Darling, There Are Wolves in the Woods

by Lydia Russell

  “I’m not made of glass, Laphaniel,” I began, but he shook his head, cutting me off.

  “No. You’re flesh and blood, but do not underestimate the ways you can be broken until there is nothing left to put back together. Don’t you dare throw around a flippant remark on how you’ll find a way. Because it is utterly foolish, and it’s going to get you killed.”

  I stared at him, unable to find any words to say as his own echoed over me, filled not with anger…but with fear.

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” I said at last. “I’m sorry.”

  He made an unconvinced noise before drawing me close, his chin resting on top of my head, and I marvelled at how comfortably I fit against him.

  “Can I take a look at your wound?” he asked after a few minutes of silence, moving away to lift my shirt as I nodded, his fingers gentle on my skin. He brushed over the edges of the stitches, along the side of my ribs, tracing my skin with soft delicate strokes that awoke every part of me.

  “It’s pretty neat,” I breathed, running my own hand over the tiny, one-inch slash. “It looks so small.”

  “Small, but deep,” Laphaniel said, not moving his hand away. “You’re lucky it missed anything vital.”

  “I never want to see another witch as long as I live,” I declared, sliding my shirt down, Laphaniel’s lingering gaze not going unnoticed.

  “I don’t want to lose you, Teya,” he whispered, and I realised how easy it would be just to lean in a little closer, to let everything I felt for him slip past my defences. “At the end of all this, I don’t want you to go.”

  “I don’t know what I want to do,” I replied, taking a breath. “I don’t know if going back is an option to me anymore…even if I manage to save Niven, I can’t just go back and play happy families. I just want to make my mum happy.”

  “And you think Niven will do that?”

  I shrugged, not sure what I thought any more. “I don’t know what else to do. I can’t go back to that house filled with the people we’ve lost. I have to believe Niven will be enough, or there’s no point.”

  “Then what?” he coaxed gently, a thread of hope lifting his voice.

  “I’ll never forget this place. I’ll never forget about you.” I folded my arms, turning my head as the sun finally poured over the tree tops, bathing the forest with a hazy light. “Maybe…when everything has settled down…when I know mum will be okay, perhaps then you’ll show me everything you once promised. Without the Glamour. Just us. I think I’d like to see that.”

  “Okay,” He replied, his voice soft. “I’ll travel to the ends of the world with you, Teya, and whatever lies beyond."

  At the mouth of the cave, Angmar tossed her head, lip curled to reveal her sharp teeth. She gouged the earth with shining hooves, impatience snorting through flared nostrils.

  “I think she wants to move on,” Laphaniel said, not moving away from me. “Are you okay to ride?”

  I stretched, feeling the stitches in my side pull and I winced as it stung. “I’ll be fine. What about you?”

  “Fully recovered.”

  My eyebrows rose, “That quick? After losing so much blood?”

  He nodded, shouldering our packs. “It would have been quicker if I hadn’t been poisoned the day before.”

  We finished packing our supplies and I walked over to Angmar as she continued to glare at me with impassive eyes. Cautiously I held out a hand, placing it gently between her ears, her sleek coat cold beneath my touch. She hissed low, teeth glinting.

  “I just wanted to thank you,” I said to her, not flinching away. “Because I was taken by a witch too, and I know how it feels. I was nearly snatched away again, but you saved me…us. You don’t belong to Laphaniel, you know that, right? You’re free to go, you belong to no one.”

  The Night-Mare blinked, hiding her teeth as she snorted, ears lifting slightly as she turned her head.

  “I don’t think she’s planning to eat you now,” Laphaniel smiled, lifting me onto her back. “I would consider that a win.”

  With a graceful leap he jumped on behind me, his arms coming around me to hold me tight. I reached forward to take a handful of Angmar’s mane again.

  With no warning, she rose up, a wild cry screaming from her mouth as she tore forward. I could do nothing more than clamp my legs tight around her and pray I didn’t fall off, the wind snatching away my own screech of alarm.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The forest whipped past in a whirl of autumn colour, the recently fallen leaves swept upwards by the sheer force of Angmar's beating hooves. Laphaniel's hands held me tight around my waist as I clung to the Night-Mare’s mane, fearing I was going to be flung from her back. My legs screamed with the effort of gripping on, my back flared as she launched herself over fallen branches, brooks and two wide, fast flowing rivers.

