by L. P. Dover
I was brought out of my reverie with the sound of the door being unlocked and opened. I keep my eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep when the person who walked in sits on the bed beside me. I feel the bed dip down with the person’s weight and it jostles me a little. I have a feeling it’s going to be either Warren or Avery. I was betting on the latter considering he hadn’t made an appearance yet. Whoever it is, I can feel them moving closer.
I open my eyes and move as far away from this person as possible. I do not want to be close to whoever it is, especially while on a bed and in nothing but a bathrobe. I turn to look at who it is and what do you know? It’s Avery. I do as Elvena says and remember to play along, no one can know that I had been contacted already and told of his betrayal. I feign a look of shock at first, with wide, bulging eyes and I give a gasp to accentuate it. He’s smiling at me with one part of his lip curled up in a half grin, half smirk kind of way like he always does.
“Good morning, Princess,” Avery says.
My gaze darts around the room and I pretend that I’m hopeful.
With a trembling voice I plea, “Please tell me you’re here to rescue me and then it’ll be a good morning.”
He shakes his head and sneers, “Not exactly, Princess. I plan to take you somewhere special this morning.”
I keep my face blank.
“Where exactly would that be?”
Avery replies with a sharp tone.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Princess. I know you’ve suspected things of me, so quit the little trembling act because I don’t buy it.”
My body goes tense and I know my face has turned blood red. Well, shit. There goes my cover. I dig my nails into my palms and I grind my teeth to try and keep my anger tamped down.
“Well, in that case, you can go to Hell, and I already know where we’re going so you can save all your bullshit for someone else,” I snap. I look him straight in the eyes and make mine as cold as possible.
“Why did you turn on us? What was so bad that you had to turn against your friends and your court? You had a great life, recognition and anything you could ever want. How could that not have been enough?”
Avery moves closer to me and I flinch back. I do not want him anywhere near me. He reaches up and grabs a lock of my hair turning it around and running his fingers through it. My muscles tighten and I can’t shake the bitter taste in my mouth. I have never wanted to kill someone as much as I do now.
“What is every mutiny about, Princess?” He asks.
“Power,” I answer flatly.
He winks and gives me an arrogant smile as he comments.
“You are correct, power. I have been promised a phenomenal amount of power once I hand you over to the dark sorcerer. I will not be easily defeated once I obtain this power and I will be a leader when we take over the Land of the Fae.”
I curl my lip and give him a scornful look.
“You make me sick. You’re nothing but a pansy ass prick that likes to kiss ass,” I hiss.
In a lightning fast move he grabs my face with one hand and squeezes hard. I gasp with the ferocity of his grasp, but the anger I feel is dimming out the pain. He turns my head sharply so I have to look at him straight in the face.
“I’ve told him how feisty you are and how stubborn, but you will learn obedience. The roles have switched, Princess, and it’ll be you bowing down to me. I could do whatever I want with you right now and no one will stop me, but the master wants you unharmed and in peace when I bring you to him,” Avery snaps.
I jerk my face out of his hands and lift my chin.
I reply vehemently, “I will never bow down to you. You can do whatever you want to me, but you will never get the satisfaction of me on my knees.” I meant it both literally and figuratively and he seems amused by it.
Avery laughs and says, “One thing I can say is that I have always loved your mouth.” He looks at my mouth and licks his lips. I make a disgusted noise and turn my head away from him. I think I’m going to be sick. If I had anything in my stomach it would be all over him right now. Maybe I should have eaten when I had the chance.
“I would love to have you on your knees in front of me, but unfortunately I must wait until the master is through with you,” he points out.
What the hell. There is no way any part of him is going anywhere near my mouth. I will cut that son of a bitch’s protruding parts off if he so much as wags it in my face.
“That’s nice, Avery. You claim to be all powerful and such, but you are still the lackey of someone better. You have to wait on him to be done with me before you have a shot. That’s pretty pathetic if you ask me, you might as well wipe his ass and kiss it while you’re there,” I retort sardonically.
Avery rears back and slaps me hard across the face.
“You bitch! Don’t you ever say anything like that to me again.” He quickly maneuvers himself so that he’s straddling my waist before I have a chance to move. He holds my hands by my sides. The anger I feel is overwhelming and I wish I could use my power because he would be gone in a heartbeat. I never would have considered the thought of killing someone, but being around this kind of evil makes it easy to think that way.
He leans over until he’s right up in my face and adds, “You know, you are beautiful when you’re helpless. I think I could stare at you all day like this, but we must get going. Get dressed and be ready in five minutes. We will leave then.”
He quickly gets off of me and heads out the door. Now that he is gone, I think of all the shit that is going on and how deep I am in it. I sit up on the bed and rock myself back and forth. I need to think of a way to get out of here, but I don’t know where ‘here’ is. I know I will be headed to the Black Forest soon so I must be somewhere in between. I wonder why no one has spotted us yet. I go to the bathroom and do my usual morning ritual of using the toilet, washing my face and brushing my teeth. I dread looking in the closet for something to wear, but I know I must. I can’t wear this bathrobe all day, now can I? Or can I? I pick out a blue dress and then realize that the dress is the color of Ryder’s eyes. I smile thinking about him. The only shoes in the closet are high heeled sandals. Are these people serious? I am so going to break my neck if I have to run away in these things. I let out an exasperated breath and put on a pair of the sandals.
