“We did create an illusion,” Emery said, his hard eyes focused on the lead elf. “We put a dead end were there wasn’t one, switched the look of the hall, and confused…some of the palace.”
“Yes, I see. And if one were to walk through this illusion, what would’ve happened?”
“Nothing. They’d make it through and immediately find their way again.”
“No, that’s the thing. It didn’t look like you could get through it,” the thug elf said, his thin and manicured eyebrows pinching together. “I was there. It was a dead end.”
“We’ve established that it did, indeed, look like a dead end, yes,” Romulus said, his eyes flashing with impatience. “That is the nature of an illusion, after all. How long did this…trick last?”
“An hour, tops,” Emery said, his fingers moving more now. Penny scooted closer.
“I see the problem.” Romulus nodded. “The guardians have been gone too long from the rest of the Realm, and it has allowed the elves to lose their sense of humor. How tragic. Well, at present, there is nothing we can do about it. We are needed elsewhere. But don’t you worry, madam. Just as soon as we are able, we will meet with the elf royalty and work to re-establish our practices as the guardians of the Realm. Now, if you will kindly step aside…”
Romulus waited patiently. The lead elf picked at her button. The lesser elves around her, fair and tall, hair blowing elegantly in the breezeless day, tensed. The very pretty thug pulled out a long dagger.
A feeling like sandpaper slapped Charity in the face. Penny gasped and staggered backward.
Emery threw his hand out for Penny. “No, babe, don’t—”
Halvor burst out from the center of the group. The elf on the left snatched a whip, of all things, from a holster on his back. The pretty thug brandished his dagger. None of the three reacted in time.
A slice of pink crackled through the air. It cut across the middle of the thug—the first to go for a weapon. He let out a high-pitched wail. Blood spurted in a plume.
The pink swept across the group of elves before tearing into the elf with the whip newly in hand. His face went slack. The whip fell from his hand. The top half of his body slid from the rest and toppled to the ground.
The two middle elves, including the leader, stared for one beat. Their eyes widened and a strange moan wheezed out of the leader. Both turned and ran.
Halvor was after them in a moment, followed by half of Romulus’s guard. Small weapons gleamed in their hands.
“That was impressive— No, no, Charity.” Romulus put his hand on Charity’s arm to stop her from running forward to help the others. “Guardian leadership do not chase small-minded idiots. It is beneath us. Penny Bristol, I am in rapture. What truly fantastic spell work. Clean, pretty, and so very brutal.” He half turned to look at her red face. She clearly hadn’t meant to let that spell loose. “Was that what you’ve been doing while creeping through everyone’s gardens?”
“Umm…no. That was a reaction to the elves’ magic.”
“Ah yes, I see.” Romulus stared after his men and women. He clucked his tongue, and Charity must have been learning to read his gestures, for she knew what he meant—his people had not dispatched the two elves as quickly as they should’ve. They’d been cooped up for too long. “I am disturbed by what I’ve seen so far on this journey, and we’ve only just begun. We’ve been gone far too long. Power, unchecked, corrupts those who wield it. I fear a disease is plaguing the Realm, eating it alive from the core outward.”
“The warrior fae—I mean, guardians, used to police this place?” Charity asked as Emery stared at Romulus like he was seeing him for the first time.
“Yes, though I confess, this knowledge came to me from scrolls and records. After the elves established law and order, our people needed very little protecting. Our duty as custodes had all but dried up. The elves, seeing this, offered us the role of guardians of the Realm. Our duties entail keeping the peace and protecting all the magical people. Our kind was also sought to protect the elf royalty and their palace. You heard, as I did, what happened with that. But rest assured, my dear girl, the time for hiding has come to an end. We need to remind the elves of who we are, and the duty we are meant to perform.”
The fae returned, and though their faces were businesslike and they’d cleaned and stowed their weapons, their eyes shone with exuberance. They were finally doing what was in their blood to do.
Charity knew it was just the beginning.Chapter Thirty-Nine“Sir! They’re coming! Sir!”
Roger looked up from his desk in the castle, adrenaline fueling his body. Beazie, red-faced and out of breath, pushed open the door. Her eyes were wild.