Warrior's Dawn (Fire and Tears) (7 page)

“Check that floor,” she murmured.

As he disappeared up the stairs, she shook her head in an attempt to clear it so she could pay attention to their surroundings.

She searched the ground floor and made sure the place hadn’t been used since her last visit. She didn’t take advantage of this particular spot very often, so it wasn’t as clean as some of her other hideouts. But the dust wasn’t thick enough to give away their presence if someone made a pass through the ground floor. From her search, it appeared no one had bothered to enter this building for some time.

Once she was confident they’d be safe for the day, she followed Althir to the second level, the floor with the rooms the former tavern owner had let out to travelers and the occasional overly drunken customer.

Althir met her at the top of the steps. She tried not to react, to give away her growing awareness of him, but he continued to stare at her with the same focus and intensity as he’d kept on her during their entire journey here. And it was getting more and more difficult to breathe normally under that scrutiny.

“This floor is clear,” he said, his voice deep and quiet in the silent hallway. “Nothing but a few scurrying mice to keep us company.”

She nodded, surprised to find she couldn’t seem to speak. He was close enough she could feel his natural heat. It sparked a visceral memory of standing pressed tightly against him in the narrow gap across the street from the weapons storage building. The hard muscles of his chest had felt surprisingly wonderful against her breasts. So much so she’d wished they had less clothing separating their skin. The thought of rubbing her naked breasts over his chiseled physique left her lightheaded.

The fact that she had such thoughts about Althir humiliated her, made her feel weak and vulnerable.

If only he would stop looking at her that way! She needed time to herself, to get her head straight and purge his scent from her nostrils.

“I’ll take a room near the front of the building,” she managed to say around her dry throat. “You take a room at the rear. That way we can keep watch over more of the area. I’m not as confident of the security of this spot as I was the previous one.”

He straightened a little, seeming to loom larger and more formidable before her. She didn’t back down, even managed to return his stare, but she could tell he was about to argue with her. She just couldn’t allow him to stay anywhere near her for another day. Not if she wanted to retain her sanity.

Fortunately, she’d presented him with a valid and logical plan. Unless he wanted to put them at potential risk, he had very little room to debate her strategy.

With a slight frown and an irritated grunt, he said, “I’ll stay near the room you choose. I hear well. You won’t have to speak loudly to alert me to trouble.”

Her shoulders dipped in relief. Afraid he’d notice, she skirted around him and ducked into a room looking out over the street in front of the tavern. She went right to the window and tried to ignore the fact that he’d followed her rather than going into one of the other rooms.

When she could no longer ignore his stare, she faced him and raised a brow, trying for irritated but unaffected.

“Did you really think I would let that minion kill you?”

He asked so quietly she had trouble reading his tone. “It never crossed my mind one way or the other. Before it happened, I hadn’t thought to be in a position where you might need to save my life. During… I was too busy trying not to get killed.”

“And after? You were surprised.”

“I was relieved.”

“You were surprised.”

She huffed out an annoyed grunt. “Maybe. I still haven’t really thought about it.”

“You thought about it enough to know you wanted to thank me quickly.”

“I… I didn’t want you to think I was ungrateful for the help.”

“Why not? Why would you care?”

“Why do you? Why are you pushing this? And what does it matter? Someone saves your life, you thank them. That’s it, all there is to it. It’s done. Now go mind the back of the building. Or would you prefer a patrol sneaks up on us while we argue?”

“I’d hear them coming.”

That made her frown. “Your hearing is that good?”

“Minions are that noisy. But yes, my hearing is also that good.”

Damn. That meant he could hover in her doorway for as long as he liked and she had no real excuse to send him away.

She needed him gone. “I can’t hear that well so I need to concentrate. You’re distracting me.”

His intense stare didn’t waver but another of his very slight smiles lifted his lips. She didn’t trust that expression. There was something too…purposeful in the look. Like he knew something she didn’t and intended to act on it.

A slight shiver tickled her spine. He knew, she realized. He could tell she was having trouble controlling her attraction to him. She wanted to curse, long and colorfully, but didn’t want to give him any more information about her state than he’d already uncovered.

“Althir, go away.”

“Why are you so intent on being rid of my company? You were yesterday too.”

“Because I don’t like you well enough to keep your company.”

He actually laughed, a surprising reaction that made her cheeks heat—even more surprisingly.

“You like me much more than you want to admit.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No,” she insisted with an edge of desperation making her voice rise. She quickly swallowed back her need to screech and lowered her voice when she said, “I’m tired. I can’t rest with you around and still keep watch. You talk too damned much.”

“So I’ve been told. We still have much to discuss.”

Her temper pushed almost beyond her control, she decided to change topics. If he wanted to talk, she would learn more about what they needed to do to finish their mission. “Fine. Tell me about this vessel that holds the List.”

His brows rose sharply. “I thought you wanted me to go away.”

“I do. But you aren’t. So you may as well answer my questions.”

He moved from the doorway to the only chair in the room and turned it so he could sit facing her. She glanced around. If she wanted to sit, she’d have to take the narrow bed. The very last place she wanted to be was on a bed while alone in a room with Althir. So she remained standing by the window and turned her gaze out to the street. The rising sun covered the surrounding buildings in gentle, soft colors and darker shadows as the gas lamps winked out.

“The vessel,” she prompted when he remained silent. “You said it was bespelled, using the Sorcerers’ blood. So if one of them tried to open it, their names would be…whispered magically to the others. What if someone besides a Sorcerer tries to open it? A minion or human slave?”

