Chapter Three

“Dain? Really?” Ravi asked Durga once they were in the hall and alone.

She turned to face him, her hazel eyes hardening. “Are you questioning my decisions?”

“I’m questioning him.”

“So, you ~are~ questioning my decisions.”

Ravi blew out a breath. It took him a moment to gather the calm he was known for. “This is about him.”

“It’s about me since I brought him into this. He’s here because he was with Esha and Kendrick.”

Ravi should’ve known there was more to the story Durga had shared. There was ~always~ more where she was concerned. “What haven’t you told me?”

“Plenty,” she retorted saucily.

Ravi tried again. “About Dain.”

“He sought out the Dragon King,” Durga said with a little smile.

Somehow, Ravi wasn’t surprised. “I can only guess for what purpose.”

“Perhaps you should ask him.”

Ravi clenched his teeth as Durga walked away. He had handled that poorly. Durga never responded well to being questioned. Ravi wanted to know more about Kendrick. It would mean seeking out Dain, and it wasn’t as if the Dark would bother telling him anything resembling the truth. Ravi’s objective was something much more dangerous at the moment.

He turned to look through the glass once more. The human sat on the floor, her back against a wall, hugging her legs to her chest. There were no tears, no banging on the door. What was she thinking about? No doubt coming up with a way to double-cross him. She might have agreed to Durga’s request, but it was under duress—not exactly a way to head off into a remote area where one of theirs had already been killed.

He could argue there was another way in, but Durga always explored every option. If she said there wasn’t, then there wasn’t. Ravi trusted her. It wasn’t something he could say about too many. His world was one of fabrications and deceptions, which meant he always expected others to lie to him. It was safer that way.

His gaze narrowed on the woman as he realized she had given in quicker than expected. She hadn’t begged for her freedom or wailed at the unfairness. She had been calm and collected through nearly all of it. The only time he’d seen any cracks in her armor was at the mention of the cell and when Durga touched her.

The way the human had launched out of the chair surprised everyone but him. He’d seen her body tense, and her muscles tighten, right before fear flashed in her gaze. Nay. Not fear. Panic. It had only been for a moment, though, and he would’ve missed it had he not been looking for it.

Not only was his guide a human who couldn’t be trusted and was being forced to help, but she was also hiding something. He blew out a breath. Everyone hid things. He didn’t care what it was, as long as it didn’t hinder their operation. And that was the rub. Because he couldn’t be sure. It was why he preferred to work alone.

His thoughts turned to her bag. She had been most interested in it, especially the small vial that had been so carefully bundled. What was it? A drug, perhaps? Maybe that’s what she was trying to hide. Ravi spotted one of the guards holding the bag. He strode to him and took the satchel. A look inside showed there was nothing but the meager items of food.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

Ravi went looking for Dain before realizing exactly where the Dark had gone.

“Where are you going?” Durga asked as she poked her head out of a room he passed.

“I’ll be back.”

“We have details to discuss.”

Ravi halted and turned to look back at her. “We’re going to need Dain. I’m fetching him.”

“Ravi,” she began.

“I’ll be back,” he repeated.

He made his way to the East Haffeb district. It was the opposite of the glittering, beautiful Geggin Square. The structures used for homes looked as if they would fall down at any second. Dozens of people lived in a single building, their clothes nothing more than rags hanging on their bodies. The emptiness in people’s gazes was difficult to miss, but the children’s sunken cheeks and listless bodies made Ravi question the Shecrish Conclave’s decision to grant children to those who couldn’t feed or care for themselves, let alone others. It had always been the Conclave’s opinion that everyone should have a child if they wished it, regardless of their standing. He had to wonder when anyone from the Conclave had last been to East Haffeb.

He found the location the human had given. Ravi half-expected it to be a trap. Instead, what he found was a mercantile store, which surprised him. He headed toward the shop when he spotted Dain standing off to the side, watching him. The Dark tilted his head and raised a brow. Ravi sighed and diverted toward him.

“I wondered how long it would take you,” Dain said.

Ravi eyed him. “You’re attracting attention.”

“I’m not the only one.”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you?”

Ravi should’ve known he wouldn’t get anything from the Dark. He started to turn away.

“It’s medicine,” Dain said, stopping him.

Ravi slowly turned around. “What?”

“The bottle Yasmin had. It’s medicine.”

“How do you know?”

“I make it my business to know things about humans. Perhaps you should do the same.”

Ravi crossed his arms over his chest. “She didn’t look ill.”

“I don’t believe it’s for her. Neither was the food.”

Ravi frowned. “You really think she gave us the correct location?”

“I believe she wants the medicine to get where it needs to go. My guess is the shop owner will know exactly who the medicine is for.”

It was a plausible theory. Ravi nodded once. “You think we’ll find something more to keep her in line?”

Dain mumbled something as he rolled his eyes and walked into the store. He returned soon after, shaking his head. He’d gotten nothing, but that wasn’t a surprise. Few knew how to deal with a Dark since they preferred to stay beneath the surface. There were some elves in East Haffeb, but it was more where humans congregated.

“There was a young lad inside,” Dain said. “His head snapped up when I mentioned Yasmin. He knows her.”

“That doesn’t mean he’ll know where she lives.”

Dain just shot him a flat look. “I thought you were good at this?”

“Now isn’t the time to st—”

“There,” the Dark interrupted.

Ravi swallowed the rest of the sentence and followed Dain’s gaze. He spotted the lanky form of a lad teetering on the verge of manhood, slipping from the store’s side entrance and hurrying away. He had an eye patch over one eye. Dain followed him. Ravi trailed after both of them. They didn’t go far. The lad entered a building with part of the roof gone and the door leaning against the wall, off its hinges.

“What are you doing?” Dain whispered frantically as Ravi walked around him.

