The Highborn's Salvation

Chapter 8

Two hours – that's how long it took us to find the Lord of Latherket. After two hours of asking for directions, I struggled to resist the urge to reach for the hilt of my blades and instead clenched and unclenched my fists to keep from killing everyone in this town for Spirit. Now we find ourselves on the front lawn of a stone estate. The front door was a beautiful wooden double door with frost-blasted windows intricately worked into the wood, complemented by matching arched windows along the wall. The porch was made of white and gold marble that descended down the steps to the stone pathway lined with bushes filled with white and red roses all the way to the metal gates behind us. The garden was well-kept, and the grass had been recently cut if the smell was any indication. Every part of my body was threatening to start shaking with anger as we waited at the bottom of the steps. A servant came a few minutes ago to take the horses while we waited for the butler to greet us.

"Damn, Lord Adler did well for himself." Felix muttered beside me, his hood still on to hide his ears like the rest of us.

"He's a Baron like Jasper, human or not." Reece answered, his eyes trailing over me as I flexed and clenched my hands repeatedly. "Let me talk, Syl. We'll find Spirit, but I need you to keep yourself calm." I met his gaze slowly, taking deep, long breaths.

He's here. The voice sent shivers down my spine, but a part of me found solace in the words. Spirit is here. I nodded, and Reece's shoulders seemed to relax at that. He rested a heavy hand on my lower back just as the front doors opened to a tall, gray-haired human. He wore a perfectly tailored grey suit that accentuated his lean body, and his beard was neatly trimmed. It exuded a fresh scent of lavender and musk. The Butler?

"Good day. Lord Adler is ready to see you." The man's voice was soft and innocent as he bowed in greeting and took a step out of the doorway. Reece started up the stairs, one hand guiding me by my lower back as we all followed him through the front door. The foyer was clean enough that you could see your own reflection in the marble floor. Vases filled with various flowers lined the walls, and a red carpet ran along the hallway and up the double staircase on both sides, leading to the second floor. In another life, I would have liked to have a home like this—safe and clean, but it belonged to a man who stole from me.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" A drawling, deep voice drew my attention away from the decor. The man was of average height with pale black hair and deep brown eyes. He wore a silk robe over a button-up shirt and blue jeans, but he looked older than he seemed. By the steady beat of his heart, I doubt he'd be older than 43.

"I believe you have something of ours." Reece answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ah, yes." Adler mused with a lazy smile as he took a step down the stairs and only spoke again once he reached the bottom. "The black stallion. I wondered who it might have belonged to." I bit back the growl threatening to break from my wolf, and another hand gripped my clenched fist. I glanced over my shoulder to where Jasmine was now brushing my side, watching the human. "I do apologize for that. Walk with me?" Adler added, extending a hand down the hallway that led to a glass door opening up to a sprawling yard. Reece met my gaze for a second before falling into step with the lord as he continued, "You see. I've been trying to buy that tavern for the last 10 years, but the owner is a greedy man with little regard for change. That tavern has been a blight on my town since the day I became the baron. I've worked so hard to make life better here for my people, and that place is the sole reminder of how ruined and hateful this town used to be." Jasmine's fingers tightened around mine as we passed a few more doors down the hallway. Some doors led to bathrooms, while others opened to dining rooms or offices with paintings of horses and fields hanging in between.

"What do you mean by hateful?" Reece asked, eyeing a painting of a beautiful white stallion rearing back on a mountain peak.

"I'm sure you're aware of the human rebellion against the Fae?" The lord asked, stopping for a second to admire the painting himself.