  The closeness of Laphaniel was little comfort as we rode on and on and on, the only thing keeping me from sobbing in pain was the slowly darkening sky. Laphaniel had promised we would stop at nightfall, and never before had I longed so much for a sunset.

  Angmar slowed as the sun dipped below the trees, temporarily setting the sky alight before twilight ghosted in, shadowing the skies with its hues of indigo and ink. She led us to a small clearing, a lush meadow that still bloomed with late wildflowers, their delicate petals flourishing with steely determination.

  Laphaniel leapt down from Angmar’s back, showing no sign the ride had caused him any discomfort, and reached for me. My legs buckled as soon as I touched the ground, and I would have sunk to the floor if he hadn't have caught me. He helped me to sit, and I stretched out my legs with a groan, wondering if I would ever be able to stand again.

  “Here,” he said, wrapping a blanket around me. “Are you hungry?”

  I nodded, and he handed me a strip of dried meat and a piece of fruit. The meat was salty and tough, but I gnawed on it anyway and it did the job of pushing my hunger away. I watched as he gathered sticks for a small fire, lighting them with just a wave of his hand.

  “Have some of this.” He took a swallow of the green wine before passing it to me. Angmar wandered to the nearby stream and drank deeply. “Just don’t drink too much.”

  “It tastes like swamp water,” I said, making a face as the thick liquid burned down my throat. “You keep it.”

  He smiled, taking the bottle back and taking another few sips and I wondered how he could stomach it. He pulled a knife from his pack, tucking it neatly into his belt as he leant forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

  “Should I be worried what’s out there?” I asked, not liking how exposed we were. He turned to me, the bottle dangling from his fingertips, his gaze sparking something deep within my stomach.

  “Would you like me to list everything that wishes to devour you?” he said, a wicked smirk lifting the edge of his lip. “Because there’s likely selkies, phooka’s, wisps, just to name a few, not to mention the…”

  “What about you?” I asked, and he blinked, his smirk faltering. Uncertainty etched across his lovely face, fuelling the desire I could no longer keep at bay. I no longer wanted to. “What do you want to do to me?”

  “Umm…”

  I grinned as he continued to stare at me, looking so unsure…all traces of the cold, graceful fey I knew him to be, gone. Before I could lose my nerve, before I could over-think, I leant closer, brushing my lips against his.

  The closeness of him erased the aches and fatigue that had begun to weigh me down, his tentative hands on me pushed back the fear of what lay ahead. He stole away my breath with his answering kiss, his moan soft against my lip.

  “Are you sure…”

  “Stop talking,” I whispered, pressing a finger to his mouth as his eyes shuttered closed.

  His hands gripped my hair, his mouth trailing kisses along my neck before finding my mouth again. Teeth grazed over my lip in a kiss that sent all coherent thoughts from my head. The fire beside us spluttered, flames spitting, r
oaring and hissing as Laphaniel pulled me into his lap, his heartbeat crashing in time to mine.

  “Sorry,” he gasped, drawing back to catch his breath, his hand lingering beneath my shirt, as he fought to keep control of the magic swirling around us.

  The fire calmed slightly, and he bent to place a gentle kiss against my forehead, hands reaching up to hold me close. I kissed him back with my legs wrapped around his waist, completely done with holding back, of finding reasons why I shouldn’t love him. I could list them all, and it would take a while. But there was a reason why they didn’t matter that trumped them all.

  He made me happy.

  I didn’t look away from him as I unbuttoned his shirt, teasing it off so I could trace the smooth lines of his stomach, lingering over the dark hair that circled his bellybutton. He squirmed slightly under my touch, and I couldn’t help the smile that bloomed at my mouth.

  “You’re ticklish?”

