Rae of Hope

by W.J. May

  Enough! She wasn’t interested. He was a thief. Taking her mother’s necklace. He was only doing what he needed to because a deal had been struck. And after the last near altercation with the shifters… She forced herself to take a deep breath. He’d only done what he had to in order to protect his own hide, not hers.

  At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.

  Where was she again on her story about the pub? When Dylan had so irresponsibly left her alone?

  “It was intense!” Katerina’s eyes were wide as saucers. By now, she was half-believing the story herself. “So, anyway, he swung at me a couple times—nothing I couldn’t handle. But before he could strike the final blow, I back-flipped over his head.”

  “I thought he was nine feet tall.”

  “…I’m a world-class jumper.”

  They exchanged a quick look, and she stared at his cheek where she’d kissed him before the story continued anew.

  “By the time he turned back around, I was ready.” Katerina lifted her fists in the air, enthusiastically miming a fight that never happened. “One punch to the nose—that’s all it took. The guy went down hard. Took half the tavern down with him. He may have cracked the floor.”

  Dylan nodded practically, reaching out to help her over a fallen log. “And that’s when you tripped through Lester?”

  Ah, yes, she’d forgotten about that little part.

  She accepted his hand automatically, chewing on her bottom lip as she stalled for time. Keep telling the story, when he knew the ending, or focus on the warmth of his touch? In the end, she decided it was probably best to just change the subject.

  “So what about you?” she asked casually. “How did you get covered in green slime?”

  He grimaced automatically as he remembered, sending a simultaneous tremor through his hands. “That’s a story for another time. But I’m glad you enjoyed the market. Aside from that old woman trying to take your eyes, I think the whole thing was a huge success.”

  How could I have possibly forgotten about that? My life has gotten so strange. Katerina nodded fervently, her mind racing as she played back the events of the day. Yes, there were some near-misses. And yes, she’d received some unwanted attention that could have landed her in serious trouble if Dylan hadn’t intervened. But she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt more alive. More free. More connected to and captivated by the world around her.

  And on that note…

  “So all these creatures,” she began excitedly, “the entire supernatural community I learned about as a kid…they’re all real?” She felt silly asking the question, but on the other hand she couldn’t help but be amazed. As a rule, magic was never allowed within the castle—Alwyn aside—and although she’d grown up reading about ‘mythical’ creatures to her heart’s content, she and the rest of the kingdom had been led to believe that most everything had been decimated to the point of extinction over the course of the rebellions. Magic was little more than a myth. Her books were little more than fairytales.

  But what she saw today…that defied the imagination! And she’d seen a giant! Had lunch with the fine chap!

  “I have no idea what you learned as a child,” Dylan responded. “But after having spent most of my life amongst them, I know for a fact they’ll resent being called creatures. Best keep that term to yourself.”

  Katerina nodded swiftly, but she was on a roll. Her mind was racing and her eyes were dancing with a million memories she could hardly dare to believe. “But what about mermaids?” she questioned, rapid-fire. “If there’re such things as hags, please tell me there’re such things as mermaids!”

  Dylan laughed, clearly unable to stop himself. “How are we actually having this conversation?”

  “And what about werewolves?!” Her eyes widened at the mere thought. She remembered the pictures from her stories. Giant black wolves, silhouetted against the shadowy horizon. They were terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. “You know, it’s coming up on a full moon—”

  “There are no such things as werewolves.” He cast her a sideways glance and continued cautiously forward. “There are wolves—shifters, I mean. The men we ran into by the wagons, they’re from a well-known pack.”

  She stopped dead in her tracks, staring up at him in shock. “Are you serious? How do you know that?”

  One way or another, it certainly explained his sudden discovery of manners. Discounting that little bit at the end with the knife.

  He ran a hand back through his hair, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground. “I’ve been out here for a while, Kat. You get to know people. You get to know where they’re from.”

  She didn’t understand his sudden caginess. The sudden need to avoid her gaze. But, at the moment, her mind was too wrapped up in other matters to really notice. “I can’t believe they shift into wolves. I mean, you did say something about shifters, but at the time I hadn’t really been paying attention. I was more worried about staying alive. But wolves? That’s something I never would’ve guessed.”

  His eyes danced with sudden amusement as he turned to look at her for the first time. “Why do you say that?”

  “They were huge! The guy in charge had a neck the size of my leg.” She shook her head and continued marching through the underbrush. “I assumed they shifted into bison or something.”

  Dylan threw his head back with a sudden laugh. The same sparkling sound she’d heard when she was swimming. The one that echoed brightly through the trees. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and found herself star-struck, the same way she’d been the first time they met.

  It wasn’t something he could hide. And it wasn’t something he could fake. Whatever it was about him, it was deep inside his bones. A stunning magnetism that seemed to draw in everyone else around him. An almost otherworldly beauty, as if he’d been kissed by some distant star.

  Truth…who are you?

  She wanted to ask. She wanted to ask more than anything in the world.

  But she didn’t. If only because she didn’t want to do anything to risk losing that breathtaking smile. She asked another question instead. One that was only slightly less important.

