Page 54 of Cut of the Dark Elf's Blade

“You don’t seem like yourself.” Thali insists as we take a break. “Are you sure you’re fine? Is the job finally getting to you?”

“The job is not getting to me.” I snap the words at him as I take a drink of water.

“It happens to most people, you know. You just don’t seem like yourself.” At this point, Thali’s voice is grating, and I have to suppress the urge to snap his neck.

“If you don’t shut up, you’ll be my next job,” I say as we finish up our training.

“Okay, okay!” Thali holds up his hands in surrender.

Before leaving, I go upstairs to my apartment to check that all the wards are still up and that no one has attempted to get in.

I have several enemies who would love to get their hands on anything I own, and though no one knows where I live, I am very paranoid.

You have good reason to be,I think to myself. Nothing seems out of place, but I don’t miss the fact that one of the wards has come undone.

I fix it quickly with my magic, rebuilding the intricate protection spell that keeps any unwanted persons out.

This is not something I let even Thali see. I trust him, but not enough to share this kind of information with him.

And I know he feels exactly the same way.

I sent my carriage driver home, so I share a carriage with Thali. He does not live close to my parents’ estate, so he is going out of his way to get me home.

At least I know I can always depend on Thali. He has always been more of a brother to me than Rhiucra.

We are halfway to the High Towns, where my family’s estate is, when I smell the smoke.

I was lounging in the seat in the carriage while Thali talked on and on about his last job, but when I smell the smoke, I straighten up and lean forward.

“Is that a fire?” I murmur, and Thali looks in the direction of the smoke, too.

It is definitely a fire and a large one, and it is burning in the uppermost part of the High Towns, close to King Roraelli’s palace.

“Is it burning at my house?” I practically yell the words. Thali urges the carriage driver on, and the equu break into a fast trot.

“I’ll get out here,” I tell Thali breathlessly.

Neveah. Neveah. Neveah.

Her name resounds in my head as I jump from the carriage and run towards the High Towns. I take back streets and side alleys because I know I’ll get home faster than the carriage could take me in evening traffic.

I am about a mile away from the gates of my family’s estate when I hear her.

Echo.

I took a side road through the forest and I come bursting out of the undergrowth, covered in twigs and dirt, to hear the iypinnit’s weird chirruping bark. There is no doubt in my mind it is Echo, even though I do not see her.

“Why aren’t you with Neveah?” I mutter as the animal continues barking. Something is very wrong. If it were just a normal fire, then Neveah would have evacuated with Echo. But if Echo is on her own, then that means Neveah couldn’t get to her in time. Or maybe it means neither of them is safe yet.

Rage bursts through me so suddenly that it nearly knocks me off my feet.

I ball my hands into fists and take a deep breath before I reach for my holster.

“If anyone has hurt a hair on her head, I’ll skin them alive,” I snarl to myself.

I know that I am not thinking straight right now, but how I am supposed to, when Neveah is likely in very real danger?

I examine the scene in front of me and deduce that the smoke is coming from the gardens behind the manor that I share with my brother, although it has spread to the kitchens.