  I could taste his laugh against my lips as I kissed him again, lifting my hands over my head so he could remove my shirt, his gentle hands working to remove the rest of my clothes, until there was not a scrap between us. Laphaniel shifted so he was on top of me, his mouth on mine, moving slowly against the sound of the roaring fire and whispering trees.

  “I love you,” I whispered in his ear. “More than anything.”

  He swore against me, my name slipping from his lips like a curse.

  I fell asleep cradled against him, barely feeling him move away to pull his clothes on so he could keep watch. I didn't know how long I had been asleep before I was woken by a hand over my mouth, and someone hushing me softly.

  I opened my eyes, and the lingering shadows of my bad dream clung to me like tendrils of mist, slowly dissipating as I gripped onto Laphaniel. He kept his hand to my lips silencing my screams that still echoed around the meadow, tempting anything that might have been listening.

  I couldn't remember it, only recalling the sound of laughter, the weight of darkness, and a sense of loss that I had never encountered before.

  I hadn't realised I had been screaming, or why.

  “I was gone less than a minute,” Laphaniel said, cradling my head against his chest, hands running up and down my back. "I thought you were being ripped apart. What on earth were you dreaming about?"

  “I can't remember,” I said, taking a breath. “It was different from the others, nothing happened, but it just felt...awful.”

  I shivered and reached for my discarded clothes lying in a heap beside me, dragging on the shirt and trousers while Laphaniel hovered, failing to hide his concern behind his tired smile.

  “It was only a dream,” I said.

  “You haven't had a nightmare for months.”

  I hadn't really dwelled upon the absence of my nightmares, simply enjoying the freedom and weightlessness of the dreams I had while close to Laphaniel. It seemed my subconscious felt safe with him. “I haven't had a nightmare since I've been with you, in your house, in your bed.”

  He sighed against me, his fingers playing with strands of my hair, coiling them so they curled by my face. “I think you forget I am the reason you have nightmares to begin with.”

  “I haven't forgotten.”

  He paused. “Do I still frighten you?”

  “No,” I replied. “But now you have both my heart and soul, and I'm unsure what you will do to them.”

  “I will keep them safe, if you promise to take care of mine.”

  I smiled, closing my eyes as I drifted back to sleep in his arms, feeling them tighten around me as he kept watch, staying close so the nightmares couldn't find me.

  We rose with the stars still glittering in the far away skies, chasing each other through the pitch, almost taunting me to wish upon one. I didn't dare.

  I took his hand as he helped me back onto Angmar, feeling his fingers trail over my back and linger on my hip. It was a swift touch, a reminder of what I was to him and I treasured it. With a swift jump he was behind me, and once again we took flight through the forest, following a trail only the Night-Mare seemed to know.

  I could smell the sweat on her coat, feel it cling to my legs as I sweated with her, not used to the hours of relentless riding. We didn't stop for a rest, and I had to wonder why Laphaniel didn't want to stall our journey. He could have made it last days and I wouldn't have questioned it. Instead, he hurried Angmar on at an unforgivable pace, his hands tight around me, silent.

  He wasn't giving me a chance to change my mind, knowing it would carve a wedge between us eventually, and destroy something that was only barely beginning. We reached a clearing after what seemed like a lifetime of riding, and Angmar suddenly stopped. She shook her neck, obviously distressed, snorting as she pounded the ground, and I had to cling to her to stop from falling.

  “What's the matter?” I asked, stroking her coat. “What is it, girl?”

  “Hush, Teya,” Laphaniel hissed behind me, dismounting from Angmar before hauling me off, and shoving me behind him. “Go!”

  With a quick smack from Laphaniel, the Night-Mare reared up and bolted, not needing much encouragement to flee back into the woods. I didn't miss the fear in her eyes, the deep black rolling back to show just the whites. There was foam at her mouth, her entire body tense with panic.

  “Laphaniel...” I gasped as something sharp whipped past my face. There was an instant stinging sensation before I felt the warmth of blood seep down my cheek.

  “Keep still,” Laphaniel said, his hand against my chest. “They want you to run.”

  A whooshing noise shot out from the shadows of the distant trees, and I tensed as Laphaniel clung to me, both of us staring at the arrow that landed a breath away from my feet.