  “So… what about mermaids?”

  The laughter continued, and without seeming to think about it he reached out to tuck a lock of her fiery red hair behind her ear. “I’ve never seen a mermaid. Although I would very much like to.”

  Katerina snorted as they scampered up the side of a ravine and headed into a clearing just beyond. “Yeah, I bet you would. Until she lured you to the edge of the water and pulled you in.”

  “I’m sure I wouldn’t mind.”

  “Until you drowned?”

  “…yeah, until I drowned.”

  The two of them laughed again, hands in their pockets, kicking up piles of leaves as they made their way through the picturesque meadow. It really is beautiful, Katerina thought as she gazed around. Peaceful. A little postcard, bordered on all sides by mountain trees.

  It was the kind of place where it seemed like nothing bad could ever happen. A tranquil little oasis, hidden from the rest of the tumultuous world. A part of her would happily stay there forever.

  Of course, that’s when the postcard shattered into a million little pieces.

  “Whatever happens next, it’s important that you don’t scream.”

  Katerina’s head jerked up in surprise as her happy thought bubble popped mid-air. “…what?”

  But Dylan was already gone. In a movement almost too fast to follow, he doubled back suddenly and leapt into a grove of trees. There was a violent scuffle, followed by a high-pitched shriek. When he emerged, a moment later, he was dragging someone out by the arm.

  What the heck?!

  Katerina stumbled back in shock, then let out a forbidden scream.

  At a first glance, the girl looked rather wild. There were leaves in her hair, brambles in her clothes, and a thick coating of dirt had painted her from head to toe.

  At a second
glance, the girl looked rather beautiful. She was about their age, just eighteen or nineteen years old, and had deceptively delicate features considering the ferocity of her scowl. Her eyes were a light hazel that glowed green when they caught the light, and her hair was the exact color of cinnamon, falling in a straight line down to her shoulders.

  She was stunning, but oddly frightening at the same time. Like a homicidal doll who’d gotten lost in the woods. A doll who was doing her very best to kick Dylan’s ass.

  “Let me GO you little worm!” She leapt up with a ferocious kick, but he held her far enough away that it couldn’t touch him. “I didn’t do ANYTHING!”

  In a move that was just as surprising as it was effective she flipped over where she stood, wrenching her arm free in the process. It was a magnificent show of both grace and agility, performed at a blinding speed.

  Unfortunately, Dylan caught her again the second she landed. “No, you didn’t do anything,” he replied, sounding remarkably calm considering the circumstances. “You’ve just been following us for the last ten miles.”

  The girl stopped struggling at the same time Katerina’s mouth fell open in shock. “Ten miles? And you knew this whole time?!” she cried. “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

  “I had to be sure she wasn’t a spy.” Dylan answered her question, but kept his eyes locked on the stranger the whole time. “That she wasn’t sent ahead to lead the others. But it’s been ten miles. And she hasn’t made any intentional tracks.”

  Okay, how the heck does he KNOW that?! He was talking with me the whole time!

  Although her entire nefarious plot had been called into the open, the girl didn’t back down for an instant. In fact, she seemed incapable of admitting defeat. “I might just be going the same direction. You don’t know!” She tugged at her arm again, literally growling in frustration when it didn’t budge. Her second kick failed to land as well so she settled for stomping on Dylan’s foot, smearing it with mud.

  Katerina didn’t understand it. The unwavering spirit. The unshakable defiance that seemed to dictate her every move. It didn’t seem to matter that she only came up to Dylan’s chin. It didn’t seem to matter that she was outnumbered two-to-one and had been caught red-handed.

  When Dylan failed to release her, she punched him as hard as she could in the chest…then lifted her head with a vicious glare when he failed to react.

  “…coward.”

  What?!

  The initial alarm at being followed had begun to fade, and Katerina was finding herself strangely endeared to the girl. At the very least she deserved to be committed, not imprisoned.

  Unfortunately, not everyone shared her generous view.

  “Okay.” Dylan took a deep breath, visibly reining in his temper. “So are you going to tell me why you’ve been shadowing us or not?”

  He seemed to anticipate what her answer would be. Sure enough, the second he asked the question she took on the expression of a sixth-century martyr. Tilting back her head with an air of righteous indignation worthy of the theater itself.

  “Not until you release me and apologize for my so-called capture.” She jutted out her chin, matching him glare for glare. “At which point, I’ll require some of your cider. Some of us weren’t able to rehydrate every time we took a break.”

  “Unbelievable.” Without another word, Dylan tightened his grasp and began dragging her back into the woods, muttering dark profanities under his breath the entire time.

  The girl dug in her heels, but was no match against his weight, while Katerina hurried after them with a shout.

  “Dylan—you can’t kill her!”

  He never broke his stride. By now, his prisoner was leaving little trenches in her wake. “I’m not going to kill her,” he said resolutely. “I’m going to tie her to a tree.”

  The girl folded her arms across her chest with an evil smirk. “You think that’ll stop me?”

  Okay, on second thought, she’s legitimately crazy.

