6. Whisked Away
6
WHISKED AWAY
A heavy, cloth sack plopped against her bare feet.
"Rations. Make it count. It’s all you get today."
Luella looked up from where she was sitting against a tree, her bloodied, torn slip barely keeping her covered from the prying eyes of the males around her.
After their earlier break, they had ridden on until dusk, where they were now settling for the night under the thick canopy of the forest. They were almost at the Medius border, and Luella grew filled with dread with every passing hour. One step closer to her death.
Death must feel better than this, though. Her arms ached from being pulled, her feet were a pounding mess of cuts, and her jaw was throbbing from the gag cutting into the skin of her mouth.
Not to mention the mental anguish that cut through her brain like tiny, little knives. Every thought hurt was a stab, and every time she blinked, memories threatened to maul her.
Hands against her thighs. Stab .
Warm breath against her neck. Stab .
Torn-apart bodies. Bones sticking out from necks. And a pale, lifeless hand on the ground. Stab, stab, stab ?—
Luella flinched away from the thoughts, focusing on her captor with tired eyes.
Tharen stood before her, a hand resting against the dagger sheathed on his thigh. He had removed his leather breastplate and only wore a thin shirt and leather breeches. His weapons remained, though. She would like to think it’s because he found her threatening, but she wouldn’t lie to herself.
It was a harrowing journey from Solis to Serpentis. They had to cross through Medius and hug the coastline before trekking through the outskirts of the villages of Serpentis, full of thieves and outlaws. Only once they were passed did they reach the castle, tucked close to the edges of the water.
Serpentis built their main kingdom close to shore so that they might better trade with other places through their merchant ships. It was a vastly built kingdom, roughly two times the size of Solis, with unique architecture and landscape. Close to the mountains on the northeastern side stood an outcropping of volcanoes and a small serpent-filled village of fire-breathers and cold-blooded shifters.
The northern tip held ruins and temples. For the shifters, it was an outdated practice to worship gods, but the evidence of centuries of past worship was seen in their larger-than-life statues devoted to the snake-like figures—gods and dragons of old.
From the books Luella had studied, she knew the main portion was a rather normal-looking kingdom, with a stone castle lined with guard towers and high walls. The city on the outskirts was a bustling hub for trade and gambling dens.
Serpentis even made a profit off of the blooming buds of the Zarys plant that grew in the valleys of the west. The street name for the hallucinogenic drug that came from the petals dried and made into a paste was Rys. It was sold rampantly in the pleasure halls, and gambling dens of Serpentis, and some even made its way through the strict borders into the fae kingdoms.
Luella had heard a few servants speak of trying Rys before, and the few stories she overheard were enough to make her stay far, far away from any drugs. No matter that her parents would have positively murdered her if they found out she sullied herself with something so ghastly and improper.
She was jolted as Tharen firmly pulled the gag from her mouth. The relief of the fabric cutting against her skin made her sigh, and his fingers lingered against her bruised, swollen lips.
"Eat," Tharen commanded. "You’ll need your strength for the journey ahead. Tomorrow, we won’t be making any other stops until dusk. I’ve received word from the King. He’s anxious to have us at the castle." He regarded me closely before adding, "Anxious to have you ."
Luella gave a shaky nod, trying not to react to the last part of his words lest she make herself ill from worry. Working her jaw with her bound hands, she quietly unwrapped the twine that held the cloth together. As the coarse material fell apart, a small pile of dried meat and nuts almost tumbled into her lap. With bound hands, she held up a thin strip of brown, leathered meat and dangled it in front of her, dubious.
"You’ll take what I give you or starve," he said.
"I didn’t even say anything," Luella mumbled under her breath, trying not to be disgusted at the feel of the leathery meat in her fingers.
Her attention caught on a raven flitting by, a quick flash of darkness as it swooped low and came to perch upon one of the low-hanging branches near her. The feathers were stark black, and her captor cut his eyes toward it as the bird let out a sharp caw.
