Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
D awn broke over the horizon and peeked through the window of the cottage, and I stirred, finding a warm hand flung over me. I stilled, and the memories of the night before rushed back to me.
I blushed and looked around.
We were still lying on the floor, clothes scattered all around us.
I didn’t see the bodies of the assassins, but there were still pools of blood and wide bloody tracks leading to the door where they had been dragged. I wondered when Ruhan had moved them out - I hadn’t even felt him get up.
“Mmmm.” The Fae in question, my soulmate, squeezed his arm tighter around me, and I snuggled into the embrace. I didn’t ever want to get up.
“Finally, you’re awake!”
The discordant sound of Fiach’s irritable voice disrupted our post-coital bliss, and I reached for the first thing my hands could grab and threw it in his direction.
He dodged the belt with irritating ease, and I started searching for something else to throw.
Ruhan snickered and grabbed the shoe from my hand. “Thank you for defending my honor, but I’m going to need that. It’s almost time to leave for the castle.”
Oh, verdak ! I’d forgotten. “Are you sure you’re okay enough to go?” The thought of him being harmed was incomprehensible.
Ruhan pulled me close and kissed me soundly, ignoring my morning breath. He wrapped his hand around my neck, and I melted into him. “You healed me. I’m fine, beloved.”
He danced out of my embrace with a laugh, his natural Fae grace on display. With a huff, I joined him in getting ready, and the scale of our endeavor began to sink in with startling finality.
I had finally found my soulmate, and we were going to kill a King. Together.
We were going to change the face of Verlen.
Either that or die trying.
I sent a prayer to Lady Lada that it wasn’t the latter.
Just as we finished getting dressed, a booming knock filled the cottage. Ruahn and I shared a look as he grabbed his Morgenstern and ghosted towards the door. I nodded to him, indicating I was ready, and I reached for my magic.
He swung the door open.
“Matteo!”
The men embraced with a manly pounding on each other's back, and I relaxed.
“Are you ready- whoa! What happened here?” He questioned, eyes round as he took in the bloody sight.
“The King’s assassins.” Ruhan’s voice was terse. “I need to warn the rest of the council and make sure they have enough protections to last us until we return.”
“If we return.” Matteo smirked, black humor coating his remark.
Ruhan smirked back, then grabbed me in an all consuming kiss that he cut off far too soon. “I’ll be right back,” he promised.
Watching him walk away was all kinds of yummy.
Matteo caught my ogling with a raised eyebrow, and I blushed. “Don’t start, “ I warned, and Matteo held up his hands in surrender as I pushed past him out the door.
“I was just going to say it’s about time,” he said unrepentantly.
I rolled my eyes and tried to hide my pleased flush as we joined Arend. There were only five of us going as the Fae council had wanted to keep the party as small as possible. There was just Matteo, Arend, Aldric, Ruhan, and myself.
As we waited for Ruhan to join us, I turned to Matteo, a question I had been dying to ask since I first met him on my lips.
“How are you able to portal?”
Matteo grinned at the question. “That’s been bothering you for a while, hasn’t it?”
I rolled my eyes into a glare, and he laughed at my expression. “Arend and I are each other’s polar opposites. It’s very rare for Fae to actually find their polar opposite, but when they do, it’s an honor, as our magics are able to blend to create powerful magic. Lada bestows a special gift on polar opposites. For us, it was portal magic.”
I stared at him, open mouthed. “So portal magic isn’t a typical Fae magic”
He rubbed the back of his neck contemplatively. “Yes and no. The Fae council can do it, but it requires each member to join their magics together to do so. Arend and I are able to do it on our own, though, and that’s not typical.” He shrugged depricatively.
“That - that’s actually really impressive.”
Arend walked over in time to catch the tail end of our conversation and stood beside Matteo, arms folded across his chest. I looked at the grumpy Fae with new eyes.
“Is Matteo bragging again?”
“Hey!” Matteo feigned offense, hand over his heart.
“What are we waiting for? Matteo, Arend, let’s get that portal going!” Ruhan teased as he walked up, Aldric behind him.
