“We should have saved them,” I insisted sorrowfully.
“Oh, little human, I wish I could take this burden from you, but for now, you need to push those memories aside. We must deal with the here and now.”
I focused on moving forward and tried not to dwell on the past. The darkness of another night spent in the Light Kingdom gave way to a burgeoning sunrise, yet again.
Ana pulled up next to us. “Can we take a break?”
“No, Princess. We’re too close to the border now. We need to slow the Spiorads down and allow them a bit of rest.”
“So, Cyril, what’s your plan after we get back to the Dark fae lands?” Ana asked, watching him closely. She’d noticed his extra attentive focus on me since we escaped from the dungeon. I thought it had more to do with the horrors I’d witnessed than anything else. At least, that was what I told myself.
Cyril deflected easily. “So, Princess, what’s your plan, now that you know of your heritage and seem perfectly content to run from your people?”
“They’re not my people. He’s not my father, and I’m not a lost princess looking for a kingdom, thank you very much. My plans are this: Sixx and I will finally fucking go home, and I’m telling that stick-up-his-ass Erebus to hell with his customs.”
“I suppose that where we grew up, ignoring the customs and respecting those of others is just a way of life.”
Ana gave an unladylike snort. “Look – I respected them plenty. But Sixx and I are done, right?” she asked, looking at me.
“Yes,” I croaked. If the customs of the Light fae were anything like what I witnessed back there, I wanted out. Needed it. I’d thought that the way the Dark fae treated me was bad, but it was nothing like the cruelties I’d endured and witnessed from the Light fae. My mind kept flashing back to three days earlier, bits and pieces of bloodied memories floating to the surface.
I saw naked humans, men and women, chained by their necks and hitched to a wooden post like a horse. Most of their backs were scarred and bloodied with long, ragged whip slashes. They barely even flinched as we rode past, their eyes empty and soulless. It was only a moment but enough to convince me I wanted nothing more to do with this cruel world.
“Seis, heads up.”
I must have been lost in my memories for some time because when I looked up, I saw the forest had changed once again. Though it was daybreak, the sun was weaker, putting off grimy light that barely illuminated the trees. The vegetation became barren and sparse. The trees thinned out in both quantity and quality. While the forests outside the Light Kingdom were dense and lush, these trees were more skeletal with dusky bark that seemed to suck the light from the air.
“The border is only a couple miles away, but we’ll have to leave the Spiorads behind.”
I didn’t want to leave Warrior behind. I leaned closer, hugging the beautiful creature. I’d relied on his steady comfort during our escape from the Light Kingdom. He was the best part of this entire adventure.
Suddenly, Cyril stiffened behind me. We had slowed down to a walk, but he pulled back, slowing us even more. I sat up and tried to turn around and ask him what was wrong, but before I said a word, I noticed how quiet the forest had gotten. I could hear Dancer’s irritated snorts but nothing else. Fear swept through me like a tidal wave, the feeling of impending doom nipping at the back of my neck. We stopped and tried to listen for noises of the forest, but there were no soft, scurrying noises of small animals running through the underbrush or even the single trill of a bird’s song. An eerie silence swept over the land.
Cyril’s hands tightened on my waist.
“Fuck. They know we’re here. We need to ride hard and fast. Prepare yourself, Seis. You too, Ana.” He waved her forward.
My friend maneuvered Dancer next to us and sat a little higher, her thighs clamped against her mount. She was lucky enough to keep the leathers she’d been wearing when she showed up in the Light Kingdom. With her hair loosely braided and the stern look on her face, she looked like a warrior. On the flip side, I knew I looked horrific. Drawn, haggard, and so, so tired.
They exchanged a meaningful look, likely hearing something outside the range of my human ears.
Cyril wrapped an arm around my stomach, leaned forward, and tapped Warrior’s flanks. The beast took off with a lurch and darted expertly through the forest without any guidance from his riders. From what I’d witnessed thus far, Dancer could do the same but with a bit more flair. She liked to take the road less traveled at times, much like her rider.