Tharen looked back to her, raising a brow as he leaned against the tree. His hand motioned Luella to eat, all thoughts of the raven forgotten with her hunger. She placed the meat back down in the cloth, instead raising a small pine nut to her lips. The taste was rich and savory. She knew she was hungry but didn’t realize how much until the smell made her salivate as the food hit her tongue. She devoured the meager supply of nuts as quickly as she could, ravenous.
Tharen coughed, gesturing to the meat. "That, too."
"I don’t eat meat." Luella stuffed the last of the pine nuts in her mouth, a small satisfied sound escaping her at the intensive flavor.
"Funny," he commented. "Neither do the Terra. They find the whole thing sordid, I’ve heard. With how connected they are to the earth and creatures that roam it, and all that."
Luella chose to ignore his observation, wrapping the cloth around the meat and handing it back to him. He gazed down at her. With how she was sitting against the hard, packed earth and his standing position, her head was level right with his lower thighs. She had to tilt her head far back to catch his gaze.
A glint of something fiery sparked in Tharen’s normally cold eyes. He stepped forward, a hand tangling her hair. She winced as it tugged the already sore skin on her head. The gag had been none too forgiving. It seemed like he knew, for he reveled in the pain clouding her features, tugging harder.
"I’ll be leaving to scout our route ahead into Medius. I’ll be back by morning. My soldiers are set to keep watch over you. If they report one bit of trouble or any attempt to flee, I’ll leave you to the pack of wolf shifters for the remainder of our journey. They’d find much pleasure in breaking your spirit. I’m sure after a night with them, any fire within you would be snuffed out"
Luella bit her tongue against a retort. Maybe she was the pliant little thing he thought her to be. After not even a full day in captivity, she was already forcing herself silent, making herself smaller out of fear.
Tharen released her, but he surprised her this time by tucking the gag in his pocket. He whistled sharply, beckoning for someone to come over. A male she had never seen before appeared, almost as if he had stepped from the very air where he had been hiding, awaiting Tharen’s command.
A cowl was pulled over the lower part of his face, obscuring his features. A dark cloak hid the rest of him, swaths of black tangling up his arms and cascading over his shoulders to fall around his legs. The very tip of a dark leather boot peeked out from under the material of his cloak. Otherwise, he was wholly concealed. He was tall, and his broad shoulders rebelled against the confines of the cloak. He was a bit slighter than Tharen and stood a touch shorter. An enigmatic being that blended with the shadowed corners of the forest.
The hood moved as the male nodded in answer to Tharen’s nonverbal demand. The delicate chains woven throughout Tharen’s white braids clinked as he bent his head toward the mysterious figure.
Luella watched Tharen’s profile as his lips moved, too quiet for her to make out what he was saying. The cloaked figure nodded once more, and Tharen turned back to Luella, placing a firm hand on her head.
"Be good," he muttered before striding off.
She watched his broad back move as he left, gaze flitting down to his legs, watching his powerful strides. He passed a caravan, a wagon covered in a thick, off-white material, with a few soldiers standing around it. They were showcasing jewels, and one even proudly brandished a ruby-encrusted hair comb—their spoils of war. Tharen moved the cover back and disappeared into the wagon, the white fabric falling closed behind him.
She assumed he was redressing in his leather armor to get ready for the scouting exploration.
A shiver wracked through her as the mysterious male sat on the ground, notching a leg up to rest his covered arm over it. Gloved fingers tapped lightly against his knee, and Luella swallowed thickly under his obvious scrutiny.
Even though his features were entirely hidden, she could still feel the heaviness of his eyes as his attention stayed rooted on her. A shine of deep blue pierced through the shadows of his hood as he shifted his head. It was a startling shade, like great pools of deep water in the night, filled with contours of black that perfectly offset the vibrant hues of lapis lazuli.