“All the minions and slaves are tied by blood to a specific Sorcerer, marked as theirs. They can’t access the vessel either. They wouldn’t leave such an easy loophole in the spell.”

“What about the traitor elves? Are they…marked for a specific Sorcerer?”

“Ah,” he said. “That’s an interesting point.”

She heard the chair groan a little under his weight.

“Marking an elf would involve a Sorcerer passing some of their power to the elf. They can’t tie us the way they can humans. The necessary blood-sharing has the potential to leave a Sorcerer vulnerable to an elf because an elf can’t be completely controlled by the bond.”

“So, then, why doesn’t one of the Sorcerers get an elf to help them get the List? No blood tie to worry about.”

“For the same reason they won’t make the blood tie. They can’t control what the elf would do once the List was recovered. They certainly couldn’t trust elves who turned traitor against their own kind with the knowledge of the List, nonetheless access to it. No, trying to use an elf that way would too likely backfire. The Sorcerers are many things, but they aren’t stupid.”

She considered this new information, and what he’d told her yesterday. “But the Sorcerers have started to share their power with the traitors. Does this…form a tie?”

“You are such a clever woman,” he murmured. “As a matter of fact, it does. And if the Sorcerers have started imparting their powers to all the traitors, then not only have they formed a blood bond with them, they’ve taken care of any possibility of those elves accessing the List without all the Sorcerers learning of it.”

“Do you think they’ve started passing power for that reason? To tie the elves and protect the List?”

“I’d have to ask a Sorcerer that. If this move is to protect the List, then they’ve learned something. They suspect the List is in danger. But since very, very few know about it, and even fewer know why the Sinnale might want it, I think there’s another reason for their move. Perhaps it’s simply that they’re losing the war and they need to more securely hold the traitors to them.”

She nodded and tapped her fingers on her thigh. Caught up in consideration, she faced him to ask, “You haven’t said how we’ll break the spell on the vessel. Do you know what has to be done? Or are we to take the whole thing back to Sinnale territory and hope we can break the spell from there?”

His gaze was unwavering. “I know how to break the spell. As it was forged with blood, so must it be destroyed with blood.”

She raised a brow.

“A lot of blood,” he said. “And all of that blood will have to come from one individual, despite the fact that the blood of many went into making it.”

Realization sank in. “That’s why the blood ties to the servants and minions prevent the Sorcerers from using their humans to open the vessel. It’s not just a matter of being marked as a Sorcerer’s property. The blood those humans would use to get at the List is…linked with a Sorcerer.”

He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, looking almost smug.

“How much blood? You said a lot.”

“From a human? Virtually all of their blood would be required.”

“Someone has to die to open the vessel?” Her chest tightened. Who would do that? Who would they get to make the sacrifice? And how could they ask that of anyone, given what all the Sinnale had suffered during the war? “Does the council know this?”

“Not yet.”

“You never told them? Why?”

“They didn’t need to know yet.”

“But someone will… This can’t work, Althir. How could we possibly ask someone to sacrifice their life like that, even if it meant an end to the war?”

“The Sinnale people sacrifice their lives every time they go into battle. Why would this be any different? A noble way to die, as far as I can see.”

“It is different,” she murmured, though she couldn’t say how or why. It just was.

She wouldn’t want to be the one responsible for asking this sacrifice of any of their people. The worst part was she knew someone would step forward. One of her people
would
allow themselves to be bled to death if it meant a final end to the occupation. The very idea made her heart ache. She blinked as moisture filled her eyes and turned to face the window so Althir wouldn’t see.

“You haven’t asked what would happen with an elf,” he murmured.

“What?”

“If an elf bled to break the spell…”

“Why would an elf do that? Even though the king and queen are trading weapons with us again, they’ve still made it clear this isn’t their war. They don’t send in soldiers to help us fight. They’d hardly ask one of their people to sacrifice their own lives—”

“An elf stands a chance of surviving,” he interrupted her. “Our blood is different. It carries that natural magic we all have.”

She rubbed at her eyes to keep the tears that had formed from dropping. “But they’d still have to allow themselves to be bled. Would any do that?”

“There are some who would.”

She considered that. “Ulric would probably volunteer.” Layla’s mate didn’t remain out of the fighting or pretend the war had nothing to do with him. He might be willing.

A rough growl filled the room, startling Mina into facing Althir again. His brows were furrowed and his lips set in a snarl.

“Of course you would think of Ulric. And why not? He’s the hero. He’s the favorite. Why wouldn’t such a paragon of virtue be willing to sacrifice himself for his beloved Sinnale?”

“He fights with us where the rest of your people stand back. Or turn traitor.” She didn’t fully understand his reaction to the mention of his brother. Who else did he think would help them? Ulric was the only elf she knew who might be willing. She couldn’t imagine any of the others going to such extremes for her people.

Althir stood so abruptly his chair tumbled backward, crashing loudly to the floor. She winced at the noise and checked the street. Not every building around them was empty. When she was sure no one had heard anything, she faced Althir again, ready to scold him.

Her voice caught in her throat at the sight of him.

He stood at his full, imposing height, glaring at her, his fists clenched at his sides, his jaw locked, and his angled eyes narrowed to slits. “You have your answers now,” he grated out. “I’ll go to my watch.”

He stalked from the room, leaving her openmouthed in surprise. What had just happened?