Until now.
Until Varian showed up in this cursed land, came barging into my life, and ruined my peace.
My hands stilled over my herbs and I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply.
And there was last night … my gods, I hadn’t wanted to give in, but how could I not when that feeling, that pull that connected Varian and me, was so strong. It had been new and steady, and I had been too weak.
Heat bloomed over my cheeks and spread down my body.
I had come to this land too young. I hadn’t had sex before, even though I'd had had opportunities. Now I wondered if that was the reason behind all that, a reason I hadn’t known back then, but now was clear and right in front of me.
I opened my eyes and glanced at the cottage. Even now I could feel it, the invisible line connecting us, tugging me toward Varian.
Was this something I could fight? Was this something I could break?
Did I want to fight it? To break it?
And what would it mean if I didn’t? What would happen to me? I couldn’t just believe Varian and I would steal the medallion from the ogres, go to the Summer Court, and live happily ever after.
Now that was a fairy tale, and I didn’t believe in them.
I busied myself with my garden again, though some herbs weren’t salvageable and I would have to start over.
Footsteps echoed on the porch and then crunched over the grass, coming in my direction.
I steeled myself and looked up.
Varian stood outside the herb patch, his long hair damp, and holding a mug. “I brought more of yesterday's tea. It seemed to help you last night.”
I stared at him for a second, at a loss. Gods, he was so handsome, so strong, so passionate. He was desperate to get home, back to his loving mother. He was a good son, a kind prince. Honorable.
My heart squeezed. I pushed down on the ground and stood up. Slowly, I approached him and took the mug. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure,” he said, a little guarded. After my behavior, I didn’t blame him.
I took a swallow of the hot medicine. Its energy seeped into me and I felt even better, more energized. I drank a little more, while trying to find words. Finally, I lowered the mug and looked straight at him. “The ogres will be back. You should leave.”
His strong brows curled down. “What about you?”
“I … I’ll hide too.”
“But not with me?”
I didn’t say anything. It was hard to when my mind and my heart were at odds. Varian crossed his arms, his chest puffing out. “I won’t leave you to fend for yourself, no matter what you say. Even if you keep up this wall you erected between us, I won’t leave you alone.”
A long sigh escaped from my lips. I walked past him, toward the cottage, and sat on the porch steps, the mug warm in my hands. Varian followed me but halted a couple of feet away.
“I don’t know what you think of me, but let me tell you, it’s a lot worse than that.” I inhaled deeply, bracing myself to tell him all about me. “In my coven in the witch’s realm, I was considered a mediocre witch. I didn’t have any special powers, and I wasn’t as … vicious as most witches. My younger sister, Linde, was the same. We were always seen as outcasts and freaks, even within our coven.” Varian’s shoulders relaxed, but his frown deepened. “Then one witch rose through the ranks of our coven. Sanna was her name.”
Varian sucked in a sharp breath. “What?”
I nodded. “Yes. Sanna. She was ruthless, powerful, but she was ambitious. Being in our coven was not enough for her. One day, she disappeared. At first, everyone wondered if she had died, or fled, or taken over another coven … no one knew. Until a few years later when she showed up again, but this time, she didn’t try to reclaim her place in our coven. Instead, she told us about a wondrous place she had found, that she was working side by side with a powerful king, and together they were building an even better place. She asked who wanted to join her.” I looked down at my mug. “I hesitated, but Linde didn’t. She was fourteen at the time; I was fifteen. I was glad to pass unnoticed, but she had always wanted more. When she offered herself to go with Sanna, I realized that if I didn’t join her, I would probably never see my sister again, and she was the only family I had left, the only friend I had. So Linde, myself, and another dozen witches joined Sanna.”
“Let me guess,” Varian said. He took three steps toward the porch and sat down beside me. “Then you all ended up at the Spring Court.”
