CHAPTER NINE
T HE MOMENT I OPEN MY eyes, Nero’s face is peering into mine. “Thank the fates you’re awake. You’ve been out for a few hours and Evera has been smug as shit since.” He hops off my chest, letting me sit up. “I’m not leaving you during combat again if I’m going to come back to my fae being knocked out. You’re starting to make a bad habit of this and I demand you put a stop to it this second, Rav.”
Ignoring him, but sending my appreciation down our bond at his concern, I glance around dazed to see Ember and Rozen on their respective beds and then shift towards me the moment they realize I’m up.
“You got your ass handed to you, Rav,” Rozen chirps as he perches himself on the edge of my bed.
Ember watches me through narrowed eyes before sighing. “You were never trained to fight?”
I raise my brow at her. “Did that look like I was trained to fight?”
Her lip twitches with what was almost a smile. “Fair. Well, if we are to be friends, I can’t be carrying you up those stairs after every combat class. I’ll help you.”
Rozen bounces his red hair dancing around his shoulders. “Yeah! I’ll help too. You can kick my ass anytime,” he adds, winking at Ember who ignores him, waiting on my answer.
My face stretches into a smile of relief. Maybe I won’t have to end up with brain damage after every lesson. “Are you sure? I would really appreciate the help.”
She nods. “Of course. Vopn Fo Fae children are raised to fight the moment we can walk.”
“Really?” I ask curiously. “Why?”
She places her palms facing down on her muscular but slim thighs. “Because the first weapon we master is our bodies. That way we are never without a weapon,” she explains like it’s common sense.
“Huh, okay. I’m sorry, I grew up pretty sheltered, and being at Phixmery is a bit of a culture shock. Small outlier village and all,” I add quickly, hoping they don’t have any questions about why.
“No worries,” Rozen exclaims without missing a beat. “We can answer any questions you might have.”
Ember glances between us both with a twitch of her lips before adding, “We should get going. Wilderness Survival starts soon. I grabbed you some bread and cheese from the dining hall during lunch; you can eat that on the way.” She nods to the food, wrapped in a cloth napkin sitting on the bedside table.
I thank her before climbing off my bed and grabbing the Phixmery uniform to change into and then grabbing the food. Greedily, I inhale the rich cheese, feeding some to Nero as he perches on my shoulder, and then the soft bread as I follow them out of the squad chambers stopping at the bathroom to change. Passing my food to Ember to hold, I run back up quickly, depositing my leathers and rushing back down to meet them. Nero settles on my shoulder again after flying above me instead of being jostled. Ember passes back the cloth of deliciousness and I munch as we continue out of the South Tower.
We trek down the now familiar corridor, and even without the others I’d be able to find my way using the portraits. Left at the male with the big nose and equally large mole. Right at the female who looks like she’s shocked the water is pouring from the fountain.
We continue on, ignoring the looks of others as we stride through the corridor towards our next lesson.
“Why is everyone staring?” I ask Ember around a mouthful of bread.
She peers down at me before looking at the fae gawking. “Probably because of your black eye and split lip. They must have heard what happened in combat this morning,” she murmurs matter-of-factly.
I blink in shock, and as I think about it, I can subtly feel the dull pulsing ache in my eye. Great, so now everyone knows that I can’t fight to save my life. So much for keeping my head down and not attracting attention.
During my first week here, it already spread that I was a null. Even the nulls that work here in the kitchen or as messengers were looking at me with confusion and whispers. It didn’t last long though once people realized I have a fire element. It’s just sad to see that despite what Commander Ashbluff said, nulls are still treated less than—but at least they aren’t nowhere near how I was treated in Shalo. Some are even in the military as Infantry.
Rozen nudges my shoulder, jostling Nero who caws at him, and grins, which I guess is his way of showing solidarity, but it’s fine. I’ve survived worse. The gossip mill and curious eyes won’t deter me. Nothing that happens here will matter anyway because once I find a way to leave this place they won’t even remember the short fae female who can’t fight. Well, can’t fight for now, as that is definitely a skill I plan on picking up.
