Page 34 of Death of a Mortal

I spotted a few mortals with their obviousunpointedears and immediately noticed they all wore the same drab outfit—off-white sleeveless tunics and pants with…chains for belts. Metal collars around their necks. And gods, no shoes. The way the sight made my throat close up felt like I had a collar on myself.

I wondered if any of the mortals would talk to me if I could get one alone.

“It’s horrible to see mortals chained and shackled like that.”

I jumped out of my skin. “Nella! I told you not to move. Are you okay?” I turned to find her standing just a couple of steps behind me.

“I was bored down there by myself. Besides, you said you didn’t want me out of your sight.”

“That was in Greymore when we were out in the open. This is different. We’re trying to stay hidden. Let’s head back down and wait for Noxie. It’s too high up here to hear anything, anyway.”

“Wow!” Nella said, eyes wide with wonder as she crouched down next to me. I couldn’t begrudge her just a moment to take it all in. We’d been moving nonstop since we escaped Briarstead. Sure, Dolvenar was dangerous, but it was a magnificent new world to us.

“Pretty wild, isn’t it?”

She lay down on her stomach at the building’s edge and rested her chin on her hand.

I looked around nervously once more, and seeing no one on the rooftops, I laid down beside her and decided we could stay for a little while.

“It’s not home, but it sure beats the home we left,” Nella said.

I let my lips curve into a smile at how right she was. I watched a fae male below us, clad in all green silk, grow a bright red rose in the palm of his hand for the female he was walking next to and tuck it into her jet-black hair.

A beautiful display, a stark contrast to the ugly truth of how mortals were treated and enslaved here.

I didn’t dare let my guard down, but somewhere in the back of my mind I was beginning to feel like we were on the right path—whether that was because we’d finally broken free of Cassius and Aemilia, or because, in my bones, I believed my mother was here somewhere, I wasn’t sure.

“Do you think the rebellion is real? That your mom is in it?”

I thought for a moment, my smile fading. “I don’t know, butthis”—I inclined my head toward two mortals walking side by side with their shaven heads down, following behind a female fae in a frilly yellow gown—“this is worth rebelling for. Caedryn has given mortals in Ashenholt every reason to fight back. So yeah, I think it’s a real possibility that it exists and that’s what she’s been doing. It’s bigger than me, and seeing this, if it’s all true…I think I’m beginning to understand why she left. Even if it sucks.”

Nella laid her head on my shoulder, and we watched the busy street in silence.

Everything seemed so beautifully cruel—the fae, their magic, Dolvenar’s extravagance, all wondrous to behold, and all terribly ugly underneath. Because underneath it all, the mortals—mypeople—suffered.

Maybe I, too, wasa rebel at heart.

* * *

The sun wassetting by the time Noxie came back with very little to report. It was frustrating, but I guessed mortals didn’t discuss topics that could get them killed out in the open. Fae probably didn’t discuss the mortals at all.

We agreed the rooftop should be safe to sleep for the night, but for added protection, I barricaded the single door leading down with some wooden crates. Noxie flew off every so often to circle our building and check for drunks stumbling home or late-night arrivals that may, for some reason, seek a rooftop.

We had finished the last of our rations, so we needed a plan fast. Moving around unnoticed here would be difficult unless…

Unless we had the uniform of mortals. We would need to swipe two from somewhere.

That was tomorrow’s problem to solve.

So for tonight, we would sleep.

* * *

The city wokeearly and bustling, waking us with it. The sun was just over the horizon when the first shops opened their windows and doors for the day.

Each rooftop had an exit from the homes and shops below, so we couldn’t stay up there during the day in case anyone came out. Instead, we hid in our alley corner, Noxie bringing back small food scraps he could carry with his beak while looking for mortal uniforms in windows, on clotheslines, anywhere. Until we could walk the streets disguised as mortal servants, it was impossible to learn anything about, well, anything.

“Naci! Naci! I found the uniforms! On a clothing line a couple of streets from you. And you can get to them from the rooftops.”