I nodded again. “Vasant received us with open arms and showered us with gifts. We were placed in beautiful suites, we ate the best food, we were clothed in the most beautiful gowns. And everyone seemed to be in awe of us.” I sighed. “Now, I know it wasn’t awe. It was disgust and fear.” I shook my head once and continued, “At first, it seemed like we were working for a better future. Sanna helped us improve our magic, to become more powerful witches, while Vasant made the Spring Court the best court Wyth had ever seen.” I snorted. “It didn’t take long for us to see it was all a lie. Vasant was an evil tyrant and Sanna was the mad witch behind him.”
“What happened then?” Varian asked, his frown gone. Now his golden-green eyes shone with concern. “I’m guessing you didn’t support them anymore.”
“You’re right,” I said. “Some didn’t care as long as they had power, but most of us didn’t agree with what Vasant and Sanna were up to. But when we confronted her, Sanna locked us in a dungeon below the Evergreen Castle, one designed to hold witches.” I drank the last of my tea and set the mug down beside me. “Sanna tried to intimate us until we obeyed her again, to force us to work with her, but most resisted her. Linde and me included. One day, three witches tried to escape when they were being served food. Sanna captured them and killed them right before our eyes. A lesson, she said, to anyone considering escaping again.” I smoothed a hand on the faint marks around my wrists from yesterday. These were nothing compared to all I had suffered before. “It was scary, horrible, but Linde and I didn’t give in. We wouldn’t become evil witches; we would rather die in that dungeon.”
“How did you escape?” Varian asked, his voice somber.
“I’ll get to that,” I said. “Not long after that, Sanna visited us with a small red stone she had set into a golden ring. She said it had been a gift from Vasant and she was eager to show us what she could do with it. She chose one witch, sat her down in the hallway between the cells so we all could see, and then she used the power of the stone. Sanna sucked out the witch's magic, absorbing it, until the witch was nothing but skin and bones. She died looking like a mummy.” I shuddered, still remembering the fear and horror deep in my core.
Varian placed a hand over mine, holding it gently. I didn’t fight it. “You don’t need to continue if you don’t want to.”
“I want to,” I said. I wanted to tell him, so he knew what a horrible background I came from. After inhaling deeply, I continued, “One day, Sanna brought us all to a large room where she said we had work to do. I think she wanted to see if we would crack under pressure; if by torturing us, by instilling fear in us, she could force us to join her again. There was a pentagram drawn on the floor. Once we entered the pentagram, we couldn’t leave, not without Sanna breaking the seal. Still, she had many of Vasant’s guards in the room as a precaution. Again, she chose a witch and sucked out her magic until she was dead, telling us that if we didn’t do what she wanted, she would do the same to us. That was when another witch, one who had been hiding how powerful she was, stepped up.” I looked at Varian. “Carlyn.”
His eyes widened. “You mean … the one with the ogres right now?”
I nodded. “Yes. She and I are from the same coven. Once we were recruited by Sanna, we became friends. Colleagues was more like it. We worked together. And when Sanna locked us up, Carlyn was with Linde and me. She was also afraid of Sanna’s wrath.” It all sounded like decades ago. “But that day, Carlyn had had it. She used her magic to break her chains and attack Sanna. She broke the
pentagram’s seal and a battle started.” I shook my head, hating to remember those details. “In the end, Carlyn was able to snatch a medallion from one of the guards. She opened up a portal and we crossed it.” I let out a shaking exhale. “Many witches died that day. Some still in the Spring Court, some in the new land we had crossed to. In her haste to get out of there, Carlyn had opened a portal to anywhere, and it led us here. But while the portal was open and we were crossing, Sanna and the guards were still attacking us. They snatched the medallion … and Sanna wounded my sister.” I closed my eyes for a moment. “Only five of us escaped through the portal. My sister died in my arms minutes after, and the other two died not long after. Only Carlyn and I survived. Lost in this cursed land without a medallion to leave.”
“By the scorching sun,” Varian muttered.
