Free The Sylph Hunter by L. J. McDonald

Zalia. Airi couldn’t sense any, but it was a huge city and they weren’t from her hive. She’d sense them if they were close enough, but until then they were lost.
    Actually, she’d sensed many battle sylphs during the day, but neither of them were prepared to go near that kind of sylph if they didn’t absolutely have to. Being surrounded last night had been bad enough.
    Devon shuddered at the memory, but Zalia didn’t notice, thinking. “I’m not sure,” she finally said. “I’ve heard rumors, but I’m not positive where to look. We should go and talk to my father. He wants to meet you.”
    So she’d said before. Devon stood, content with the idea of spending more time with her. “Lead the way,” he told her and saw her blush prettily and look down, a tiny smile on her lips. Devon’s heart gave a great thump and he offered his arm, wanting nothing more than for her to take it. She looked puzzled for a moment, but put her arm timidly around his and walked with him, Devon letting her take the lead through the darkened streets. Airi giggled happily and played with both their hair, tangling it together in the air behind them.

    The little arrangement of hovels was a dim shape in the darkness, intermingled with the warm glow of small fires lit for warmth and to cook food. Devon gaped, not able to make out many details but appalled by the poverty of it. Leon had told him about the place, of course, but Devon hadn’t really grasped how poor it really was, nor had he expected it to still be here. The city was huge. Why couldn’t they move there?
    Beside him, Zalia’s stomach rumbled loudly as the smell of food wafted to them.
    “Sorry,” she apologized.
    Devon stared at her. “When was the last time you ate?”
    “Before work this morning.”
    Devon stopped. “You haven’t eaten all day? They make you serve people food and don’t let you eat?” Guilt filled him. No wonder she was so thin. “Why didn’t you say something? I would have bought you something to eat!”
    Zalia stared at him for a moment, her mouth moving as she obviously tried to think of something to say. Finally, she dropped her hands away from her stomach and shrugged. “I would have been fired. I’m there to work, not to eat. A lot of people have left this place, but there are still hundreds of women who’d like to have my job.”
    Devon frowned. “Do you get any days off?”
    “No. I work every day.”
    He blew out a breath in exasperation. Zalia was no better than a slave and that was the sort of thing supposed to change with a queen. He had to make sure it changed.
    “Things will get better,” he promised her. “I mean it.”
    She shrugged, neither agreeing or disagreeing, and led him over to one of the fires where an older, gaunt man with thinning white hair stood to greet them.
    “This is my father, Xehm,” Zalia told him. “Father, this is Devon Chole.”
    “It’s good to meet you,” Devon told him, shaking a hand where the fingers were thin as bird bones.
    Xehm grinned at him, showing a lot of missing teeth. “It’s a pleasure meeting you,” Xehm enthused. “Mr. Petrule sent you then?”
    “He did, sir. Myself and my air sylph, Airi.” Airi swirled his hair, but didn’t make herself visible.
    They sat around the campfire, Zalia passing her father her wages and a waterskin. A pot of what looked like porridge was bubbling over the fire and Devon kicked himself. It hadn’t occurred to him to buy food to bring with him. Stupid, he told himself. He had to stop being stupid.
    You’re not stupid, Airi told him.
    The porridge was passed around. Devon tried to refuse, claiming he wasn’t hungry, but his stomach growled and Xehm gave him a hurt look. He accepted then, hating that he was taking any of their food. It wasn’t even very good and it certainly couldn’t be nutritious, but it must have been all they had. Zalia and Xehm shared it easily though and it finally occurred to him that it was part of the way they