As the two Fae’s joined hands began to glow, I watched them closely. There was so much to understand about the inner workings of magic, and I couldn’t wait to learn it all.
~*~
I looked over the marketplace, hand in hand with Ruhan, and marveled at the lack of change. It was exactly as I remembered, from the hawkers shouting their wares, to the gaily colored banners fluttering in the wind, to the stoic soldiers standing at the edges. I ducked my head, suddenly swarmed by doubt at the sight of the soldiers. Double the normal number of soldiers.
How could just five of us hope to change an entire kingdom?
As if sensing my distress, Ruhan squeezed my hand. I shook off the thought and focused on the plan.
“You good?” His eyes searched mine and I reassured him with a nod. He nodded. “Just stick to the plan and you’ll be fine. I’m right behind you.”
I kissed his cheek and ducked into the market.
The plan was simple. I would buy a few items from the vendors, then open the servant’s door to the castle. One by one I would sneak Ruhan, Matteo, and Arend into the passageway with me, leaving Aldric outside in case we needed a distraction. Or a rescue.
I shook my head at the thought, refusing to let it take root in my mind.
No, we would be successful. I couldn’t allow anything less.
“Aye, can you believe it? All those poor children!”
The words caught my attention, and I stopped near the stall to hear more.
“Does she really eat them?”
My gorge rose into my throat, and I swallowed hard to keep it down. What in Perun’s name was going on?
“Aye, that’s what folk be sayin’. She lives alone, deep in the Dark Woods and tempts children into her house made of gingerbread, they say. Once they go in, they never be seen again. But she comes out, looking fatter and fatter each time. You tell me what she be doing to them if not eating them?”
“Are you looking for any flowers in particular, dear?”
I startled at the voice at my elbow. Looking around, I noticed I had stopped at the flower stall, so engrossed in what was being said that I hadn’t paid attention. “Yes please. These are fine.” I pointed to the iris under my nose.
I paid for my purchase with money Aldric had given me and continued making my way to the castle. I could feel Ruhan on the periphery of my magic and marveled once again at the novel feeling of belonging.
Soulmates. I could hardly believe it. I couldn’t wait to tell Mutti and introduce her to Ruhan. Before I could get too deep in my feels, I made it to the servant’s entrance. I subtly glanced around, making sure the coast was clear before whistling.
Warm hands wrapped around my waist in a comforting squeeze before the whistle even fully left my lips. He must have stayed awfully close. I smirked. “Couldn't bear to stay away?”
“From you? Never.” He breathed into my hair.
Matteo popped up beside us and pushed Ruhan through the door with a teasing shove. “Keep moving, lover boy! We’ve got a schedule to keep.”
Ruhan growled at him, but continued down the path, Arend following with an eye roll at Matteo’s antics.
Quietly, I shut the door and followed the Fae males.
The passageway smelled mustier than I remembered, but I brushed away the thought. I had been living in or near the woods for a little over ten years and had gotten used to the fresh smell of pine. In comparison, I couldn’t remember the castle ever smelling particularly fresh.
The Fae stopped at a fork in the passageway and waited for me.
“You and I are going to look for the Prince, and Matteo and Arend are going to make their way to the Great Hall until we meet them there,” Ruhan reminded us all of the plan, and we nodded.
“Choose honor.” The males clasped hands and the formality was not lost on me.
I watched Matteo and Arend a moment as they parted ways, then turned to Ruhan. “Choose honor?” I questioned.
He shrugged, “It’s a formal farewell among the Fae. It’s our way of saying we’ll see them soon.”
I nodded, remembering back to when I also feared Ruhan as the Dark Fae, comparing the stories with the male before me. The one I planned to grow old with. “Did you hear the story of the wicked witch deep in the Dark Woods?”
His eyes sparkled as he cocked his head. “The wicked witch?”
I nodded and tucked my hand into the crook of his arm as we walked down the passageway. “Apparently she has a house made of gingerbread that she tempts children into and then eats them.” I barely suppress a shudder.
He drew back a pace. “She sounds even fiercer than the Dark Fae,” he said evenly after a pause.
“I hope we’re doing the right thing.”
He sighed. “Me too.”