Everlasting

by W. J. May

  “It’s a defense mechanism,” she hissed through gritted teeth, wrapping her arm around Cassiel’s neck in a chokehold and pulling with all her might. “And you’re welcome, by the way.”

  He wouldn’t have to wait long to return the favor. The second he’d cut the last branch free, Cassiel caught hold of Tanya’s arm and flipped her onto the ground. All the air rushed out of her body upon impact, and her eyes fluttered open and shut as she stared up at him. Dazed and disoriented. Paralyzed with pain. Waiting for that deadly blade of his to do its work. He’d just raised it over his head once more, when Dylan came out of nowhere, tackling him to the ground.

  “Get the princess!” he shouted to Tanya, kicking the knife out of Cassiel’s hand. “Get her out of here! Run and don’t look back!”

  Tanya picked herself up off the ground with a whimper of pain, stumbling over her own broken leg as she hobbled her way to Katerina. She reached her just as the princess’ head was slipping under the roiling ground. All that remained was a single hand, stretching up desperately towards the sky. The shifter grabbed it and pulled for all her worth, leveraging her entire body against the ground until slowly, inch by inch, she began to pull the princess free.

  Katerina let out a piercing scream when her head broke the surface. A second later she was dragging herself across the ground, spitting out mouthfuls of dirt and gasping for air.

  But that’s when the entire scene shifted dramatically.

  The sound caught Cassiel’s attention, and there was a sudden pause in the fight. He glanced over his shoulder, looking at her in surprise before he left Dylan abruptly behind. Swiftly closing the distance between them. His pitch-black eyes fixed squarely on her face.

  That’s when she realized something very important. Dylan wasn’t the primary target.

  She was.

  Every ounce of color drained from her face as she staggered weakly to her feet. For a split second, she considered running away. Then she remembered who she was dealing with and she simply froze, staring in absolute horror at his vacant face.

  She couldn’t outrun him. She couldn’t fight him. There was nothing to be done.

  “Cass...” she whispered, “this is the curse. The queen’s curse. You have to fight it.”

  But deep down, she knew it was no use. If he didn’t recognize Dylan, he wasn’t going to recognize her. And he certainly wasn’t going to hesitate a moment before taking her life.

  Then again, there was a certain ranger hell-bent on making sure that didn’t happen.

  “Kat—RUN!”

  He flew across the clearing and threw himself upon Cassiel once more, taking advantage of the fae’s momentary distraction to kick out his legs and send them both falling to the ground. For most anyone else the impact would have been enough to stop the fight, but Cassiel was a dangerous enemy to have. Even more so because, while he was aiming to kill, Dylan didn’t want to hurt him.

  “Please,” he panted, “stay down.”

  His arms wrapped around Cassiel’s chest at two strategic points, then he pulled as gently as possible. There was a sickening crunch and Cassiel let out a gasp of pain, bowing his head to the forest floor. A pool of blood stained his shirt as all the old wounds from the avalanche opened up once more, but while the pain must have been excruciating it wasn’t enough to stop him.

  With a feral cry, he pushed to his feet. His eyes still locked on Katerina. His entire body still straining to reach its target. When Dylan tried to grab him, he whirled around and broke the ranger’s nose. When Katerina stumbled back in retreat, he took off in full pursuit.

  That’s when the paralysis broke, and she started sprinting for real.

  Please, let him fall! Please, let something happen!

  In hindsight, it was only thanks adrenaline that she was able to hold out as long as she was. Cassiel was fast as lightning, and moved through the trees with a natural grace. She was still battling mild oxygen deprivation and the underbrush was rising up to fight her at every step.

  She let out a breathless cry as the entire forest stretched out to grab her. Latching onto her dress, whipping across her face, tangling in her long crimson hair. There was a noise behind her and she threw a panicked glance over her shoulder, to see that Cassiel was gaining fast. Dylan and Tanya were in hot pursuit, but they were fighting off the forest the same as she was, tearing their way forward as vines and branches tore and slashed at their skin.

