden, get Zephyr, and then high tail it out of here.

Deep in his gut, he knew this would no longer be a quick trip to save their friends. She’d never been able to deny someone help if they needed it.

And the entire kingdom needed her now.

He cracked his neck to the side and nodded. “Where are they taking the humans?”

Myrna’s gaze flicked to him, her eyes widening at the question. “Well, I don’t know.”

“There are no rumors?”

“Some say they might be brought to the castle, but there are thousands of people who have disappeared. They can’t all be in that castle.”

They could be if magic was involved. He met Lore’s gaze, trying to see if she could piece together what Margaret had done with the humans. Magic was hard to come by that could hide thousands of people, but portals were much easier. His first guess was that Margaret was bringing them all to the castle and then throwing them into a portal to keep them locked away somewhere no one would find. Of course, elven magic was strange. If she’d found a spell that could shrink them, that might be possible as well.

He didn’t really know what was possible with elven magic, if he was being honest. There seemed to be no limits to their power sometimes.

Lore hummed low underneath her breath, and then nodded. “I’d like to give you a gift, Myrna. You have been more forthcoming with us than I expected.”

“I can take no gift from a goddess.”

“You can, and you will.” Lore smiled at her. “What do you need?”

The satyr’s mouth gaped open, trying her best to say something before she shrugged. “I have everything I need here. My family is well, my friends are happy, there is food and safety. I have nothing that I wish for.”

He knew that wouldn’t satisfy his elf, and Abraxas crossed his arms over his chest as he watched her dip into the satyr’s mind. Myrna froze, apparently able to feel the cool sensation of Lore pawing through her thoughts. He knew what it felt like.

Then Lore sighed and flicked her fingers to the side. At her gesture, a spell threw itself out of her body and twined into the floor. The house shifted, rolling beneath their feet as though it had come alive. The floor unfurled, the wall stretched back, and then there was another room with a round door that opened on its own.

Lore had built the satyr a bathroom, it looked like. The tiled floor dipped into a recessed round circle, where warm water bubbled already. A hot spring? He didn’t think there were any this close to the ocean, but he wouldn’t put it past his powerful love to have summoned one to life.

“A place for you to relax,” Lore said, her gaze softening at the tears that glistened in Myrna’s eyes. “It looks very similar to your homeland, I presume? That is what it looked like in your memories, at least.”

“It’s exactly what they looked like. We haven’t been able to... that is, the land didn’t want to give us...” Myrna shook her head. “I have no words to give you in thanks.”

“You already gave them to me.” Lore touched underneath the woman’s chin, forcing Myrna to look up at her. “You told me where to find them.”

He watched as Lore’s hand slid away from the other woman’s face and then followed her out of the house without a word. Lore drew her hood up over her head.

“We need to see what’s happening at the castle.”

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