  Katerina stopped in her tracks and watched as Dylan shoved her up against the base of a wide oak. It wasn’t until he fished the rope from his pack that she seemed to understand her plight.

  “I’m not crazy.”

  Both Dylan and Katerina looked up warily. They must’ve been thinking the same exact thing. An almost cartoonish look of conflict washed across the girl’s face, as if it was physically paining her to be the first to back down. Then her shoulders wilted and her face cleared with a sudden sigh.

  “I’m not crazy,” she said again. “I saw you by the wagons, heard that you were heading toward the Black Forest. I thought maybe I could come along.”

  If it was possible, this made the least amount of sense yet.

  “You saw us by the wagons?” Dylan repeated. One look at his face said he wasn’t in the mood to play games. “That’s funny, I didn’t see you.”

  For whatever reason, the girl blushed. Her hands twitched nervously by her side, and she seemed to be bracing herself for something. “That’s because I wasn’t exactly feeling like myself.”

  For a second, the three of them just stood there. Then the girl disappeared.

  “Kat—get back!”

  Katerina stumbled backwards with a gasp, while Dylan’s hand flew to his blade. It took them a second to realize that she hadn’t vanished after all, she had merely shrunk in size…

  And turned into a goblin?

  The tiny creature blinked up at them. Giant ears. Hooked nose. The works. The ropes dropped from Dylan’s hand as the goblin-girl did a little curtsey, complete with an apologetic smile.

  “The name’s Tanya Oberon. Pleased to meet you.”

  This is…a little too much.

  Katerina fell back another step, hand over her heart, while Dylan tried his very best to keep his composure. “You were…you were one of the goblins back at the wagons?”

  “I was.” The air around the little beast seemed to shimmer, and a second later, the girl, Tanya, was standing back in its place. “I even introduced myself. But this is my true form.”

  Introduced herself? What does she…

  Katerina clapped a hand over her mouth. SEVEN HELLS! She’s the goblin who grabbed Dylan’s ass!

  Dylan made the connection at the same time. His lips parted in shock as he stared down at the tiny girl, temporarily speechless. “That was you?!”

  She flashed a devilish smirk, and Katerina warmed to her on the spot.

  But personal boundaries aside, there was a far more obvious issue that needed to be discussed. The implications of which Katerina was only beginning to understand.

  “You’re a shifter?” she asked curiously.

  Tanya turned to her slowly and nodded. For a moment, the two girls simply stared at one another. Then Tanya’s nervous hesitation suddenly made sense.

  A shifter that doesn’t turn into an animal. A shifter that turns into people instead.

  Dylan took a step forward, a completely indecipherable expression on his face. “You’re a shape-shifter.”

  Tanya nodded again. Then hung her head.

  Katerina pursed her lips. Thinking hard to remember the stories she’d heard as a kid. Shape-shifters. They were the scourge of the shifter world. Regarded with even more disdain than most of the other magical creatures who made up the realm. To shift with no affiliation, no pack, was considered the lowest form of magic. Unfit to even claim the shifter name.

  Her eyes flickered up to Dylan, bracing automatically for his censure.

  Except Dylan wasn’t one to judge. In fact, he looked her up and down with interest before flashing a small smile. “If only we were all so lucky.”

  It was like popping a balloon. The second he said the words the tension in the little clearing suddenly disappeared, and the unlikely trio was finally able to breathe. No longer were they standing at odds against each other. There was a chance they could even be on the same side.

  “So, Tanya Oberon,” Dylan inclined his head with an introductory grin,
“why is it that you want to come with us to the Black Forest?” As he spoke, he reached into his pack and pulled out a bottle of cider.

  Tanya took it with a grateful smile, biting off the cork and gulping down half. A second later, she gulped down the rest.

  Katerina and Dylan shared a secret grin.

  For a moment, things were looking up. For a moment, it looked as though everyone might actually be getting friendly.

  But such things were never meant to last.

  She tossed back the empty bottle with a grin, completely oblivious to the disastrous effect of her next words. “Well, to help protect the princess, of course.”

  Chapter 10

  “What princess?” Dylan looked behind him.

  Katerina looked up, but not before shooting Tanya an if-looks-could-kill look.

  “Her.” Tanya clearly didn’t notice Katerina’s glare.

  “I’m not a princess.”

  At the same time, Dylan said, “She’s not the princess.”

  Though, somehow, Katerina thought he didn’t sound very convincing.

  Several arguments happened over the course of the next few minutes. A combination of searing accusations, heated denials, vile profanities, and an eventual confession.

  “I’m the princess,” Katerina said quietly, staring at the ground when she knew there was no denying it any longer.

  What resulted was a three-way shouting match, the likes of which the peaceful little clearing had never heard. A showdown for the ages but, strangely enough, when the dust settled it had very little to do with the apologetic shape-shifter. It was between the princess and her reluctant protector.

  Dylan hadn’t been surprised by the confession. Because he already knew. “I know.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?!” Katerina shouted as she stormed into the woods. “This whole time, I’ve been killing myself trying to keep it secret! Worrying about it day and night! Living in a constant state of panic! This whole time, Dylan, and you already freakin’ knew!”