The warehouse stood like a hulking mountain in the middle of a plain. Eliott strode towards it with his chin raised high, knowing what was inside that dingy place. Since he figured it was one of the members of the Court who was responsible, it had been easy to track which estate they sent Edge into. It was like with all the fake clues removed, a single, clear path showed itself.

His hand rested against the hilt of his sword, the only weapon he had brought. Once he got Edge out of there, the other knights would be free to make the arrests. As it was, Eliott had told them to stay back until he hadn't returned. They might hurt Edge and make a run for it if they realized Eliott had brought the whole army for them.

As much as Eliott knew it to be dangerous, they didn't have a choice. At this point, things were still open to consideration, for bargain. If they kept Edge alive, they would have had their demands ready. If not, then they would have brought Eliott's ire upon them. Not that they didn't already have it just for thinking they could touch Edge.

The grass reached his waist in height, and that was without the tall stalks bearing clumps of small, violet flowers. It would be easy to lose someone through this hazy maze of green and yellow should it come to a chase.

When he reached the warehouse, it loomed over him like a faceless monster. Eliott gripped his sword but didn't draw it. The bolts securing the splotchy doors were snapped open. The doors, themselves, were slightly ajar, as if inviting him to come in as he wished.

He looked around him. No houses stood in his immediate radius. This region, according to Sir Geoffer, was largely used as farming lands. In the distance, the shadowy silhouettes of the mountain ranges bordering Lezeris and the neighboring kingdom of Greerloch stood as an imposing wall.

Eliott pursed his lips and pushed the doors in. With a soft whine, they swung inward, giving him a view of what lay inside. A woman sat on a rickety chair. Red hair spilled down her shoulders and chest, matted and tangled like she was grabbed using it. Blood ran down the side of her face and dripped to her mud-splattered and torn dress. Her wings splayed against the chair's backrest, their primaries spilling over to the side and almost touching the hay-strewn floor.

Edge.

The woman looked up. Apparently, Eliott had said her name aloud. Instead of her eyes filling with relief and joy, they welled up in tears. Why was that? She whimpered, the strangled noises reaching his ears in faint squeaks because of the cloth gag tied around her head. She thrashed against the chair but thick ropes bound her arms and body to it. Even her legs, through the rips on her skirt, weren't forgotten.

Eliott felt his blood boil. Whoever had the guts to do this to her would burn in hell. He would personally make sure of it. His knees slapped the cement floor as he crouched beside the chair. His fingers worked on untying the ropes but they wouldn't budge. All the while, Edge was skirting away from him as best as she could.

"What's wrong?" Eliott asked, knowing full well she wouldn't be able to answer. He touched her face to find her skin cold. She was shaking, tears running down her eyes in steady streams. She shook her head and jerked her chin to the door. Go. She's telling him to go.

He yanked the gag away from her lips and the first thing she said to him was, "You shouldn't be here," Edge's voice was close to pleading. "It's a trap. You shouldn't be here. Just go. Leave me."

Eliott gripped her shoulders. "What are you saying? I came to find you," he said. "No way I'm going to leave you here."

"Because that's exactly what we counted on, Your Grace," a voice rang from the door.

Eliott turned and came face-to-face with the real culprit of this whole thing. Linus Coppers smiled as he stepped away from the warehouse's doors and strode past the stack of moldy crates piled by the entrance. His boots crunched against the dried straw carpeting the floor.

Eliott gripped the hilt of his sword and was about to pull it free when a series of familiar clicks rang all around the room. From behind the crates, black-clad men with masks covering their faces appeared. On their hands were crossbows with strings pulled taut. All of them were trained towards Eliott and Edge.

On Eliott's periphery, he saw more men run through the second floor, bearing more loaded crossbows. Edge had been right. He had walked straight into a trap and his only source of reinforcement was told to wait for him before attacking. Looked like he had to get Edge away as fast as he could. She had wings, so maybe she would be able to dart to the window on his right if he told her to. First, he needed to be able to free her first.

Linus raised an eyebrow, no doubt noting Eliott's attention on his hired men. "Marvelous, aren't they?" he chuckled. "They didn't come cheap so I suggest you cooperate, Your Grace," he shook his head and slapped his forehead. With a grin, he said, "Rather, since we're not in the palace, Eliott?"

"Step away from the wench if you know what's good for the both of you," Linus said, snatching a crossbow from the nearest man. He peered through the scope and leveled it on Eliott. From his stance and the exuding comfort with his fingers and arms, he knew how to use it and how to use it well. "That's right. I know my crossbows from my darts. Do as I say and there won't be blood spilled tonight."

Eliott took his hand away from the hilt. It never stopped shaking. He forced his shoulders to relax, his mind to stop thinking of the pointy things aimed at him and his wife.

