Rae of Hope

by W.J. May

  Her fingers closed around the note in her pocket as her shoulders fell with a quiet sigh.

  I might as well read it now. Since he’ll never be reading it himself.

  She was right about to pull it out and open it, when a cold hand tapped lightly upon her shoulder. Her head snapped up and she turned around in surprise, only to see the four pale men she’d noticed earlier—the ones who’d been sitting around a table full of empty glasses.

  “Excuse me, miss?”

  Up close, they were even paler than she’d realized. And far more beautiful. Snowy white skin offset with sparkling dark eyes. They each looked somewhat alike, close enough to be brothers, yet there was something entirely different about all four of them. And something not entirely safe.

  “Yes?” Katerina pulled her cloak tighter around her, careful to keep her famous crimson hair out of view. She didn’t know if news that the princess was on the run had left the castle, but if it had no young woman travelling alone would be above suspicion. Least of all, someone who looked like her. “Can I help you with something?”

  “Quite the contrary.” The man flashed a row of pearly white teeth. “I was rather hoping instead to buy you a drink. Forgive my impertinence, but you seem to be here on your own.”

  There was something strange about the way he said it. It was stranger still that his three friends remained silent behind him. And yet, Katerina felt herself drawn to the manner in which he spoke. Growing up in the castle, one learned to speak with a constant degree of formality. A degree that had been distinctly lacking on her journey thus far. It was nice to come across someone with manners. Especially when those manners were directed at her.

  “I am,” she said gratefully, “and thank you very much. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline. It’s been a long day, and I’d really better get up to my room.”

  The man nodded curtly, but didn’t move. Neither did his friends.

  “A drink for me, then?”

  Katerina glanced quickly between them, growing more confused all the while.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  The man’s dark eyes glittered with a cool smile as he leaned closer, close enough that she could see the flames of a nearby lantern flickering across his pale face.

  “Just a taste—you’ll return to your room unharmed.” His lips curved up in a chilling smile as he made to sweep back the hood of her cloak. “You must admit, you look most inviting…”

  Katerina cringed from his touch, her eyes wide with fright, but a second before the man could touch her a figure blurred in between them, knocking his hand out of the air.

  “I believe the lady said no.”

  The princess and the four strangers whirled around in identical surprise, gawking at the stranger in their midst. It was like he’d come out of nowhere, materializing from somewhere in the shadows. His back was towards her, so she couldn’t see his face, but the other men could. And they clearly didn’t like what they saw.

  “Is that right?” The man who’d been reaching towards her took an instinctive step back, but was far from backing down entirely. Quite the contrary. With his three friends at his back, he seemed frightfully confident of his chances. “I heard nothing of the sort.”

  The man leaned against the counter, a picture of ease. Not only did the four-to-one odds not seem to faze him in the slightest, but Katerina could have sworn she saw the hint of a smile.

  “Didn’t you?” he asked innocently. “It must have been too quiet, as she seems unbearably polite. I believe what she meant to say was, back the fuck off.”

  For a split second, all pretenses dropped. For a split second, Katerina saw a glimpse of what was about to come. Then the man flashed a bright smile.

  “Or something along those lines…”

  There was a strange hissing sound as the four friends gathered together. Gone was the pleasant demeanor. Gone were the charming smiles. As the façade finally cracked, Katerina was able to see them for what they really were. Not beautiful—enticing. Not polite—conniving.

  A little shiver whispered up her spine as she took a step back, feeling as though she’d dodged a threat she hadn’t even seen coming. If only for now. As grateful as she was for his presence, for the life of her she didn’t see what chance the man possibly had. Not against four others.

  “This hardly seems like a fair fight.” The man who’d propositioned her stepped forward with an oily smile, looking his opponent up and down. “And I don’t know if we’ll be able to control ourselves once so much of your blood has spilled upon the floor.”

  Katerina paled with both fear and confusion, but the man protecting her simply smiled.

