Tears prickled my eyes. “I will make it right one day.”
“For that, you’ll need power. We need to get you out of here, hmm? Send you home so they can put a crown on your pretty head.”
I know he was trying to make me feel better, something else I didn’t deserve.
I closed my eyes, finding comfort in the temporary darkness. I was so tired, but with Cedric, I didn’t feel alone. Being with him felt like home, and all the devastation, guilt, and heartache was lessened by his side.
“Do you think I still deserve it? Now that you know everything?”
He snorted. “If I didn’t believe you deserved it, I wouldn’t be here with you. Look, you’re trying to do the right thing. Besides, I’ve never met a monarch yet who hasn’t done something bad. Your “Your intentions speak for you. You didn’t know any better at the time. You had no idea your father would kill them. You trusted him, even if it was naïve to do so. I do understand. Besides, royals must sometimes make difficult decisions. Ones that can end up with others hurting as a result.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “Like you’ve met so many royals.”
“Let’s not hover,” he said, catching the elves watching us. He gestured toward the tree line at the end of the meadow.
SEVEN
Flickers of touch ran between us while we walked. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I caught him looking at me. I forced our way through the thickening vines and overgrowth using my staff. Cedric occasionally influenced the animals around us. He had a way of warning them, almost like a kind of telepathy, which kept dangerous snakes and lizards away. I almost stepped on a salamander, but Cedric grabbed my stomach and pulled me back. “Careful.” He kicked a leaf near the small brown reptile, and it scuttered away to hide in the underbrush.
“You can communicate with them?” I asked, gesturing to where the creature had escaped.
“Sort of, but I don’t know how to describe it. The closest I would come to explaining it is, well, you know when you having a strong feeling of fear?”
I nodded. I knew that feeling all too well.
“It’s like that.” He said. “I push out the feeling from my body and the animals can sense it on me and they keep their distance most of the time. It’s the same if I were to push the feeling of joy outside of myself, I could attract animals to me. Its something only fae can do, to force the feeling beyond our own bodies, but it helps in situations like this. To keep animals safe and to keep dangerous ones away as much as possible.”
“I wish I had those powers.”
“You have your magic, remember?” He pointed at my staff. “You can do many things we can’t.”
I ran my hand over the wood. “I think all magic is beautiful, in every creature.”
“Even elemental?” He probed.
I didn’t know how to answer because I hadn’t thought about it too much. “I’m so hot.” I pulled my hair up at the back, keeping it out of my face.
“Here.” He wiped the sweat from his brows and forehead. “A clearing.” He touched the bark on one of the narrowing trees. “We must be close to the edge. Perhaps a mile or two.”
“I don’t know how much farther I can go,” I admitted. My legs were close to numb, and the heels of my feet ached with every step. “Do you think we can stop here for a bit?”
He nodded. “I had the same thought.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a canteen of water. He gulped it down, then offered it to me. We were almost out, but I could always summon more.
“How are you feeling?” His eyes regarded me carefully.
“Honestly.” I scratched the back of my neck. “Not great, but I’m glad they’re alive. It’s all I could have asked for.”
“Don’t hold onto the guilt forever.” He spotted a bright blue-and-yellow bird watching us from a low-hanging branch, then smiled. “A sign, you see.” He pointed at the bird. “They’re symbols of freedom.”
I gave him a look. “A sign. Really?”
“Why not? Free yourself, Winter. Let yourself enjoy being alive. I want to bet it’s something you’ve never done.”
I furrowed my brows. Had I? Maybe once. Fleetingly, with Jasper. Maybe even for a moment with Blaise. There were times when I felt happy, when my brother and I would run through the castle, practicing sword-fighting or pretending we were knights. “I can count the times I have on one hand,” I admitted. “It’s hard to enjoy life when no one wants to be around me and those who do end up hurt and always leave.” My mind flicked to Morgana. She was the only one who hadn’t, and where had it gotten her? My chest ached at the memory of her.
