How to Save a Fae (Heir of Dragons Book 2)

torchlit corridors and meeting the portly guard outside the door to his chambers. “Did she give you any trouble?” he asked the swordsman with a sheepish grin.
“I thought she was going to spit on me,” replied the guard with a weak smile.
“That sounds about right. Do me a favor and stay put. I'll have a word with her and get to the bottom of things. I may have need of you yet, so don't wander off.” Entering the room, he shut the door softly behind him and discovered Minx seated on a plush chair beneath a gilt skylight. She was staring up at the slender opening, her eyes ladened with tears of frustration. At noticing his entrance, she hurriedly wiped them away and put on a fierce expression. She'd looked kinder on the battlefield, staring down Wuffs, than she did at that moment.
The room was sumptuously outfitted, with ornate furniture, silken linens and ample light. A large bowl of fresh fruits sat on a nearby table, and though he moved it closer to her, the hungry-looking huntress did not partake. Instead, she sized him up viciously, arms crossed. “So, are all of the dungeons in this mountain as nice as this?”
Kaleb chortled. “This is my suite, not a dungeon. I'm not going to throw you in jail, Minx. Take a load off. You look tired. I know you've come a long way.”
She rolled her eyes dismissively. “Sure. I've been dragged around in chains, hauled off to a gilded cell, but I'll try and relax.” She rubbed at her wrists, where the shackles had previously rubbed against her skin. “What's the matter with you? Why have you done this? I came here looking for your help. Instead, Mau's been locked up and I had to go through that humiliating trial. Couldn't you have just released me?”
Kaleb took a seat across from her in a plush chair of his own and tried to take one of her hands in his. To his surprise—and hurt—she pulled away from him. “Minx, you can't just show up here whenever you please,” he said quietly. “I wish you could—that things were different. But do you really think it's safe for someone known as the Dragon Hunter to pop in for a visit? I had no idea you were coming, and I needn't remind you that most dragons aren't as friendly toward your kind as I am.”
Minx chuckled darkly. “Oh, so charging me with a crime for coming all the way here to see you—that's what you call friendly?”
“I had you brought to this room for your protection,” he shot back. “What you're doing isn't safe, Minx. And anyway... you know how the generals are. They aren't interested in helping your people. What's happening at Pandling Grounds is a problem for the Fae.”
“For now,” was her reply. “But you know they'll come for the dragons eventually. We've discussed it before. They won't stop after destroying Pan. They'll keep going, gaining power all the while. The whole continent, all of Aleio, will fall. The only chance we have is in pooling our resources. We need to work together. Or... have you forgotten?”
Kaleb shook his head. “I know the threat is real. But the generals aren't going to listen. And anyway, you can't just come and go as you please. My people are going to see the Dragon Hunter wandering around the mountain and think you're here to claim that dragon's hide you so sorely wanted. It won't end well. Unless you receive official permission, you can't be here, Minx. The help my people offered the last time—consider if a fluke, a one-time thing. I'm sorry to say they haven't changed.”
She grit her teeth, eyeing him intensely. “No... but you have.” Minx took a deep, steadying breath. “I thought you'd be happy to see me.”
“I am!” he insisted. “It's... it's not that.”
She shook her head and stood. “If this is what you consider a warm reception, then I don't know what to say.” Minx strode toward the door. “I hear you, loud and clear. I'll leave at once, and I won't come back. I know where the Fae stand with your people—and where I stand with you. Please tell them to release Mau. We won't trouble you ever again.”
Kaleb tried to reason with her, placed a hand upon her shoulder that was promptly shrugged off. “Is the situation really so different with the Fae? They want our help in their hour of need, certainly, but do most of them really see us as equals? I imagine most of them don't. Most of them probably think of us as useful idiots and nothing more. Aside from the two of us, the dragons and the Fae don't see eye-to-eye, Minx. We can't just make them change their minds—not overnight.”
Minx opened the chamber door and stepped out into the hall. She had nothing left to say, and couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye again. “Tell them to release Mau. I'll go back home. Goodbye, Kaleb.”
A few more guards had gathered outside the room, giving the Fae huntress an odd look as they went about their rounds. Kaleb waved a few over, issuing his hasty orders. “You,” he told the first one, “please escort her to the exit.” He pointed at another. “You, go down to the dungeon and release the Faelyr that's being kept there. Escort the Faelyr to the exit as well. And ensure that all of Minx's weapons are returned, too.”
The guards gave a salute and executed their orders at once. Kaleb watched as Minx was led down the hall, toward the nearest passage. The Fae huntress didn't say another word, didn't bother looking back at him as she proceeded through the doorway. He was torn; sending her away and dissuading her from this fool's errand seemed to be the safest thing to do. On the other hand, his heart ached at seeing her leave. I can't give her what she wants. I can't make my people