“After a huge argument, Carlyn upped and left. I thought she had died or was like me, hiding somewhere, trying to survive. Until I saw her working for the ogres …” That was still hard to believe. After all we had been through, after fighting Sanna and her tyranny, Carlyn had become like our old hateful mentor.
“Sorry about all you went through.” Varian squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry about your sister.”
“I buried her just beyond those trees.” I pointed toward the forest.
Varian nodded. “I’ve seen the grave.”
The grave. Where my sister was buried. My little sister who had been too tough for her age, too bright, too damn young. My sister who had been killed by Sanna and died in my arms.
It was all my fault.
I pulled my hand from Varian and stood up, putting space between us. “So now you see, I’m not a good person. You don’t want to get mixed up with me. I’ll help you get the medallion and get back home, but that’s it.” I wiped my damp hands on my dress. “Then we’re done.”
19
Varian
Her past … so many things made sense. How well she spoke the fae language. How she was so reserved and lonely, and wanted to be, as if this was her punishment for the bad things she had done.
But nothing in this was her fault. Layla had been lured by that wicked witch, promised a better life, a prosperous future. She ended up in a web of lies she couldn’t escape. She did the best she could under the circumstances. She survived, she fought … and besides being stuck in this forsaken land, she ended up losing the only person who mattered to her.
At first, when she mentioned Sanna’s name, I froze. How the hell was she involved with that wicked witch? But she had been a victim. Vasant and Sanna were pure evil.
“Sanna was the one who sent me here,” I said, suddenly convinced of one thing.
This whole thing hadn’t been a coincidence. Maybe Sanna had no idea where she was sending me, or where Layla and the other witches had escaped too, but somehow, the gods had a hand in all of this, and they had sent me here to find Layla.
To find my mate.
To bring her home with me, to give her a chance to redeem herself, even if I didn’t think she had anything to redeem herself for.
Layla’s face paled. “W-what?”
“Things escalated with Vasant,” I explained. “Did you know he wasn’t the rightful king? He killed his older brother, and all of his nieces and nephews, so he could be the king.”
Layla averted her eyes. “Yes. It was one of the reasons the witches and I regretted our decision to follow Sanna.”
“Vasant figured out his brother had another child, a half-human he had hidden in the human world,” I continued. “He went after her. There was a battle at the Evergreen Castle. My mother and I were there, along with kings and queens from the other courts. During the fight, Sanna poisoned my mother and opened a portal, sending me here.”
Layla shook her head. “Such a treacherous bitch.”
I almost chuckled at that comment. “I’m not sure exactly what happened after that, but I've had dreams of my mother and Mahaeru, back in the Sun City.”
Layla frowned. “Mahaeru. Mahaera. Mahaere. I heard a lot about them while I was at the Spring Court, but I never saw them.”
“They are … something else,” I said. There were no words to describe the goddesses. “Anyway, I see them in dreams, but I don’t think they are dreams at all. I think it’s a way for Mahaeru to show me what is happening there.” I paused, still shaken by all of this. “Apparently, Vasant fell, and the rightful heir was instated as queen. But my mother is still in bad shape. The poison is quickly spreading through her body.”
“That does sound like something Sanna would do. I’m sorry.” Layla took a step closer to me. “And what about Sanna?”
“I heard she was killed during the battle, but I don't know how.”
Layla snorted. “I find that hard to believe. Sanna wasn’t stupid. If she saw a losing battle, she would have left before she went down with it.” She glanced at the sky, the two suns illuminating her beautiful face. “No, I’m sure Sanna is still alive, hiding somewhere, biding her time.”
I frowned. I didn’t like to think that was true. I wanted that wicked witch dead and buried deep in the earth, somewhere she couldn’t crawl out of again.
But I wouldn’t argue about that with Layla. There was no need for us to worry about Sanna and her demise from here. Right now, we had to worry about stealing the medallion and getting out of here.