I suppose some of the skills I can learn here will actually help me out there. That settles it. I’ll give myself the year here. Find out as much as I can and a place I can go and make out like a thief in the night. Once I figure out how to get past the guards and the dragons that keep everyone within the mountain.
My fingers toy anxiously with the necklace hidden under my tunic. I will make sure I keep what’s left of my promise to my mother.
THE FOUR OF us make our way to where the rest of our squad is and sit in the row, taking up the last three spots. Wilderness Survival has been an interesting lesson so far. We’ve mostly talked about the different terrain of the land within Damorleia.
Every territory is fairly easy to travel and get to besides Vathia, which is why our forces are struggling so hard to make way. The land is surrounded by ocean, and the only land that passes into Vathia is through deadly mountains where some of the most wicked beasts of legend roam—mythics. The only feasible way in is over the Wraithwater Channel, the largest and wildest river in all of Damorleia. Many have perished trying to cross it. And all along Vathia’s border, which was once beautiful despite the turbulent water, is now a battlefield of mud and trenches.
Even if I was able to step foot in Vathia, if I was caught, they would kill me. They’re ruthless and power-hungry fae and, from what I’m told, are the reason for the downfall of the Gallalaus Fae—our royals. The surrounding Lords didn’t make it in time to assist with stopping the downfall. It’s a dark and tragic part of our history, one that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Captain Reiner enters the room, his long, onyx tresses swaying behind him. He instantly addresses the class when he reaches his bare podium, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Good afternoon. Today’s lesson will be the start of the inhabitants of Damorleia. We all know the five main—well now four main fae types. Can anyone name any others?” He leans against the desk and waits.
Cresida raises her hand eagerly and I do everything I can to suppress an eye roll. He nods to her and she begins listing them off on her fingers.
“Well, there’s the lesser fae, obviously not quite as low on the list as nulls because they can still use magick,” she starts, and then lists them on her fingers. “Golems, ogres, gnomes, pixies, faeries, satyrs, trolls, brownies and banshees,” she announces proudly.
Captain Reiner gives her a disapproving glare. “You are correct, but nulls are just as important to our society as lesser fae. We are an ecosystem, and without each other, the balance of Damorleia crumbles. You would be wise to remember this, Miss Fellowes.” He takes a minute to gauge the class and let his words sink in.
A sense of pride and hope settles in my gut. I think Captain Reiner may be my favorite yet.
“There are also the darker creatures and beings that linger on Damorleian soil, such as goblins, basilisks, and various crytptoids. Now can anyone tell me how any of these beings contribute to the wilderness or our society? It’s important to understand the others we share land with, especially in this lesson where you will eventually be out there with your squads surviving, doing recon or missions. And if you want to live, these are things you need to know.”
Cadet Amos raises her hand slowly and Reiner nods to her with an encouraging smile.
“Brownies help by keeping our homes and society clean in exchange for basic goods like housing and food. They’re actually quite sweet and shy creatures and prefer to keep to themselves which is why you never see them, but you know they’re around,” she states quietly.
He claps his hands together. “Perfect! Anyone else?”
Someone from another squad raises their hand and he motions for them to continue. “Pixies and faeries are similar and often get mistaken for each other. They’re the light and dark counterparts of each other. While faeries are mostly healers and tend to their gardens, pixies are more mischievous and are often hired as thieves or spies. They look exactly like us but when they shrink, they’re able to summon wings,” she says excitedly.
He nods. “Great job. Let’s continue.”
The rest of the class continues much the same way, but my mind can’t seem to stay focused, drifting back to those three fae males from Wing One. I can’t put my finger on it but they almost seem familiar, and every instinct has me wanting to run towards them and to get as far away from them as possible at the same time.
“ Maybe it’s just because you find them attractive ,” Nero snarks playfully. “ Oh! Does my Little Ravie have her first crush? ” he teases.
I boop his beak. “ I do not. Romantic relationships are not in store for me, especially here. You know this, ” I murmur back. Being involved in anything romantic could lead to me being discovered, or changing my mind about leaving, and I just can’t have that.
“ That’s fine, you can be in denial, but you know I can sense your feelings right? ” he dryly drawls.