  “Guess I’ll have to take my chances then.”

  For a split second, nobody moved. Then, all at once, the bar was a blur of action.

  The princess staggered back with a stifled shriek, clapping her hands over her mouth as she tried to reconcile the impossible scene. One second, her fearless protector had been standing in front of her. The next, he was some sort of mythological warrior come to life. Dazzling her eyes with the blinding grace with which he moved. Sending devastating vibrations up through the floorboards as he felled his opponents, one by one.

  The first fool to step forward had his head smashed through the bar. The second was used as an unfortunate weapon to take out the third. And the last man? The man who’d come up to her and started all the trouble to begin with? He received the fiercest treatment of all.

  A piercing cry echoed through the tavern as the man broke a glass and held the shards to her attacker’s neck. Katerina watched in horror as the serrated edge trailed across his pale skin, leaving a fine line of crimson in the white. The rest of the patrons went perfectly still, and she was about to look away entirely, when the man suddenly dropped the glass, pointing to the door instead.

  “I agree,” he said quietly. “It wasn’t a fair fight.”

  For a split second, it looked like the broken man wasn’t going to accept the offer, that his pride would demand he cry to continue the fight. Then one of his companions groaned weakly by his feet, and he whirled around with an angry hiss—sweeping towards the door.

  “We won’t forget this,” he swore as the four of them staggered out into the cold. “Not as long as we walk this earth—we will never forget this.”

  Katerina froze in terror, but her charming savior merely smiled—chuckling quietly as he reached across the bar and poured himself a shot of whiskey. “You know where to find me.”

  Bold words. Ones that sufficiently ended the conversation.

  Just a second later, the door slammed shut.

  A rush of blood poured back into Katerina’s frozen limbs, and she felt as though she could breathe for the first time. Her eyes flickered anxiously to the back of the man’s head, along with the rest of the bar, but he stayed right where he was—quietly sipping his whiskey. A few seconds later, his eyes drifted apologetically up to the owner, who looked back at him with a mixture of intense amusement and frustration. The barmaid joined in with a little grin before her boss leapt up onto the counter, stretching his arms out with a wide smile.

  “Why so quiet? This isn’t a house of prayer! The next round’s on the house!”

  The little tavern burst to life again as the fight was forgotten and people started pouring forward to get their free drinks. The man melted back into the crowd, leaving his own glass on the counter, and Katerina was quick to follow, desperate not to lose him in the crowd. She hurried this way and that, wishing desperately that she’d gotten a better look at his face, when a hand came out of nowhere and pulled her gently away from the drunken crowd.

  “You were looking for Dylan Aires?”

  Katerina stared up in disbelief, only to see a pair of blue eyes twinkling down at her.

  “You just found him.”

  Chapter 4

  Talk about being put on the spot. Considering all the hype and anticipation, now that Katerina was faced with Dylan head on she f
ound herself at a complete loss as to what to say.

  To be fair, there was no telling whether she would’ve been able to speak anyway. In her entire life—through all the royal gatherings and banquets, all the foreign dignitaries and eighteen years of processions—she had never met anyone quite like Dylan.

  It was impossible to take your eyes off him.

  Despite being dressed like a commoner, there was a strange kind of magnetism to him. The way he looked. The way he moved. Even in stillness, it was impossible to ignore. When he raised his eyes to look at something, other people turned around to see, too. When his lips twitched up in a smile, one felt compelled to discover the reason why—if only to prolong the experience. When he fixed those mesmerizing eyes on Katerina, she felt as though she’d been frozen still.

  He had dark hair that swept across his face with an effortless sort of grace, and what her father would only describe as ‘well-bred’ features. High cheekbones, a strong jaw. There was a masculine sort of ruggedness about him, but an undeniable beauty as well. A beauty that stood out just as much in this filthy bar as did her own. A beauty he seemed determined to ignore himself.

