by Rebecca Grey
The howls of hunting dogs rose up to the sky. Roaring warning bells, wicked cries of what was headed our way, thundered in our ears.
I rushed to Graceson. His wing was shredded where he had been hit, thin stringy pieces of membrane holding it together by mere threads. Wincing he shrugged off his bag and cradled his wings close to his body. His wings. His proudest attribute as a fae and our fastest means of traveling.
“Take this.” He fumbled with the bag, then stilled as the backpack hung between us. His green eyes growing in recognition picking up on something my ears just didn’t catch. I cursed myself later for not being able to hear it first or hear it sooner.
“Run!” he shouted and pushed me forward, dropping a few vials in my hand. I knew instantly what he was giving me, the protection he was granting me. I shoved the small containers deep into my pockets and stumbled away from the chaos headed our way.
Fright. It was nipping at our heels.
Together, we took off sprinting through the trees, each branch bending away as I willed it to leave our path clear. I pushed at my powers, sweating despite the cold as the trees and brush behind us tangled a web to cover our path. Magic seeped from the ground, from Mother Earth herself, up through the soles of my feet. The power flickered and sparked within me making me feel stronger, faster, smarter.
But we could still hear the dogs’ snarl break through as they gained ground. Twigs and trees bent just to shatter against the forest floor. Footfalls behind the nearing growls raced with speed for us. The woods surrendered under each forceful step that got them closer to us.
Had our time limit come to an end? Had the Queen sent her troops out to make sure we had left their lands?
Graceson pushed me, his hand firm against my back. I wasn’t as fast as him or the people that chased behind us, despite the magic.
The trees slowly began to thin and we skidded to a halt as a large canyon opened up wide and hungry before us.
“There is no way I can get us across it,” Graceson cursed under his breath.
Time ticked.
Time ticked until it didn’t anymore. Until it slowed to a crawl just as we faced the forest and a wild beast that shattered branches in its wake crawled out from the trees to greet us.
The size of a horse but the face of a hungry dog. The beast’s limbs stuck out at odd angles as if each were double jointed. Brown rotting teeth jutted out from its jaw as it snarled, drool foamed and dripped to the ground. Its fur, multicolored in shades of blacks and browns, was missing in large patches. Rabid. It looked utterly rabid.
It howled, an earth shattering, skin crawling bellow. Another of its kind broke through the bushes to our left scattering more brush across the clearing.
Graceson made his way in front of me, fire growing and flaring along his fingertips. I wasn’t going to let him fight on his own so I stepped to his side. A move he didn’t seem very appreciative of.
“Now is not the time for this, Ryker,” he spoke through clenched teeth.
I ignored him, I wasn’t going to play the damsel in distress anymore. My hands clenched at my side. Vines struck down, trees groaning from the sudden burst of magic, tying up each animal’s back legs. Shreds of leaves danced like confetti in the air as each beast ripped through them before I could unleash my next attack.
From the sky a shower of arrows began to rain down on us. Each cut burning as their magic tipped arrowheads cut at me, one hitting home in my arm.
Graceson dropped to his knee. An arrow stuck out from his gut. He growled as he yanked it free. Anger flashed over his features.
In pain, we stood as the animals crawled closer to us. The forest behind them alive with the sound of fleeing animals and the marching beat of men heading our way.
Hastily, I broke the stalk off the arrow that now sat under my skin. I could feel the ancient magic numbing my powers just as they had on the original Day of Ruin. Nausea swept over my body. I wasn’t trained enough for this. They had been right. I had failed Graceson and I had failed myself.
A figure became clear in the night as the bulky shadow stalked out of the trees. A tall, snarling man, clothed in the attire of the royal guard of the Hearthern Court. Through the break of moonlight that peered out from behind the cloud we could see his highlighted features as he made his way toward us. His cruel sneer was almost joyous. Keepers flanked him as he came closer still.
