Twenty-One

My heart started beating faster, and I stood.  Merdon wrapped his hand around my arm to stop me from rushing out the door.

“Will you speak for us?” Thallirin asked.

“I said I would.”

“Then wait.  If you leave, they will kill us.”

“Mya,” a voice yelled.  Not Drav’s, but one of the other fey’s.

“I won’t leave,” I promised.  “But they need to see me to believe I’m okay.”

Merdon looked at Thallirin, who nodded.  Merdon let me go, and I ran to the door and pulled it open.

“Drav,” I called.

“Mya.”  The chorus of my name spoken by many voices spread out in the nearby woods.

“I’m here,” I yelled.  “I’m safe.”

An infected stumbled out of the trees, its cloudy gaze finding me.  It opened its mouth and moaned, sprinting toward me.  Merdon pulled me back, and Thallirin rushed past us to meet the infected on the porch.  The wet spray of its blood as Thallirin removed its head hit me across the face.  I blinked and wiped the wetness away.

“I am sorry, Mya,” Thallirin said, tossing the head to the side.  “I could not allow it to harm you.”

“No, it’s okay.  You can take the heads off the stupid ones.  Just be careful with the infected blood around other humans.  I don’t know if the infection spreads in ways other than a bite.”

He nodded and came back inside to stand behind me.

Further away, several big, gray bodies burst from the woods.

“Trust me,” I said before stepping out onto the porch.  The headless body of the infected lay not far from my feet when I stopped.

“I’m okay,” I called again.

Molev ran at the front of the group, his expression a mix of anger and worry.  More fey spilled from the trees as the first group passed.

From the other side of the clearing, another fey broke free of the woods and sprinted toward me.  He ran so fast, he looked like a streak of gray, and I knew who it was before he reached me.

“Drav,” I breathed.

Within seconds, he reached the porch and held me so tightly I could barely breathe.

“Mya,” he said into my hair. “I will not let you out of my sight again.  Never again, Mya.”

“Too tight, Drav.  I need to breathe.”

His hold loosened, and he pulled back enough to cup my face and stare into my eyes.

“You gave your word.”

I’d expected anger but not the pain in his eyes.

“I did, and I didn’t break it.  I swear.  I want to tell you what happened, but first, I need you to promise me something.”  My gaze flicked to Molev and the rest of the fey who now surrounded the porch.  “I need you all to promise me that you will listen and not do anything until I finish my story.”

The hurt faded from Drav’s eyes, replaced by worry.  He released me and gently wiped my cheek.  His finger came away with blood on it.

“Are you hurt, Mya?”

“No.  I promise I’m not.  That’s infected blood.  From that guy there,” I said, pointing at its body.

Drav’s gaze flicked to where I pointed.  He frowned at the dead infected then focused on me.

“You did not do that,” Drav said, softly.  “Who is here with you?”

I shivered at the menace in his voice and looked at Molev for help.

“Do you promise to listen?”

Molev hesitated before giving me a single nod.  I met Drav’s angry gaze and put my hand on his chest.  He shook beneath my touch.

“Do you promise?” I asked.

“I will listen.  Then, I will react.”

That didn’t sound good.  I took a deep breath and got to the point.

“Merdon and Thallirin are inside—”

Shouts filled the air from many of the fey who stood on the lawn.  Molev and Drav looked murderous.

“—and I’d like you and Molev to come in with me so that I can tell you the story,” I said loudly to be heard.

“No, Mya,” Drav said.

“You promised.”

“You do not understand.”

“Maybe you’re right.  Maybe I don’t.  But, can you honestly say you understand when you haven’t yet listened to what I have to say?”

He closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling deeply.  I stood on my toes and gently touched my lips to his.  His hands captured my head, cradling me gently as I lightly licked his lower lip.

“I need you to listen,” I whispered against his mouth.

He sighed heavily and released me.

“I will listen.”

I smiled and took his hand.  He didn’t budge when I tugged, though.

“I go first, my Mya.”

He shared a look with Molev then led the way into the house.