  When she simply stood there, at a loss for words, he cocked his head to the side, staring down at her as though there might be something broken in her head.

  “…Good talking with you.”

  Without another word, he turned on his heel and started walking away.

  It wasn’t until he’d gone back to the bar that Katerina’s senses returned to her and she came back to life. “Wait!” She battled her way through the crowd and slid onto the stool next to him, grabbing hold of his sleeve. A pointed look made her carefully retract her hand, but she had no intention of letting him go a second time. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just…you’re Dylan?”

  Looks aside, she had expected someone much, much older. The strong, silent, overly-bearded type. Preferably with a battle-ax permanently affixed to his hand.

  Dylan didn’t speak again, as he’d already answered the question. He simply inclined his head and stared down at her, waiting for an explanation.

  An explanation she was still too shell-shocked to give.

  “You…you saved my life.” She wasn’t quite sure how she knew, but she was suddenly certain that those men had no intention of letting her walk away. That, instead, they had every intention of killing her.

  He snapped his fingers for another whiskey, laying a bronze coin upon the bar. “It seemed like someone should.”

  Katerina blinked, completely stunned by his indifference. But something in her pressed on. “…and you’re bleeding.”

  He glanced down at her for a moment before wiping a smudge off his forehead, looking highly inconvenienced by the whole thing. “You have a brilliant knack for stating the obvious.”

  Was he serious?! How was he being so…so casual about everything?!

  She pulled her chair an inch or so closer, hoping that the random men leering at her around the bar would take it as a sign, even though the man in question was far more interested in his drink.

  “I saw you sitting in the corner when the proprietor called out your name.” She stared at him with wide eyes, trying desperately to latch on to anything she could. “You didn’t come forward.”

  Not only that, but he was clearly never going to come forward. He’d glanced up just long enough to see what was going on before returning to his drink—smiling to himself as various creatures started piping up around the bar, claiming to be him.

  “I didn’t answer because I didn’t want to speak to you.”

  What?

  She flinched, stung by the blunt honesty. Never in her life had someone dared speak to her that way. Let alone a stranger who was miles beneath her rank. Let alone when she was already on the verge of tears. He saw her reaction and softened a fraction of a degree.

  “In these parts, it isn’t exactly wise to answer an open call. You never know who might be looking for you, or why.” A flicker of curiosity danced through his eyes as he made a quick study of her face. “I only say that because you’re clearly not from around these parts.” He finished his whiskey and set down the glass, turning to face her. The chit-chat part of the conversation had clearly come to an end. He wanted answers now. “Who are you? Why did you ask for me?”

  Moment of truth. Katerina’s hands curled around the note in her pocket. Did she give it to him right now, in the middle of the busy tavern? And how much exactly was he allowed to know?

  The fairies obviously thought he could be trusted, but he only looked a year or two older than Katerina was herself. And, yes, he had technically just saved her life but, to be honest, it seemed like more of an afterthought. Something he merely did on the way to get his drink.

  “Well, you see…” She tucked her hair nervously into her cloak, feeling his smoldering eyes burning into her skin. “I mean, the thing is…”

  A flagon of ale crashed down on the counter between them, putting an end to her quiet explanation before it could even get off the ground. But the flagon was the least of her troubles.

  “Well, well, well! Look who suddenly remembered his own name!”

  Dylan and Katerina turned at the same time as Mika, the beguiling barmaid, set down her towel and joined the conversation, positioning herself firmly between the two.

  “So, I see you found him.” She winked at Katerina before leaning all the way over the bar, giving Dylan a clear view of her bosom as she flashed him a seductive smile. “And here we were, all prepared to keep your secret till the bitter end.”

  Katerina stiffened uncomfortably, discreetly looking away while Dylan chuckled softly.

  “Never really thought loyalty was one of your strong suits.”

  Mika flashed another smile, pleased with his teasing. “Maybe not, but I have other talents.”