“Heel,” he commanded the animals. They shrunk back, still growling, into the trees.
Where did they keep such things in the Heathern Court? I never saw such wicked animals in my five years there. Never heard a whisper of their twisted hides working under Ganglin.
Each keeper freed their swords, the metal screeching their announcement as they were pulled from their sheathes, advancing on us around the tamer. I stepped back on instinct, rocks and ice broke and tumbled down the canyon behind me. Each echo a reminder of the death waiting behind us.
Graceson wasted no time, thrusting out a line of fire at the men. Each flame licking and dying as it rose around an invisible shield. With both arms in front of him, he pushed his flames harder until sweat beaded against his forehead, and he grunted as the fire beat at their shield with no avail.
We couldn’t sit like this forever. Graceson wouldn’t last long enough to get us free. I knew that. He knew that.
At last, Graceson exhausted, the men shot at us. Snatching us up in their grasp, their swords happily poised against our necks. The keeper behind me, held me firm against his body. The sickness of the sudden magic that drained away the last of my powers made me feel weak. Just what the tamer wanted to see. He walked forward now grinning ear to ear.
“We’ve been looking for you.” His eyes ran over my body slowing as they caught sight of my chest and hips. The meals and workouts had done me good while I had trained. My body had gained some curves and my chest had filled out again. But at this moment I wished that had never happened.
He stepped up to me. Running his nose along my jaw. I turned away but that gave him access to my neck. His tongue traced down where Daethian had once graced his lips. His breath quickened in my ear as he nipped at my lobe.
I tried to yank myself free. My limbs thrashed within the keeper’s grasp as I squirmed away from the tamer’s touch.
“Nymph whore, did you already move on from your other friend? Did you tire of nymph company and seek out that of the fae?" he hissed into my neck.
“Get away from her,” Graceson said, an actual growl bubbling from his lips.
The tamer narrowed his already sharp features and snapped his head up toward Graceson. He brought his hand up and grabbed me by my hair, ripping me from the keeper’s grip. “Let’s rough him up a bit. I’m sure this feisty one here would love to see her boyfriend lose a wing.”
The keepers turned to Graceson but I only heard their scuffle as the tamer grabbed my cheeks and turned my face toward him. “Doesn’t seem like Windre has kept his promise after all. Or are you just too hard to break? Will it break you when you lose your boy toy?”
This man hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. He threw slurs at me and threatened Graceson against me like we were lovers. We weren’t and Graceson was fae. Sometimes I still hated the fae. Part of me wanted to not care what they did to Graceson, because fae deserved whatever they got. The larger part of me, though, knew he was good and didn't deserve this.
Graceson cried out behind me, striking my every nerve. Clearing my throat, I refused to show regret as I sent a wad of spit flying into the tamer’s face. He laughed. The man reared back and cackled up at the dark sky, not bothering to wipe my spit from his face. For a split second he reminded me of Ganglin.
“If he means nothing to you then perhaps you will finally break when you see what I do to that sister of yours.”
I tugged at any power I might have left, wanting and wishing with all my might, that I could lash out. My magic didn’t respond. Nature didn’t assist my cause. I found my powers numb and lost to the ma
gic tipped arrows.
“Now watch this.” He forced my face toward Graceson just in time for me to catch the look on his face as he screamed without sound, a sword running down the length of his wing.
No one was coming to our aid. We were alone. A sob escaped my lips as I watched pain filter over Graceson’s face, as I felt the tamer take hold of me and press his evident arousal from the pain against my back side.
Fear gripped me with thrashing heartbeats and tense, taut muscles. I hated being scared. Scared as the man pressed against me, chuckling with ease. Scared as I watched helplessly as Graceson fought against the guards and the pain but ultimately lost, his eyes closing and his body falling limp.
Pitiful screams escaped my mouth, the sound of worry that my friend might not make it a moment longer, that he might be dead even now.
