The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 38

"So..." Rath started after their mother left. "That was a short shopping trip."

"She saved some of Iris' clothes," Char replied.

"I knew it," Rath grumbled. "That means you're still on the hook the next time she wants one of us to go shopping with her."

Char snorted. "Tell her that. She'll take whichever one of us she wants to."

"True." Rath sighed and slouched against the sofa. "Are we going out this weekend?"

"Doubt it."

"Come on! We haven't gone anywhere since getting Iris out of here."

"Nothing's been stopping you."

"Except pity for my lovesick little brother, moping around, thinking about his girlfriend all the time," Rath retorted. "But she's back now, so why not?"

"You heard her. She's going to be stiff for a few days," Char reminded him. "And once she sobered up, she was really embarrassed about the last time, anyway."

Rath smirked. "You two were all over each other."

"Yeah, well." Char didn't really know where he was going with that, so he just shrugged and grinned. That had been a very enjoyable night, even after he touched down in the clearing next to Jonah's tower after a full twenty-four hours of battling the blizzard. Iris hadn't been drunk anymore when she woke up, nor had she suffered any ill effects from the flight due to the precautions they'd taken, and that had reinvigorated him to pick up flirting and teasing right where he left off. She played along, even allowing him to pull her into bed and hold her close when exhaustion finally caught up with him. But then the morning came. He sighed and frowned. It had all seemed bittersweet, leaving her in the care of his friend and her long-lost adopted brother when he didn't want to leave her at all, but it was just bitter, knowing now that he left her with a monster.

"You didn't know," Rath said, pulling Char out of his dark thoughts. "He's been fooling everybody his whole life."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Char muttered.

"Then how about this," Rath offered, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, his blue eyes gleaming with mischief. "Covert operations aren't Kelnor's thing. That's all us. And we're the ones who will have to do it, anyway, since we have natural hair and eye color for humans. So. Ever been to the human capital city?"

Char shook his head, and then a memory from his childhood came to mind. "Actually, yes," he said slowly. "Father took me once. I had to have been fresh out of flight school."

"Inside information. Perfect."

"Not exactly. We never went anywhere near the castle, and I don't remember much of it."

Rath waved his hand dismissively. "It'll all come back to you. So, we go as soon as she's recovered?"

Char rolled his eyes. "Little problem with that. The war? We can't just fly in."

"Covert. Operations," Rath repeated. "We fly in as close as we can, and we go on foot the rest of the way."

"We're talking about days of walking," Char reminded him.

"Yeah," Rath said dismissively.

"Without flying."

"So?"

"You're going to hate it."

"Probably."

Char chuckled. "Okay. If Kelnor doesn't come up with something better-"