by Allie Santos
He turned, tilted his head, and looked at where Sabine had disappeared. “She’s taking too long.”
“Good, I hope one of those weird double-tailed lion things eat her,” I muttered, glancing off into the mid-day forest, concentrating on a bird that flitted from tree to tree.
My arm attached to the girl flopped up as the girl pulled at her hair. A pitiful whimper escaped her. My heart hurt for her. She was feeling everything, while I had withdrawn, numbing myself. I had always been good at it.
“Let her leave,” I said to Roark. “Let her go.”
Roark stared down at me, a curious expression on his face. “You ask for her freedom? Not yours?”
Staring at him levelly, I said nothing. Only crossed my arms.
“You are a most singular creature,” he said. He was about to say something else, but a rock flew through the portal and fell at our feet. He straightened, the mask back on his face. “Time to go.” He prodded us forward, gently. We stepped in front of the archway. “Have that ready. It is snowing in my world.” He nodded at the blanket I’d tucked into the waist of my jeans so I wouldn’t lose it.
“But it was sunny when we left,” I exclaimed, shocked.
“It is now night,” he stated. How night equated snow, I didn’t know, but I wasn’t able to question more before he grabbed our arms and yanked us through. In the next instant, time was lost, and it felt like I was stepping through a whipping blizzard storm to get to the other side. The cold was made starker after being in the humid Texas weather. It was a wonder I hadn’t yet gotten sick.
I knew we had gotten to the other side when the whipping wind subsided. I peeled my stiff lids open and took in the steady snowfall. Inches of snow covered the ground. I gaped down at it. It had literally been a day. How was that even possible? The last I’d seen it, the healthy green grass had peeked below a thin layer of ice.
Snow crunched as footsteps approached. “You kept me waiting,” Roark stated evenly.
“The Fae Guard was patrolling. I bumped into Flynn,” Sabine bit out.
“What did they want?” Roark barked.
“They were asking about our progress,” Sabine replied. “I couldn’t chance them suspecting us, so I had no choice but to tell them I found a human.”
The cold seeped into me. Beside me, the girl began her own shivering. It was amazing our chains weren’t clinking with how much we shook. I unhooked my warm blanket from my jeans as I listened to Sabine talk.
“That false Queen has ordered my presence. I am to show up in three days with the human. They want me to take it to the castle so the Queen can question it about what brought them through the portal,” she said and spat on the ground.
I shook the blanket out and noticed the hungry look in the eyes of the girl. She didn’t have a sweater. I looked down at my hands, warmed by the magical blanket. Instinctive human survival made me hesitate before I clasped it around the girl. She grabbed onto the middle, holding it shut with the hand not attached to me.
“You sure?” she stuttered through chattering teeth.
I nodded and smiled. “I, at least, have long-sleeves.”
I didn’t want her to feel bad, so I tried stifled the shivers as much as I could. I turned back to look at the beautiful Fae pair, and my eyes clashed with Roark’s.
“You mustn’t raise her suspicions,” he said to Sabine, our gaze still holding. There was such anger there. This Queen must really piss him off.
“I leave at early light,” Sabine agreed, not paying attention. There was a contemplative look on her face.
Roark finally released me from the hold of his gaze and looked down at Sabine. The anger that had been there faded. “We head to Icefall to rest and go separately from there.”
Sabine nodded, then turned and walked away, Roark right beside her.
“I’m getting tired of looking at their backs,” I mock-whispered to the girl, knowing they could hear us if they wanted to. She looked much warmer now, definitely warmer than I was.
“How long do we walk for?” she said, disgruntled. “It’s so dark.”
“No idea,” I said, a sad smile playing around my lips. “Since we’re technically butt buddies, what’s your name?” I jiggled the chains between us.
“Jasmine Vila,” she said.
“Rae Marino.”
“Is Rae short for something?”
I just nodded, not elaborating, and looked away. “What were you doing yelling back there?”
