45. Trapped
45
TRAPPED
T he sun had fallen to become lower in the sky.
They had been walking for a few hours, and evening was almost upon them.
Az had told Luella evening and morning were the worst for the wraiths.
It made sense—the sun was lower in the sky, easier to play with the objects in its way, and cast elongated shadows against the forest floor.
Night was safe , he had said, but not entirely so .
You never were granted full certainty that wraiths wouldn’t be right around the corner when you were in the Silva Noctis. This was a place of darkness and light; they were mere trespassers, beholden to the whims of the sky above and the creatures below.
She wanted the night to fall. And quickly. Anything to soothe the fear that made her hands shake.
Her feet were sore, thighs aching with every step.
But they couldn’t stop.
Az rested a hand on the tree trunk nearest to him, looking back at her silently. She knew he was checking up on her. The demon had been overly attentive to her, but it made her feel inadequate.
She was… fine .
Well, not fine, but this was better than being caged.
"I’m okay." Luella’s breaths came in labored pants as she caught up to Az.
The crackle of deadened grass and fallen pine needles sounded harsh in her ears as her boots trampled over the earth.
He didn’t respond. They both knew she was nearing her end. Athletic prowess had never been her strong suit, even for all of her games of make-believe in Solis, pretending to ward off invisible foes.
But unlike the times when she pretended to battle, this time had very real consequences. She could not falter or give up. Would not allow herself to give in to exhaustion and fear.
They resumed their walking when Luella caught up to him, this time the demon going a touch slower. She was grateful but angry. She wished he wouldn’t treat her so delicately.
An inner thought whispered that Tharen or even King Vale would not treat her like this. Especially the mage, he seemed to enjoy pushing her far beyond her comfort levels.
As they walked, the sky grew dimmer and dimmer with the approaching evening. Twilight played with her eyes and elongated the shadows. It was when Az stumbled to an abrupt halt in front of her that Luella finally gave in to the fear she had been attempting to push down.
Az held up a hand, and Luella’s shoulder brushed his back as she swung her head around, searching for what had made him stop.
"Godsdammit," the demon cursed. A hand curled around her elbow as he tugged her closer to him. His grip was not gentle but harsh with urgency.
The flames of the makeshift torch flickered, blowing tendrils of orange and yellow heat to the side from a particularly harsh gust of wind. He held it out before him, swinging it around in a half-circle.
Something rustled in the leaves. And it was not the wind.
She gripped the back of his cloak so tight she feared it would tear.
"Az," Luella breathed out, voice shaky.
More rustling, little clicking noises. It sounded like… Sounded like teeth gnawing against each other. Snapping at the prospect of a good meal.
Luella nearly sobbed his name. "Az."
Az’s grip was harsh on her elbow, but he stood his ground. "Do not move," he commanded. "Not until I say."
She couldn’t see his face from how she was so closely tucked to his back, but she imagined his lids slanting as he peered into the dark. His feet shifted apart as he readied himself to flee while she folded into herself.
Rustling. Wooshing. The sound of something floating through the trees, knocking away limbs and fallen twigs.
Behind.
It was coming from behind her now.
Luella didn’t want to turn her head, didn’t want to see.
She tugged on his cloak. "The f-fire… Behind us." Her words were stammering and barely audible.
Az swung around, and the action was precise and poised with honed training. The fire on the torch arced as he held it out before him, right where Luella had heard that terrible sound of something other . Something dark.
The fire illuminated the purple-green haze of twilight. Breaking up the long shadows.
Sometimes, it was better to be in the dark.
Because in the dark, you could plead to be unknowing, pretend you didn’t see, didn’t hear. Brush off the odd noises, attribute it to the rustling of the wind.
But as the fire broke away the cloud of shadows, Luella saw all too well what made the Silva Noctis so feared.
Long, spindly limbs made entirely of shadow. Tall and towering. The edges blurred like a blotted painting.
And there was more than one.
Three wraiths floated in mid-air, nestled in the deeper crooks of shadow and hollowed spaces between the trees. They were close. So close, Luella could feel the ghastly grip of preternatural coldness against her skin. More than the chill of the harsh season.
The worst part about them was the eyes.