My five minutes are just about up so I smile at myself in the mirror as I’m putting the bathrobe over the ridiculous dress. The dress shows more skin than the red dress, but I ripped the red one when I angrily tore it from my body. Let’s see what they say about this. I sit on the edge of the bed and wait for the door to be unlocked. This time when the door opens it is Warren. He takes one look at me and shakes his head.
“Very funny, Princess, but I’m afraid the master will be quite eager to see what’s underneath that bathrobe. Enjoy it for now because you won’t be wearing it much longer,” he says amused.
I scowl at him, but I keep my mouth shut. Sometimes I think it’s best to stay quiet. I keep my head high and my chin up as he takes my arm and we head out of the room. I look around the rest of the house while we walk to the front door. There is a kitchen, living room and other rooms down a hall. I guess that is where everyone else slept. The house looks pretty standard and I can honestly say I had the best room. When we walk out I am able to see our surroundings. I was blindfolded when coming in and now I’m not. I see that we are on the outskirts of the Mystical Forest and when I turn to look at the house, it’s gone. I gasp and blink twice to clear my eyes. Serious magic is at work here, it has made the invisible. A weight feels like it’s been lifted off my body and I can feel my connection to Merrick open up. I immediately try to speak to him.
“Merrick, I have to do this quick. We just left a house that disappeared before my eyes and I’m getting ready to get into a carriage that I know is surrounded by magic. We are on the outskirts of the Mystical Forest and are headed through the valley to the Black Forest. Please hurry, Merrick. I love you all, and if some
thing happens to me please know that I do not blame anyone other than myself.” I’m glad I had time to get all of that out.
I tried to keep my face blank so Warren wouldn’t know what I was doing. I don’t think he even realizes that I can speak to Merrick right now. Warren looks at me and then back to the area where the house was just a few seconds ago.
He says, “You’re not going crazy if that’s what you’re wondering. The house was there and now it’s not. It remained invisible the whole time we were in there so any chance of anyone finding us was zilch.”
“Calista! Oh thank the gods, are you OK? You’re not hurt, are you?” Merrick asks frantically.
“No, Merrick, I’m fine. I’m about to get into the carriage and then I won’t be able to communicate. Avery came to me this morning and it didn’t go over very well. He sure can be a complete dick, but he’s here now with Warren and we are on our way to the Black Forest. There’s also a troll here that’s driving the carriage.”
I can hear Merrick sigh and hesitate when he asks, “Did Avery do anything to you?”
“Nothing I can’t handle, Merrick. Please don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. My time’s up,” I add quickly.
“Stay strong, Calista. I love you.”
My chest tightens at hearing him say it and the pain in the back of my throat makes it hard to breathe. The connection broke as soon as he said those three words. In a way I’m glad I didn’t have time to comment on it, but if I would have said it back he would have taken it the wrong way. I do love him, and he knows I do, but not in that way. If I ever do get rescued, I don’t know how I’m going to handle the guys when I get back.
I step into the carriage and see that, thankfully, I am going to be by myself. Avery rides up on a horse and gives me a snarled expression as he passes the carriage. I politely give him the finger and he rides off. Warren is also on horseback and is riding behind the carriage. If they were in here with me, I would probably try to kill them with my bare hands and I don’t think I would come out unscathed after that.
The journey to the Black Forest takes about half the day and I spend most of the time impatient and restless. My knees bounce up and down, making the carriage sway back and forth the entire time. Warren rides up beside the carriage at one point and tilts his head to the side. He sees my leg bouncing and clamps his lips together. I believe my nervousness has him trying to hold in a laugh.
I have never been to the Black Forest so I have no idea what to expect. All I can say is that it definitely lives up to its name. As soon as the forest begins the light diminishes. It’s scary and depressing at the same time and I can’t imagine what it would be like to live here. The feeling of dread settles in the pit of my stomach and I find myself actually afraid. Yes, I’m strong and stubborn, but my skin has gone clammy and my pulse has started racing. The darkness of the forest feels like it is eating away my courage and replacing it with defeat.
I take a few deep breaths and whisper to myself, “I must stay strong. I must stay strong. I must stay strong.”
The farther we get into the forest the more I get the feeling of being watched. My scalp prickles and the hair standing up on the back of my neck is a good indicator as well. I sit up to look out the side window of the carriage and I notice the trees have grown darker. The trunks look rotted and the leaves and limbs look like they are spilling oil. The entire place reeks of violence and death. I can’t stand to see any more so I sit back in the carriage and close my eyes. Visions of my family and Ryder pop into my head and I let the feelings of peace consume me. I revel in it for these last few minutes I have left.
The carriage comes to a stop. My heart rate speeds up and my breathing quickens. I look from side to side and see we have entered a village of some kind. There are different types of house scattered about the area. Some are made of wood, some of clay and some of bricks. There are also houses up in the trees. Warren comes to open the carriage door and Avery is there to take my arm. As soon as I am out of the carriage, I feel my link to Merrick open back up. I keep my expression blank and look at both Avery and Warren. They’re not paying attention to me so I concentrate on Merrick.