Ana got an impromptu lesson about jumping with Dancer, spurred on by the fae riders who popped up seemingly out of nowhere. I saw them before I heard them. The wind thundered in my ears, blocking out the sounds around me, but my eyes snagged on a flash of white armor between the thinning trunks of the forest. Cyril cursed and yanked Warrior’s reins to the side just as an arrow whistled past us frighteningly close.
“They’re shooting!” I called out, trying to get Ana’s attention. With unerring grace, she tugged Dancer’s reins, and the beast dodged another arrow.
The Light fae guards were trying to hit the Spiorads to incapacitate us. If they hit them, we didn’t stand a chance. This part of the forest looked like it was the dead of winter. Leaves were gone, replaced with skeletons of the trees, which made it easier to spot the Light fae chasing us. They flanked us from both sides, right on our tails as they rode Spiorads just as nimble as ours.
Cyril leaned closer, and Warrior’s ear flicked back to listen. “Faster, Warrior. Show them what you’re made of.”
Tucking his head lower and straighter, Warrior picked up his pace. I glanced over at Ana, relieved to see Dancer mimic his stance and speed. A fallen trunk rested on the ground ahead of us that looked too large to jump over, but Warrior’s muscles bunched underneath us, and he sprinted right for it, undeterred.
I gripped Warrior’s neck just as his front end launched into the air. With the loss of equilibrium, it felt like we were about to be flung backward, but as we sailed in the air and he gave one last, powerful pump of his hind legs, we passed over the trunk with inches to spare.
Warrior maintained his punishing pace after clearing the log, but I lost sight of Ana. Each time I tried to twist around, Cyril held me firmly in place.
“Even if they capture her, she’ll be fine. The worst that could happen is she’ll be locked in a nice, cozy room until someone can come for her.”
How does he know that’s not worse? Ana would rather die than be caged. I could never live with myself if she got captured and I managed to get away.
“Stop squirming, Sixx. Look in front of us.”
Ahead of us was a small, rocky hill. Approaching it from a similar angle, I saw Ana hunched over Dancer, urging her faster. She glanced over her shoulder to look at a massive Spiorad, bigger than Warrior, rushing over the plains. We were gaining ground, getting closer to the relative safety of the Dark Kingdom border, but the Light fae guards were moving swiftly.
Ana turned her head, staring at me intently as if trying to convey a message. Then, she glanced back at the fae guards right on her tail and at the ones chasing me and Cyril. Ana pulled back on Dancer’s reins. Dancer’s eyes widened as she slowed, though I could tell she still wanted to run.
My heart wrenched, almost to the point of pain.
“No!” I struggled hard in Cyril’s grip, but he held me tightly, pushing Warrior faster over the rocky terrain. Tears welled in my eyes as I managed to twist around to see the guards surround Ana. Two guards continued to follow us with arrows nocked and ready to fly. I wondered why they didn’t use magic to detain us, but I barely had time to think as another arrow shot toward us.
“We have to stop!” I pleaded.
“If we stop, we die. Those aren’t warning shots,” Cyril warned. He concentrated on securing our freedom. As the rocky hill got closer, I realized it was more of a small mountain formation. It didn’t seem possible to clear it by jumping, no matter how impressive the Spior
ad was in the forest. Instead, Cyril urged Warrior closer to the rock wall as he searched for an opening or craggy climbing trail.
“There! We’re almost free, Sixx.” He squeezed my arm and whooped as if the sight of impending freedom was supposed to make me feel better. I wanted to knock his hands away, roll off the beast, then go charging after Ana.
Without warning, Warrior jumped onto the rocky wall that separated the lands between Light and Dark fae. He ran a couple of paces and jumped again, almost like he was part mountain goat. My stomach lurched as fear and anticipation mingled with adrenaline swept through my veins, lighting my body with liquid fire.
The next jump jostled us both, and Cyril knocked into me roughly. I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to stop the vertigo that threatened to topple me to the ground, but another leap jarred them back open. I opened my eyes and saw we were standing on top of the craggy hill.
On the other side, the Dark fae lands waited.
Safety beckoned.
But Ana was stuck on this side, surrounded by guards who seized Dancer’s reins. Another guard dropped down from a Spiorad and approached her.