“Mmm, be careful, you nymph bitch. Maybe I’ll be using that nasty mouth of yours later,” the tamer whispered in my ear.
Grabbing my elbow he pulled me and began to drag me along the trail of bright crimson blood that followed Graceson’s slack body.
I stumbled behind, barely able to keep my feet under me as we went. I couldn’t even feel the trees as their limbs smacked against me. The world was quiet. My ears rang in the absence of my senses.
Pushing me into the clearing of a dirty road, my eyes rolled over a small group of keepers milling about a wagon. The back of it was a metal box with only one window barred closed. I assumed that was where they meant to keep me.
The keepers snickered as he dragged me along. The door to the back of the wagon creaked open revealing the dark metal seat waiting for us. Graceson’s body hit the floor first, rattling the vehicle. He was laid on his side, his face bloodied and swollen. Blood pooled at his back. Where his beautiful wings once were, now shreds remained against his shoulder blades.
The tamer turned me over, looking at me with a grin. Bringing his mouth around my neck he bit down hard enough to break skin. His tongue running circles around the small open wound before he pushed me into the dark space.
I shuddered and sat there in the dark. Graceson lay unconscious next to me his breathing shallow. But he was alive. Thank the Mother he was alive. The wagon started up and they urged the horses to go on into the night, the howling hounds no longer near enough to hear.
Curling into my lap, I wept. Wept for what the Heathern Court had taken from us, for what they could take from me, and for my broken promise to Daethian that I could take care of myself.
When my tears finally dried leaving the skin on my cheeks damp and tight, I remembered the vials. They felt heavy in my pocket, even more weighted in my stomach as I drank them each down. The sweet nectar of the cure that would break the magic that hid my powers from me left behind an even sweeter aftertaste.
Honey was the taste of my prayers to the Mother as I spoke over Graceson and myself that the vials would combat the magic of Ganglin in time. The ride was long and each bump tousled us, only making me more aware of Graceson and his quieter, less steady breaths. I reached out and held his hand. Probably more for my own comfort than his, he probably had no clue I was there, and at least he wasn’t in pain if he was out cold.
Light of dawn cracked in through the back of the cage we now slept in. The warning sound of the ungreased handle stirred me. I cracked my eyes to see keepers. My blood heated under my skin but I still cowered away from their touch. Hands hooked around one arm and one leg as they reached for whatever they could get. I slid through blood and fell into a heap outside the wagon.
Dirt parted in long lines where my feet dragged against the ground. The wagon door remained open but no one dared to touch Graceson. I worried for him but I couldn’t bring myself to worry for him more than I worried for myself.
TWENTY-THREE
Milo
I was ready for the day. Ready to face whatever Red, the kitchen, and training had in store for me. Last night I prepared myself. Gave myself a pep talk that could have won some sort of award for motivational speaking if I gave it to a crowd.
My door clicked behind me as I turned to head down the hall to start my day with the nymph. Interesting creatures I’ve found. Much like us, maybe too much like us. That had to be why the fae here felt so threatened by them as Red had said. I often found that my thoughts would turn towards these creatures and the oddities of this world.
Red being one of those oddities. I was intrigued by her, but that mouth of hers... Oh that mouth of hers. It made me want to slap that smart aleck grin off her face.
My fingers brushed over the chapped skin of my lips thinking back to our kiss. It sickened me. She wasn’t Eydis. She wasn’t the woman I thought I would spend my life with, but somehow we fit together so perfectly. Weren’t first kisses supposed to be awkward?
Dreets above. There was no way I would let myself have feelings for Red. No way I thought I even really could. Physical attraction was one thing, however mentally, we were nowhere similar enough. Not even close.
“Ah, just who I was looking for.” The smooth voice stopped my train of thought, slowing my trained steps not far from where I had left my room.
Princess Maggie. A persistent little tart.
“How lovely to see you, my princess.” I didn’t bother to smile only to bow slightly at the waist.
