Blood of the Fae (The Fae Chronicles Book 2)

by Valia Lind

  The chaos isn't confined to the main hall. There are soldiers and fighting everywhere. The palace seems to be overrun. Derek keeps strong hold on my arm, as Nora leads the way. Suddenly, he drops my hand, as one of the soldiers jumps on him. Another one grabs me around my waist, as I scream. My hands ignite with fire, as I grab onto the arms of my attacker. He scream, dropping me and I twist my body around, slamming my blazing hands into his chest. His chest explodes, a hole burned right through him. Horrified, I step back, glancing at my hands and the amount of power I just displayed.

  But I don't have time to process, as Nora's screams reach my ears and I turn to see her trying and fight off two of the soldiers. Without hesitation, I send a blast of fire at them, burning them where they stand. Suddenly, Derek is beside me once more, reaching for my hand. He clearly saw what I did, but he doesn't notice. Just pulls me behind him.

  We're almost down the hall when I hear it.

  "Stop!" I yell, and I turn to see Julian rush at one of the soldier, his sword in hand. The man meets Julian's attack blow by blow, and I watch as he begins to gain an advantage.

  “Avery—"

  I don't wait to hear what Derek is going to say. The fire ignites again, pushing our hands apart, without burning him and then I'm racing for Julian. On the move, I call on my magic, blasting it straight at the soldier. The man doesn't see it coming and the fire sweeps him off his feet, dropping him ten feet away. Julian follows the solider with his eyes before turning to me in surprise. The surprise turns into relief quickly, and then he's running for me.

  One of the soldiers is suddenly there, grabbing for me, and I don't hesitate to slam my elbow into his stomach, before dropping my weight, and throwing him over my shoulder. Jumping to my feet, I blast a stream of fire straight down, burning through the man. When I look up I see Derek and Julian completely shocked, as they look at what I just did.

  "What? I had good teachers," I grin, and then send another fire blast at the soldiers coming for us. The boys seem to snap out of it and then Derek is reaching for me once more. We take off down the hall, dodging fights as much as possible. When we round the corner, Nora is there, pressed against the wall and she looks happy the moment she sees us.

  "This way," she calls as we reach her, before she dives into one of the open doorways. We're right on her heels, and the guys push the doors closed the moment we're inside.

  "What are we doing? Can we portal?" I look at Nora, but she's already shaking her head.

  "Portal magic is blocked. We have to do this the old fashioned way." She walks over to a tapestry, pulling it aside. Placing her palm against the wall, she mumbles something I don't quite hear and then the wall moves.

  "Secret passages?"

  "Absolutely. We hit all the classics," She grins. We move as one, rushing for the passageway and away from the sound of the battle. Derek's hand finds my own again, as if he can't be apart from me for longer than a few seconds, and I hold onto him with all I got because I need the comfort too. Everything just spun out of control on us and we seem to be each others anchor. Nora presents me with a torch and I use my fire magic to light it.

  "How did they get in?" Julian asks, once we're farther down the tunnel, leaving the sounds of the battle behind.

  "It was planned and executed with perfection. There had to be an inside man," Derek muses out loud. "Someone who knew about the revel, who knew exactly who was the center of attention."

  "She played us, Derek," I say, looking up into his handsome face. There's a hard look in his eyes, but it softens when he looks at me.

  "She did, but I won’t—" he doesn't quite finish that sentence because right now, we both know he doesn't have a choice. But we'll find a way. We'll figure this out.

  "You think it was all about Avery?" Nora asks, and we turn our attention to her.

  "Absolutely." Derek doesn't hesitate, "They were looking for something when they arrived, of that I am sure. She's the biggest prize they can find here."

  "So what do we do?" I pull the skirt of my dress a little higher, keeping it from dragging or tripping me. "Can we go back to my room to grab supplies?"

  "No, it's too dangerous. There's no direct path to your room from here. Our best bet is the village."