She pulled her knees up to cover her chest, folding her bound wrists in front of her. She was acutely aware of the thinness of her nightgown, still matted in dried blood and dirt. The tear down the middle was hidden by her folded hands, but with a sharp breeze, the material risked being blown apart, revealing far more than she would ever be comfortable with, especially in this pit of males driven by their basal instincts.
It was a wonder she hadn’t already been mauled.
After a few heavy moments of silence, the male’s fingers stilled on his knee, and he rested his head back against the tree.
Luella shifted down lower, shimmying her body to get comfortable against the packed earth of the forest floor. Dirt and a few patches of moss occupied the area near the tree she was reclined against. She resigned herself to a sleepless night as she, too, mimicked the male before her and rested her head against the tree. But she knew rest would be fitful. Couldn’t imagine being vulnerable in sleep so close to someone who radiated such a quiet sense of danger.
Luella’s eyes drifted closed, the day weighing heavily on her even though she didn’t want to fall asleep. Not here. Not now.
Flashes of blood and the sound of screams echoed every time she closed her eyes. She tried to tune it out and force her mind to quiet.
And in what seemed like the space between spaces, the matter held between the very air that floated silently all around, she fell asleep.
But her eyes opened…
To the sight of that familiar study that had plagued her the very night prior. The night she had lost everything. This time, the images were slightly more in focus. Luella could even make out the exact shade of maroon paint on the walls, the gilded borders that crept all around the corners, and the titles of the books that lay closest to her. A particular book shimmered in her periphery, and Luella squinted, trying to make out the words etched on the spine.
Compendium—
Her brows furrowed. She couldn’t see the rest of the words on the worn cover. Like something was keeping her from discovering it.
Luella huffed.
She sat back in the familiar armchair, nestling into its warmth. The fire licked at her bare feet. Blood was crusted along her soles, and a few knicks and scrapes crawled up her legs. Even in a dream, she still had aches and pains, it seemed.
The scent of bergamot wafted to her, and she inhaled deeply, eyes fluttering shut.
A hand caressed her cheek, but she did not open her eyes. She was too afraid that she might scare away the ghostly force that touched her like she was something precious. Something worthy to be held. The palm was warm, and a sigh escaped her parted lips.
"What did they do to you?" The male’s voice floated all around me, soothing and soft.
Luella’s head tilted to rest against the high back of the chair, just as her head had rested uncomfortably on the rough bark of the tree before she fell into this place.
She opened her mouth to speak, but somehow, words escaped her in this dream. She opened her eyes in alarm, a finger drifting to hover over her lips.
The male let out an amused chuckle, and Luella stared at him, arrested by what she saw. Burning, dark, brown eyes, laced with tings of red. Thick perfectly groomed brows that arched over softly sensual features.
Last time, he was a mere impression of a male. Where there might have been a face had only been smudged blurs. This time, everything was in vivid focus—crystal clear and achingly realistic.
Jewels dangled from his ears, and the firelight glinted off of them. His hair was stark black, half pulled up from his nape by a silver chain, while the rest flopped over his eyes. Tattoos swirled up his neck and over the pale skin of his arms, disappearing under the rolled-up cuffs of his black shirt. Where Tharen’s tattoos were blocky and thick, this male had swirls and delicate lines etched into his skin like lace imprinted onto the surface of the finest of silks.
His appearance was strikingly regal, yet an undertone of lethality simmered. She could see it in the darkness of his eyes. In the red tinge cutting through toward his pupils.
A vampire.
Luella gasped.
She had never seen one before. Most vampires lived in Medius, where they could easily have a supply of blood from the humans. Many of them even struck deals with the humans, blood in exchange for safety. Luella had heard that vampires loved fae blood; it was a delicacy to them. The rarest of liquids that they did almost anything in their power to get their hands—or fangs—on.
"You’re okay, pet," the vampire purred.
She tried to scramble back, but his hand suddenly gripped her face tighter, pulling her closer to him. His eyes flicked down to her lips, then back up to hold her stare. His other hand traced along her collarbone, right where Tharen’s dagger had cut her. The skin was already healed—it hadn’t been more than a nick—but it was almost like he still knew she had been hurt there.