Ravi snorted. “Going inside.”

He strode to the building, eyeing how unsafe it appeared. He didn’t know or care what Dain was doing. “Hello?” Ravi called out as he paused at the door.

When no one answered, he carefully lifted the leaning slab of wood and peered inside. The outside might look questionable, but the inside was clean and orderly. Ravi turned his shoulders to the side and ducked through the doorway. He settled the door back into place and turned around. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of blond hair dashing away. Above him, he heard the patter of tiny footsteps. Children.

“Hello?” he called again, moving slowly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Something sharp poked him in the middle of his back. An adolescent voice, just beginning to deepen, said, “That’s what they all say.”

Ravi raised his hands and turned his head to the side. He saw the lad from the shop. “Easy, now.”

“You’re the one who entered our home without invitation.”

“You’re right. I apologize for that. How about you lower the weapon, and we can discuss why I’m here?”

The boy grunted. “Right. You’re here for a conversation. How about you tell me what you’ve done with Yasmin since you’re holding her bag?”

Damn. Dain had been right.

When Ravi didn’t answer fast enough, the tip of the blade pressed through the material of his jacket and shirt, pricking his skin.

“Tell me!” the lad bellowed, his voice cracking at the end.

“She’s fine,” Ravi said carefully.

“She’s not here, and you are. She’s far from fine.”

The rage in the lad’s voice was startling. Was this her brother or another family member? Ravi’s mind sorted through the options. “I’m not here to harm anyone. I’ll leave now.”

“So you can come back with more of your kind?” the lad said, his voice heavy with distrust. “Because you elves always speak the truth.”

Ravi closed his eyes in exasperation. Now he knew what the female was hiding. She was a dissenter. One of the humans who hated elves and everything they stood for. The dissenters believed that anything that befell the humans was always the elves’ fault. Never mind that humans and elves had lived together for countless centuries.

The soft cry of a child in pain came from above and caught Ravi’s attention. He thought of the vial Dain had said was medicine. “Someone is sick.”

“It’s none of your concern,” the lad snapped, his voice cracking again.

“Why didn’t you take them to a healer?”

“Look around. Does it look as if we can afford that?”

Ravi frowned. Healers did charge more for human treatment, which he had never agreed with, but surely one would have seen the child. “Then let me take them.”

“We know what accepting help from an elf gets us. No, thanks.”

“So, you’ll let the child die?”

“Yasmin has medicine. She’ll bring it.”

Ravi opened his mouth to answer when Dain appeared at the top of the steps.

“Enough,” the Dark stated, his yellow gaze locking on Ravi. His attention slid past him to the lad. “Yasmin did get medicine—or what she thought was medicine.”

The blade lowered, and Ravi took the opportunity to turn sideways to look at the boy. Shock slackened the youth’s face. Dark hair was trimmed short, and the first hint of facial hair was just beginning to show.

“That took all our coin,” the lad mumbled.

Dain turned and disappeared into a room. The lad hurried after him, Ravi forgotten. After a moment, Ravi followed, climbing the steps two at a time. He reached the top and went into the room Dain had entered. A little girl of no more than five or six lay on a blanket, sweating and pale. Dain gently laid a hand on her forehead, his face clouded with anger.

“She’s gotten worse,” the lad said. “We’ve tried everything.”

Dain looked up at the lad. “I have a friend coming to help. Will you bring her up here?”

The lad hesitated before motioning to someone. Ravi turned to look behind him and found a girl a year or two younger than the lad rushing away. Ravi took a closer look around the room and found three other children of various ages. There was much Ravi wanted to know, but he found his attention on Dain and his gentleness with the child as he bathed her head with a cool, wet rag. The little girl whimpered, in obvious pain.

They didn’t have to wait long for Dain’s friend, a Star Elf, to arrive. The healer said nothing as she quickly got to work on the child. Dain remained next to the girl until the healer nodded. Only then did he stand and look around the room at the rest of the children.

“She’s going to be fine now,” Dain announced. “She’ll still need some rest, though.”

The oldest lad lifted his chin. “We’ll look after her.”

“I have no doubt.” Dain bowed his head to the lad and motioned for Ravi to follow him downstairs.

Ravi lowered the bag and backed away. The children rushed to it and pulled out the food. They didn’t devour it as he’d expected. Instead, they divided it up so everyone got the same amount. He took one last look at them before meeting Dain downstairs.

“Do you know what this place is?” Dain asked.

Ravi shrugged. “I can guess. She’s stealing kids.”

“Stealing?” an adolescent voice dripping with bitterness asked.

At the snort, Ravi lifted his head to see five children at the railing, looking down at them.

The lad shook his head and continued. “Yasmin saved each of us. I got this,” he said, pointing to the patch over his left eye, “from the people raising me. We’ve been starved and abused in ways you couldn’t begin to consider. Yasmin protects us. She gave us the only home we’ve ever known.”

Ravi eyed each of their thin frames, their hunger and misery obvious. If the human had really wanted to help, she would’ve taken them to the Ministry to let them deal with things with the families, but he knew it was pointless to say anything. The children saw her as their savior. They had no idea that what she did was against the law and doing them more harm than good.

Ravi walked out, Dain on his heels. He didn’t get far before the Dark stood in front of him, fury rolling off him.

“Is everything black and white to you?” Dain demanded.

“I can see they’re suffering. That doesn’t give her the right to step in.”

“And who would? The Conclave? The city? Because that’s worked so well in the past.”

Ravi shook his head, his anger growing. “She’s a dissenter. She’s keeping children not granted to her. She could be locked away for life for such crimes.”

“Feeding, caring for, and sheltering children in need is a crime?” Dain’s lip lifted in a sneer. “And you wonder why the Dark Elves prefer to stay underground.”