  I raised my hand to my cheek, feeling the sting of the graze against my fingers. I swallowed thickly at the thought of the arrow sliding against my face, the aim so impossibly precise that it had only nicked me. I didn't think for a moment that it had merely missed.

  “Let her go,” called a voice to my left. “I want to see how far she gets before I shoot her down.”

  “No,” another voice replied, just as musical, just as deadly. “Let her join us for a while.”

  They stepped from the trees and walked towards us, six otherworldly figures that watched me with cruel eyes and wicked smiles. Laphaniel tensed, keeping a hand on my arm, his grip painful.

  “Are you done with your Unseelie whore then?” sneered one of the fey. Her hair trailed to her waist in waves, the colour of winter moonlight. “I wouldn't have thought you could choose lower, and yet look.”

  She gestured to me, her lovely face distorted into a sneer, her blue eyes blazing with malice.

  “The girl belongs to me,” Laphaniel said. “I have paid for her, and she is mine.”

  “But you have brought her onto our lands,” accused a man with close cropped brown hair, and eyes like sunrises. “Allow us to have our fun, and perhaps we shall let her live.”

  With a quick bark of laughter, the pale haired fey grabbed me, her laugh hissing in my ear as she twisted her fingers through my hair.

  “Nefina!” Laphaniel cried out, making no move to help me. I wondered how he knew her. “Please.”

  “Please, what?” the fey asked, her voice a terrible whisper against my cheek. “Why should I let her go, after you ruined me?”

  Oh god...

  “Your ruin was not my doing,” Laphaniel replied. “Let her go!”

  Nefina twisted my head so I looked at her, her nails sharp. “He'll abandon you too, little thing,” she said, almost sadly. “He does nothing but leave a trail of wretched hearts. Tell me, what happened to his harpy when you showed up?”

  I stared at her, my mouth opening though no sound came out until she shook me so violently, I felt my teeth rattle. “He made her leave,” I choked.

  “And what will happen when he grows tired of you, little thing?”

  “He...he won't...” My words didn't even convince me, and the surrounding fey sneered, fil
ling the clearing with their miserable laughter.

  “You believe you are good enough for him?” asked a willowy girl, her hand still aiming her bow at me. “When he had the Queen of Seelie in his bed?”

  “Almost-queen,” I bit back, gasping as a fist collided with the side of my face, sending me sprawling to the floor.

  “Disrespectful maggot,” she snapped. “I could tear your heart out.”

  “Wait, Alyssa,” said the dark haired fey as he stepped forward, his boot coming close to my fingers as he trod down, scraping my fingertips. “What do you think we should do, Nefina? After all, Laphaniel is your kin.”

  I watched as Nefina raised her hand, and as one, the faeries raised their bows, pointing their arrows straight at me. All bravery I pretended to feel, fled and I cowered at their feet.

  “I just want to see Luthien.”

  Nefina snapped her head to me, and in a graceful swoop of her white skirts, she was at my side, so close to my face that I could smell the lilac scent coming from her skin.

  “Why would you want to do that, little maggot?” her eyes narrowed in a mirage of concern. “Do you like getting hurt? Do you wish for death?”

  “No...”

  “How many times has my brother hurt you? Do you still bear bruises? Or do you just wash the blood from your skin? You entertain him now; just think of what he will do when you start to bore him, what he has done to countless girls far prettier than you.”

  “That's enough, Nefina,” Laphaniel growled as I pulled away from her, glancing at the fey surrounding us. Some were grinning, others crouched low with wings unfurled, all of them baring their teeth as they waited.

  “It will never be enough,” she spat, leaving me to imagine what Laphaniel had done to make her hate him so.

  “Shall I shoot her, Nefina?” Alyssa prompted, a terrible smile on her full lips. “I can hit her straight through one of those wonderful green eyes without spilling a drop of blood.”

  “No, take her to Luthien; perhaps it will give me some respite,” Nefina said, not looking at me but at Laphaniel, and something passed between them. Regret possibly. “What did you think would happen to me when you left?”