“My little sister came home crying. Going on about a lady wanting to show her something in the forest, and a girl yelling at her run. She was scared and wanted her notebook,” she said and flashed a sardonic glance. “Of course, my dumb ass decided to confront whatever freaks were trying to take her before the cops arrived.” I winced at her words. If only she hadn’t… The what-ifs must be eating at her. “Were you telling her to run?”
I bit my lip. “I… distracted Sabine.”
“Thank you.” The gratitude shining through her words made my cheeks heat, which was surprising considering my body was becoming an icicle. I muttered noncommittally back and waved her gratitude away.
“Seriously, you saved my sister. She’s so gentle. She wouldn’t have survived this,” Jasmine said and then looked off, lost in thought.
“You two are really cute. Aren’t they, Roark?” Cackling, she elbowed him. Roark ignored her and kept walking. Sabine stopped her mocking as shattering noises muffled ahead of us.
“We’ve arrived,” Roark stated.
We walked a mile more, the shattering intensifying with every step. Following Roark, Jasmine and I brushed icy-covered trees to the side to expose a large clearing lit by moonlight. A waterfall spilled from the side of a large rocky mountain. With a start, I realized that was where the shattering came from.
I squinted into the darkness. It wasn’t water, it was icicles spilling from the mountain. Really brought the name Roark had called it to light. Icefall. I could just imagine how beautiful it would look in the morning light, with the sunlight reflecting off the shards as they fell.
They came to a stop, and Sabine stepped forward and went through the motions she had the last time she set up camp. The thin square. The flare of the tent. What I didn’t expect was for her to order us to dig the hole for our fire again. As soon as she mentioned it, my fingers wanted to fall off. Sabine smirked before disappearing into the tent.
“It will take too long,” Roark said, tense. A shovel appeared in his hand and with Fae speed he cleared out the snow in seconds. With a wave of his hand a fire appeared in the middle, and the shovel disappeared. I gaped. “Don’t walk that way, there is a fall down to the river. You will die on impact, and if you don’t, you will die of hypothermia as soon as your body is submerged,” he ordered, his expression drawn after the fire appeared.
Pretty sure I got whiplash, I looked down at the area he had cleared with his magic. There was enough room for Jasmine and me to curl up and deep enough for us to be protected from the wind. Trying not to overthink it, I sent his disappearing form a grateful glance. Whatever magic he’d used to make all this happen drained him if the overtaxed look on his face was anything to go by. I felt eyes on me and found Jasmine staring at me suspiciously. I turned away from her. Light came on from inside the tent, and I tensed. The two shadows stood near each other.
Dread crawled up my throat. I didn’t want another show. I scratched my arm nervously until I heard him bark, “Rest.” My shoulders sagged, and I tugged Jasmine to the warmth and protection of the fire. I laid down and scooted closer to Jasmine’s back.
“Sorry,” I said. “We’ll keep warmer like this.”
She said nothing. Soon, the fall of clinking ice lulled me to sleep.
The tugging on my wrist woke me. I sat up with a startled gasp that was drowned out by Icefall. The loud clinking noise also served to stifle Jasmine’s work on the chains because I hadn’t heard her bashing at the bonds.
I brought my freed hand to m
y face. The cuff still adorning my wrist, but half the chain dangled broken. My amazed gaze switched to Jasmine, who sported a gleeful smile and a sharp rock sprinkled with her blood. It was the one I’d had in my pocket. It must have fallen out while I was sleeping. A gasp escaped me, and she shushed me.
Clamping my lips closed, I nodded and tilted my head to the forest, where freedom awaited. She reached into her pocket and pulled a pocketknife out, then looked at the silent tent. She’d had a knife the entire time and had been biding her time to use it? The Fae and their pride. They could have found it if they’d only searched, but they thought themselves infallible.
She mimicked stabbing her heart with it. My eyes widened, and I shook my head. “Let’s run,” I mouthed.
“They’ll catch us,” she replied.
I shook my head vehemently. No one needed to get hurt. Okay, maybe Sabine, but if we killed her, we still had Roark to contend with, and I didn’t think I could.