  For a moment, she thought it was all over. Then a tortured cry made her look back again.

  Cassiel had stopped dead in his tracks and was clutching tightly at his shoulder. A second later, his fingers streamed over with blood. It took Katerina a beat to figure out what had happened. It took her a space to see the sharpened tent peg sticking out of his flesh.

  “I’m sorry!” Dylan yelled as he raced towards him.

  Whether he was apologizing to Katerina for not getting there sooner or to his best friend for impaling him with a camping implement, she didn’t know. At this point she didn’t care. A fleeting glance was all she needed. The next second, she was tearing once more through the trees.

  The battle that raged on behind her was one for the ages, but it was one she would never see. Cassiel ripped the tent peg out of his arm and whirled around with a look of pure murder, but Dylan was armed with three more. They collided in the middle of the forest, yelling and cursing as they crashed together again and again. One trying to kill. The other trying merely to subdue.

  Katerina did her best to put it from her mind. She tuned out the violence and the screaming and kept her eyes fixed on the horizon. If she stopped now, she was dead. If she kept going, she was most likely dead. But either way, she had to keep moving. It was her only chance.

  The sound of light footsteps echoed suddenly over her shoulder and she spun around with a gasp of fright, only to see Tanya running full-speed behind her.

  “It’s okay!” she panted. “It’s just me!”

  It may have just been her, but it was most certainly not okay. How the girl was managing to sprint with a broken leg, Katerina would never know. She could only assume it was the same kind of adrenaline, but that could only sustain them for so long. Already, both girls were beginning to slow down, and the sound of the men’s fight was getting closer. Time was running out.

  “It’s NOT going to be okay!” she gasped back. “It’s the freakin’ CURSE! ‘And if a child of man were to ever again set foot in this forest—he would not leave it alive.’ How do we fight against that?!”

  Tanya cast a quick look behind her and paled in abject fear. But when she looked forward again, her face was set with a hard determination. “Well, I see two loopholes. First of all, she most certainly will be leaving the forest.” With a burst of speed, she rushed forward and grabbed the edge of Katerina’s cloak. “And we won’t be doing it on foot...”

  Before Katerina could wonder what she meant the air around her exploded on all sides, and she was jerked suddenly off the ground. The reflexive scream died in her throat as she looked wildly around, trying to understand what had happened. Trying to make sense of the fact that the girl she had just been talking to had sprouted giant, birdlike wings and was lifting them both into the sky.

  ...right out of Cassiel’s deadly hands.

  “Tanya?!”

  Her voice was choppy and shrill. Torn between sheer astonishment and a complete and utter breakdown. She glanced only once at the ground below them, just long enough to see Cassiel’s burning eyes, before she turned her face once more towards the heavens.

  The forest might have been cursed, an enchanted sunlit circle in every direction, but they were going up. Straight through the center of the bewitched trees. Towards the clear, night sky.

  But that didn’t mean the forest was going down without a fight.

  A sharp sting sliced across Katerina’s face, followed by a warm rush of blood as the branches of the nearest tree reached out to grab them. A second later a twisted vine wrapped around her ank
le, dragging her back towards the earth.

  “Cut it off!” Tanya cried, but she wasn’t having much better luck.

  The higher they flew, the harder the woods were fighting to stop them. And, judging by the shifter’s fierce look of concentration and the beads of sweat running down her face, she couldn’t sustain the flight much longer. Curse or not.

  “I got it!” Katerina grabbed the knife out of her friend’s belt and slashed wildly at the branches, doing her best to fend them off. “Just keep going!”

  To Tanya’s credit, she certainly tried. Her wings pumped powerfully through the air, but they were losing momentum and the trees were closing in on every side. After only a few seconds, the knife was knocked clean out of Katerina’s hand. A moment later, a heavy branch struck Tanya across the back of the head. They dropped down a few feet, tilting dizzily, then another branch wrapped suddenly around the princess’ waist, jerking her violently through the sky.

