"Excellent. I'm good at those." He waggled his eyebrows.
A small giggle escaped me, he really was cute.
"Will Zeke..." I trailed off, looking away from both of them as I thought things I didn't want to.
"Will Zeke, what?" Mika asked.
"Will he help us come back and sort this out?" I asked, running my hands through the thin fabric of my shirt.
"If it's what you want, Princess, he'll do anything."
"Please don't call me Princess."
"Why not? It's what you are." Mika cocked his head to the side, seeming baffled by my request.
"I lost the right to call myself that when the fae realm closed off."
"I don't think that's how it works," Jacob countered. "You're still a Princess, even if you're the Princess of nothing."
"Hardly nothing," I muttered. "Can we talk about this later? Now really isn't the best time."
"You're right, it's not," Mika admitted. "What do you want us to do?"
"I think the best plan is for me to try and set up the trap first, then Jacob needs to create a distraction. After that, we need to get out of here."
The two of them nodded.
"Do either of you know the way around here?" I voiced one of the many concerns I had over my plan.
"No idea. But we're wolves, we have a good sense of direction," Jacob assured me.
"We'll meet where we got caught?" Mika checked with him.
"Sounds good."
"Wait, if you got caught there then why risk going back?" The shock was likely very visible on my face, if they're amused grins were anything to go by.
"We're not going to meet in the exact spot. But we got caught on purpose, so we know there's plenty of hiding spots around there."
On purpose? So they really had come just to rescue me rather than anything else. I liked that. It was reassuring. And helped explain away the safe feeling I felt with them.
"Right. So...one trap coming up."
I rolled up my sleeves and focused all of my attention on the room in front of me. Each of the witches seemed to be attached to a string of magic. I didn't know whether it was their own, or if it was the necromancer clearly controlling it all, but it was there. The strings seemed to meet in one ball at the centre of the ceiling, before branching out in a lot of different directions. My guess would be that was how they were powering everything, though it must be a complicated set up in each and every room. I did wonder why they put in quite so much effort. All of the sanctuaries I'd heard of lived more like it was medieval times than this. It was fairer on everyone.
I pulled magic through me, letting it settle around my hands which glowed a soft bronze. The light glistened around me as the small leaves jumped forth. They weren't physical things, more like just a hallmark of my magic. The completely useless powers of an Autumn Fae. As powerful as we were, we no longer deserved to live in this world. We'd lost control when the portal closed, whatever had caused that.
It had crossed my mind more than once that the problem was me. But I doubted that. My Mother had been in good health when I'd left the palace, and a couple of years weren't going to change that.
"Are you going to do anything with that?" Jacob asked, nodding towards my hands.
"Yes, I'm just working out what," I replied. "I need to cut off the supply, but not instantly."
I had an idea of how to do that, but I was reluctant to share it with them. I didn't think they'd like how powerless it would leave me. Over protective wolves on top of everything else didn't sound all that fun.
The glow around my hands increased again as my magic flowed there in greater force. Whispers started in my head, letting me know it wanted to be let loose on the world to bring the change of the seasons. Sadness welled up within me. No matter what happened, that wouldn't work. Autumn was a thing of the past, just like the other seasons. I'd tried to use my magic like that shortly after I realised what was happening. It had ended up with me unconscious and powerless. I was just lucky no one had come across me in that time. Or if they had, they figured I was already dead and not worth dealing with.
Instead of letting my magic call the seasons, I sent it out into the room, instructing it to curl around each of the strings coming from the witches. The intention was to have it creep up slowly until it reached the top, where it would cut the strings and have the whole system fall apart.
"Rest in peace," I said to the witches, bowing my head and offering up a brief fae blessing. Even if I'd run away from my people, I didn't want to completely abandon their ways.
"Distraction time?" Jacob asked, excitement almost creeping into his voice.
I nodded. "And time to go."
"Let me go first, then you two follow in a couple of minutes," Jacob instructed, suddenly more serious than he had been before.
"Be safe," I said. "Please."
"I'll try," he responded. "But we don't live in the safest of worlds."
"No, I guess not." I didn't like the sadness in my voice, but I also couldn't help it.
When I was on my own, I could ignore the state of the world. I was too much of an introvert for the loneliness to bother me too much. But the past two weeks had done a lot to really bring it home to me. Though maybe things would look up for me personally given I'd still managed to find my mate. Well, mates. But It was hard to be pleased about that when places like this existed.
Jacob studied my face and stepped forward. "I'll be safe," he promised, dropping a kiss on my forehead.
My eyes fluttered closed at his touch and a small hum passed by my lips.
Disappointment filled me as he moved away and back towards the door. "I'll kiss you when we're all safe," he promised.
"Are we ever going to be safe?" I responded.
He laughed. "I'll kiss you when we're safer then."
"I can live with that," I responded.
He didn't say anything else before slipping through the door and out to create whatever distraction he had planned. I should probably have asked what he planned to do, but a part of me was too worried. If I didn't know, then I wouldn't worry too much. Hopefully.
"So we're relying on your sense of direction now?" I asked Mika.
"Yes, hope you trust me."
"Oddly, I do."