Sunlight arrowed through the branches, capturing my attention. Cedric’s hair shone in gold hues. Warmth blossomed in my stomach when his hand touched mine. His eyes appraised me, his lips curling into a wanting smile. “I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. His words melted like honey as he hovered closer.
My heart fluttered. “Ever?” I half-smiled.
“Ever.”
His scent was the perfect blend of fruits, pastry, and berries from the last of the tarts he’d scarfed down earlier in the day. He caressed my cheek, and I placed my hand against his chest, spreading my fingers over where his heart was. Its beat quickened to my touch. I’d only kissed two others, Blaise and Jasper, and both were deliciously dark and exciting, but this was different, sweeter, deeper.
Cedric’s lips pressed against mine with urgency. The tenderness I expected never came. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and my legs buckled. He held me up, then deepened the kiss. The need to be with him pulsed through me. The want was stronger than anything. It was all-consuming.
My body moved in rhythm with his. He held me tighter, as if I might disappear at any moment. I ran my hands along his muscles and traced my fingers over his stomach. I felt like my heart would stop.
After a minute, we pulled apart to catch our breath. The rain began to patter down, only slowed by the large leaves that hung over our heads.
His eyes flashed brightly. I felt as if I were on fire, every inch of my skin set alight by his passion. I was dazed, breathless, and wanted to kiss him again.
He held my wrist and pulled me closer as if he could read my mind. The kiss felt endless. Eventually, however, we tore apart. I pressed my cheek against his shoulder, intoxicated by his scent. He dipped his head to rest his forehead against mine. Thick droplets of rain landed on my back and arms. I gazed up at him. Uncertainty edged into my mind, anxiety threatening to steal away what made me happy.
“Don’t,” he whispered, seeing my expression. “Don’t tell me you’re scared, or why we can’t do this.”
I’d always been cautious, but the need of him overwhelmed my doubts. “I don’t care about any of that,” I replied, letting go of the thoughts tangling my mind. A smile stretched across my face. “I want you.”
He laced his fingers behind my neck. “As it turns out, I want you too.”
***
I let my head fall back, and the soft earth cradled me as I closed my eyes. We’d set up camp, ready for the night to fall. Each time we caught the other looking, we kissed again. Each one intensified the longing building within me.
I felt giddy. Tingles reached down to the tips of my toes. My eyes focused on the bruised sky above. Oranges and reds faded into purples and blues. Cedric lay next to me, disturbing a patch of wildflowers and buzzing insects. I turned my head and watched him close his eyes as a smile unfurled on his lips. He looked so happy, which was how I always wanted to see him. My sunshine, the light in the darkness I’d become accustomed to. I didn’t know what he saw in me, but I didn’t care.
I turned my head back to look at the sky. The heat never relented, even at dusk. I remembered the air on Inferis, the salty, briny smell that lingered with bark and earth. The sound of waves crashing against the white cliffs sent a serenity through my soul, feigning peace that didn’t exist. I wished I could feel the cold again. Gone were the days where I longed for the heat. The rising sound o
f insects rattled in my ears. Sweat stuck strands of hair to my neck and forehead. “I miss home. It’s so hot.”
Cedric chuckled. “I can imagine.”
I sat myself up, pulling my aching stomach forward, and rubbed my temples. “I’d love some food.”
Cedric smirked. “All that kissing worked up an appetite, hmm?”
I blushed but nodded. “I guess so.” I wasn’t used to feeling vulnerable, but I didn’t mind it too much with him. Something inside me knew he’d never hurt me.
“I have some nuts left. We’ll be out of here first thing in the morning once we—” His jaw dropped; his uneasy stare locked on to something behind me.
A twig cracked, animals scuttered away, and leaves rustled.
I froze, rooted to the spot. I searched Cedric’s expression. The corner of his lip twitched, his eyes widened, and his eyebrows were slightly raised. His eyes flicked to mine. Something in them warned me to run.
My heart thumped to a pause when I turned my head. I grabbed the end of my staff and jumped to my feet. Ten men, uniformed in blue jackets with gold buttons, were staring at us. Patches of sweat glistened on their exposed, tanned skin. Their swords were in their hilts, though they made no attempt to grab them. I eyed their relics, all silver-and-black rings made to look like something—a dragon maybe. I couldn’t tell from this far away, and dusk had already stolen most of the day’s light from us.
