14. The Girl with Stormy Eyes
THE GIRL WITH STORMY EYES
“ S tay quiet,” Rhyas muttered as we emerged from the edge of Silvash’s Forest, the warm, fresh air of the wood fading into something that reminded me of the attack, a familiar dread twisting my gut.
His grip on my arm tightened as I looked over the short stretch of land dividing us from whatever The Fates had sentenced me to.
No matter how much I tried, my body quivered as I took in what could only be described as a stone fortress carved into the mountainside.
Male and female fae garbed in leather armor paced along the top of the wall on either side of the enormous wooden gate, and my stomach twisted at the sight of the swords strapped to their hips.
They almost reminded me of the warriors of The Order.
Still, where the warriors had always been sweet and protective, there was something about the way the fae’s eyes passed over us as we approached in cold assessment—as if I wasn’t a person, but something else entirely .
With each step, new details came into focus.
The grass seemed to die out the closer we got, as if the magic in the land couldn’t reach us in this place.
I wasn’t sure what stained the stone walls, the dark marks and unrecognizable chunks of.
..something, hanging from ropes. It left a touch of ancient terror that needed no explanation, and the beast recoiled into a deeper part of me at the sight and the terrible smell.
“What is this place?” I whispered, my voice barely breaching my lips.
“The Pits,” Rhyas said, a hint of disgust slipping through his mask of indifference, as if he couldn’t stomach the words. “Your new home.”
Air grew thicker in my lungs with each step, and my body began to lock up.
“Be mindful of your surroundings,” Rhyas warned. He didn’t look at me, a strange coldness touching the features of his face, but his voice didn’t reflect his expression. “Be careful who you trust.”
I swallowed, turning to the monstrous wooden gates as they parted, the groan of chains rattling my bones as they wound round the wheel opening the mountain as if a beast eager to devour us whole.
Rhyas guided me forward until my feet stopped inches from the threshold.
I fought against him, my bare feet sliding against the stone, gravel biting into my flesh.
No. No, no, no, no.
“Don’t die on me, little beasty,” he breathed, and I twisted around to him. Hands grabbed me from behind, and I gasped.
“No! Please! Don’t let them take me!” I cried, pulling against their hold as I grasped onto the sleeve of his dusty tunic before I was ripped free of him.
A flicker of something passed over his eyes before they hardened, and his posture straightened as a male approached us. It wasn’t his golden eyes passing over me that drew my attention, but his emerald hair that framed his face in short, loose waves. Never before had I seen hair like his.
“She’s awake?” he asked, arching an emerald brow as he turned to Rhyas.
“A shifter, sir,” Rhyas said—as if that was explanation enough—as he tucked his arms behind his back, avoiding my pleading stare.
“A shifter?” the male echoed before he approached me.
My skin prickled with a strange energy the closer he came, something familiar caressing my mind.
The sensation was wrong, just as it had been when we’d crossed the veil.
The hands holding me adjusted their grip, and I found myself held in place by two guards.
They anchored me steadfastly as I tried to pull back from the strange male crouching before me.
“Immortal?” he asked as he ran a hand over the short emerald beard lining his jaw.
Rhyas nodded. “We have six immortals, as you requested. Adresta’s team brought three humans, and Cyros’ managed four fae from the bordering villages of Pelagonia. ”
My breath quickened. We hadn’t been the only ones to be taken. There were other children who had been stolen from their homes. But why?
“She will be pleased to learn we captured so many immortals. Let’s see how many survive the first night.
They will be her warriors once they’ve proven themselves in The Pits,” the male said, reaching out.
I flinched away from his touch and froze when his fingers combed through my hair. “Nearly as silver as hers was...”
The beast growled, and I bared my teeth, my hands balling into fists.
His golden eyes almost lit up, and a smile curved his lips, showing a hint of his slightly elongated canines. He muttered under his breath, “You have bite. That’s good.”
Another guard ran toward us. “Arden, sir!”
I stiffened at the name, Rhyas’ words flitting across my mind.
You belong to Arden now.
Arden groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. “What is it?”
“We’re ready for The Proving,” the guard said.
