COF 3: The Fallen Dynasty

4 | Abshire (I)

Reeca crossed her arms and leaned back against her seat once more. The other patrons in the tavern lost interest in them and went back to their drinks and chatters. "Talk," she narrowed her eyes on the shard fairy.

Elred smoothed her hair out of her face. Suddenly, her face rippled and with a blink, she wore a different fairy's face. Rhys choked on his ordered ale but swallowed his cough before other fairies could notice. Reeca rolled her eyes and turned back to the shard fairy.

"I-I'm doomed," Elred was saying. Her scarlet eyes flicked to Nyxis and she shook her head. "I made a mistake," she switched to Ylanenla.

"Mind telling us who you are first?" Rhys set his mug down. Its contents were already halfway. Reeca raised an eyebrow. Her brother would usually take his time with his drinks.

Elred's eyes flicked to Reeca's brother, straying up and down as if scanning him for any sign that he might be an enemy. After a few seconds, Elred sighed and folded her hands atop the table. "Elred," she held her chin up even though Reeca could see the shard fairy's jaw shaking. "That is all you have to know, stranger."

"I'm not a stranger," Rhys held a finger up before Elred could turn to Reeca once more. "I'm Reeca's brother, Rhys."

Elred pursed her lips. "Why is that important?"

"Because I need to know if you're a threat to my sister," Rhys frowned. His face darkened.

"Stop it," Reeca snapped, waving her hand between Rhys and Elred's lines of sight. These two could fry a vulkraine with just their stares. Rudik's ass. Reeca shouldn't have let these two sides of her life cross. "Elred's a friend. She's the one working for Synketros. We met at Cardina. You know the story, already."

Rhys hummed but he dropped his rigid stance and leaned back into his chair. He took a swig off his mug of ale once more. Nyxis, having been pushed into a corner when Elred arrived, looked back and forth, confusion etched on his face as to why they suddenly switched to Keijula.

Reeca turned back to Elred and sighed. "Alright," she crossed her legs. "What has happened this time?"

"The Sovereign wants the Virtakios to be brought to her at the quickest time," Elred chewed on her lip. "She was not fond of letting Xanthy go back in Cardina. Of course, I do not want to sully Synketros's name by forcing Xanthy. It simply was not how we operate."

Elred shook her head. Her scarlet eyes flashed like Crozal's rays. "The Sovereign did not like that," she dropped her gaze to the hands clenching by her lap. "She wanted me to track the Virtakios and bring Xanthy to her. I refused. Said I will never be a part of the Sovereign's plans of making Xanthy's life miserable."

"The Sovereign vowed to attack Helinfirth after that," Elred raised her eyes to meet Reeca's. "Where's Xanthiene?"

Reeca glanced at Nyxis before turning back to Elred. "Why would the Sovereign attack Helinfirth if she is just offended by what you said?"

"It is not our place to question the Sovereign's decisions," Elred shook her head again. "When the Sovereign vowed to destroy something, she would. One way or the other."

"Why would you need our help, then?" Reeca cocked her head from one side and swayed her feet from her crossed legs. "How did you even find us?"

Elred glanced at the patrons drinking and minding their own business. "I have my ways," she said, vaguely. "I need help in how I would deal with the oncoming invasion. I could not rely on my comrades since they will be acting under the Sovereign's command and not mine. You are the only ones I have outside Abshire. Did Xanthy tell you where she will be going?"

All heads turned to Nyxis whose eyes widened. He scratched his head. "The last time I conferred with Xanthy, she told me she was heading to Dwanzeig."

Elred narrowed her eyes. "Did she say where in Dwanzeig?"

Nyxis shook his head. Elred's shoulders slumped. The shard fairy propped an elbow against the table before passing a hand through her face. Her glamour flicked for a while. Reeca could swear she saw a vein pulse in Elred's forehead.

"What would the Sovereign even want with Xanthy?" Reeca gritted her teeth. This might be an impromptu meeting but Reeca shouldn't waste this opportunity to learn all she could about Synketros.

"The Sovereign will not harm Xanthy," Elred twined her fingers together atop the table again. "She wanted to have a word with Xanthy to align the Virtakios to our goal."

Rhys raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"

Reeca resisted the urge to smile. Looked like her brother was in on this interrogation as well. Elred blew a breath. "To fight against Cardovia," the shard fairy scratched the back of her neck. "Please. Help me find Xanthiene and save Helinfirth. I will repay you in any way I can."

From the space opposite Reeca, Rhys's eyes twinkled with a certain amount of danger in it. Oh, dear. He's up to no good the moment he heard that phrase, that opening for a bargain. Instead, Rhys turned to Reeca with a jerk of his chin in her direction. "What do you think, sister?"

Reeca's gut churned. There it was again. Sister. She crossed her arms and regarded Elred. "Let us go somewhere private for this conversation," she said. Relief washed over Elred's face that seemed to make her glamour flicker across her skin.

Rhys stood up and stretched. His hand swept the mug of ale and he dunked the last of its contents in one gulp. "Well, nice meeting you, Elred," he regarded the shard fairy with a nod. "I must be off...to gather crops."

With a knowing wink in Reeca's direction, Rhys strode out the tavern. Reeca watched him spread his wings and take to the skies from the windows. She turned back to Elred with a grin creeping to her lips. "Lead the way."