His broad smile could have lit up a room. At least, if it wasn't already filled with witch-fuelled electricity.
"Shall we?" He waved a hand towards the door.
"Yes, let's get this over with."
The pair of us exited the room and into a completely abandoned corridor.
"Where did Ruairidh and his friends go?" I whispered.
"I'm not sure, your diversion seemed to work earlier. They certainly didn't follow us."
I frowned. That made no sense. They'd gone to a lot of effort to catch me, why wouldn't they try to work out where we'd gone?
"You don't think they're lying in wait for us, do you?"
"Quite possibly," Mika admitted. "Do you know how to fight?"
I nodded. My best friend, Izzy, and I had taken self-defence classes for a couple of years. I liked to think I was fairly good at it. Plus, the constant exercise I did escaping from the crazy weather kept me in great physical shape. Unfortunately, it kept everyone else in good shape too. Though maybe their luxuries here left them a bit softer, even if they did leave a bad taste in my mouth.
"You might need that skill."
"I need it every day," I pointed out.
"Did you really not escape sooner just because you're stubborn?"
"Partly," I admitted. We were keeping our voices low as we made our way through the corridors. It might not be all that wise to be talking at all, but at the end of the day, most paranormals had great hearing. Our footsteps would give us away even if we stayed silent. If there was a particularly sensitive shifter among them, then it'd be even less. As far as I knew, even louder breathing could tip one off.
"And the other part?"
"Getting captured is a bit hazy in my mind.
I have no idea if they knew what I was or just thought I was a lesser being. This is not a good world to be fae in."
"I get that. But you've managed to survive this long."
I nodded. "I'm stubborn and determined. It's a slightly scary combination if you think about it."
He laughed softly. "You really are something."
"Thanks."
"That might not be a compliment."
"I know." I grinned to myself.
"Life's never going to be boring with you around."
"Because fighting for your life every day and trying to guess whether there's going to be a heat wave or a hail storm, is ever boring."
"Not when you put it like that," Mika admitted. "Though we were wondering about going to a sanctuary."
"I'm not convinced they really exist."
"They do, I've been to one of them."
"Recently? I'm not sure they were created to last this long."
"A couple of months ago," Mika answered. "They're definitely still about. If you knew about them, why didn't you go to one?"
"I'm a fae, Mika. Most people aren't particularly happy with us at the moment."
"But it's not your fault."
"Of course not. I honestly don't believe it was any fae's fault. Something went wrong and the world broke. But try telling people that."
"We can try..."
"Probably, but don't think it will always go smoothly. You're more disposed towards liking and trusting fae anyway." Wolf shifters tended to be that way. Something to do with the agreement their ancestors made with my own. Wolves were our protectors. Each of the four fae courts had a wolf pack attached to them, if not more. Zeke and his mini-pack must have been part of one of the Autumn Wolves, though I didn't recognise them, so not the main pack.
"I think most people will have moved on by now, Rhianna. The world isn't like it was, we have to stick together. It doesn't work the same as it did."
"Maybe not, no."
I ducked under a low door and instantly looked both ways, checking for people or other obstacles. The last thing I wanted was to get caught again. I'd revealed what I was now. There was no doubt I had more power than the witches. They'd kill me and drain me dry. Even if I wasn't going to be aware of the second part, it was just a step too far for me.
Spotting something on the wall, I skidded to a halt to take a closer look. I reached out my hand and ran it across the engraved crest. "This used to be a witch hunting lair," I whispered.
"That kind of makes sense," Mika said. "It means they didn't set up all the equipment on their own. It was already here."
I nodded. I'd only heard rumours of witch hunting. This was the first confirmation I'd had that it still existed. Or used to. With very few humans about, there wouldn't be any hunting anymore.
"I guess that's all the sanctuaries did too. Used what they could find." The sad note in my voice was unavoidable. I hated that this seemed almost understandable in some ways. It didn't seem fair to the people whose lives it was ending.
"There you are," Ruairidh's voice sounded behind us.
My eyes widened in horror, before I managed to get them back under control, and turned around to face the man who'd been in charge of my imprisonment.
"Took you long enough to find us," I mocked despite my better instincts.
"Your magic took us a little by surprise. We knew you were hiding something, but that bounty surprised us."
"Oh good, glad I can be a tasty little prize for you."
"You could join us, you know. We have a good life here."
"I think I'll pass, thank you."
Beside me, Mika shuffled slightly to the side, hopefully so he could shift and get a jump on Ruairidh. I would admit to enjoying the thought of both my wolves getting the better of him in one day.
"We have electricity."
"At what cost though? If I joined you, how long would it be until I ended hooked onto one of your magic draining machines?"
Shock flitted across Ruairidh's face. He hadn't realised we'd found the witches then. The look vanished almost as quickly as it arrived. He was a master of deceit, I'd give him that one.
"That would depend how you behaved," he suggested.
"Then I'd say it's a hard pass from me."
A quick frown appeared on his face, as if he was genuinely confused as to why I was saying no to him. Did he really expect me to roll over so easily? Just because I was female? Or because he'd kept me prisoner?