A shiver ran up my spine as Arden turned to look back down at me, one corner of his lips kicking up into a half grin. “Excellent.”
There was something cruel in his expression, an unknown promise that left a cold sweat breaking out over my skin. “Let’s see if you can make it through the night. Prove your worth to me.”
Metal ground against metal, rattling my bones as I turned to find the gates closing, sealing me inside this horrible place, trapping me within the belly of this wretched beast. No!
I needed to get out, needed to get home.
I parted my lips to protest, but the two males grasping my arms shoved me forward, and I twisted, trying to see Rhyas over my shoulder as they dragged me off.
“Rhyas! Please!” I cried, our gazes briefly meeting, but he looked away from me, something akin to guilt dulling his amber eyes.
They pulled me through a doorway, and Rhyas vanished from view. “No!”
A scream reached my ears from down the hall, and my voice lodged in my throat. The coppery scent of blood filled my nose, the acidic scent of fear tainting the air.
We can’t go there. Fight them.
Another scream echoed through the tunnels as we descended a stairway lined with torches, but it was sharply silenced, leaving an eerie quiet in its wake, and I stopped breathing. Where were they taking me? What were they going to do to me when we got there?
Torchlight spilled into the opening before us as we reached the foot of the stairs.
“How many have we lost?” a male’s voice barely echoed from inside the room, the faint sound of sobs growing stronger with each step.
“One,” another responded. “Two have survived so far.”
“Arden will be pleased to hear that. We need some fresh meat to replace the losses we suffered last season,” the male said, and the near-pleasure in his voice launched the beast within me into an uproar, as if it could already feel their sickening intentions closing in on us.
Quiet whimpers caught my attention, and I turned to find a number of children huddled in a cell at the far side of the cavern, their clothes and faces dusted with dirt.
Some looked like me, but some were unlike anything I’d seen, with skin various shades of the softest tans, grays, blues, greens, and purples.
Some looked as if they were wrapped in bark, like the aspen trees in the meadows back home.
Delicately pointed ears pierced through their tangled hair, the tips a deeper shade of the color of their skin, while some had tails, some tufts of fur or feathers decorating parts of their bodies. They were fae.
Oh, Gods.
The guards guided me toward the barred gate at the far end of the chambers, and fear skittered over my skin like chips of ice.
I couldn’t see what lingered past them for the darkness beyond.
One of the guards grabbed the handle and jerked it open, the old metal groaning as it swung wide, and he shoved me inside.
I cried out as I hit the stone, rocks scraping my palms and bruising my knees. My heart lurched as the bars groaned once more, and I shot up, running back as they closed me in.
“Please! Let me out!” I reached my arms through the bars, my body barely big enough to leave me trapped.
A growl echoed from the darkness behind me, and I spun around, my chest heaving as I pressed my back against the icy bars. I searched the void-like cavern, my eyes adjusting before I felt the blood drain from my face at the faintest sight of movement in its depths.
“Good luck,” one of the guards whispered, and I looked to see his violet eyes turn cruel—his lips curving into a wicked smile. “She’s hungry.”
Arden’s words flitted across my thoughts.
Let’s see if you can make it through the night. Prove your worth.
How exactly did he want me to prove my worth?
“What do I do?” I muttered, my hands trembling, my knees quivering beneath me as the sound of padded steps reached my ears. A veritable pat...pat...pat...
Another growl rippled in the darkness, and the beast within me bristled, teeth bared.
Torchlight reflected in silver orbs, and I sucked in a breath as it emerged from the dark depths of the cavern.
Its body was cloaked in feathers and fur, its features like that of the panther shifter who served under the king.
Its gray, feather-tipped tail flicked as it prowled closer, and I could faintly see the feathers fanning out from the base of its legs.
My back pressed tighter against the bars.
A snarl slipped from its throat as its bloodied lips peeled back to reveal rows of sharp teeth that dripped with the same crimson liquid.
Rhyas’ words echoed through my thoughts.
Don’t die on me, little beasty.
It launched at me with a roar, talon-tipped paws stretching out toward me. I dove out of the way, and it crashed into the bars, the guards cursing as they stumbled back before laughing.