by Devyn Dawson
“May I take a moment to talk to the Prince?” I boldly ask. The air is suddenly still and any and all noises disappear. I don’t even think there’s a four letter word to say how nervous I am.
Zohr maneuvers his way in front of Jack. “Brother, let them talk and then you can bash in their heads.”
What did he just say? He gave them permission to bash in our heads. Whose side is he on? Brother? Zohr got the short end…. Ha! I crack myself up.
Thorne places his hand on my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. That simple act of togetherness reminds me why I like him so much. He’s a badass with a good heart. I’m sure the protective spirit inside of him is how he ended up being a guardian. There’s something about Thorne that intrigues me in a way no one else ever has.
The giants agree with Zohr and give us a moment to discuss our plan. I’m not sure how a bunch of wind or rain will hurt the giants but it might help us not get squashed into fae pancakes.
“Jack, Lila suggested we call on the elements to help us,” I ramble out as fast as I can.
Everyone turns to me and looks at me funny.
“What? She appeared a couple of minutes ago, telling me that we could use the elements to protect us. That damn raccoon probably sold us out,” I admit.
“Can we pay them in diamonds?” Caleb asks.
“No, they’re not interested in shiny things. Kolop fights dirty and will do anything to climb the ranks within the Unseelie Court. You’re right, Amber, the elements will work in our favor. With the Light Tamer magic combined with the wind and rain, we could save ourselves. The only problem with that scenario, we’ll be drawing more attention for the rogue-fae clans to find us. The forest will be too dense for you Tamers to recharge your light. You won’t be in any danger of your Dark Ones, but you won’t be able to help out in another fight if something else happens. Sabastian isn’t back with the cloak, so we will have to hurry through the forest without haste. Do you Tamers know how to draw on your powers? They’ll be stronger here on this side of the Shimmer.” A bead of sweat drips from Jack’s brow. He’s nervous and I’m petrified.
“What about Zohr? Will he be able to survive if he helps us?” Thorne asks.
“No, he’ll have to go with us and I’ll grant him citizenship in my Court,” Jack says.
Jessie grips Caleb’s hand in hers.
Jack is nervous but he’s doing his best to be a warrior and protect us from everyone. I can’t help but avert my eyes away when he glances in my direction. I’m insanely attracted to Thorne, but something about Jack is sexy. The way he stands with authority or how he glances my way when he thinks I’m not looking.
“Will the Queen allow him to live in your Court? I’m not sure how all that royalty stuff works,” I say casually. Glancing down at my hand, I pay too much attention to a chip in my blue nail polish. Absently, I pick at the polish until I have one almost bare nail.
“Since he’s stood up to his brother and working to get royalty to safety, he’ll be granted immunity and a silver star. Anyone who kills, tortures, humiliates, or attacks anyone with a silver star will be beheaded. It doesn’t mean they won’t do it, but it means if they’re caught, they’ll die. The Unseelie Court has a game they play that whoever collects the most silver stars before the Seelie Court is in season, will be awarded ten-million cubic zirconia’s and be dubbed a knight.”
Thorne shakes his head back and forth, “Wow, that’s insane.”
“Eh, hem,” someone whispers.
“Sabastian, is that you?” Jessie whispers.
“Thanks, Prince Jack, I’m not a sellout. Don’t draw any attention to me, I’ve been here for a couple of minutes and think you’re right about the fight. You can’t just disappear before a battle, but you can during one. They’ll be too confused to realize what happened and they won’t call on any spies to find you. I have a new condition, I want to be given the same immunity as the giant,” Sabastian whispers.
“You f….” Thorne starts to say something foul.
“Granted,” Jessie says.
Everyone turns their attention towards Jessie.
“She’s a Queen, she can make that type of offer,” Thorne says.
“Do I have silver stars?” Jessie asks.
It’s silly to think of my goody-goody friend having the ability to grant anything.
“Yours won’t be silver, it will be whatever your blacksmith and you design. The answer is, you’re able to grant whatever you want. Be warned, don’t offer everyone your star, especially known tricksters.” Jack glances in the empty space Sabastian is standing.