“Calista, are you there? I can feel you,” he begins.
I need to concentrate on keeping my face neutral while I talk to Merrick. Warren and Avery look at me and all I want to do is slap the smug expressions off their faces. The troll that drove the carriage is with us, too.
There are different fae creatures everywhere. When they see me, their eyes sparkle and they bounce up and down squealing, singing, and chanting as loud as they can. I keep my expression blank and continue walking. My insides are in turmoil with the raging emotions I’m feeling. I’m furious, scared, humiliated, sad, lonely and I just want to be at home. Talking to Merrick right now is the only thing keeping me sane. I wonder how long our connection will last.
“I’m here Merrick. We made it to the Black Forest and now we’re making our way through the village. There are fae creatures everywhere and it’s like a parade right now. They’re all jumping up and down and celebrating that I’m here,” I say.
“I can’t tell you of our plans, but just know that you won’t be there long,” Merrick claims.
I breathe a silent sigh of relief and keep my head high. No matter how I feel, I can’t let them know how scared I truly am. I have to be strong for my people and my family. It looks like we’re headed to a huge tree that resembles a small redwood, but slick and black. It’s a monster of a tree and I see a door carved into it.
“How is everyone?” I ask even though I really don’t want to know how crazy everyone is going at the moment. I really want to know about Ryder, but the guilt comes back with the thought of asking Merrick about him.
“They’re all worried about you. Ryder is sitting here fuming because I’m talking to you and he’s not. His face is all red and everything. He has a dagger pointed at my chest. I love provoking him.” He laughs. “He says that if I don’t tell you that he loves you, he will rip off my balls and shove them down my throat.”
“Stop being childish, Merrick, and listen to me. We are headed to a huge tree toward the back of the village. There’s a door carved into it. It’s the only one I’ve seen in this village.” The pins and needles feeling I get when I lose my connection is coming back. I say hurriedly, “Merrick, the connection is about to fade.”
The connection drops before I finish what I was going to say. I don’t remember everything on the walk through the village, but at least talking to Merrick helped keep my mind clear. Warren and Avery both stop at the door to the tree and turn to look at me.
With a satisfied smirk, Avery, still holding onto one of my arms, guides me through the door of the tree. The space inside is hollow and there is a long staircase reaching toward the top. My hands start to sweat and my mouth goes dry. I am about to meet the most powerful person here and I have no magic to defend myself. I hope I can do this, but I’m tired from all of the travelling and from lack of food. I seriously want to kick myself in the ass for not eating because I could really use the energy right now.
My muscles scream at me and my body aches while walking up the winding staircase. It feels like tiny daggers stabbing me in the legs, and my lungs feel like I’m breathing acid. I am in perfect shape, but the events of the past couple of days have worn heavily on my body. I am also still wearing the bathrobe and I’m sweating like crazy. Avery clearly sees my distress and continues up the steps with an arrogant sneer.
“This is the dark sorcerer’s dwelling. He wants you to stay here with him where he can keep his eyes on you, among other things.”
My feelings of dread double. I have to eat, sleep and do everything under the watchful eye of the dark sorcerer and try to fight off his advances. Not to mention he’s going to be stealing my powers the entire time. It seems like there are certain places that have the strong binding magic that keeps me from connecting with Merrick and some places that don’t. I surely don’t have the capabili
ty in here. We reach the top of the steps and Avery knocks on the door. Warren has curiously remained quiet during the entire ordeal today so I can honestly say it’s perfectly clear that he’s not second in command.
I hear a voice telling me to enter and I can only assume it is the dark sorcerer, Alasdair. This is it. I take a deep shaky breath and I let it out. I will be meeting the man that wants to destroy the Land of the Fae while taking me down the dark and dangerous road of despair. My legs feel weak and the dizziness is making my head hurt and my vision blurry. We walk into the room and I see the dark sorcerer with his back to me. He’s standing in the dark, so I can’t really make out his shape because he blends into the shadows perfectly. Avery pulls my arm and makes me move to the middle of the room. He backs away and leaves me standing there alone. I have never felt more helpless in my life. I must remember to comply with whatever I am asked to do. My ring is on my third finger and I feel it trying to protect me from the evil that’s embracing me right now. I have my hands clasped behind my back and I’m gripping them so tight my hands are going tingly and numb while my pulse is thumping wildly at my wrist.
With his back still to me, he sternly says, “Take off the robe.”
My head jerks to attention. He hasn’t even looked at me so how does he know I’m wearing a robe? His voice is deep and very masculine. It sounds full of arrogance and menace, which tells me that this man is nothing but cruel and deceitful. Yet, somehow, that voice sounds familiar. I stand motionless for about ten seconds and then I slowly untie the robe and let it fall to the floor at my feet. The dark sorcerer turns and as he turns I squeeze my eyes shut. I hear his footsteps, hard and determined, making his way toward me. The closer he gets, the harder it is to breathe because of the thickness of his magic in the air. He is so close I can feel his hot breath on my neck when he whispers in my ear.