6
Scales
The sprites began chattering when the landscape changed. “We’re almost there,” Orla said as she flew in circles around Serina’s head. “A full day, maybe less.”
“Two weeks, just like we said!” Innocence smiled as the sun broke free of some clouds and cast its rays upon her delicate wings.
Nerida flew circles around Lief’s head, and he swatted at her because her wings kept tickling his face. He hated being tickled in any fashion. “If we find her today,” Nerida said, “she’ll be in a small cave near a waterfall. See the rocky landscape? It will get more dramatic as we go.”
“Will we pass by the sea?” Serina asked with hope in her voice. She had always wanted to visit the sea. In Lisadar it was forbidden for water fairies to visit the sea until they had a specific amount of training. Apparently, the temptation to control such a large body of water had created problems in the past. Or, Serina guessed, it was simply too easy for a fairy to enter the human realm with so much water at her disposal.
“We did not pass by the sea, although it should be only a few days’ journey from here,” Nerida said with a sigh. “I have visited it many times, and miss it dearly when I have to leave.”
They continued on. Lief kept squeezing Serina’s hand as he read her increasingly anxious thoughts.
She will understand why you have sought her out, he said.
No she won’t. She’ll think I’ve come to destroy her child, just like she thought Mother was trying to do. She’ll probably try to kill me.
I will not let her kill you. We can leave her to Verath. We don’t have to—
This isn’t about you.
He quieted his thoughts and looked away.
Lief, I’m sorry.
The sooner we find her the better.
He was right about that. As they walked, she studied the changing landscape. They had come from rolling hills and dense forests to more rocky and sandy terrain. The shrubs were shaggy and hardier, their thick branches starting to peel like snakes shedding their skin. The air was windy and felt thick with moisture. Every now and then Serina caught sight of cliffs in the distance. When Lief stopped for the night, Serina sat down and ripped off her boots and stockings. Her feet were burning and now she saw why. Blisters had formed and broken, leaving a crusty film on her skin. The raw flesh from the blisters was starting to bleed.
“Oh, you poor thing!” Innocence flew down to Serina’s feet to inspect the wounds. “Let us fetch you some herbs to help,” she said softly, and sped away with the others.
Lief dropped his firewood and knelt next to her. “I felt your pain earlier, but didn’t think it was this bad,” he said as he brushed a finger across her ankle. “It’s a good thing we will find your sister soon.” At least I hope we will..
“Yes, it is,” she answered, turning hot from his touch. She winced at the shakiness in her voice, and before she knew what was happening, Lief leaned over to gently brush kisses across the tops of her feet.
“The sprites will gather something to help and your body will heal quickly on its own, anyway. In the meantime, I’ll make us some food and get a fire going. You rest.”
That night they camped just within the border of a small forest. The trees were scraggly and the underbrush sparse. Lief held her as she looked up at the stars again. Sleep eluded her, but it was for different reasons than before. Something was out in the darkness. It was a breath here and there, deep as if from a large animal. She was certain her powers combined with Lief’s would be more than enough to protect them from any animal, but she was still frightened. Slowly, she began gathering water from the air in case she needed to use it. If she gathered enough, she would be able to throw it hard at an attacker’s face, and she could quickly make it boiling hot. There were a number of unpleasant things she imagined doing, but she didn’t want to wake Lief if there was no threat, which was entirely possible. Still, there was the breath again. And again. Now there was the sound of crunching grass. A rustle of fabric.
I hear it too, Lief’s thought stabbed through her mind.
What is it?
A horse and a rider. Do not worry. You can release the water. Stay in the shadows.
Lief let go of her and stood. He stepped into the firelight and squared his shoulders as a large, black horse slipped from the shadows. On its back sat a hooded man with a bow and arrow aimed at Lief’s head. Serina had never seen such a weapon before, but Lief’s knowledge of their use filled her mind. Holding her breath, she scrambled to her feet and backed farther into the shadows. She noticed the sprites had disappeared already. They always seemed prepared to evade human eyes.