“Prince Jack, I might have a reputation but I’m eager to change my ways for the beautiful Queen Jessie.”
“Oh puke, what a suck-up,” I say. I don’t even know the raccoon but I can tell he’s blowing smoke.
“Either way….Sabastian, you will be granted the star,” Jessie says with authority.
“Now we have that figured out, they’re looking impatient over there,” Caleb says. “What will Amber do? Is she calling on her Tamer abilities or her unknown element ability?”
“We’ll be the instigators and start the fight; please try not to be stabbed or killed. As we’re fighting, I’ll get your attention Amber, and we’ll concentrate on the earth and wind. If all goes well, we’ll create a vortex of debris to surround them. They’ll be too busy trying to avoid lightening and hail.”
“Okay, Jess and I will hold hands and bring out our light, it will give us a barrier to keep us from being hit with the debris. Sabastian, there’s a tree over there with a knot that looks like a giant D, hide there. You know what a D looks like, right?” Caleb asks.
“King Caleb, yes, I know what a D looks like. I not only know it in English, but I know the alphabet from at least twenty languages. Thanks though,” Sabastian replies with sarcasm. He’s a raccoon after my own heart.
“Good, stay there and we’ll meet you. If we start to fail, please run over and cloak Jessie. Get her out of here if we lose.”
I put my hand on my hip and thrust it out to show how serious I am. “Hey, what about the Amber?” I ask.
“Don’t worry, we’re all getting out of this without any issues,” Jessie states. She’s always confident even when she should be scared to death.
“Sounds like a plan. Prince Jack, are your men going to join us?” Thorne asks.
“Two of them will be here in a minute, the others already moved deeper into the woods while we were being threatened,” Jack says as he unsheathes his sword.
His men?
“Did I miss something?” I ask.
“The horses are soldiers who can shift into a human form when needed to battle. They’re highly trained warriors but if they’re stabbed at all, they die. All it takes is the tip of the sword to penetrate their skin and they fall over dead. I can’t risk all of them,” Jack says and looks over toward the trees.
Two large beefy men wearing black shorts and nothing else, including shoes are walking towards us. The closer they get, the hairier they look. Both of them have thick black curly hair on their heads and all over their chests and shoulders. That means their backs are probably covered too. Oh, that’s disgusting.
“You need to teach them to manscape, that’s pretty nasty,” I blurt out.
“Shhhh, Amber you’ll hurt their feelings,” Jessie scolds.
“What? It’s true, that is far from sexy,” I say.
“Hey, can I talk to Amber alone?” Thorne asks as he takes my hand and tugs me to him.
“Hurry,” Jack says.
We walk a few feet away from them. “Amber, I need you to be careful, this is a really dangerous fight. Promise me you won’t put yourself in harm’s way.” Thorne rests his arms on my shoulders before pulling me in for a hug. His cologne is intoxicating as I rest my head on his chest. I close my eyes and imagine us on a beach and me admiring the sun glinting off his tan hairless chest. I know for a fact he doesn’t have a mound of thick black hair on his chest.
That makes me grateful. Very grateful.
I stand up on my tippy-toes and kiss him on the lips. I part my mouth slightly, letting him know I’m willing to have this moment of PDA. For a brief second we deepen the kiss and I fall a little deeper in-like with him. I smile up into his pretty grey eyes as I touch my lip with my fingertip. His kiss lingers on my lips and his cologne is now pressed into my shirt.
“We need to start,” Jack announces.
Thorne looks over to them and back at me. “Promise me.”
“I promise,” I say and mentally cross my fingers. I’m a faerie right? I can be tricky too.
Jack and his two hairy oafs stand in front of us with their swords drawn. A smaller fae who looks deathly ill with his dark circles under his eyes and grayish looking skin runs out to stand between us and the giants.
“Kolop has agreed to fight the Prince of the Seelie Court so he can take the Queen from the Everlasting Light Court. Is it the intentions of you, Prince Jack, to fight for her and forego beheading Kolop for engaging in a battle with the Prince?” The sickly fae announces.