Thallirin sat in the chair facing the door.  Merdon stood beside him, leaving the couch empty.  I quickly took the seat nearest Thallirin, ignoring Drav’s growl, and patted the cushion beside me.

Drav sat.  Molev stood.  It was enough.  For the next fifteen minutes, they listened.

“They made a mistake, and it cost a friend his life,” I reiterated after I finished my tale.  “They’ve paid for that mistake.  We’re in a different world now.  A different world with different rules.”

Drav’s thumb, which had been exploring the back of my hand as I spoke, stilled.

“They stole you from me,” he said, his voice dangerously soft.

“Only because you left them with no other choice.”

“I will not lift your exile,” Molev said.

“Hang on, Molev.”

“No, Mya.  We have heard your story, and I deny their request.”

I glanced at Thallirin and Merdon, who hadn’t yet said a word.  The cold, emptiness in their gazes made me afraid for our future.  If I couldn’t find a way to end their exile, I knew that the hellhounds would no longer be our biggest threat.

Taking a settling breath, I focused on Molev.

“Justice has been served.  Thallirin and Merdon took a life and have lost their own countless times.  More than any other fey.  Exile for life, when your lives never end, is not justice.  It’s cruel,” I said.

“You would have us welcome them back?  Men who callously disregarded the safety of their closest friend?”

“No,” I said.

Merdon growled in frustration.

“If you welcomed them back now, you would resent them and never trust them.  What I’m asking is that you give them a chance to redeem themselves in your eyes.  A chance, that’s all.”

“What do you suggest they do that would make up for the life they took, Mya?”

I looked at Merdon and Thallirin, taking in their scars and battle-hardened expressions, and hated what I was about to say.

“They each have to kill ten hellhounds.  If they want to rejoin the fey and live with humans, they need to show they are willing to fight to protect us.  They need to help give humans a chance at life.”

Molev remained silent.  He glanced over at Drav then at the two exiles.

“The fey are the only ones who can kill the hellhounds,” I continued.  “Each dead hound is one less threat to the humans who still live.  These two would be saving lives as well as risking their own.”

I could see the moment I began to sway Molev.  He wasn’t happy about it, but he understood the challenge the two fey would face.

“Do you agree to these terms?” Molev asked the exiles.

Thallirin stood, his expression set.

“I agree.”

Merdon scowled but nodded.

“I as well.”

“Remove their hearts and bring them back whole.  I will witness you destroy them and count each heart as one kill,” Molev said.

My heart ached for Merdon and Thallirin as Molev turned and left.  I’d thought ten hearts a piece harsh.  Bringing the hearts back whole meant the hellhounds wouldn’t be dead.  The creatures would likely be chasing the exiles the whole way back to Molev.

The determination in Merdon and Thallirin’s eyes spoke volumes, though.

“The hounds won’t die until the heart is crushed,” I said, making sure they understood.

“But, it is a chance for us to come out of exile.  Thank you, Mya,” Merdon said, inclining his head.

“Thank you, sister,” Thallirin said.

I stood, Drav shadowing me.

“When will you two leave?” I asked.

“Now.  We wish to rejoin our people, and yours, as soon as possible.”

With a nod to Drav, they walked out the door and down the steps.  The fey outside parted for them but did not speak to them.

Drav wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his nose into my hair.

“Does this mean you’re not mad at me?” I asked, hopefully.

“I thought I lost you again, my Mya.”

“Never, Drav.  I will never leave you if I can help it.”

He sighed gustily.  “When Shax told me you had disappeared again, I feared the worst.”

I turned in his arms and looked up at him.

“When Merdon picked me up and jumped over the fence, I should have been more scared than I was.  Do you know why I wasn’t?”

He shook his head.

“Because you will never let anything happen to me.  Because I’m yours, and you’re mine.  And because you really, really like it when I jiggle.”

He grinned and scooped me into his arms, pressing a dangerously hot kiss to my lips.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him have his way.  When we finally broke apart, I could only think of one thing.

“Drav, take me home.”