My eyes snap over to him and narrow, but before I can retort back, our squad is packing up.
“Can you move already, null-wannabe? Some of us high fae have places to be,” Evera snaps from the end of the row, and Bracken glances away as I peer over at him. I scoff but grab my things and move out of the way.
Ember and Rozen follow me out of the room, but before I can exit, Captain Reiner calls me back.
“I’ll meet you guys later,” I murmur before making my way through the crowd, only to get shoulder-checked into a male, Nero almost being knocked off my shoulder. He hovers and caws menacingly at Cressida and Evera who laugh as they continue past. Squaring my shoulder, I stride over to the Captain.
“ Please let me claw their eyes out. Ooh, maybe I’ll keep them as trophies, ” Nero ponders and I smirk, wishing that we could.
“Cadet Solace, I wanted to ask you a question before we get to our next topic in a couple weeks. Would it be possible to have you talk about your experience having a familiar? We haven’t had the opportunity to see what a true bond looks like in almost two decades.”
His question shocks me. “I’m sorry Sir, but I don’t know very much about familiars, even with having one myself. I don’t know how much help I can be.” My boots shuffle against the wooden floor nervously, feeling odd about being put on the spot. Another thing I’m trying to avoid.
He nods understandingly. “That’s perfectly fine. You’ll be learning about the bonds in this lesson. You would just be my example.”
His eyes dance in hope and excitement, but I’m not sure how this could affect us. Obviously it would be great to learn more about this extraordinary bond with Nero, but would there be any risks involved? Could saying yes bite me in the ass later? “Can I think about it?”
He dims a fraction but his smile stays genuine. “Of course. Could you let me know your decision in five days’ time?”
I grin back and he dismisses me with a nod. Spinning on the heel of my boot, I haul it to my next lesson which thankfully is only down the hall.
“ What do you think, Nero… is this something we should do? ” I question, needing my best friend’s input.
His wings raise in his version of a shrug. “ I don’t see the harm in it. I’d like to grow our bond more. We plan on finding the library tonight—let’s see what we can find there and sleep on it. If it’s something you still want to do tomorrow then I vote yes. ”
EMBER AND ROZEN found out what I was up to at dinner and asked if they could tag along to the library with us. We didn’t see the harm so I agreed, plus more people helping me look for information on bonds could be of use, and I can just pass off looking at scrolls of Damorleia like I’m curious about the land we live in and to help with Wilderness Survival.
“So what are we looking for again?” Rozen asks as he plucks a scroll off the shelf and blows on it. Dust poofs up into his face and he coughs, swatting the air around him, which pulls a laugh from both Ember and me.
When he can breathe again I reiterate, “We are looking for any information on familiar bonds. I want to see what I’m getting into if Nero and I agree to be Captain Reiner’s example to our year.”
“Right.” He nods, brushing his fingers through his shortened red locks before scratching behind his pointed ear. “Where should we start?” His eyes dart between us widely.
I move further through the stacks, and my own eyes widen at the copious amount of scrolls and texts lining the obscenely tall wooden shelves. A sense of overwhelming reluctance at this task fills me. I thirst to know more, but the idea of reading through boring scripts written by old fae sounds exhausting. If only there was a way to make this more entertaining.
Ember pulls me over to a desk where an elderly female sits quietly, watching us approach with keen interest. “We are interested in finding any texts on familiar bonds,” she states.
“Please,” I add, giving Ember a look, but she rolls her eyes and smirks before adding in her own manners.
The elderly female scrunches her nose before replying. “To access those texts, you would need to have approval from an officer,” she states, narrowing her gaze between the three of us until her gaze lands on Nero. Her eyes widen slightly before pursing her lips. “Birds aren’t welcome here, please remove it promptly.”
“He’s my familiar. I was told he’s welcome anywhere in Phixmery. I can have an officer sign off on the texts tomorrow,” I interject quickly.
Her eyes linger on Nero, shocked. “Fine, he may stay, but if I find out you’re lying, well, I’m sure they could use some help in the gryphon stables or even dragon duty. Is there anything else I can assist you with?”