“What do you want?” Lief asked. There was no fear in his voice or his thoughts, although he found strong resistance as he tried to penetrate the man’s mind. He couldn’t get in. Confused, he stopped trying and kept his arms at his sides. He planned to raise them and hurl fire at the rider at the first sign of aggression.
“I might ask you the same thing,” the man said in a voice rich with confidence as he carefully studied Lief’s face and clothing. Perhaps it was the weapon he aimed at Lief that gave him his confidence, but Serina knew better. In the firelight she saw furs in the man’s apparel, and several thick leather bags lined with fur were strapped to the horse’s saddle. So close to finding Aeline, she guessed he might be a lord or knight from the castle. That kind of position would give a man such smooth confidence.
“We are travelers,” Lief said, unintimidated. “I don’t appreciate an arrow aimed at my head. We are unarmed.”
The bow lowered. “My apologies, but I saw your fire from the road. Are you aware these are royal grounds? You have no permission to camp or hunt here. Travelers stay in the outlying villages.”
“We are not hunters.”
The rider leaned forward, his saddle creaking. Serina made out his knotted eyebrows and a thick, short beard. It was the color of pitch against his white skin. “Then what are you doing here?”
“Looking for someone, that is all. My wife wishes to find her sister.”
Wife? Serina tried to keep the smile from crossing her lips, but failed. She supposed bonding was the equivalent of human marriage.
“It doesn’t matter. You are not allowed to travel or stay on royal grounds.”
“We will move first thing in the morning, then. Now, if you’ll leave us be.” Lief folded his arms.
Clearing his throat, the rider put away his bow and arrow and dismounted from his horse. As he moved, his cloak was swept aside long enough for Serina to spot a sword on his hip. She silently pointed this out to Lief, but he only told her once again to stay in the shadows.
The man kept hold of his horse’s reins and stepped close to Lief, who seemed very small and thin in comparison. Serina worried for a moment that his ears might give him away, but his messy hair covered them.
“I didn’t say you could stay until morning,” the man said with a sneer. “You need to move at once.”
Lief considered fighting the man, but decided it would get them nowhere. His head filled with ugly images of the man’s burned flesh, but he quickly dismissed them as Serina winced. Lief knew such violence would scar her forever. Besides, Aeline was obviously on royal grounds, so Lief wasn’t sure what to do if humans kept getting in their way.
Then Lief saw it as soon as Serina did—a glint of gold beneath the man’s hood as he shifted his cloak. A crown. Was he the king? Serina immediately started looking around for other riders. A king did not usually travel alone, especially at night. But if he was the king, he was Aeline’s husband.
Lief decided the best course of action and fell to his knees. It was the proper human response. “Your Majesty, I’m sorry I did not recognize you.”
“You should be, but you’re forgiven. You may rise.”
Lief stood and faced the man almost nose-to-nose. It was when the king lowered his hood to show a thin, simple crown on his head that Serina heard other riders approaching. At
least five or six of them.
“As you can see, traveler,” the king said with a wave of his hand, “I cannot allow you to stay on these lands. If you need an escort to the road, myself and my guards will happily provide it.”
The riders loomed in the shadows, and Lief decided he and Serina must comply if they didn’t want to start something that would end in bloodshed. Besides, it would do no good to harm Aeline’s husband.
Maybe we should ask him to take us to Aeline, Serina said to Lief as she wrung her hands.
We have no idea where that might lead. He may not know where she is. Or he may know someone is looking for her to harm her.
Serina almost stepped from the shadows, but stopped herself. I’m not going to harm her!
They do not know that. Calm yourself, Serina.
She took a deep breath and tried to clear her angry thoughts. Lief’s thoughts were impressively peaceful. But this was not going to end well. The king seemed to be losing his patience with Lief’s silence.