“Sorry, Seis.” Cyril urged Warrior over the hill, the Light fae remaining on their side and turning back to join the others. I cried fat, guilty tears and slumped against Cyril.
We were safe, but Ana was not. No matter what Cyril said.
****
We continued our journey for another whole day, once we crossed the border, before exhaustion eliminated my resolve and I started to slide off Warrior’s back. My mind and heart were back with Ana. What would happen to her now? Would the Light fae King punish her? After everything we’d been through together, I hated myself the most for leaving her behind. For leaving those other humans behind.
“I did what I had to do, Seis. I warned you.”
I didn’t respond because, to Cyril’s credit, he did. He told me I wouldn’t like him very much once this was all over; I just never assumed he would use Ana like that, putting her in danger just to save his hide. We could have gotten out together. I truly believed that. I had to believe it.
I swayed again before Cyril pulled back on Warrior’s reins and halted our path.
“We’ll stop for now and make camp. We’re almost safe here,” Cyril said as he pulled me down from Warrior. I stood on wobbly legs, uncertain what to do with myself.
Cyril moved quickly, pulling together clumps of spongy moss to form two sleeping pallets. After tying Warrior’s reins to a tree, he grabbed my hand and pulled me over to one of the beds, indicating that I should lie down. My head pounded from crying and a lack of food and water, aching from the loss of my best friend.
“You need to rest,” he stated calmly. For the first time in what felt like forever, I got a good look at him. Dark circles under his eyes looked like bruises. His cheeks were hollow, and his once full lips looked thin. He didn’t look at all like the pretty male covered in dirt that I met in the cells.
“What happened to you?” I whispered.
“These are the lands of my people, which means I am not allowed to use my glamour. Plus, I haven’t fed in weeks. I’m starving. And having you around is not helping,” he grumbled.
“Sorry to inconvenience your escape plan,” I spat.
I was infuriated with how he only thought of himself. He intentionally kept us separated on the Spiorads because he was afraid Ana and I would split up and leave him. Why it was so vital for him to get me over the border, I didn’t know.
“She’ll be fine. She’s their lost Princess. If anything, she’ll be living her best life there.”
“You don’t know her like I do. That’s not the life she would have wanted. If she saw the horrors we saw, she would be trying to kill everyone she came across.”
“I will not apologize or ask for your forgiveness in this. I saw an opportunity and took it.”
I didn’t answer him. I laid down on the bedding and turned my back to him. Warrior tugged his reins free, gave Cyril a triumphant look, and laid next to my back. It wasn’t until much later, when Cyril thought I was asleep, that he spoke again.
“Our journey is far from over, little Seis.”
Chapter 29
Heat swirled low in my gut, and a painful moan ripped from my throat at the overwhelming sensation. What the hell is happening? I opened my eyes to see Cyril standing over me, his neon green eyes lit up from within as he stared down at me.
“Sorry, Seis… I can’t resist it anymore. You know what they say about coming home? It brings out the worst in you.” He leaned down, running his hands up and down my thigh. My mind screamed to throw him off me, but the rest of my body did the opposite. Need rushed through me with the intensity of Dreamscape, sucking away any control I may have once thought I possessed.
“You said you weren’t a virgin, si?”
“No, please… Oh God, please.” I didn’t know what I was asking for – whether it was for him to stop or keep going. Every nerve ending was alive, burning and sensitive to every brush of his silky, smooth hands. A dark flush bloomed over my face, down my neck, to my chest. He leaned down and ran his nose between the valley of my breasts, which were mostly exposed from the slinky black slip I still wore. I hated this slip more than anything else in the world. The silky fabric had somehow held up throughout our journey, but it still exposed far too much flesh for my comfort.
“You’ve asked me before, Seis,” he started coyly. “Ask me again.”
“W-what?” I pressed my thighs together, trying to relieve some of the pressure building between the apex of my legs. Cyril gripped my thigh, tugging my leg up and giving him a bit more leverage. My out-of-control body responded in kind, desperate for his touch—any touch, at this point.
“Ask me what I am,” Cyril whispered against my ear, lightly dropping his weight on me.