Jasmine motioned me to follow her with a sharp wave of her hand. I shook my head, worried. She threw me a dirty look, got to her feet, and mouthed, “I’ll do it, coward.”
7
My palms were sweating.
I stared down at the flickering fire in front of me, wringing my hands. Shit, shit. They were going to kill Jasmine when they realized what she’d been trying to do. I needed to stop her before she did something stupid, and I couldn’t sit here and dwell on decisions. Mind made up, I stood just as Jasmine got to the entrance of the tent.
The icy air hit me as soon as I stepped out of the circle of warmth. It was as if I had stepped into a completely different weather zone. The crunch under my feet was muffled, unheard under the whirling of the stinging wind.
I sent a longing glance toward the heat of the fire before I turned my back to it. Earlier, I had felt a certain peace from the constant shatter of Icefall. Now, it heightened my anxiety.
Clutching my arms, I trudged to the entrance where Jasmine had quietly walked through. I moved the tent flap to the side and was surprised to find it was just as freezing inside. So cold it hurt, but at least the wind battered against the tent and not my skin.
I could barely make out the shapes on the bed. What the hell? My gaze was automatically drawn to the further side, where Roark was sleeping, his face shadowed by darkness. His arms were crossed over his naked chest. The scars there… They mimicked the curved one on his face. Two scars slashed diagonally across his chest and down his stomach, as if someone had tried to gut him.
My stomach churned in anger. The fury quickly turned into despair when I saw Sabine’s naked body inches from Roark—her arm outstretched as if reaching for him.
A shadow moved over him, lifting over his throat. Jasmine. Her arms were raised above her head, and she was about to plunge the knife. I reacted. A thoughtless instinct that made me dive toward her frantically. I landed on top of Sabine with a grunt, desperately reaching for Jasmine’s wrist.
“You bitch!” she yelled and tried to push down as I held on. My grip slipped, and the sharp edge of the knife sliced my palm. Blood dripped down my hand, and my stomach revolted.
Under me, Sabine jostled awake and pushed me off her with inhuman strength. The movement almost caused me to lose my grip, which would have led to the knife slicing Roark’s throat. My elbow smashed into Roark’s side as I held on for dear life. He shot up with a hiss and, in the same swoop, caught me, his hands wrapped around my throat. Jasmine’s aim slipped as I let go. Unable to breathe, I gripped Roark’s arms desperately—coughing and clawing at his hands.
“Traitor,” he hissed, eyes blank.
I stared up at him in fear, unable to say anything as tears leaked down my cheeks. I closed my eyes as he lifted a hand to strike me.
“Roark,” Sabine barked, causing my eyes to fling open. I watched detachedly as she held his hand away from me while her other hand grasped the back of Jasmine’s neck. I couldn’t help but look into Roark’s fully shadowed, glazed eyes. My sight started to go fuzzy, and seconds later, my body went limp.
At least I wouldn’t die from getting smacked. Now that sounded like it hurt. Funny, I had Sabine to thank for that… On second thought, bring on the bludgeoning. I’d rather any amount of beating than having to deal with feeling grateful to Sabine.
The hold on my neck released, and I fell limply on the bed. The only thought in my head wasn’t about how I almost died, or how I was still in danger of dying. Nope, it was about how I didn’t want to be in a bed they’d shared. I groaned. Something was definitely wrong with me. I hoped that if I got out of this alive, there was some sort of Stockholm Syndrome anonymous group.
Hands touched my cheek, and my eyes popped open. I stared into the no longer glazed eyes of Roark. He seemed shocked as he cupped my chin.
“Are you okay?” he rasped. I could have sworn his expression was drawn with… desperation?
I yanked my face out of his grasp with the little strength I had. “I-I didn’t know—”
“Why, Rae! Why!” Jasmine choked the words out through Sabine’s hold on her neck. “We could have escaped by now.”
As she began crying, my own tears prickled my eyes. I should have helped her. Why did I feel such a damn connection to him? He was just like her. Evil. They were going to use us for God’s sake.
“I’m sorry,” I mouthed, agonized, unable to push words out of my throat.