One of the guards took a step forward. His matte-black hair absorbed the last of the sunset’s rays. His stare was pointed, and his fingers flexed. He rubbed his ring in comfort or warning, then took a second step.
“Back away now or else!” I shouted.
“Don’t,” Cedric shouted, caution thick in his voice. “They’re King Xenos’s elite guards.”
They could already see my staff, and if they had a half a brain, they’d already know I was a luna. I thought we were safe out in the rainforest, no one but elves would be out so far.
My fingers tingled as I white-knuckled the ash wood and bone. I had one chance to get away.
The black-haired man with olive skin looked me up and down. “If you come with us, peacefully, we will spare your life.”
I reached back, feeling for Cedric’s hand. I had to get us both out of here. I prepared the spell, ready to take my chances. There was no way Xenos wouldn’t recognize me. Other Berovians probably wouldn’t, but the royal family surely would. My breath hitched and my lips parted, the words ready to leave them.
“Prince Cedric,” one of the men stated. “Your father will not be impressed when he finds out you’ve been fraternizing with the enemy. Did you help her gain access to the kingdom? Have you been working with Magaelor?” Accusation guided his tone.
My jaw dropped. “Prince…” I questioned, my voice trailing off. The revelation hesitated my reaction with magic.
The guard pointed his ring at me and muttered unintelligible words. Red dots filled my vision, hazing the view ahead. My staff tumbled from my fingers and into the underbrush. My knees trembled and my stomach ached. I couldn’t move. I had just enough control to breathe and blink. Everything else was paralyzed. “Grab her,” the man ordered, “before the spell wears off.”
Cedric squeezed my hand. “As soon as you are able, run!” he shouted and flung himself at them. The sound of bone cracking was deafening. He had gone for their rings, probably trying to break the spell on me. Red-and-orange magic sparked out of him, but it couldn’t harm them. It wasn’t like our magics. “Let her go!” he shouted as they bound his wrists behind his back. They wrapped a chain around him. I could just make out the markings engraved into the iron. I recognized them from back home. They were used to prevent fae or other creatures who used natural magic from accessing their powers. “It’s my fault, I took her from Magaelor. Just take her to the docks. It’s me you want. I did this.”
It was desperation to beg them to let me go. A luna on Berovian land was like gold to the king. Cedric had to know that. I was already dead.
“Prince Cedric,” I said again before they dragged him away, the two words unfamiliar in my mouth. “The light fae prince.” The pieces clicked into place as he tried to fight them.
Two took my arms, walking me behind Cedric and the other guards. One picked up my staff and held it next to his sword.
I went quietly. The fight in me faded to nothing.
We trekked through the forest until the trees narrowed, and rotten leaves and ancient bark paved way to a well-trodden path. They cut down vines with their blades. The head guard used some sort of fire spell to scare away a redthorn viper when it crossed our path. Lizards darted up trunks as we walked through.
Cedric looked back at me with tortured eyes. “I’m sorry.”
His shoulders slumped. I couldn’t muster the energy to say a single word because the truth had stolen all happiness and hope from me and forced me into submission. Cedric was the light fae prince, which meant he was the one who killed my brother.
“You killed him,” I whispered. “You lied to me.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My golden-eyed, bright, carefree Cedric was a murderer. I remembered my father’s last truth to me. “The light fae were the solises’ secret weapon, and the fae prince was the one who ran a sword through your brother.”
Tears stung my eyes. An immovable lump lodged in my throat. I couldn’t look away. I wondered if André had looked into his eyes when he’d fallen, if Cedric had cared as he watched my brother bleed out.
André was the only one who really cared for me growing up. We played knights and dragons up in our hiding spots in the castle. We would laugh and make fun of the dim-witted guards who tried to impress my father. I looked up to him. He kept our family together, and Cedric ruthlessly ripped him away from us.
