Vulture Read Free

battlefield. The Valtanyana were hunting her weren’t they? Crestaos was out there somewhere, she wasn’t safe.
    Pux nodded. He didn’t say anything but his eyes brimmed with tears. She pushed up from the table and sat on the floor. Pux followed, his head falling on her lap. She stroked his hair the way she would if they were home, sitting in the forest, looking for herbs.
    “Why is everyone fighting again?” She studied the people in the hall. Some of them were familiar, tall elvens in gold armor, burgundy breeches and beige tunics. Muscular feorns, in vests, arm plates and knee length breeches. Humans with stodgy builds, long grainy hair, full beards, and beady eyes slipped between the warriors. They looked panicked, their thick garments making them move slower. None of them matched, other than the gray wool tunics and colorless breeches they were individuals. They moved out of view and she looked at Pux who was breathing in shallow intervals, like he was reliving the violence.
    “Crestaos came again. Krishani challenged him.”
    Kaliel gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. Her heart thumped feverishly, pain lancing through it. Pux sat and swiveled so he was facing her. “Don’t—Crestaos is dead. Krishani killed him. And I don’t know for sure, but some of the others were shouting, saying they killed the Daed, too. I don’t know exactly.” Pux pulled her hand away from her lips and brushed the tears off her cheek.
    She hadn’t even realized she was crying. “Krishani killed him?” It felt heavy like there was a rock in her chest instead of a heart. It throbbed, the sound reverberating in her ears, her entire body trembling. Dumbfounded she thought of the boy she had met in Avristar. That boy wasn’t strong enough to face someone like Crestaos. “And he lived?”
    Pux smiled. “I don’t know how it happened, but it’s all going to be okay now. There won’t be any more battles.”
    Kaliel smiled and excitement saturated her. “That’s great.… ” She sat straighter and let the Flame turn her eyes a familiar amethyst. “Can we go home?”
    Pux looked away. There was something different about him, something he wasn’t telling her. She followed his gaze and caught the outline of the man in brown robes with long brown and grayish hair. The one Krishani pointed at before. He was shorter than the elvens but they parted for him as he walked across the hall. His eyes stung the people with ferocity until they settled on her. She pulled her knees to her chest and glanced at Pux who seemed stricken. So there wasn’t anything good between them. She realized he hadn’t said anything about going home and a sticky feeling pooled in her gut. “Who is that?” she asked as the man wended through the crowd towards them.
    “Elwen Tavesin,” Pux answered automatically, casting his eyes downward. Elwen reached them and Pux froze, bowing his head in response as Elwen’s eyes hardened.
    Elwen’s eyes fell on her and the penetrating gaze made her body jolt. There was an immediate danger in his eyes, one she remembered only once before. It was the same insatiable hunger she witnessed in Crestaos’s white lightning eyes. In Elwen’s brown eyes the venom was faint, but it was there. She wasn’t safe around him.
    “The Amethyst Flame?” he presumed, extending a hand to her. She didn’t take it, but got to her feet, realizing how soiled her clothes looked. She also realized she was wet, which was more than uncomfortable. “Welcome to Castle Tavesin. I am Elwen, Krishani’s ancestor.” His hand hung there, outstretched, expectant.
    Kaliel frowned and took it briefly, following him as he shook. It wasn’t a custom she was used to in Avristar. The shake made her arm feel heavier. She tried to ignore the feeling and looked at her dress, running her hands along it, brushing off patches of mud. She gave him a meek smile. It seemed like he forgot about Pux and her eyes flicked to the feorn but Pux pretended to be