I eyed him up, trying to figure out what kind of paranormal he was. Normally I found it fairly easy to pinpoint who was what, but not this time. Ruairidh's race was completely escaping me, no matter how I tried to work it out.
"What are you?" I asked.
"I think the real question is what are you?" he countered.
"I'm fae, but I'm pretty sure everyone knew that already," I pointed out.
Why was he keeping me talking? I was grateful he was, it meant Mika was managing to get ever closer to him, threatening him with an incoming nip. It was almost a shame werewolves weren't really a thing. The only person who'd become a wolf after being bitten by one was their true mate.
Oh. That was me. I was going to get teeth and fur and claws. That sounded like a definite perk to me. Though smelling like wet dog sometimes didn't sound so great.
"You are fae," Ruairidh confirmed.
"Yes, yes, I'm fae. What are you?" I gave him my best fake innocent look, hoping he was still clueless enough about Mika's actions. He really was deluded if he thought I was the only threat. We were just lucky Ruairidh was here alone and seemed to have left his friends far behind. One sadistic man was much easier to deal with that multiple sadistic men.
"I'm an incubus," he replied casually.
Ah. That explained it. He was expecting me to just comply with him because that was what he was used to. Suddenly it made a lot more sense how they'd managed to capture so many witches. He'd used his allure powers to bring them to him. But it wasn't working on me? Was it because I was fae, or because I'd met all my mates? I suspected it was more the latter but wasn't about to inform him of that and lose any advantage I might have. Not that I was all that sure how having mates was an advantage. Especially when I was bonded to exactly none of them.
"Will you tell your wolf to stop creeping up on me?" Ruairidh asked.
Shit. I didn't think he'd noticed.
"No," I responded. "I don't really have any control over him."
Ruairidh scowled at me. "I said, call him off."
"And I said no."
"Why aren't you doing what I want you to?" He was starting to sound a little bit like an angry child. Something I didn't even have the time or the mental capacity to deal with. It'd been a horrific day, on the back of a crazy two weeks, I didn't want to add to that with childish behaviour.
"Do people normally do what you tell them to?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Huh. Sorry to be the first." I shrugged.
"If your wolf takes one more step towards me, he'll find himself gelded within seconds." His voice changed as he spoke, a sinister edge dropping into it.
I wanted to tell Mika to stop. I wanted to keep him safe. But ultimately, he was his own man. He would only do what he was comfortable with and I accepted that. Mostly because I didn't know what the dynamic of our relationship would be yet, but that was just an excuse really. The end of the world didn't lend itself to being stupidly protective over people. That kind of behaviour normally ended up with people dead.
"I think you'll find I don't have any control over him," I told Ruairidh honestly. "See, we only just met and I don't have any handy allure powers to get people to do my bidding."
Ruairidh's eyes hardened, his gaze bearing down into my soul. If he was checking whether or not I was going to stick to my guns, he was going to be very disappointed to learn how difficult it was to sway me. Stubborn was a hallmark of my personality, I'd have thought he realised that by now.
"Then I guess I have no choice.
"
He began to flick out his wrist and I took his slight distraction as a chance to strike. Lashing out, I captured his arm in mine and dragged it away, just as his magic soared from his hand. It crashed into the wall, showering the three of us in a cascade of sparks which I could have sworn smelled like aftershave.
"Bitch," he cursed.
"Yep. That's me." If I hadn't still been holding on to him, I'd have smiled up at him sweetly. As it stood, I had more important things to do.
I twisted his arm around, eliciting a small gasp from him. He hadn't expected me to fight physically. Mostly because he hadn't yet realised that I'd used my magic up elsewhere and no longer had the energy to extend more.
A flash of grey shot past me and I almost sighed with relief but didn't let go of Ruairidh's arm. Mika had shifted and joined the fray. It was about time. I could do with the backup.
He growled as his teeth sunk into the soft flesh of Ruairidh's arm, causing the man to yelp in pain.
To my surprise, he got to his feet despite the wolf on one arm, and me on the other. In an amazing feat of strength, he tossed Mika away. The wolf crashed into one of the walls and collapsed into a heap, shifting back to his human form as he did.
A lump formed in my throat as worry penetrated every part of me. I hoped he was okay. I didn't want him to get hurt on my behalf.
Ruairidh took my distraction as an opportunity. Not that I blamed him. I'd have done the same.
He twisted out of my grip in a way which sent sharp shooting pains through my wrist. Shit. Not good. I needed that.
His arm snaked around my waist, squeezing a little harder than was comfortable for me. Kicking my leg out, I did my best to trip him up. In other words, the easy way to get him to let go of me. Unsurprisingly, I failed and he just tightened his hold more.
"Not so quick to use your magic now, are you?" he sneered.
I ignored him, searching through myself for any leftover residue of magic. There had to be something hidden deep within myself. There just had to be. I didn't want to admit to being completely out of it. What if it never came back? I'd never used as much power as I had in the witch-room. As far as I knew, it would never refill at all and I'd be left a magic-less husk. Now there was a fun thought. At least I'd still be able to shift into a wolf, if the mating bond still worked that was.
Hers From The Start: A Collection of First In Series Reverse Harem Page 4