“Please,” Cedric pleaded, his hands pressed together. “When I figured out who you were, I wanted to tell you I was a prince then, but you were leaving Berovia, and I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, but you need to listen to me.” He swallowed hard. Beads of sweat glistened on his face. “You have to understand why we all went to battle. I didn’t know you then. Your family were slaughtering the solises and declaring war on our people.”
My heart raced. I felt dizzy, and my hands were clammy. “I hate you.” The words came out softer than I wanted them to, childlike even. I cast my eyes downward. “You’re a liar, and you and your family killed mine.” Fresh tears fell thick and fast down my cheeks when we emerged through the tree line, where royal carriages awaited us.
“I didn’t.” Cedric proclaimed, his eyes bloodshot. “I’m not a killer.”
The guards’ grip on me tightened. I looked up at one. “Where are you taking me?”
“To the pits.”
My eyes widened. I looked to Cedric, and he looked terrified. What was the pits?
EIGHT
Time had been stolen from me as I rotted in the outside cages, meant for traitors and rapists in a place they called “the pits” outside the royal castle. Around me, hundreds of heavy, iron cages were bolted into the ground, each one with just enough room for one person. Surrounding the flat, large area we were kept in, were tall stone walls. An extra layer of protection in case a prisoner did manage to escape.
The humid morning gave way to illusions of wavering bars. Scraping my bare feet against the grainy sand mixed with dirt, I shuffled back to the edge of my cage. Hot iron burned my flesh as I distanced myself from a snake which had slithered through the bars and into my cage. Its steel eyes latched onto mine as the serpent stood, coiling its tail beneath him and puffing out a regal hood of red. My heart thumped, and venom spattered onto my feet. Flexing my fingers over small stones, I closed my eyes. Snakes were the most primitive of creatures; incapable of love or maternal instincts, they only wished to survive and hunt, and the redthorn viper was the most vicious of them all.
“Help!” I screamed loud enough to garner the attention of the guards. I heard their footsteps growing closer. O
ther prisoners close by watched it unfold, their eyes excited, looking from me to the snake. It was the only entertainment, I guessed. But I was on the receiving end of it.
My heart hammered in my chest, forcing a spike of adrenaline through my veins, but I had nowhere to direct it. I could not run, or move for that matter.
I yelped when the snake’s fangs punctured the skin on my leg. It retreated, then attacked again and again, each leaving a pain more searing than the last. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I choked on my wails.
“Serves her right.” One guard laughed when they arrived. Even through the agony, my hatred of the king kept my will strong. The sound of an axe on dirt forced my eyes open. The viper’s head rolled to my side. The guard growled under his breath. He was a large muscular man with too much chin and eyes too small for his head. His dark-brown hair had thinned from the steel helmets they were forced to wear. “Poor thing.” He looked at the head of the beady-eyed reptile.
The second guard, a stubbier blond man, twisted his mouth in disgust. “I’d rather we have killed her than the snake. At least it belongs here.”
The venom crept through my veins like lava, pulling me from their unwelcome remarks. A scream erupted from my mouth. I dug my fingers into the ground, drawing blood from my nailbeds.
“Give it to her,” the taller of the guards ordered.
My mouth was forced open, and what I hoped was antivenom was poured onto my parched tongue. The liquid coated my throat, giving some relief to the state of thirst they’d kept me in for days. How many had it been? Six, maybe seven without adequate water. At first, they had given me what I needed, but something changed a week in. Perhaps they’d originally thought they could barter me or something. Whatever happened, they didn’t get what they wanted, which meant I was worth little to them now. I was offered no shade and only the occasional scraps of food and water, just enough to keep me alive until the king decided what to do with me.
The guards slammed the door shut—I hadn’t even noticed them open it—and clicked the padlock. My breaths were shaky, and my chest rattled. Hot tears, fresh and thick, burned my cheeks. Blinding light fell through the bars. The chains on my wrists heated with the sun, ensuring the marks on my body never healed. Berovia was in the middle of a tropical heatwave, and I’d never longed for the iciness of home more than now.
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