Chapter Nine
T he past few days have gone by achingly slow.
So it is no wonder that the past twenty minutes have happened so quickly that my head is truly spinning.
The only time I had ever spent with the Princess was always supervised. She mostly ignored me, and I assumed that was because she saw me as an object she owned rather than the being she was to be bound to for life. But before the ceremony began, when she met me in the corridor, she looked just as much a prisoner in all of this as I am.
“I never wanted this. I am truly sorry.”
Eight simple words, softly spoken and barely discernible that should have made me feel comradery in my predicament only made me feel even more despondent. If the Princess was just as much a pawn in this game as I was, how could I possibly hope for a decent outcome?
We walked down the pathway towards the king, and every step felt heavier and heavier. Like wading through sap. I kept a calm expression firmly in place, but inside my head?
I was screaming for help.
But then, seeing my glorious mate burst through the crowd directly towards me threw my emotions, making them run chaotically wild inside of me. I was beyond elated to see her. Not only alive and awake but coming to my rescue. I was proud of her strength and the wave of awe that she set over the entire royal garden. And a heady wave of lust rushes over me because– it has been far too long since I have gotten to see my mate’s gloriously naked body.
From there, my emotions once again dive down into being terrified as I find myself in the grips of that bitch Laeryne. Terror over what she would do– or order the guards to do– to Forsythia.
Then I took a nose dive straight into shock as the Dryma assigned to my mate popped out of thin air, knocked out Laeryne, and then grabbed me and made us both… invisible?
She drags me up the grand staircase before ducking into one of the first rooms we encounter and shutting the door quickly behind us. She releases the bubble concealing us and holds a hand in my face.
“Stay silent.” She whispers the command and then erects her bubble again before exiting quickly through the door.
I let out the breath that I had been holding for– well, to be honest, I do not even really know how long.
Did all of this really just happen?
I had been resigned to this terrible fate for a few days now. Had finally given up all hope for something better. I had convinced myself that I was not worthy of Forsythia and that the fraction of time I spent with her would be cherished.
Until I was able to find a way to end my existence.
Now…
Hope blooms in my chest again, and my heart beats with passion.
Every last bit for her.
I curse my brain for ever doubting my mate and her love for me.
Thankfully, I do not have to wait long before the door flies open, and Blake enters with Forsythia bundled in his arms. The door quickly closes, and the elf makes herself visible before turning her attention immediately to securing the door.
Blake lays our mate down on the small cot in the room, but I remain frozen in place. If she was hurt– or worse– trying to save me? I do not think that is something I can actually forgive myself for.
“Is she… was she hurt?” I need the answer, even if it terrifies me.
Before Blake can respond, Forsythia grumbles my name. “Lucian?”
My body moves on its own. Drawing me to her side in an instant as I run my trembling fingers down the planes of her face.
“Hey handsome,” she beams a smile at me, and I answer with one of my own. “I’m just going to… take a tiny nap.” She is out and snoring the second the words leave her lips.
Blake finally answers my question. “She’s fine, just exhausted. She doesn’t seem to have as easy access to her magicks in this realm. Between that and the–”
“We can stay here for a short time, but we need to come up with a plan quickly. Once they check my rooms, they will start a sweep.” The elf woman is right, but Blake seems extra irritated all of a sudden.
“Yes, Midori. Thank you for that insight. I was just trying to explain–”
“There will be time to explain everything once we get out of here.” She has gone from an expression of earnest, to one of fear…
She turns a pleading gaze to me. “Please. I cannot be caught. You do not understand what they would do to me.” She ducks her head a little and brushes her hair away for a moment. Giving the briefest glance at her ear.
Or what’s left of it.
Given what they have had no qualms about doing to me, I have no doubt they turn those punishments on their own. Empathy flows in immediately between us.
“Alright, elf. What should we do next?” I direct my question to her since she seems to know more information about the castle than any of us.
She blinks at me a few times. “My name is Midori.” As nice as it is to know the name of the fae sacrificing their life with us, I simply nod for her to continue. “The guards will have gone to my rooms and yours first. Thinking we retreated to a safe space. Some of them probably also went outside to check the common areas. It will be a little while before their sweep makes it to our level.”
She stops and taps her chin for a minute, then seems to come up with an idea.
“I can cast a listening spell on the door. It will help us know how many people are in the halls and if the guards have made it to this level in their search. Since this room is rarely used or cleaned, they will not be happy about checking in here. Hopefully, we can hide here until the sun dips a little lower and the night market opens. Then we can slip out and hide amongst the crowd.”
It sounds like a solid plan, but Blake shakes his head.
“Can’t you just invisible us all the way past the town walls? Or better yet, open a fucking portal or something?”
I get his need for urgency, but he clearly doesn’t know how realm traveling works.
“Gee, why had I not thought of that? Oh yes, because that is not how realm travel works!” She throws her hands up in the air and turns towards the door, where she begins a spell. Probably the listening one she had mentioned.
When Blake turns his pinched expression towards me, I take pity on my brother and offer him some insight.
“Portals between the realms are not created. They are fixed in place and nearly impossible to close. If you do manage to get one closed, it is similar to an avalanche of rocks or a boulder blocking the way. It can be reopened, but it takes many magick workers chipping away for a very long time. Our best bet is to find the closest portal. I am not sure where that is, though.”
The last of my words brings back a brief memory. Weeks of hunger and paranoia were spent on the run until I went back to the ashes of my brethren forest. To die. Only to happen across the tiny rift portal. It was so small it was actually painful to use. Maybe that was why closing it didn’t take as much of a push as I had expected.
Midori turns from the door and brushes her hands down her pant legs before giving me the answer to the question I haven’t actually asked. “There is a portal in the center of the very next village. Maybe two days’ travel.”
Blake nods. “Ok, that’s not bad. We can handle that.”
For some reason, I cannot seem to muster the shallow enthusiasm Blake expresses. Something niggles at the back of my mind. Something–
“What is this village?” I ask Midori.
She shrugs and answers me. “Lebetem”
My mouth goes dry, but I still manage to growl back.
“Fuck that.”