“It is,” Jack replies sternly.
Jessie and I exchange a glance at each other, the kind I’ve always seen best friends give each other. It occurs to me, I’m like everyone else, and I have a best friend. Panic sets in when I realize these people really want Jessie, and we’re outnumbered and outweighed. One step and we’re Light Tamer pancakes. No pressure. I reach for my sword but my sweaty palms slip on the handle. I bend over and rub my hands in the dirt to absorb the sweat so I can properly grasp the sword.
Caleb glances at the two of us and we silently agree that we’ll give it our all and do our best to end this fight.
Kolop is talking to his group in jibberish, which sounds more like The Chipmunks talking in a foreign language.
“You have ten minutes to finish this war. If the Queen is not captured within the ten minutes, Prince Jack and his crew have won. They will not be bothered by the giants or Kolop’s group for the rest of their journey. Anyone who disobeys this order will immediately be put to death.” Sickly fae isn’t playing.
Is that ten minutes our time, or ten minutes their time? They confuse me.
Jack stands like a warrior should, his shoulders are squared off and he appears to be seriously pissed off.
Caleb’s athletic build is intimidating to other guys our age, I’m not sure what the faeries think.
“BATTLE!!!” is yelled by the sick fae.
Jack and Kolop are squared off and posturing. Their swords make contact, metal against metal is heard all around me. Thorne is dueling a fae with enormous warts on his face and a long braided ponytail going down his back. For a moment, my heart flutters in my chest. He looks so handsome and brave as he fights off the faerie.
Someone grabs me from behind, his left hand is holding me by my forehead and his right has a knife to my throat. I try to wiggle away but he only holds me tighter. Jessie’s voice is what I hear first, she’s screaming in pain and panic.
“If you move, I’ll slit your throat open in two seconds. You’ll bleed out before anyone can do anything about it, I’m that good.” My assailant is no more than 5’8”. Both of my hands are holding on to his biceps in an attempt to loosen his grip. My left ear is over his heart, it’s actually pounding harder than mine.
Jack turns for a brief second to see what the screaming is about. Our eyes lock for a moment before he takes his sword and stabs Kolop through the shoulder. Kolop screams out in pain and his crew turn to us more determined than they were before the fight started.
Everything is moving in slow motion, only my racing heart is reminding me that my life is in grave danger.
Jack has moved closer and he’s giving me a sign for me to call on the elements to make this situation stop.
My life was so much simpler when I didn’t have any friends.
Regardless, I wouldn’t trade my friends for a simple life again, no matter what happens.
First comes the wind, it begins gentle until the rains starts. Soon, lightening is crashing to the ground with vengeance. Thunder booms in the sky followed by a streak of lightening striking a tree.
Before I can tell what’s happening, the man holding me has let go to defend himself. A blade flashes in front of me and slices his face enough to leave a long scar. The man yells something in a different language but his men are too busy to help him.
I grab my sword and rush to get next to Jack. He’s on the verge of taking out one of their guys when the one who was holding me runs over and stabs Jack in the stomach.
Everything in me stopped and I looked around for help, I don’t see Jessie or Caleb. Zohr takes my hand and we both attack Jack’s attackers until we’re able to defeat them.
I drop to my knees next to Jack and concentrate on my Tamer skills. Jessie spots us on the ground and runs over to help us heal him.
“We have to fix him,” I plead to Jessie.
“We will,” Jessie’s voice is shaky as she hovers her hand over Jacks wound. The light is almost too bright to look at, like a camera flash, it leaves you seeing spots. “Caleb, it isn’t doing anything!” Jessie yells out, hoping Caleb is in earshot. Why she doesn’t say anything through their bond confuses me.
Thorne and Caleb rush over and realize its graver than we expected.
“Take my hand Amber!” Caleb shouts over the wind and pouring rain.
I look down into Jack’s eyes and can tell he’s hiding his pain but I see it in his eyes. Caleb grabs my hand and we focus on healing Jack. His eyes roll back as he loses consciousness.
