Stone Guardian(71)

“Told you we should have waited for Aislynn,” said the tiny mage to Fallon, still looking in the mirror.

Fallon’s jaw tightened. She probably wasn’t the one often engaged in diplomacy, and the peeved look on her face told everything needed about how she felt being put in that position. “Larissa, this is necessary. You are in a lot of danger and we had no other way to keep you safe.”

“Don’t try to sell me that crap. You’re mad that I didn’t play your game, and you decided to change the rules.”

“It was necessary,” Fallon repeated. Her sword kept peeking out from behind her hair, a deadly reminder of what this woman could do. Well, she might be counting on that to help her out, but fat chance. This woman’s intimidation tactics weren’t working today.

Larissa put as much scorn in her voice as she could. “Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night, though I can’t imagine anything could.”

Laire, in the process of adding more eye shadow, spoke to Fallon then. “You aren’t helping the situation here.”

Fallon turned, narrowing her eyes. “I notice you aren’t speaking to her.”

“I’m smart enough to recognize my weaknesses. I don’t do that empathy shit. That’s Ais’ department.”

As if in answer to their words, the elf came through the door, followed by a man Larissa had not seen before. Overlong dark blond hair and deep-set yellow eyes, and a scar that ran from the bridge of his nose below his cheekbone to end somewhere under a close cropped beard. He wore blue jeans and an open flannel shirt over a t-shirt.

He came to sit in front of her. “I’m Wulver,” he said, smart enough not to offer his hand when his advance caused an involuntary flinch on her part. “I’m leader here.”

Fallon was still standing with her back to the mirror, not reacting to those words at all. Larissa pointed to her. “I thought that was her, the way she acts.”

He smiled but refused to be drawn in by her words. It was a nice smile, his teeth white and sharp.

Maybe a little too sharp.

No, no she was not going to ask. There was enough on her plate right now without wondering if the guy before her was a human or not.

Guess the human. That might make a neat game.

Well, he said he was boss. It gave her someone else to yell at. “Since you are in charge and not her, I’m assuming it was your order that brought me here?”

He nodded. His eyes did hold some compassion, but something in the set of his shoulders, the way he carried himself, all told that while he might be sorry she was so upset, he felt no remorse in grabbing her and bringing her here against her will. “Guilty. I’m sorry it was done this way, but with that last attack, we decided it was too dangerous for you to be free any longer.”

That was an interesting way to put it. “Who’s this we if you are the leader?”

Once again, he didn’t answer her question, the compassion in his eyes morphing into something harder. He said instead, “We want your stay to be enjoyable. Is there anything we can bring you?”

“A nail file.”

“Sure. Any nail polish? May I suggest red? It’s a personal thing, but I prefer when women stick with the classics.” He smiled again, and in that grin she saw the easy charm he possessed and could project when he wanted to. That might be the secret why he ran things, because in moments she was half under his spell, imprisonment be darned.

Enough of that. Charm wasn’t going to get her home. “How long are you going to keep me here?”

His grin faded, and her stomach sank to the soles of her feet. “You must understand how much danger you’re in-”

“How long?” she repeated.

He leaned back in the chair, trying to project nonchalance but failing. “Until you’ll be safe.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and directed against him her hardest stare, the one that kept even her most unruly student in line. It didn’t do anything to free her, but there was satisfaction in using it. “Meaning you’re keeping me here indefinitely, unless you know why I’ve been targeted and are only holding me here until you get your man – well, necromancer. Is that the case?”

“There are things going on-”

Screw this. She was here against her will, but she was here, and she was going to get some gods damn answers right now. “How are they going to use me to rip the realms apart?”

Wulver jerked, and she’d bet money he rarely looked as surprised as he did this moment. He turned back to look at Fallon. Her brows were lifted slightly, the lines of her face softened from their usual intensity. She gave a small shake of her head to Wulver.