Page 37 of Death of a Mortal

Noxie wasn’t getting any further than we were.

“Back again?”

I froze halfway to our makeshift beds, realizing too late that we weren’t alone.

“Sneaky little mortals. Shouldn’t you be back with yourlord?”

The newcomer laughed a deep, masculine laugh. My stomach dropped.

Chapter 11

Trusting the Enemy

Time seemed tostand still. My heart was racing, brain trying to think…

Even amid my panic, he was mesmerizing—perfectly messy brown hair atop a face that looked chiseled from stone. I didn’t know faces could be so…perfect. His eyes were a deep, wintry blue with the same silver pupils as the fae we’d seen here in Dolvenar. His lips were delightfully full, and his cheekbones were high and sharp. And gods, those arms—they were exposed and tan and insanely muscular. He was tall and…

And I recognized him. He was the male I had seen turn into a wolf on the street. The first Veythryn I’d seen here—ever, actually.

We were in trouble…he had known we were going to be here. That thought brought me back to my senses. I didn’t like the way he said “lord” as if he also knew we’d been lying about serving Haskin.

“I can see the wheels turning in your mind. Let me save you the trouble of weaving more lies. I know you’re not from here, and that you’re posing as mortals that belong to Lord Haskin. What I don’tknow is why, if you’re free mortals, you’re in Dolvenar. Risking capture, enslavement, possibly even death.”

Even when he spoke, he sounded perfect. Why was that the only word I could think of for this male? And why couldn’t I focus on the gravity of the situation?

I cleared my throat, if nothing else, to give me time to think over my answer, while Nella remained quiet.Think, Naci. He knew what we had been up to, but he didn’t know why. So he didn’t know we were looking for information on the rebellion, which would definitely have gotten us killed if he had.

“We came from a mortal town looking for my mother. We heard she was last seen here, so here we are.” I settled on part of the truth.

He stared at me for a long time, and I became very aware of my unkempt hair, my dirty uniform and feet, my…scars. He seemed curious like a child studying its pet.

“What is your mother’s name? In fact, what areyournames? I presume sisters?”

Despite only being half sisters, we actually looked like we could be full-blooded sisters. We shared much of the same facial structure, even though her eyes weren’t the same color and her hair was wavy, whereas mine was curly.

“What’syourname?” I blurted it out but immediately regretted it. Out of the corner of my good eye, I saw Nella whip her head around to glare at me.

He smiled, revealing sharp fangs. “My name doesn’t matter nearly as much as your mother’s. You can tell me, or you can leave Dolvenar underneath another carriage, simple as that. But staying without telling me is not an option.”

Shit.He knew about the carriage. He had been watching us since we got here.

If my mother really was part of the rebellion, telling him her name could be just as dangerous as openly saying I was looking for the rebellion. I had talked myself into a corner. Where was Noxie to help when I needed him…?

“I…I don’t remember her name. She left when I was a baby, and our dad didn’t like to talk about her.” Only partially a lie.

“So you don’t know her name. How did you plan to find her?” He raised a brow.

“Well, we…” Gods, I was so bad at lying, and he was smiling as if he knew it too. “We tried talking to the mortals here about…about a woman from Briarstead who may have shown up alone. But they didn’t seem to want to talk to us.”

“As they shouldn’t. They only go out in public in Dolvenar to fulfill their master’s orders. Speaking isn’t required.” He started pacing slowly in front of us.

“That’s not very fair,” I said before I could think better of it. I could almost feel Nella’s eye roll. “Well, it’s not. Mortals are treated like shit by the fae. They take away our free will just because we weren’t born with magic.”

This time, I heard Nella’s groan. But if I was going to be a rebel at heart, I had to start acting like one. Start actually taking a stance against mortal treatment.

The male said nothing, just continued to stare and assess, making me hot under the metal collar. For the briefest moment, I thought I saw something else flicker across his face. Was it…sadness? Regret?

It was gone too fast to be sure.