He flaked off a dried bit of blood with his fingernail. "I would never have allowed this to happen." The remark was said low like he had forgotten she was even there.
Luella arched a curious brow, and his eyes tracked the motion. He reached up with his other hand, now cupping her face completely between each of his palms.
"I’ll see you soon enough, pet."
She attempted to shrug off his hold. Her hands came to clasp his wrists, and the feel of his skin was so real to her. Ice cold, as though he had been stuck outside for hours in the freezing weather. She shivered.
Desperate to speak, her mouth opened. No sound escaped from her.
In frustration, Luella’s lip curled up in a silent snarl. The vampire chuckled at the sight, carding a cool finger down to her lips, tracing over the edges of them. His skin was so pale that she could see blue veins racing underneath. It gave him an otherwordly beauty, like he was a delicate thing made to be protected and not the creature driven by bloodlust that she knew his kind was.
A sharp stab against her thigh had her jolting away from him. Her hands were torn away from him, and his eyes grew dark with danger, the red sparking and growing deeper. Blood bloomed like a flower on the bare skin of her thigh. Her gown had risen to the junction where her thighs met her hips, and blood slipped over the delicate skin there, pooling against the leather of the chair she was sitting on.
The vampire growled, hands pressing into the wound. Fingers cupped on top of it like he might stop the life force from escaping her—or cup it in his hands to bring to his lips and drink…
He looked as bewildered as she felt. A shallow wound was cut into the skin of her upper thigh, materializing like a burning, phantom touch.
"You must wake up now." The vampire grew rigid and pressed a bloodied thumb onto the skin between her brows, and her body was catapulted backward?—
And shoved out of her dreams and back into the real world. It was disconcerting.
Luella could feel her mind tingle from where his thumb pressed into her forehead, a tether pulling her back from the escape of her mind and into the harsh reality of her body.
The feel of the chair underneath her gave way to the hard earth under her. The male before her shimmered like a prism caught in the light. And then, he was gone.
The scene in front of her melted away as she opened her eyes.
Dark green leaves branched out above her, the moon high in the sky still. It was night. Luella hadn’t been asleep for long.
A gasp died in her throat.
It wasn’t the sight of the dark forest around her that caused such fear.
No.
It was the sight of two males standing above her. Soldiers. One had slit pupils and deep, brown hair; the other was twiddling the sharp point of a dagger between his fingers, a long beard shielding his features from view. He grinned at her, lecherous. The tip of his dagger was painted in Luella’s blood.
She felt the sharp throbbing radiating from her thigh, and she winced as she shifted against the ground, dragging her body backward to press even further against the tree. Fear gripped her like a vise. She looked around, many of the soldiers were asleep or too far away from the little alcove of trees and shadows she had tucked herself into, thinking it would keep her safe and protected in the night.
But Luella was alone.
The cloaked figure who had watched her as she fell asleep was gone.
No one would be saving her, and even if the male was around, Luella wondered if he would help her. Or if he would sit back and watch and laugh.
"She’s awake," the one with the dagger uttered. His voice was a sharp whisper as he tried not to wake anyone.
"What d-do you want?" Luella fearfully stuttered. "T-Tharen will be back soon… and he won’t be pleased to see that you’ve hurt his p-prized captive." Though she tried to make her voice strong, it was pathetic and shaky with fear.
The serpent shifter knelt before her, his hand gripping her upper arm. "What the Prima doesn’t know won’t hurt him. After we’re done with you, you won’t be speaking much anyway."
Scream .
Luella scrambled back, the cut on her thigh burning as her mouth popped open to let loose a loud plea for help.
"No, no, no. I don’t think so." A hand was pressed roughly against her lips, and she struggled, desperately trying to free herself from the touch or make enough noise to draw attention.
