Page 31 of Taloned Heart

“Thank you.” Abraxas cleared his throat and rolled the map up in his hand. Should he say something? The old man just awkwardly stared at him. “We know where we’re going. It’s a start.”

Finally, the old man cleared his throat and said, “Take care of her. You hear me? She’s the only thing I’ve got left.”

Ah, shit. There was a time when Abraxas would have shrugged that off. But now he thought of Nyx and how he’d left her alone with Tanis, and the guilt that still rode his shoulders that he wasn’t there with his children when they needed him to be their father. Sure, they weren’t a kingdom that needed saving, but he was supposed to be there for everything with them. And all he’d done was put them aside for the greater good.

Voice raspy and emotions choking him, Abraxas nodded. “I’ll look after her as if she were my own.”

Perhaps his words confused the old man. Abraxas knew he looked rather young and not at all like someone who had children, especially grown children at that, but Beauty’s father quickly regained his composure and nodded. “Good. I’ll have to hunt you down if she dies, boy.”

Boy.

When was the last time anyone had called him that? Abraxas pressed his lips into a thin line so he didn’t laugh, and nodded at the old man. At the very least, he’d make Beauty’s father feel like he was involved.

He could do that for the man. He could make him feel like he was the hero of this story.

“Ready?” Lore’s voice sliced through their quiet moment.

Beauty trailed along behind her, and even though her eyes were ringed with red from crying, she appeared brighter than she had since they’d arrived. He knew adventure ran through her veins as thoroughly as any other. She was not a young woman who enjoyed staying still.

Abraxas nodded. “Ready. We’ll have to get out of Tenebrous during the day. Both of you keep your hoods up, and if everything goes to shit, I’ll keep everyone off you while you run.”

Lore rolled her eyes. “No one is going to recognize us.”

He wouldn’t be so certain of that.

They left Borovoi’s home behind with only the slightest bit of hesitation. Abraxas had no interest in looking at the cursed place any longer, nor did he want to stay underground. But beyond, Tenebrous was almost more dangerous.

The city had woken, and that meant there were so many opportunities for someone to notice them. The people who wandered the streets wore no hoods, and the three of them stuck out. Eyes were on them, and Abraxas immediately felt every muscle in his body lock up.

It took only three blocks for someone to start following them. Five for the creatures to call out and ask for them to remove their hoods.

Lore glanced back at him and he knew what she wanted. He took his own hood off first, turning toward the men with a wicked grin. “Gentlemen! What can I help you with?”

His size should have been enough to deter them, but it wasn’t. This city had become home to the creatures, and though they were kinder than the humans, he wondered if it wasn’t by that much.

One of the men who wandered closer had the face of a rat, whiskers and all. He had no idea what kind of creature this man was, but he seemed even less humanoid than the others.

Baring his teeth in a snarl, Abraxas loomed over him. “We’re just passing through.”

“And we’re just making sure you ain’t smuggling humans out of Tenebrous. You know how much money those bring in? If anyone’s making the profit, it’s us.” The rat man jabbed a thumb into his chest, then sneered up at Abraxas. “You wouldn’t be stealing from Tenebrous, stranger. Would ya?”

“Not stealing anything.”

“Then you won’t mind if they take off their hoods?” The rat leaned around him to leer at the two women, and clearly they were women. Even cloaks couldn’t hide how small they were, nor Beauty’s curvy hips.

Abraxas was ready to snap the rat’s neck. He had no problem with violence or killing to keep his women safe. But Lore lifted her hand and pulled her hood off. What he stared at was not... Lore. Not quite.

She’d somehow changed her features, just slightly. Her ears were longer, her hair more red than gold, her eyes twisting into a green rather than the blue he loved so dearly. She smiled at the rat, her gaze serene and soft. Not at all like herself.

“We had hoped to keep our journey quiet,” she said, her voice light and airy. “I apologize if we’ve inconvenienced you.”

He’d thought the rat man would fall under her spell, but he didn’t. Instead, the man crossed his arms and nodded at Beauty. “Then who’s that? You expect me to believe two elves are walking through Tenebrous with a lone bodyguard?”

With a deep snarl, Abraxas lunged at him. But Lore whispered a quiet word, and he pulled back at the last second. “They only need one bodyguard,” he still growled, making sure the man knew what danger he was in.

Again, the rat only laughed. Did the man have a death wish?

Lore reached for Beauty’s cloak and Abraxas could almost smell her magic. It poured out of her skin so easily now that he knew the scent, knew the feel of it as well.

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