  His lips twitched up in a caustic grin. “So I’ve heard.”

  Katerina blinked in shock, unable to believe she was hearing what she was hearing. At the castle, people were only as forward as three centuries of etiquette and a corset would allow, but Mika was on a roll. She leaned down even further, casually reaching for his hand.

  “I’d love to show you sometime.”

  He shifted just as casually away, thoroughly unfazed by her advances. “Sometime. Right now, I’d just like to see you pour.”

  The back and forth came to a sudden stop. A second later Mika straightened up, staring across the counter in confusion. “Excuse me?”

  “Whiskey. Two of them,” he added with a nod to Katerina, placing another bronze coin upon the counter. “You drink, don’t you, princess?”

  Katerina’s face went pale as her eyes flashed up in terror. “…why would you call me that?”

  A peculiar smile flitted across Dylan’s face, while Mika merely rolled her eyes and poured two glasses of the thick, amber liquid. The smell of it saturated the air, burning the inside of the princess’ nose as she forced the awkward moment behind them, and held it up for a tentative sniff.

  Holy hells! How can anyone drink this stuff?!

  Her revulsion must have showed on her face, because Dylan chuckled again as Mika shook her head, looking distinctly unimpressed. “This is why you’re blowing me off? For her?”

  “Don’t be unkind.” His eyes danced with amusement as they rested upon the princess. “I’m sure she has a few hidden talents herself.”

  Mika scoffed as if this was highly unlikely, while Katerina blushed to the roots of her hair. In a desperate attempt to fit in she took a brave gulp of whiskey, fighting back a gasp of shock as her eyes watered involuntarily. It was like swallowing liquid fire. A far cry from the floral wines and sparkling ales of the castle. Whatever was in that cup would be better used resuscitating the dead.

  “It’s…” she cleared her throat and forced a pained smile, “it’s very good.”

  Dylan’s eyes twinkled as he took a sip from his own glass, but Mika’s rather limited patience had reached an e
nd. She was unwilling to admit defeat. And she was just as unwilling to let her prize go off with someone she deemed highly unworthy.

  “Seriously, how many times are you going to keep saying no to me?” She ignored Katerina completely, plumping her lips out in a sexy pout. “I’ve got a room upstairs. You know you want to.” This time she caught his hand, lacing her long fingers through his own.

  For a split second, a strange, vacant expression came over his face before he tugged his wrist away with a rueful grin. “What I want is to live to see tomorrow morning.”

  She stepped back with a playful smile. “Call it a lack of imagination on your part.”

  “More like a vested interest in my own self-preservation.”

  With a parting grin he pushed to his feet, holding out an arm and gesturing for Katerina to do the same. She quickly followed after him, completely baffled by what had just happened.

  “You never know.” Mika cast him a wistful look as the two of them melted away into the crowd, picking up her towel and returning to the glasses. “You might get lucky…”

  For whatever reason, the words gave Katerina chills as she followed her unlikely savoir to the same private booth he’d already claimed in the back. It wasn’t until she sat down that she realized the strategic advantage of such a position. He was back far enough to have a view of the entire tavern, and close enough to the exit to make a quick getaway if he so desired.

  Katerina’s eyes were still lingering on the door, when he cleared his throat quietly, summoning her attention.

  “As you were saying—”

  “What did you mean?” Katerina interrupted with wide eyes. “That you wanted to live to see tomorrow morning?”

  Dylan paused, a little taken aback, before his eyes flickered reflexively to the bar. “Mika’s a succubus. It would be an amazing night, but it would also be my last.”

  Well, that explains it!

  While the succubae were a little too racy for her royal nursery books, Katerina had heard some of the male servants talking about them. Supernatural temptresses who lured men to their deaths by enticing them to bed. They were supposed to be nearly impossible to resist. Even more so if they managed to lay a hand on your bare skin. She didn’t know how Dylan managed to do it.