without question, maybe he wasn’t so bad. Though, I’d be keeping an eye out while he was here at Finn’s farm, just in case.
“Well, Dain. Thanks for joining in alongside Maddox. You moved that little fight along quicker, though that meant I had less fun, so maybe I shouldn’t be thanking you.” The darkness inside me was thriving at the moment. I’d needed those kills badly, and power was flowing through me stronger than ever before.
When you follow your truest desires, you will have all the power you could ever need, my inner voice added after my own thoughts.
“Uh, you’re welcome? I’m going to clean up and get back to work.” As Dain’s russet eyes shifted around the area, I grinned at the fact he didn’t seem at all comfortable around me, and that was fine with me. There was nothing remarkable about him. Plain short brunet hair, eyes to match, and maybe six feet tall. The only things to make him standout were his nerves.
I watched curiously as he left with Maddox following, then I turned back to Finn. I was prepared for his lecture about killing the fae, but instead, he shocked the hell out of me.
“Thank you for having my back and doing whatever it takes. Edgar is among the most powerful around here, and I’ve had enough of his crap, but I never knew how to do anything about it without the risk of dying and leaving Ivy all on her own,” he said.
I waved my hand. “There’s no thanks necessary. I just did what needed to be done. Now, you need to tell me everything you know about these Renegades, so I can make sure they don’t get in my way.”
Finn’s hand rubbed over his shoulder where he had a magic burn. “Technically, we’re all on the same side. All of us want the king dead.”
“But they’d also like to see me dead, so let’s not forget that. If you want their help instead, go for it, but I won’t work with them. We can’t trust other fae with their own agenda, even if their end game is similar to ours.”
He raised a brow. “And you don’t have your own agenda?”
“I don’t. You know I want the king dead. You also know I won’t put Ivy’s life before that task, though I’ve given you time to get things sorted for her. And when I’ve accomplished my task, I’m headed back to my high-rise apartment where I don’t have to deal with the dramas of these islands. There is nothing about my intentions that you’re not already aware of.”
Finn nodded. “I see your point. I’ve already made the mistake of working with Edgar once. I won’t do it again.”
I glanced around at the bodies. “We have more problems now, and I might need to speed up my plans. First, I’ll send Neva back to Earth to find a witch for Ivy as Maddox requested. If there is anyone to save your sister, she’ll find them. You’ll just have to hope the elf succeeds before I do.”
My magic blocker was gone. The Renegades knew who I was and could out me to the king at any time. Yet, I still wanted to screw with him and test his alliances before I faced him. If I was going to be fighting on his territory, I wasn’t stupid enough to go in blind.
Edgar just might need to be a focus as well. Ending him could be cathartic, especially after him just showing up like he held any power over me.
Focusing on my own thoughts, I considered my plan and how it might need to change with the new information. My next step would be getting inside the castle, not just the marketplace. But first, I needed to follow through on getting Neva to Earth. Just like on Earth, I needed to remember how to treat my allies. I just needed to picture Maddox like I did the bouncer Gregory. It was all about give and take while keeping my guard up.
Finn was still watching me as I’d been lost in my thoughts. His jaw was rigid, but the twinge I adored wasn’t present. “How soon before you move on King Zephyr?” he asked, again surprising me because I thought his question would have been about Ivy.
“Well, there are a couple of things to do first. The first being that we need to burn these bodies. I don’t know how Edgar survived my attack before, but I want to make