Maggie smiled, really she beamed up at me since she was a few inches shorter than me. Those royal, steel colored eyes looked soft and kind. Much different than the version of the princess I met out on the training field. Her hair was mostly down too, only half way pulled up to keep it out of her face.
I let my arms drift down to my sides, though I wanted to cross them over my chest defensively. Maggie shuffled, placing her hands in the pockets of her brown leather dress.
“We may have gotten off on the wrong foot the other day. I had a very trying day, and my attitude may have gotten the best of me.” She paused, perhaps wanting an answer when all I did was nod. “So, Milo, you have my sincerest apologies.”
“No, apologies are necessary. You were right, I should constantly be working to improve.” I tried not to press my lips together, keeping myself natural, calm. The princess shrugged in response, a small smile still teasing her lips. I gave her a wave as to dismiss myself and be on my way before I was late to the kitchens. Would Marcus tax me more if I was tardy?
A few steps past Maggie and she roughly cleared her throat. “Milo.”
Abruptly, I halted. I turned to give her my attention once again.
“I think we should be friends.”
“Friends?” I hummed. “Why would a princess want to be friends with a lowly guard like me?” Better question, why would I want to be friends with a privileged brat like her?
Maggie bounced on the tip of her toes. “I’ve found that at times it is best to have friends of all sorts of stations. Do you not wish to be friends with me?”
Ha. Ha. Ha. She had me there. Who would choose not to be friends with the princess? Not me, a humble, law abiding, guard.
“Your Majesty, if it’s a friend you need then it’s a friend I will be.” Dreets, it is so hard to keep sarcasm out of my voice at times. I wanted to lace my words with the bitterness that was in my heart but I wasn’t about to offend her. No, that would only compromise my mission even more. Throw my queen into some sort of fit the next time I reported to her if she found out I had made enemies with the princess.
“Most people are so eager to be close to me. Yet you seem almost reluctant.” Her light brown eyebrows rose making her nose seem more pointed.
“Trust me, I am more than thrilled to become friends with someone as pleasant as you. Please excuse me as I am not quite as cheerful of a person as you. But if you need solemn logical advice, I’m that man.”
“Yes, I hope that you ar–”
The last of her sentence was drowned out by Collin’s heavy footfalls from down the hall and his echoing shout, “Milo!”
Collin stopped just short of the princess. “My apologies, I hope
I was not interrupting you, Princess.” He dipped forward in respect.
“No, no, if you need my dear friend Milo, please, let us know.” The princess grinned between us.
Collin swallowed hard before he continued, “Milo, the king has asked for your presence.”
“Me?” I stammered. “Whatever for?”
“I haven’t a clue, only that it is urgent enough that I had to hunt you down. You were supposed to be in the kitchens five minutes ago.”
“Yes, that would be my fault.” Maggie waved.
“Would you please excuse me then?” I ventured.
Maggie gave an apologetic smile. “Excused. My father is not one you would want to keep waiting. Good luck and best wishes.”
Good luck and best wishes. Great. Coming from her that couldn’t mean anything good was coming my way.
Silently, I followed Collin through the halls of the castle to His Majesty's throne room. Entertaining thoughts that only made the ball of anxiety that was growing in my stomach tighten with each step. This could be about Red. About that kiss that Marcus caught.
No, other guards had done the same thing according to her and it seemed like it wasn’t a big issue at all. It could be about whatever Red was doing before I got there. About the people she was speaking to. About the secrecy and the fact that she was out of her bed at such an odd hour. An hour that was against the rules the nymph followed. Maybe the king's favored chef wasn’t good enough to keep her out of trouble or worse yet, alive.
But, I hadn’t any idea what her being out of bed was about. I didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to be responsible for another life in that way. I was here in this court for a reason. I was following the commands of my queen without really following her commands. If I could avoid finding her missing token then maybe I could find a way to save my home.