“Traveler,” he said through gritted teeth, “gather your belongings this instant. Where is this wife of yours?”
Serina couldn’t stand it a moment longer. She stepped from the shadows and tried not to think about her appearance. Her hair was a ratted mess and her clothes were filthy, but the moment the king saw her, his jaw dropped. He seemed to struggle finding his words as Lief mentally scolded her for showing herself. Her mind filled with his thoughts as she inched close enough to feel his warmth. If Aeline had told the king about her, he would recognize her. Her red hair, her brilliantly blue eyes, and, as she already knew, her skin was even more luminous than Lief’s. Could the king see these things very well in the firelight? Apparently, he could. His eyes were as wide and round as a full moon.
“B-both of you,” he said, still finding his composure, “are coming with me.”
I told you not to show yourself! Lief yelled inside her head, yet took no action as the king unsheathed his sword and his guards dismounted from their horses. From Lief’s viewpoint, it was better to comply than fight. He didn’t know what would happen, but because the king seemed to understand what they were, any outcome would most likely include Aeline.
Serina whimpered at the sight of the king’s sword pointed at her and Lief. She knew humans could not easily kill her, but that wouldn’t stop her from experiencing pain from their weapons. What frightened her most was Lief’s sudden withering confidence in his ability to protect her. There were five guards and the king. Lief wasn’t sure his powers could effectively fight them off before they overtook him, even if he tried. He had never fought anyone in his life.
As the guards approached, he was able to penetrate some of their minds. Their thoughts were not especially violent outside of binding him and Serina, but one guard wanted to touch Serina’s skin to see how it might feel. It looked like the queen’s skin, and as everyone knew, the queen was different. She was unearthly. Untouchable. Even her maids had whispered that they were allowed only to touch her clothing. She brushed and styled her own hair, and even bathed herself. Strange, but alluring, the guard thought. Just like this porcelain-skinned beauty they would take prisoner. He wondered what the king planned to do with her. He had made the last one like this his queen....
Lief realized the guard’s thoughts were playing through Serina’s mind, and quickly left the man’s head. Her confidence completely gone, Serina trembled as the guards entered the firelight. Most of them had their swords unsheathed. The king put his away and pulled his hood back over his head.
“Do not attempt to fight or use magic of any kind,” he said with a sneer. “You will face the one you have been searching for soon enough—and you will not dare stand against her.”
They traveled through the night along a winding road through the woods, using the moon as their only source of light. The guards seemed familiar with the area. Eventually, as the sun began to rise, they cleared the forest and Serina caught sight of three little birds following them as discreetly as they could. She smiled. At least the little creatures were keeping up. If the traveling party would only stop to sleep, she guessed the sprites would be able to free her and Lief, but Lief told her to stop wishing and be patient. They would see Aeline soon enough.
At one point, she thought she smelled the sea. Perhaps it was her mind playing tricks on her. Lief said he smelled it too. He imagined what the waves might look like on such a large body of water. He imagined diving into it with Serina, salt thick on their skin when they swam back to shore to dry in the sun. It was a lovely image, but it failed to put Serina at ease as she sat in front of a guard on his horse—the same guard who had wanted to touch her skin when he first saw her. He was also the guard who had bound her wrists together with rope. That rope was now cutting into her skin, making her bleed. The guard, whose thoughts she could hear echoing in her own mind now that she was so close to him, looked at the blood and wished he hadn’t bound her so tightly.
“I will loosen the rope when we stop,” he said in her ear as she looked straight ahead. “But not too loose. The king doesn’t want you escaping.” He touched her hair and she cringed. “You are far too valuable.”
“And why is that?” she asked, already knowing how he would answer. He didn’t know the king’s plans. He wasn’t even aware of the existence of fairies. He had seen her pointed ears earlier and thought only that they were beautifully odd. All he knew was that he was lucky to have her on his horse, her body pressed close to his. He liked the way she felt delicate and pure against him. It made him feel powerful.