“No—”
“Yes, actually.” I give Ember an apologetic smile. “Texts on the history and geography of Damorleia, please and thank you.”
“Aisle twenty-two should have what you’re looking for,” she mumbles, eyeing Nero like he’s going to make a nest out of her scrolls.
Nero scoffs. “ As if I’d make a nest out of scrolls—there’s nothing to them, and you can’t exactly shape them the way I need. I’ll stick to your blankets, thank you very much. ”
As we move away from the cranky librarian, Ember gives me a questioning look. “Remember how I said I want to learn more about Damorleia?” She dips her head slowly. “Well, if I can’t find out anything about bonds until later, then I want to look at some scrolls. Maybe learn a thing or two.”
Rozen sighs dramatically. “This is not nearly as fun as it would have been learning about your and Nero’s bond.”
“If you guys help me, then right after, we could go to the training yard and get some extra practice in before combat tomorrow morning?” I suggest.
Ember is silent for a moment and then relents with a groan. “Fine. You desperately need help, anyway.”
“What she said,” Rozen adds, taking off down the main aisle, looking for twenty-two.
A pang flutters through my chest as I realize I do actually enjoy these two for company. I’ll miss them when I leave, but they’ll probably hate me for abandoning Phixmery and becoming a traitor to Damorleia. I just need to make sure they aren’t complicit in helping me, or they’ll be tried for treason too. Just this time I’ll ‘study’ with them, but maybe I should start keeping my distance… Maybe it’s better if I’m alone.
Nero nibbles on my ear. “ You’re not alone Rav, ” he whispers. “ You have me .”
NERO PECKS MY cheek and I jerk awake. “ What time is it? ” I ask him groggily as I try to grasp my surroundings. Snores sound through the chambers and moonlight covers the space, giving off a dark, soft blue hue, letting me just see the shadows of those around us.
“ The moon is highest in the sky. Are you ready? Everyone is sound asleep, ” he states, sounding exhausted himself.
“ As ready as I’ll ever be, ” I murmur as I slip my legs out from under the covers, sliding my feet into my combat boots.
I’ve been putting this off for far too long. I need to find somewhere in the castle that I can practice—bonus points if I find a long-forgotten pathway out of here for when it comes time for us to escape. And what better than to slink around the castle at night while everyone is sleeping?
Nero takes his place on my shoulder, and when he’s settled, I begin tiptoeing across the stone towards the door. As I reach the end beds, closest to my exit, Bracken’s snores cut off and I freeze, holding my breath.
There’s no way I’ve already been caught… maybe this was a bad idea. Shit.
He rolls over and moments later his snoring resumes, and I let out a shaky breath, willing the thundering in my chest to calm itself.
“ Keep going Rav, it’s okay ,” Nero encourages me.
My sweaty palms grip the knob and I crack the wooden door open, slipping out and snicking it shut quietly behind me. Step one done. Now, where do we start?
Swiftly, I head down the stairs, passing the bathrooms and heading out of the South Tower. The castle is quiet, nothing but the soft glow of the sconces and the trickling of fountains throughout the hallways as I rush down corridors, being careful to peek around corners before continuing on. I wander the familiar paths I take to lessons and the dining hall, looking out for unfamiliar doors that might lead to somewhere else. Our maps only cover the communal areas, lessons, lounges, dining hall, bathrooms, etc. It would make my life a thousand times easier if there was a spot labeled ‘secret tunnel ’.
“ Maybe there’s a door from outside leading somewhere that you don’t have access through while inside the castle? ” Nero suggests after an hour of exploring.
My fingers stroke under his chin. “It wouldn’t hurt to look. This place is massive. Plus, how do the staff get around? I never see them in the halls,” I add, checking out the walls as I make my way into the training yard that surrounds the castle.
Torches flicker on top of the battlements and I see a handful of guards patrolling, thankfully looking out towards the mountains and not down below. I don’t even want to know the punishment for getting caught out of bed after hours. I keep close to the walls, sticking to the shadows, making sure to stay away from the torches that line the paths around the yard.