  "The servant's village?"

  "Yes."

  I think back to the last time I was down there, the screams I heard that night. It was the night my wings made their first appearance and everything changed.

  "Who do you think those soldiers work for?" I ask.

  "It could be any court," Derek replies slowly, as if he too is mulling over that fact. "The clothes the soldiers wore didn't have any court insignia on them. It was a smart move."

  "So we have no idea who's responsible."

  "It doesn't matter who's responsible. Right now, we just need to get you out of here. That's priority number one."

  We fall silent after that, the only sound is the distant shouts and the slap of the stone beneath my feet. I shiver at the imagines those screams evoke, but I don't slow down and I don't stop. There's an urgency to their movements, and Derek's grip on my hand is tight.

  This group is determined to protect me, but I'm as determined to protect them as well.

  Chapter 18

  When the passageway slops upwards, we pause. The sounds of the battle seemed to have faded, but we really don't know what awaits us when we step out of this tunnel.

  "Nora, do you have any idea where this passageway ends?" I ask, because she seems to be the only one with any knowledge of these in the first place.

  "The forest? Maybe? I have only the very basic information about the tunnels. My mother shared them with me." I've never heard Nora talk about her mother before, and her tone makes me want to ask a hundred questions. Just not right now.

  "It should be right on the outskirts of the village. At least if the distance we walked is to be believed," Derek says, and all three of us turn to look at him. He doesn't comment further, only shrugs.

  When we finally come to the dead end, Nora once again places her palm against the stone and mumbles a few words.

  "How is she doing that?" I whisper.

  "It's part of her portal keeper magic," Derek whispers back. That makes sense. I truly do forget that Nora, or any of the fae, have any active magic. They don't use it very often at all.

  The stone moves with minimal sound, which makes me feel slightly better. We come out into the night air, slowly, but there's not sudden ambush that awaits us. We are in the woods, and now that we're out, I can hear the screaming and the fighting once again. The sound really carries in these woods.

  "Come on, we need to move."

  We race off after Derek, without a second thought. He weaves in and out between the trees, and I'm glad I've been training so much, because I wouldn't have been able to handle all this running before now. When we reach the edge of the forest, Derek pauses. The village is surprisingly quiet.

  "We can't just walk in there like nothing is happening. If the attacker is smart, there will be soldiers waiting to ambush whoever escaped the palace." Julian says, studying the houses in front of us.

  "So what do we do? They'll probably be checking the forest soon as well," I comment, and Julian's head swivels towards me like he hasn't thought of that. We all wait on Derek to make the decision, because I sure don't know what to do.

  "We have to brave it. We'll go fast and we go quiet. If we can make into one of the houses, maybe we can buy us some time."

  “Derek—"

  "We don't have a choice, Avery," he glances down at me, before giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. "Like you said, the forest isn't safe either. And we have to go past the village to get out. It's our only choice."

  I don't like it, but he's right. It's not like we can go back. And from what I know about magic, the tunnels are probably not safe either. If they have a way to suppress portal magic, they have a way to track magic. Which mean, the tunnels might be discovered. We can't take that risk.


  "Let's go individually."

  "No, we'll go in two's."

  I'm not a fan, but I don't have time to argue, as Derek pulls me after him. We move together, keeping pace with each other as if we've been doing this forever. It's kind of like the dance. I can anticipate his moves and he can anticipate mine.

  We reach the first building with no problems, and we flatten ourself against it the best we can. Glancing behind, I see Nora and Julian rush toward us, and I hold my breath until they're beside me. It's difficult not to make any noise, considering everything here seems to be standing still. After another moment, Derek guides me to the next building, and then the next. It's like we're playing hide and seek. Except we have no idea how many people are looking for us.

  Just when I think no one is actually at the village, a group of the soldier come around the corner. Derek and I drop down behind a barrel, and I really hope the luck is on our side. I'm not exactly inconspicuous in my bright dress. Neither is Nora in her green one. Although hers is a little better.