“You are like the queen,” he said with a tinge of longing in his voice. “Everyone knows she is in some sort of trouble—has us all looking for those of her kind with the fair skin and oddly pointed ears. Such exquisite creatures you are. I would venture to say you are magical, but I have yet to see proof of such a thing.”
Which is why you must not do anything to show him he is wrong, Lief said in her mind. They are taking us to Aeline. All will be well.
“We’ve traveled from a land far away,” she said, and softly cleared her throat. “That is all.”
Inching his arm around her waist, he pressed her closer to him as the horse maneuvered some rocky terrain. “It must be the land to the north where they keep growers and healers. They have visited here sometimes. I believe in magic, dear creature. I have heard stories about it, but I have yet to see it with my own eyes.”
She tried not to think about his closeness to her. He smelled like wet leaves and smoke. His breath was damp on her face every time he leaned down to speak in her ear. A part of her wanted to gather water into a funnel and hurl it against him so hard it knocked him off the horse. Then she would gallop away and find Aeline on her own.
Lief laughed quietly in her head. I hope you’re not serious.
No, but I am worried about what is going to happen. I never expected to be taken prisoner.
I will not let any of them harm you, I promise.
I know.
They traveled through forests and more rocky terrain, the sun hidden behind a thick veil of clouds that had rolled in earlier. Serina worried about what she might do if it rained. The temptation to use so much water to free herself from her captors would be too great. So far, however, she did not sense enough moisture in the clouds for them to spill rain.
They are getting tired, Lief said. My guard’s thoughts have led me to believe we are almost to Aeline. Her hiding place is near a body of water—a pond, I believe. She takes shelter in a mossy cave and the king brings her food when he can.
Serina looked up at the clouds. Why is she in hiding? Who, exactly, does she believe is coming after her?
You, I suppose. Or Verath, or other male elders. It is not clear in the guards’ minds, and I still cannot penetrate the king’s mind.
Serina allowed herself to lean against the guard. She was exhausted. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her. She didn’t care. Everything would be over soon.
By the time the
y stopped to sleep, Serina was already dozing against the guard. He lifted her off the horse and laid her gently on a leather bedroll. Her eyes cracked open, but only briefly. The light was dim. There was the smell of something sweet and musky, like soil after a rainstorm. Rain. She longed for it on her face. She wanted to gather moisture around her like a blanket. She wanted to curl against Lief and kiss him until she forgot she was Serina and he was Lief. They would become something else, an element of the earth.
There was warmth nearby. A fire. Then that rich, dark smell she recognized as roasting animal flesh, the same as in the village. It smelled delicious now that her stomach was completely empty. She groaned and turned on her side. She didn’t want to eat an animal. Where was Lief? She couldn’t feel his presence in her mind. The world seemed to tip forward. She sat up with a gasp, clutching her chest.
“Whoa!” Two strong hands gripped her wrists and pulled her forward. It was the guard. She didn’t even know his name. She looked at the leather strings used to lace up his doublet, and realized her wrists were still tied, but only loosely. Someone had put something cool and wet on the wounds.
“I-I... where is Lief?” she asked, looking into the guard’s face. In the dim light, she saw his jaw covered with coarse hair the color of charcoal. She saw his lips chapped from wind and sun, his eyes filled with desire for her. Then she saw his thoughts. Aeline was near. Lief was with the king, but it was unclear why. Was it to see Aeline?
“Your husband will be back soon. Are you hungry?”
“H-hungry?” She put a hand to her forehead and looked around. They were in a clearing. A large fire blazed in the middle of the camp, surrounded by the other guards, who had removed their riding gear. Everything began to swirl. Riding all night and day on a horse had made her dizzy and weak. She wasn’t sure she could gather water if she tried. “Yes,” she whispered. “Please, I am thirsty as well.”
Bonded: Three Fairy Tales, One Bond Page 36