Bloodied Lilies

Chapter 19

The next day Adelia wandered back to the family cemetery in search of Fae. The early summer grass painted the cemetery green while yellow buttercups grew as offerings for the sleeping dead. Fae was perched on his cross, eyes closed and listening to something Adelia could not hear.

"Fae," she said softly.

"Adelia." He opened his eyes. "Are you better?"

"Mostly." She hefted her skirts to tread over the overgrown vegetation and sat down at the base of Fae's cross, leaning back against it. "I hear you've been doing my job for me."

"It was harder than I expected."

"It's because you only use your hands." She preferred the swift strike of a blade.

"Blood is too messy," Fae said and it sounded like a complaint. "The smell does not come off. You always smell like blood."

"Were there many of them?" Adelia asked.

"One or two every few nights."

So Wildflower's demise did have an impact, albeit only a small one. She had been staying low do to her recovery but Adelia needed to get rid of this Rufus De'fel before he succeeded. Bloodlust did not ever quell after you've opened up to it. He wouldn't stop, she knew, so she'd have to do something.

But it appeared that even Leo had not been able to track him down from his supposed studies abroad. Adelia would need to contact Wilhelmina and see if she knew anything.

"He trusts you now," Fae said.

"Leo? It's hard to say what he's thinking."

Fae chuckled softly. "You call him Leo. That is proof enough. It is a sign of acknowledgement and respect."

"Respect," Adelia echoed. "He also trusts you. Quite a lot."

"The debt I own him assures my loyalty. That is why he trusts me."

"That debt... may I ask what it is?"

"He saved my life."

Adelia hadn't expected that.

"Leo... saved your life?" He wasn't at all the benevolent, life-saving sort.

"It was when he was much younger. I was a street urchin then. He gave me a home and a name."

"And so you kill for him in return?" she asked.

Fae dropped down from his perch and crouched in the grass next to Adelia, prompting her to open her eyes. He greatly contrasted with all the lush greenery around him.

"Leo did not ask me to kill," said Fae. "I do it so he will not have to."

"Oh?" She was surprised. "But he has killed before."

"Only once and I do not wish the same experience on him again. I will carry the burden in his stead. He will still want to kill – he will always want to kill – but this way, I can save him just a little bit, even if I cannot save his soul in the end."

Adelia hadn't ever heard Fae talk so much.

"You care for him greatly," she said eventually.

"As do you. He has a knack for it."

"Indeed," she agreed, thinking of the servants and Enrich. It was a strange sort of charm that was deeply buried beneath poison barbs and scathing remarks.

~

When Adelia returned to the mansion, a frantic Reeves came running towards her.

"Milady, there you are." He skidded to a halt in front of her. "The master was looking for you."