Jessie screams and grips to Caleb even harder as she raises her hands in the air. Within seconds, lightening is aiming for hers and Caleb’s raised hands. It isn’t striking them, the light is actually drawn to them.
The remaining fae who were attacking us fall to the ground and scurry backwards in fear. They see the power surrounding us, and they’re actually afraid. The giants are stepping backwards as they watch us heal Jack.
Please don’t let him die. Why did we agree to go to this stupid dinner? This is a lot of work being royalty.
The rain has stopped and the wind is dying down, but no one approaches us. If they do, I can’t control the elements by myself. We’re going to die.
“Behind you, throw the cloak around you so we can disappear,” Sabastian whispers.
I’d forgotten all about him and his magic cape.
The weight of the rubber-like cape is heavier than I expected. It smells like our tents do after a winter locked away in our storage building. Zohr is carrying Jack cradled in his arms as though he doesn’t weigh anything. The rest of us hold the cape up over our heads.
“They’re all backing away,” Thorne says.
“We won anyway. What I don’t understand is why the giants weren’t fighting us,” Jessie whispers.
“Because they were testing us. We need to get to the horses so you guys can try to heal him again.” Thorne’s voice is strained as he talks. “I don’t understand why the Queen put us through this insanity. We need to contact your people and have your royal carriage sent for us before we go back to the Shimmer.”
“Wait….she has a royal carriage and we’re walking through the woods with a giant and a raccoon? Do you hear the absurdity in that question?” I ask.
“Honestly, I thought it would have been nice to make it through the woods by horseback. I figured the Queen would have put the word out for everyone to leave us alone. No one wants to be on the receiving end of the Queens wrath and she knows that’s the case. The only conclusion I can come to is us being tested for weakness.”
I don’t know anything about royalty and how they work, but I’ve read a few fairytales in my life. Apparently, they all lie. Thorne’s right, we are being tested. “How much further do we have to walk? I thought the horses were supposed to be closer than this.”
“You’re a whiney thing, aren’t you?” Sabastian says.
“Whiney? I’m going to b
anish you to the human world and make you live among the non-talking raccoons. Hey Jessie, will you give me permission to banish this talking rodent?” My arms start to hurt as I fight to keep them holding up the cape.
“How dare you call me a rodent. As for you banishing me, remember that when you’re lost in the forest and can’t find your way out. I’ll be happy to direct all the giants your direction.” Sabastian is ticked off, he drops from walking on two legs to being on all four.
“Jessie, tell him I can banish.”
“Amber, stop threatening Sabastian. No one is banishing anyone right now,” Jessie says and looks over at me and sticks out her tongue.
“You better start being nice to me Sabastian, or I’m going to bite you and give you rabies,” I threaten.
“I’m charging double if I have to hang out with Amber again,” Sabastian complains.
“Can everyone stop and focus on getting Jack healed,” Caleb says.
Just as I think my arms are going to fall off, I spot the horses up ahead. The trees aren’t as thick in this area. We’ll be able to draw light from the sun to heal Jack. He’s been moaning in pain for the last few minutes and I’m worried he’s going to die before we get him home.
“Why didn’t he heal back there? It looked like he was healed, but now he looks worse,” I blurt out.
“In training, we were taught iron is something fae can’t tolerate. The professor said fae aren’t as fazed by iron if they touch it, but if it’s ingested it can be lethal. I guess that’s why you guys can all ride in cars and such. The sword had to have been made of iron. All iron weapons are illegal on this side of the Shimmer. Only royalty can carry anything made of iron. The Queen will order the fae who stabbed Jack to death. It will probably be a public execution to remind everyone what happens when they use illegal weapons.” Thorne’s knowledge about everything gives me the shivers. He’s sexy when he’s being smart.
Zohr tells us we can put the cape down so we can work on Jack. He sets Jack on the ground as gently as a miniature-giant can.
The body on the ground is a far cry from the guy who we met hours ago, before we fought crazed faeries and ogled at by giants.