  The soldiers call out to each other in hushed tones, and I realize they're probably going house to house now. A movement catches my attention and I glance over to the house on my left to see the shades move to the side and then a pair of small eyes find mine. There's a bit of movement and the child gets yanked away from the window, but after a moment, an older pair of eyes replaces the tiny slit. At the sight of us, they grow bigger and then the shade move over more so that I can see the face.

  It's the woman who's child I saved last time I was at the village.

  She knows exactly who I am, and when she motions for us, I don't hesitate. Derek pulls me down when I stand, but I just shake my head, asking him to trust me with my eyes. Thankfully, that's all it takes, because he allows me to pull him behind me. We round the corner just as the door at the back of the house opens, and we rush in. The door closes, but I stop the woman.

  "My friends," I whisper, and then Julian and Nora are there. The woman shuts the door behind them, bolting it in place. We all crouch close to the floor, afraid to cast any unnecessary shadows around the house. I glance over to see the little boy peeking from around a table, his eyes on me and I smile. After a second, he smiles back.

  "They're looking for you, miss," the woman whispers, getting down to her knees beside us. "You as well, your highness. I heard them shouting before they went quiet. But they didn't leave."

  "Is there a way to get out of here without being seen?" I ask, but the woman is already shaking her head.

  "They have the road covered, miss. And the magic is blocked."

  "So there's nothing we can do," I glance at Derek, and he's already shaking his head. He's worried, that much I can see, and I am too.

  "You can stay here till the morning, miss," the woman continues, and I really shouldn't be surprised she's talking to me and not Derek. The gratefulness on her face is evident and I give her a warm smile.

  "If you get caught—“

  "Oh but we won't, miss. Here," she motions for us to follow and we move quickly across the floor to the opposite side of the kitchen. The woman moves a few bags of grain over, and then pulls the rug up.

  "We have a cellar."

  The cellar is dark and cooler than the temperature outside, but it's big enough to fit all four of us and for that I am grateful. The woman waits until we find our places on the ground, before she shuts the door and places the rug back over it, cutting off most of the light. A few slivers sneak in through the wooden floor, but it's not enough to dissipate the darkness. Nora and Julian are leaning against the wall on my right and Derek and I are sitting right near the ladder. I shiver a little and I'm not sure if it's the adrenaline leaving or if it's the dampness.

  "May I?" Derek's words are whispered into my ear and I turn to find his face barely inches from mine. In the near darkness, I still manage to see him somehow, but I don't know what he's asking.

  "What?"

  "You're shivering. May we share body heat?"

  It's such a strange way to ask that I nearly chuckles. But he's serious and after a moment's hesitation say yes.

  He scoots even closer, before I feel his arm come around me and I lean against his broad chest. The feeling of security envelopes me, just as his body heat warms me up. I fit against him as if I'm made to be there and I finally let my mind wonder.

  I'm betrothed to him. Somehow, someway, I ended up betrothed to the prince of the Spring Court. I have no idea how I'm supposed to feel about that. True, Derek and I--we aren't enemies anymore. At least, not entirely. My feelings towards him have changed. I can't deny that.

  But marrying him under the queen's command? It's the worst thing that can happen to me. Not because of him, but because of her. That's surprising all on it's own. If this happened even a few months ago, I'd be completely against the idea. But being married to him wouldn't be so bad, I suppose. Except for the part where the queen would control my magic.

  I won't allow that.

  I won't allow that.

  I won't allow that.

  "We'll find a way out," Derek whispers against my hair, and it's like he knows what I'm thinking about. Maybe he's thinking about it too. I want to ask him about it, but maybe I'm a coward, because I don't. I don't know if I want to know his exact thoughts on the situation.

  A chorus of voices snaps us to attention and the next thing we know, there's a sound of a door banging open and boots stomp into the house. The deep male voice asks something, in a language I don't understand, and the woman answers. There are more questions and more answers, as someone continues to walk around the house.