Glowing orbs of pure white. Two pinpricks of light in a cloud of ever-shifting dark.
They were anomalous. All three were slightly unique heights and shapes, like they were born from different shadows.
Taking on a human visage, but decidedly, not human. Uncanny. It made her deeply unsettled.
Az’s grip on her waist was harsh with his fear for her. She nearly yelped. He shoved her behind him, stabbing the lit torch in mid-air to ward them off.
The three wraiths did not come closer, nor did they back away. They were still and quiet, and in that stillness, Luella feared it was a calm that would precede their demise.
Az held her so tightly to his side she didn’t know where he ended and she began. A firm, unyielding grip on her waist kept her flush to his back. But it was dark there, too. The light of the torch could only reach so far. Could only illuminate one space at a time.
Luella melded her body to his. "Why aren’t they moving?" The words were a faint whisper; she was fearful if she spoke too loud, it would disrupt the stillness of the shadows before them.
"The fire." Az held out the torch before him, the creatures making a soft hissing noise and drifting back slightly. "They won’t come closer so long as this fire burns."
Not a very reassuring thought. The flame had been dwindling as the hours had passed. How much longer could it burn?
Az seemed to agree with her thoughts.
"You keep behind me at all times," Az implored, voice deadly.
He started walking backward, feet moving as quickly as he dared, Luella tried to keep up, stumbling back, head constantly roving as her gaze was stolen by the creatures before them—advancing as they backed away—to the quickly approaching dark of the night behind her.
Were these wraiths intelligent beings? If so, Luella feared they were dead already.
Twilight was upon them, purple filtering in through the canopy above. They just had to make it a little longer, survive a little longer, and night would be here. Night, bereft of light to make shadows, and they could breathe .
The flames of the torch sputtered in the gusts of wind. A particularly rough gust made the embers flicker like a breath blown over it. Her lungs seized in panic, Az walking back with purposeful vigor as the wraiths used the moment of the flickering flames to advance.
A shorter wraith broke off from the trio, cutting around the side and floating toward her back, tendrils of shadows mingling with the edges. The other two kept to their front but made soft hisses as the flames sparked back to life; one tiny, blessed ember kept the fire alive.
She could barely breathe. The wraith at her back shimmered in the evening light as it waited.
Az cursed under his breath. "I don’t know how much longer this flame will last."
The demon moved, herding Luella back, back, back.
But she couldn’t. Not with the wraith seemingly lying in wait.
"Az." Luella quaked. "One is behind me."
He did not relent, forcing her to step back. "Trust me," he hissed.
She turned then, facing the shadowed figure head-on, her back to Az’s as they slowly turned in a half-circle, the demon keeping the torch outstretched. The flames cast an orange glow over the heavy purple of evening.
A branch cracked under her foot, and Luella tripped.
It happened so slowly that she could see everything in vivid detail.
The world blurred as she fell to her back, her ankle twisting as the heel of her boot caught in a tangle of fallen branches. A startled yelp fell from her lips. Az rushed to her, keeping her protected by using himself as a shield. Just in time for a sharp gust of wind to completely snuff out the last lingering embers.
Heavy darkness enveloped them.
And the wraiths lunged?—
If Luella thought these creatures were not intelligent, she was proven wrong by how they moved in perfect tune with one another. All three circled Luella and Az, where he was poised over her. They were being closed in.
"Up, up!" Az barked, bending to grip her upper arm and tug her to stand.
She cried out in pain as she put her full weight on her ankle. It throbbed as she leaned into Az.
He did not speak as he pulled her, her shoulder straining with how rough he was with her. Her ankle screamed. But Luella did not utter one word of rebuttal.
It was mere survival that propelled her to ignore the throbbing pain in her ankle and the bruising grip on her arm. The hissing chill of the wraiths was around them, shadows clicking and chittering as they played with Luella and Az like predators thrilled by a hunt for food.
And that’s what they were , she realized. Food .
The shadowed creatures circled them, herding them like animals.
One of the wraiths shifted, floating softly to the side, tendrils of wispy shadows shimmering in the air as it moved. Luella didn’t know why, couldn’t figure it out.
The two at their backs were coming closer, swaying in the wind like the fronds of grass nestled near the bases of the large trees. All the while, the tallest one stayed just out of reach, unmoving as it waited.