  There was a painful gasp. Followed by a rush of air. Then all was quiet.

  Time seemed to move in slow motion as she slipped from Tanya’s hands. The branch disappeared, and her hair billowed up around her as she started to fall. There was a scream from somewhere in the distance, a very human scream, but she didn’t know whose it was.

  Then everything went black.

  IT TOOK KATERINA A long time to realize she was awake. Even after her eyes were open. Even after she’d been staring at the ceiling. It took her a long time to realize her head was on a pillow, and her body was on a mattress, and she was in a bed for the first time in what felt like a very long time.

  Things came back slowly. Lighting her brain in little flashes. Then fading back into a fog.

  Get up. You need to get up.

  A stabbing pain shot through her body as she tried to sit up, followed immediately after by the strangest feeling of weightlessness. Her head spun, and she threw out her arms for balance, only to realize that one of them was bandaged. Along with her wrist. Along with her foot.

  What the hell?

  Then, all at once, the memories came rushing back. The queen’s curse. The forest coming to life. The desperate flight towards the sky, and then...falling. She couldn’t remember anything past that. Just the sensation of falling, then the whole world went dark.

  And I wasn’t the only one...

  With a painful gasp, Katerina’s feet hit the floor. She looked up, only to discover that all three of her friends were lying in beds next to hers. It was morning, and they appeared to be in an infirmary of some kind. An oddly pleasant-looking room, considering the circumstances, with walls of creamy white stone that opened up to a full window overlooking a picturesque little village just beyond.

  But it wasn’t the where that concerned her. It was the who, the how, and the why.

  After casting a frantic look around to make sure the four of them were alone, she limped hastily across the smooth stone to check on the others. Her heart froze in her chest with each one, staring down at their tranquil faces, before it slowly started beating once again.

  They were alive. All of them. Battered, bloodied, and broken in more ways than one could count, but alive. The men, especially, looked somewhat worse for wear.

  In his quest not to seriously injure his friend, Dylan had been deeply injured himself. There wasn’t an inch of his skin that didn’t bear testament to the savage attack, and even though he was lost in a deep sleep Katerina could tell he was in pain. It wasn’t a good idea to fight a fae on the best of days. Let alone a fae prince. Let alone a fae prince who had been placed under an evil spell.

  And on that note...

  Katerina crept back to the side of Cassiel’s bed, staring down at him with a suspended sort of fear. She’d gotten close enough to make sure he was still breathing, but her courage failed after that and she retreated to the others. But now was no time to be afraid. If he was truly still cursed it was better she find out as quickly as possible, so she could protect the others.

  With shaking fingers, she reached out as delicately as she could and pulled back his eyelids. A wave of profound relief swept through her entire body, calming her like a drug. The bewitched obsidian was gone, and they were back to their usual sparkling brown.

  Then those eyes shot right to her face, and she leapt back with a shriek.

  She wasn’t the only one.

  Cassiel bolted straight up with a gasp, clutching at his neck with a belated sort of panic, like a part of him was still stuck in the fight. A rush of pain tightened his eyes, followed by a rush of disorientation, followed by a rush of fear as he looked around and didn’t recognize his surroundings.

  “Cass, just calm—”

  But there was no calming down. A second later he jumped out of bed, only to realize he wasn’t wearing any pants. He pulled a sheet around his waist and turned to Katerina, pale with shock, but before she could say a word to reassure him a frantic question burst from his lips.

  “Where’s Tanya?”

  She was surprised. The entire world had fallen down around them, and the first thing he did was ask about Tanya? She stared at him for a second, still worried he might not be quite sane, then pointed quickly to the bed behind her. The bed where the beautiful shifter was still fast asleep.

  Of course, she didn’t stay that way for long.

  “Wake up.” He shook her roughly, far too roughly considering her fragile state. Katerina watched with wide eyes as her little head shook back and forth, spilling her cinnamon hair across the pillow, but before she could stop him Cassiel shook her again. “Wake up. Open your eyes.”