  I don't dare to breathe too loudly, as we all wait to see what happens. The strange language throws me off a bit, and I make a mental note to ask about it later. It seems like forever, but then finally, the voices and the stomping fades. Before disappearing entirely.

  Yet, still, no one moves and no one speaks. We're not about to take any chances. And so we sit like that, in intense silence, until the sun finally comes up.

  When the woman pulls back the rug and opens the hatch, I feel like it's been days. I blink at the sudden light, before untangling myself from Derek. Neither one of us slept, but he held me tightly, all through the night.

  "The soldiers have moved down into the forest, miss. Now is your chance."

  We rush for the surface and I stop near the woman, reaching to give her shoulder a squeeze. The words 'thank you' are on my tongue, but I stop them before I can utter them. That will never be safe here.

  "You have done us a great service," I say instead, and she beams at me like I've given her the moon.

  "It's the least I could do, miss," she replies, as her little boy pokes his head out from behind his mother's skirt. I give them both a big smile, before I join my friends at the door.

  "We have to move fast," Derek says and I shrug.

  "What else is knew?"

  We open the door and after a quick look around, we run. The houses are still asleep and the soldiers are nowhere to be seen, but we do the best we can to stay quiet and fast. When the forest is in sight, I almost sigh in relief. But then, I nearly stumble back when I see who steps out of the shadows, right on the edge of the trees.

  "Avery, come on."

  Derek drags me behind him, as we reach Hannah.

  "What are you doing here?" I can't help but ask and the other fae rolls her eyes.

  "Nice to see you too, Avery. Lovely dress you got on there," she comments. "If you must know, I was looking for you."

  "So you came to the edge of the village forest?"

  Even thought I don't want to be suspicious, the thought of the insider being behind this attack is at the front of my mind. I definitely don't want Hannah to be the bad guy here, but the coincidence is too much.

  "Not quite."

  "Hannah."

  "Look, don't make a big deal of it, but I spelled you in case I needed to find you. It was a one time thing."

  "What?" I almost forgot that we're
in hiding, as I stare at the fae in front of me.

  "It came in handy," she shrugs.

  "You people are unbelievable," I throw my hands up in the air, pulling away from Derek. This is all too much and I'm way too tired.

  "Look, don't get all twisted up. I heard of the attack, I came to help. A thanks would be appreciated."

  This earns her a roll of the eyes from me, but she isn't deterred.

  "You have one shot, darling," she looks at Derek, apparently done dealing with me for the moment. "Where to?"

  Derek is silent for a moment, glancing over at me, before replying.

  "Human realm."

  "We're going back?" I immediately forget my grumpiness and walk over to Derek.

  "It's the safest bet right now. I need to get you out of Faery."

  "But how? The portal magic has been suppressed."

  "Only of those within the vicinity. Oh honey, don't look so shocked. I do have some magic up my sleeve," she says, winking at me. "But we better hurry. I don't like being out in the open like this."

  Derek doesn't hesitate, giving Hannah a go-ahead nod. Julian and Nora don't offer their opinion. They both look as exhausted as I feel.

  "Good luck. To all of you," Hannah says, but her eyes are entirely on me. She waves her hand in the air, saying a few words, and then the space ripples and I see familiar pine trees on the other side. "Off you go."

  Nora and Julian step through first, then Derek takes my hand and pulls me through with him. I turn back around, as Hannah raises her hand to close the portal. But something catches her attention off to the side, and the next moment the soldiers are there. They grab her by the arms, as one slaps her across the face.

  "Hannah!" I yell, ready to jump back through the portal, but Derek's arms close around my middle, catching me and keeping me in place. I watch helplessly, as Hannah is pushed to her knees, as one of the soldiers, grabs her face in his hand. There's a look of pure defiance on her face, before she spits in his face. The solider backhands her and she falls out of the grip of the others.