“Ah, ah, ah,” Sabine tsked. “Bad humans. Roark manifest some lighting.” With a wave of his hand the tent was illuminated. I blinked at the sudden onslaught of brightness. I looked down and my chest constricted with relief when I saw he still had his pants on. What was wrong with me?
“You’re bleeding,” Roark bit out. He made a move to grab my hand, and I scuttled backward until I hit where the tent material met the soft bed. His head shot back as if surprised by my rejection, and he rubbed his neck, looking away.
I didn’t want to face them. I didn’t want to see the betrayal on Jasmine’s face, so to distract myself, I looked around the tent. It was really… simple. Not at all what I had expected. The large bed was positioned in the corner. Light came from various lamps aimlessly spread through the space. That was it.
“So what, human rat? You thought to off us with this little thing?” Sabine said. Her words brought me back to reality. My gaze focused on her twirling Jasmine’s little pocketknife.
“If she hadn’t gotten in my way, I would have killed you both,” Jasmine spat and tried to stand.
Sabine pushed her back down with her boot. Throwing her head back, she laughed. “You stupid little girl. This would have done nothing more than irritate my mate.”
Mate. There it was again. A reminder of how stupid I was.
She’d said it was like it meant he was her other half. She used it oddly as if it were more than just being a claim. It sounded awfully… permanent. Something gnawed my insides, like little ants trying to eat me from the inside out.
As I stared at him, he refused to meet my eyes, his jaw ticking. Clenching, unclenching. Uncomfortable, I mentally punched myself. I was stupid. I was the girl I always made fun of. The stupid girl who didn’t register the truth until they were screwed over kind of stupid.
“And then we have this one.” Sabine laughed, my fidgeting catching her attention. “You saved my mate, didn’t you? Why would you do such a thing? Is it because you like him?” She drew out the last part mockingly.
I leaned my head against the tent material and tried to ignore her. Her words were too close to the truth, but I’d never admit that.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. It was a good try, but he is… what is it you humans say? Ah, out of your league,” she said and chortled.
Tears pricked my eyes with my humiliation.
“Enough, mate,” Roark bit out, sounding sarcastic when he emphasized the very word I mulled over. The bed shifted as he threw his legs over the ledge of the bed and sat up, but I didn’t look at him. “We need them. We cannot kill them.”
Sabine sighed, disgruntled at her loss of a kill. “But we can torture, no?”
I glanced up, fear striking me. Surely he wouldn’t let her…?
“Do what you will.” Roark sighed, sounding tired.
Sabine clapped. “I’ll take them to the caves,” she squealed excitedly. “After all, we only need them alive not necessarily sane.”
Tensing, I hugged my knees to my chest.
“That wastes time,” he snapped, and I was positive I saw panic flash across his face. “You are to take a human to the Queen for questioning and the last human on the list must be retrieved. After, they’re going to Hag regardless.”
Sabine’s lips tightened, and she looked on the verge of stamping her foot until she finally nodded. “You will take the coward with you. With her little infatuation, she won’t give you a difficult time. I need to have a chat with this one.” Sabine tightened her hold, and Jasmine gasped for air. “We will retreat to our camp after.”
Great, I was dubbed the coward.
Despite Sabine’s nonchalance, I was surprised at her easy acceptance of leaving me alone with Roark. It was too suspicious for my liking, but I had no clue what her reasons behind it could be.
Jasmine grunted, and I didn’t want to look at what Sabine had done to make the noise come out of her. Another wave of guilt swooped through me.
“It’s almost morning. I might as well start on my journey.”
Jasmine fell to the ground when Sabine released her to pull on her clothes. I was thankful I didn’t have to keep seeing her naked body.
As soon as she was finished getting dressed, she gripped the back of Jasmine’s shirt and hauled her up. “Will you remain?”
“Yes. Just tell the Queen I’m still patrolling the portals while you took the human to her. Unlike you, I was not summoned. I also enjoy sleeping,” Roark said and sat back on the bed.
“I do know,” Sabine purred and pushed Jasmine to the side. “Do not move.”