  “Cass.”

  The princess reached out to grab his arm, but a second before she could touch him it actually worked. There was a soft hitch in breathing as Tanya’s eyes fluttered open and shut. They took a second to focus before she slowly came around, gazing up at both of them in the soft light. “...you still possessed?”

  Cassiel’s entire face lit up with a breathtaking smile as he reached down without thinking and stroked back her hair. Considering his initial show of force, there was something profoundly delicate in the way he was handling her now, in the way he knelt tentatively beside her bed. “You’re all right.” The words were more to reassure himself than anyone else, but they had a remarkably soothing effect all the same. “I didn’t...you’re alive.”

  “Despite your best efforts,” Tanya muttered, but she pushed up on her arms with a grin. A second later, the grin faded as she carefully examined his face. “What all do you remember?”

  He froze for a moment, his beautiful face growing deathly still as he tried to search back through the haze. A second later, those sparkling eyes came up blank. “Not much. Just...pieces.”

  She nodded slowly. It was coming back to her the same way. In fragmented little shards. But one thing had stuck in Cassiel’s memory. It didn’t look like he’d ever be able to forget.

  “You had wings...” he said slowly, trying to put it to words. “I was trying to—” His face tensed at the thought before clearing in pure astonishment. “...but you flew into the air.”

  Katerina’s heart quickened as the image flashed in her mind. The way Tanya had taken flight a second before he could catch her. The way she’d risen gracefully into the air.

  A strange emotion danced across Cassiel’s face as he stared down at her in wonder.

  “You looked like an angel.”

  This time, Katerina actually took a step back. Her eyebrows lifted slowly, and she bit down on her lip to restrain a smile. Okay, is this the blood loss talking or what?

  Tanya looked just as surprised as she was, but secretly, the princess could have sworn she was also a little bit pleased. She hid it expertly, of course. Cloaking it in a heavy veil of sarcasm as she pushed up to a sitting position with a dismissive roll of her eyes. “What?” she blushed. “You can’t be the only one.”

  Before he could answer, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed lightly to her feet. Big mistake. The second
she was vertical, she swayed slightly and reached back for the mattress. Cassiel leapt forward immediately to catch her. Bigger mistake. No sooner had he raised his arms than a fresh wave of blood spilled over his chest and he doubled over in pain.

  “Hell hounds!” he cursed in surprise, staring down at his shirt. “I don’t...what happened?”

  The girls exchanged a quick look before rushing forward to help. Despite his fervent protests they took him by either arm, leading him slowly back to bed. With Tanya, his refusals were surprisingly reserved. With Katerina—not so much.

  “For bloody sake, princess. I do not consent.” He twisted away with a vicious glare, only to get hit immediately upside the head.

  “Just shut up and lie down already.” Katerina pushed him delicately onto the mattress, taking extra care as she propped a pillow beneath his head. “I think you’ve threatened us all quite enough.”

  It didn’t matter what age they were, what social standing, or even what species. One thing was true across the board: men made the worst patients.

  He opened his mouth to refuse, then another wave of pain swept over him and he relented with an adorable scowl. Folding his arms petulantly across his chest, while his body relaxed in utter relief. But while her words were meant to be teasing, they hit a little too close to home. Triggering things his subconscious had buried. Memories that had been lost in the spell.

  The scowl faded, and the arms came down as bits and pieces started to come back. The transformation played out quickly on his face, like watching a nightmare come to life. For a split-second, he froze perfectly still. Then his eyes shot up to Katerina, shining with unspeakable fear.

  “Dylan,” he whispered. “Please tell me—”

  “I’m alive,” a sudden voice interrupted them. “No thanks to you.”

  Katerina whirled around to see Dylan leaning against the wall. Even looking like he’d been recently dropped off a cliff, the man still managed to smile. His arms were folded casually across his chest, and his eyes twinkled as they swept over the three shell-shocked friends.