My body surged forward, betraying me. I don’t want this or him! I raged bitterly, though my traitorous body did the opposite. My mind flashed to Olezka. He was the one I wanted.
“What are you?” I groaned as he trailed his fingers up my arm, eliciting quivers that arced throughout my body.
“An incubus.”
“A dead incubus,” a familiar voice said with steely detachment. It was a tone that made even me terrified of him, though I knew my mate would never hurt me. I cursed my imagination for teasing me. Olezka couldn’t have found me.
“Sorry for using you that way, Seis, but I needed to make a quick getaway. Not to mention, you are too much woman to resist,” Cyril said with a wink before releasing me. Jumping over my body in a single bound, he ran for Warrior, who stood eating, only a few feet away. I craned my neck to look at him, my body still trapped in the throes of desire. Needing more, Something, anything.
“My priyatel.” Olezka’s bulky body came into view, and I breathed a little easier when he wrapped his comforting arms around me. “Get that incubus,” he growled. Several others rushed past us as Cyril disappeared into the forest.
As Cyril put more distance between us, the heat that swirled in my body, overtaking all rational thought, slipped away. “Olezka,” I whispered in a harsh breath.
“I am here, Sixx.”
“Ana!” I gasped. “The Light fae still have Ana. We have to–”
“I know, my Sixx. I know.” He squeezed me closer, pressing a sweet, chaste kiss on the top of my head. I wanted his wondrous lips elsewhere, but I pushed those thoughts to the side. First, I needed him to help Ana. “Erebus will work with the King to help him see reason, but for now, we need to take care of you.”
“No!” I argued, knowing that with every second we delayed, Ana could be experiencing torment.
“Yes, my mate. You ache, and unfortunately, an incubus kiss should never be interrupted.”
I groaned in embarrassment and unwanted desire. I didn’t want this. Not like this, at least.
“Let it play out, Olezka. Please. I don’t want our first time together to happen like this,” I asked with t
ears in my eyes.
Olezka looked pained but nodded. “Anything for you, Sixx.” He leaned forward and pressed another kiss to my forehead. The others soon returned without Cyril, which only pissed off Olezka further. He paced the area in front of me as the heat swelled and calmed within my body like a raging tempest. It ebbed and surged for what felt like hours. The other guards who had come with Olezka returned every so often to file a report, but after a growl from him, they disappeared back into the shadows without a whisper.
I finally fell into a fitful, restless sleep. Dark images of Ana and the other humans filled in various scenes of torture played through my head on a repeating loop. Then there were terrifying thoughts of Cyril, who had planned to seduce my body and use it to feed.
How could someone have such control over me?
****
“She didn’t say how they got separated?”
“No, but she was traveling with an Incubus. I want him found,” Olezka growled.
“On it already, my lord.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“He is just calling you by your proper title, Olezka. What is your problem?”
“She has spent too much time here.”
I opened my eyes, blinking rapidly, realizing with a jolt that we had returned to the Dark fae’s palace. I recognized Olezka’s room, and my heart skipped a beat. I was safe, but Ana was not. I sat up, pushing my rat’s nest hair out of my face.
“I’m not leaving here until I get Ana back.” I glared at the two males in the room. Erebus leaned against a far wall while Olezka paced the room. He rushed over to my side when I sat up and brought my hand to his lips. I reached up, running my hand through his hair.
My heart clenched painfully. Goodness, I’d missed him. Having him back felt like I’d restored a piece of my heart, but another section was left behind in the Light Kingdom. Tears prickled my eyes. My guilt swamped me, making me want to tug my hand away. Did I deserve this bit of happiness when my best friend was being held in captivity?
Suddenly, the moment Olezka and I were reunited flooded my mind. Oh, God. I’d acted like a wanton woman with Cyril, but as soon as my mate got there, I pushed him away. I mean, I wanted Olezka – I did! – but not like that. Not forced into an act by someone’s magic. My cheeks heated as I recalled several times when I’d woken on our way back to the palace. I wanted to block those moments from my memory forever.
The Sidekick Chronicles: Sixx and the Fae Page 20