“What do we do now?” I asked, my voice soft.
Layla stared at me, her blue eyes brilliant and alert. “Now, we pack to leave this place because ogres will come.” I was sure of that too. In fact, I didn’t know why they hadn’t come yet. “Meanwhile, we plan how to infiltrate their keep and steal the medallion.”
There was so much more I wanted to do, so much more I wanted to say. And above all, I wanted her. I wanted to touch her, to pull her closer to me, to have her come to me and lay her head on my chest and ask for comfort, to rely on me.
But I knew it was too early for her, too quick.
As a fae, I was immortal, and I knew witches lived a lot longer than humans. Some became immortals too.
We had time.
In silence, I stood from the porch steps and went inside the cottage with her so we could pack.
20
Layla
Being around Varian muddled my thoughts. Instead of focusing and thinking about the task at hand, I kept getting distracted and thinking about him.
About us.
I didn’t like feeling that I had no choice. Being his mate was a done deal, and even if I ignored it, it wouldn’t go away. It would hover over my head for the rest of my life.
Still, I felt incredibly attracted by him … in every sense. He was handsome, hot, and he seemed to be kind and worried about his mother and his people. He had come for me when he didn’t need to. He was strong and honorable.
I shook my head and shoved another tunic inside my leather satchel. This was not the time to worry about things I couldn’t control. All I had to do for now was ignore this … the mating, my feelings, the hot fae just outside this room.
I shook my head.
After packing my satchel, I walked out of my bedroom to go to the kitchen and pack some food, but Varian was already there. He was putting bread and fruit and nuts inside a basket, along with a jug with tea.
I stared at his back for a moment, still amused that this was my mate. This man, this fae prince was my mate.
All I had to do was surrender.
But did I want to surrender? I watched him some more. He had cleaned up well since the first time I had seen him, and last night I had seen all of him—heat spread over my cheeks—and he was beautiful. Powerful. Sexy. Intoxicating.
Right now, I was wondering how long I would be able to fight this before I lost control.
Slowly, I approached him. By now, he had to have sensed my presence, but he remained quiet, packing the food for us. I opened my mouth to tell him I would help him when a growl sounded from outside.
Varian dropped the basket on the kitchen cou
nter and turned to me. “What was that?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered, though it could only be some monster from this cursed land. We were expecting the ogres, weren’t we?
Varian ran outside and stopped short on the porch. I went after him, and halted by his side, my mouth hanging open and my eyes wide, staring at the figure standing in the middle of my garden.
“There you are,” the troll said in the common tongue.
“Haijen? H-how did you find me?” I asked, confused. He shouldn’t have known where I lived. Realizing I had asked the question in fae, so used to talking to Varian by now, I asked again in his language.
“I’m here for revenge.” Haijen glanced to Varian. “A certain fae told my slave about your place. Said you two were leaving and she could come with you.” His lips curled up and he showed off his long fangs. “I caught her trying to escape.”
My heart sank. That female fae always reminded me of Linde, which was why I felt so drawn to her. Why I always felt so protective of her.
I steeled myself. “Where is she now?”
“Not dead … yet,” he replied with a snort. “But she got what she deserved. She won't make it through the night.”
I clenched my fists.
“What is he saying?” Varian whispered to me.
“Nothing good,” I whispered back. I should be mad at him for causing this, for telling the fae girl about my place, but I wasn’t. I knew he had done it because of the goodness in his heart. He never intended for the girl to be caught and beaten. I lifted my chin and said to the troll, “Leave.”
Haijen shook his big head. “Not before I kill you, Bloodwrath.” He licked his lips, running his blue tongue over his tusks. “I came for you, but I guess I’ll have a fae for dinner too.”
As if I would let him kill us. “Leave before I make you,” I warned again.
The troll let out a harsh laugh. “Make me? Little witch, you’re nothing. I know your reputation is fake. I can take you easily. I should have done that a long time ago.”
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