Her feet stumbled, hot pain lancing up from her ankle with her every step as she was tugged along, almost tripping over fallen branches and sharp rocks. Az was relentless as he nearly jogged, relying heavily on his demon eyesight to lead the way, but Luella had no such blessing. Her eyes strained in the quickly approaching dark of night, and she wished it would hurry, that the light would dwindle and dispel the shadows completely.
Please.
A soft hiss echoed from the wraiths. And suddenly, all three let out cacophonous chitters. The sound was almost pleased.
Just as the faint rays of the orange-purple sun gave way to the darkness of night, the soft glow of the moon broke through the trees, and a few of the shadows dissipated—dissolving instantaneously as if a large paintbrush colored over them, forcing them away. A whisper of cold brushed over her nape.
She yelped, falling into Az while icy fingers skimmed across the back of her neck and tangled in her hair.
"No!" she screamed.
The shadowed hand tugged, and Luella battled against the pull.
Az did not let her go, even as the fingers in her hair pulled her back. Her demon continued to tug her to him. She felt nearly torn in two.
Strands of her hair ripped from her scalp, and she gave a soft cry of pain. The wraith closed a hand around her arm, chilled and faint, juxtaposed to Az’s warm realness against her other arm.
Az pulled , and Luella nearly saw stars from the bruising grip on her arm, her ankle twisting anew as her full weight was put on it, the demon wrapping two strong hands around her and tugging her into him.
Waiting by the side, the tallest wraith emitted a soft growling noise, and the icy fingers on her hair and arm dissolved like melted snow, slipping away from her tangled, golden strands and releasing her arm before she could blink.
The three wraiths floated to hover near each other, a trio of undulating shadows as the moon crested above, and the soft haze of twilight relinquished its grip to the fullness of early night.
She caught Az’s eye, warm amber melting against her skin as he forced her in front of him—always protecting her—as he walked backward to keep his sights on the wraiths, head tilted downward and horns jutting out like he wished to use them to impale the creatures. From the still-throbbing memory of the touch in her hair, Luella knew that wouldn’t work. The feel of the shadows had been faint. Like a vapor. Yet their grip had been painfully real before dissipating.
Her scalp throbbed.
Luella gripped the back of Az’s cloak, eyes on the wraiths as she stepped back.
And back.
And back?—
Her foot hovered over nothingness, and then she realized with sudden clarity why the wraiths had sounded almost happy, why they had stopped their chasing and seemed content to drift and watch and wait.
Luella tumbled back, golden hair drifting upward in the frigid wind as her body fell down.
A high scream echoed from her lips as her fingernails clawed against Az’s cloak, grappling for purchase.
Az jolted into action, spinning as he attempted to grip her arm and keep her steady, but he was too late. His hands wrapped around nothing but air as Luella tumbled down into a dark hole made in the earth.
A trap.
"Lu!"
Az hopped down into the cave, landing in a crouch with a hand notched against the ground.
The demon nearly stumbled to where Luella was lying on the hard cavern floor, faint blue orbs flickering overhead as he fell to his knees beside her.
"Fuck, fuck. Angel, are you okay?" Hands patted along her chest, her legs, her arms, her head, searching for wounds.
Luella’s lungs were breathless from the fall, her back aching from where she had landed against the ground, but she was okay. Besides the burning throb of her ankle.
She sat up, a slight groan leaving her lips. Her back twinged. "I’m… fine," she mumbled.
Affliction made Az’s brow turn down; his breaths rattled in his lungs as if he could not get enough air in his desperation to make sure she was okay.
"The truth, Lu." Az placed a gentle hand on her back to help her rise.
"Really," Luella affirmed. "I’m fine. I’ll live." She looked up to the hole above them.
It had been a short drop, but high enough, she knew neither she nor Az would be able to leave, especially not with how the rockface leading to the hole was a sharp slant upward. There were no crevices for a foothold to climb.
They were stuck.
She tried to stand, but Az stayed her movements with a palm against her shoulder.
"Don’t move yet."
He continued patting along her body, prodding against her hips and down her calves. When he touched her ankle, Luella jerked away with a sharp cry.