She couldn’t go through this again. A sob was ripped from her, stifled by the hand pressed against her mouth. She had already been assaulted once, not only a day ago. She didn’t know how much more she could take. And this time, she feared her luck was all gone, and no powerful mage would be coming to rescue her.
She whimpered as the male trailed the dagger up her thigh, her head knocking back against the tree in her struggle.
The serpent shifter was still standing, slit pupils keeping watch around them.
With one final, muffled cry, Luella bit down hard on the skin of his palm, where it was pressed against her lower face. Blood exploded into her mouth, and he jerked his hand back. Luella spat harshly on the ground. A pleased smile curved her lips at the sight of his blood, but it was short-lived.
A booted foot kicked against her ribs, and Luella curled into herself with the pain, a loud yelp sounding out in the quiet of the night.
And with that sound, like a beckoning call to anyone who might be listening, the hooded figure appeared in a rustle of strange, black feathers.
A feather floated in front of her, landing on top of her blood-soaked gown, and that feather was all Luella could focus on. Even as lives were ended in front of her.
Strangled and guttural yells. So harrowing, it made her feel the urge to throw up. The sharp slap of flesh against flesh. A clatter as the iron blade of the dagger was thrown into the trees. A dull thump of many heavy…pieces…hitting the ground almost simultaneously, and it was done.
In an odd mirror of her earlier assault, she looked away from the sights of violence and didn’t move until she felt a gloved hand press against her cheek.
The male was quiet, no words passing from his hidden mouth. He merely coaxed her to sit up. His deep blue eyes tracked the blood on her thigh, and he shifted in front of her in a crouch, covering the two bodies behind him. But she could see a detached hand on the ground, a grisly face, mouth open in shock, and eyes unseeing.
He pressed a hand against his hood, eyes unfocused in thought. He didn’t move for a moment, but his strange stillness was broken as his hands came to grasp Luella suddenly, pulling her from the ground.
He led her to a covered wagon on the far reaches of the camp. The same one Tharen had disappeared into earlier.
With a hand still on her arm, he procured a large cloak from within the covers of the wagon. He pulled it tightly around her to cover her thin gown. A small mercy. Not a selfless act of kindness, but one she would feel grateful for, all the same.
Her bare feet stumbled over rocks as he led her to a gallant steed at the far ends of the camp; a thick rope tethered the animal to a tree. This horse was the same size as Miria, but the coat was a shock of white, whereas Miria had sleek black.
Strange , Luella thought. White-haired Tharen had a black horse, and this shadowed male had a pure white horse.
She gasped as he lifted her onto the saddle. A bag was already packed and tucked, attached to the side.
Had he been prepared to flee?
Her hands grasped the pommel as the beast shifted under her. She had never been on a horse before, and her thighs clenched in unease, the scratchy coat chaffing against her bare inner thighs.
Fitting a foot onto one of the stirrups, jostling her in the process, the male swiftly pulled himself onto the horse. Sitting right behind her. Her back pressed into his, and she shifted forward to get away from his imposing body, but he wordlessly encased her waist with his hands and pulled her back to nestle into him. The action stole a quiet sound of protest from her lips.
Gloved hands lifted the reins, holding them securely, his arms wrapping around her. She was entirely enveloped. This male pressed into every bit of her; his arms and shoulders hugged her side and front, and she felt his chest against her back, warming her even through the cloaks they both wore. One hand settled low on her stomach, pressing into the folds of her borrowed cloak as he snapped the reins. A sharp and efficient demand for the beast to ride.
In a gallop, they set off into the night. The wind whipped against her hair as it stung her cheeks and made her eyes water.
The pace was unyielding, and Luella had no reprieve from the wind’s frigid assault.
She had no idea where they were going, but Tharen put her in this male’s care. So she must be kept safe long enough to reach Serpentis, no doubt. After that, she had no hope of keeping her life, but until then, she would wait, praying to the gods that somehow she might find an opportunity. A way to cause an uproar and disrupt the plans of the unbending march of the treacherous and serpentine army.
Luella’s life was in their hands.