Linus jerked his crossbow, catching Eliott's attention. "Raise her hands up and take ten steps back," the adviser commanded.

Against his will, Eliott turned his palms up in the air and walked backwards. Each step bringing him away from Edge was another spike of anger and frustration digging into his gut. Plans and variations of those plans knocked around his head like wild critters. None yielded a result in which he and Edge would escape alive if they fought.

Eliott was just one man and Edge, one woman.

Then again, Linus Coppers was too.

"I never knew you were such a good follower, Eliott," Linus commented. He sure enjoyed his self-imposed privilege of throwing Eliott's name like that. It's only because he knew no punishment would come to him at this moment. That and the fact that he's going to get what he did all this for soon.

"What do you want, you scum?" Eliott said as soon as he reached the required steps. Now, his back was closer to the door than to Edge. He hated it. He hated all of this. "Let Edge go. It's me you want."

Linus clicked his tongue. "Ah, where's the fun in that?" he stepped closer to Edge who was still bound, the ropes coming nowhere near being loosened. "It's amusing to see you squirm under my finger and I couldn't seem to do it without this pretty chick here."

The adviser ran a hand down Edge's arm and Eliott had never felt the urge to choke a man to death like this before. Still, he didn't move, even as Edge flinched under the foreign touch. Linus still had the crossbow.

"What do you want?" Eliott hissed, bringing the conversation back to what it was. The sooner it was done, the better. After all, Linus kept Edge alive because he wanted to negotiate. And so, negotiating was what Eliott would do.

"So uptight, are we, Eliott?" Linus sighed when Eliott didn't reply. "Fine. I'll say my terms."

The adviser hefted the crossbow up. "Withdraw the charter," he said. "Give me your word here."

At that, Edge bucked against her bonds. "Don't do it, Eliott," she begged. "Just leave me here. Think of the other fae. Think of them! Don't—"

Linus grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked backward, cutting her off. He pressed the tip of his crossbow right under Edge's chin. Eliott cursed and stepped forward. The men closed in on him, forcing him back.

"Be quiet, little chick. The men are talking," Linus seethed. He seemed to be acting on his own considering there weren't any other Court members here. It made him an easy target but it also made him harder to touch. The fact that they were in this position meant he had enough power and wealth to protect himself and get what he wanted.

"Fine!" Eliott screamed. His voice came out as desperate. Defeated. "I'll withdraw it the first thing tomorrow. Just don't..."

He blinked back the tears sprouting from the corners of his eyes. Crying was the last thing he wanted to do to show Linus he had won. Eliott merely had fought the battle. Linus had an entire war mapped out in his mind.

Linus grinned. "That's great news, Your Grace," he said. "Had I known this was all it took to break those thick morals of yours, I would have done it sooner. The Court will be delighted to hear of your decision."

"Why go this far, Linus?" Eliott asked. "What is it about the fae that you don't like this much?"

The crossbow dug deeper into Edge's throat. She started gagging. Linus, meanwhile, was laughing. "I'll be set to lose millions of revenue if that stupid edict falls into place," he said. "The fae deserved to be kept under our thumbs because if we don't, we'd lose our lands, our place in this world, and our lives. If we give them our power—the one we built with our hands—humans will cease to exist in the next few years."

Eliott opened his mouth to debate that point but Linus snickered. "I already read your lengthy statement," the adviser pushed on. "I'm afraid I don't agree. If the fae becomes like us, I'll lose my right to Suffrence."

Suffrence. Only the biggest fae ancestral land in the west of Lezeris. So it was Linus Coppers who owned it. That's the reason why the records of the transactions were so clean. This man was beyond a mastermind. He's a tyrant.

"You're a vile son of a bitch, you know that, right? Now that I heard your terms, hear mine," Eliott said. "Free Edge and send her to me. Don't shoot at us until we make it back to the palace. If you so much as graze our skin, the deal is off."

To his surprise, Linus jerked his chin at the man opposite him. The hired man understood and began untying Edge. When he finished, he shoved her forward. Eliott lowered his arms and beckoned her. She stared between Linus and Eliott, as if searching for the reason why this was happening.

"Come on, Edge," Eliott nodded at her as she stepped towards him. Closer. Closer. "They won't shoot."

Edge sniffed. "Forget me and fight for what is right," she said. "You're so close, Eliott. Don't throw it away for me."

"I'll throw away even the sun for you," Eliott shook his head as tears freely leaked out of his eyes. "I'm one of the selfish humans of the world, after all."

Eliott smiled at her and beckoned her again. Closer. Almost there. She's saved now. It's all over now.

Just as their fingers came close to touching, a crossbow shot.