Az stopped, eyeing how she clenched her jaw to stop herself from making another sound. "From the fall?" His voice was deadly.
She shook her head. "When we were running from the wraiths, my boot got caught in a root."
He skimmed a hand over said boot, casting a glance up to the hole above them.
It was dark. Night had now truly fallen over the Silva Noctis. That explained why the wraiths were gone. The shadowed figures had led them here for the morning, food waiting to be feasted upon.
Luella looked to the rest of the cave they had found themselves trapped in. The cavernous space was much like the cave that had led them to the Silva Noctis but larger, deeper. More open.
The ceiling was speckled with the faint blue lights she had seen in the other cave, faint shimmers that shone down on them. The starkest difference was that it wasn’t bare of greenery like the other cave had been. Moss and vines curled up the walls deeper inside; a few trees even stood toward the back, thick roots digging into the stone ground; short blooming bushes lined the spot near the tree, orbs of strange red berries hanging from their leaves.
"What are we going to do?" Her words fell into the hollow space of the cave. A soft plea that echoed off the walls and bounced back to her ears.
Az plucked a leaf from her hair and smoothed the strands down with a soft touch. "We survive. Always."
"What about the w-wraiths?" Luella jerked her foot back with a muffled cry as Az continued to prod at it, untying the laces on her boot.
"They lured us here," he replied, not looking up as he shimmied her boot off her foot. All the while, Luella clenched her fists, nails cutting into her palm to quell any pained protests. "They’ll be back by dawn, just when the light breaks through the trees above." Az looked up; a hand braced on her calf to keep her leg steady as her boot was finally removed. "We must find a way to escape by then."
Luella wasn’t sure what a wraith would want with a magicless fae. She had no power for them to feast upon. Just the measly meat on her bones. She shuddered at the memory of their shadowed fingers against her skin.
They had to find a way out.
He gently lifted her foot and turned it, fingers skimming over her swollen ankle. From the blue, dim light of the cave, it was hard to make out certain hues—Luella couldn’t tell if there was bruising, but if the tenderness was anything to go by, there would be.
She tilted her head back, letting the faint blue paint her pale skin in a soft iridescence. Az worked as quickly as he could, hands warm as he tore a strip from his already mangled cloak and wrapped her ankle tightly to relieve pressure. Her teeth bit her bottom lip into a rosy plumpness to stifle the sounds of pain that threatened to rise.
"There," Az softly pronounced. He brushed his thumb over her clothed thigh. "It’s the best I can do for now. I’m sorry, Lu." The demon’s voice was mellow as he continued, "I couldn’t keep you safe."
Luella shifted forward, ignoring the throb of her ankle as she scooted as close as possible to Az, a small hand falling on his shoulder. As she looked up into his eyes, she tried to convey all of her feelings.
"You have kept me safe." At the solemn shake of his head, Luella firmly replied, "Yes, you have, Az. You ."
Az looked away from her. "While we were up there, I had one thought raging throughout my mind. Keep her safe . Lu, you have no idea what would happen if you…" He didn’t finish his sentence, but the unspoken word lingered between them.
Died , she knew he had wanted to say.
You would have no idea what would happen if you died.
The demon didn’t know Luella only had him to live for now. Death didn’t matter much to her. But she put herself in his position. If it had been Az almost stolen by the wraiths, Luella feared what she would have done. Their bond had been forged in the dark. Unhealthy and twisted, in a way. She might have…
No , she couldn’t.
She had to live. Not for herself but for the people of Solis. For revenge.
Luella had been too wrapped up with escape she had forgotten what had driven the desire in the first place.
Her hatred for lies and treachery—for duplicitous beings, such as the King. Plying her with finery and a room even grander than her old one at Solis, regaling her with feasts, sweeping her off of her feet with lavish dances. All while keeping her firmly under lock and key, beholden to his whims and showing her off like the war prize he pronounced her to be.
So, she must strive to live. To make them all regret ever thinking she could be shrunk down and locked away.
"Feel me," she beseeched, gathering up his calloused palm to hold against her cheek. The blue light of the cave played with the shadows—non-sentient, thankfully—and turned them both into enchanted beings coated in cerulean tones. "I’m right here, Az. Alive. All because of you."