Eventually, I get around near the back of Phixmery, not quite in the direction of the gryphon stalls but close enough to smell them. It’s an area I’ve never been before, and I see a lone door on the side of the castle. It’s metal, with no distinguishing marks or lights and I can’t help but feel excited. What are the chances I find something on my first night?
I slip two fingers into the metal circlet on the door, lifting, sliding and pulling on the latch as quietly as I can before peeking past the door. On the other side, stairs climb down beneath the castle, lit with the flickering candle light of the stone sconces that line the wall. I swallow hard.
“ Can you hear anything down there? ” I ask Nero who tilts his head.
He hops down my arm a bit, listening intently before answering. “ Nope, nothing. I think it’s safe to continue down. ”
Taking a deep breath, I let the door shut behind me and carefully make my way down. As I reach the bottom of the steps, I realize we’re in some sort of dungeon. Steel bars cover each side of the room, leaving a decent-sized path between them. Each cell looks to contain wrist and ankle shackles that are secured to the wall. I squint and come to the conclusion that the orange tinge of rust on them means that they’re iron. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that every metal object within, including the bars, is iron.
My hands wrap around my waist as I try to block the memories of how iron against my naked flesh feels—the cold, searing pain that feels like it’s cooking you, the angry blisters it causes. I rub my wrists and Nero bops my face with his head.
“ Breathe, Ravina. You’re not in Shalo anymore. Come on, maybe it’s best if we stop for the night, ” he says softly, rubbing his face against mine.
His soft plumage pulls me slowly out of the panic, and I focus on how he feels before taking a breath. “ Soon. I just want to see what’s down here and then we’ll head back ,” I murmur.
The worry in our bond settles and I continue moving along between the cells, all of which seem to be empty thankfully. The last thing I need is for a prisoner to rat me out to the guards. The cells end, and I move through a crumbling stone archway, and that’s when I hear voices.
“No one would be stupid enough to trip the magick on the door. It’s probably just a fluke or some guard playing a prank. You know guarding these cells is more or less nothing but tradition now, anyway. It’s meaningless,” the male groans as two sets of steps continue to get louder.
I glance around, panicking, looking for anywhere to hide.
“It might be one of the trainees from the academy,” the other male grunts.
The first male chuckles darkly. “No, most of the cadets know what happens when you get caught out of bed. They’d rather have gryphon duty for the rest of their four years here. Cadets sneaking around after hours is insubordination and we can’t trust them, so you know what happens.”
“Right, thrown in the dragon keep, and if they last the night they get one last chance or they’re beast chow,” the other adds as if killing cadets is an everyday conversation.
The voices are now slightly louder and I press myself up against the wall, praying to the fates that I don’t get caught, that somehow I just vanish before their eyes, when something clicks and I fall behind a wall. Nero flaps his wings, hovering above me as I kick the hidden entrance closed behind me and hold my breath in this newfound place.
Boots thud against the ground as they continue past where I’m hiding, but I don’t move for a few minutes, not risking that they know about this hidden entrance. I’m in a passage. It all makes sense if this is how the staff get around the castle without being seen. These tunnels were probably for servants back once upon a time when I suppose even prisoners needed to eat.
When I rise to my feet and dust myself off, Nero lands on my shoulder, his talons tightening on my flesh, a comforting reminder that I’m not getting thrown into the dragons’ keep. I need to be a lot more careful, but is escaping here really worth certain death?
“ Everything dies eventually Rav, but let’s try not to do that for a long time, ” Nero chuckles nervously.
“Right, we will just be more careful. We both know that I’m dead the moment they find out who I am, anyway. Might as well be on my own terms if I can’t talk myself out of it,” I mutter as I strike the fire-lighter on my belt, creating a small ball of fire to light my way.
Cobwebs line the corners, and stone has broken off and crumbled. It’s clearly been a long time since anyone has been down to these parts of the castle tunnels. Eventually, after a few guesses on which way to turn, the paths seem more clean and maintained. I get to a door at the end of the tunnel and crack it open to find myself on a flat section of the roof, somewhere on the northeast side if the mountains are anything to go by.
I crouch and move towards the edge, seeing just how high we are. The battlements sit below, and I can see as far as the eye can reach, well, considering it’s still dark. The moon is only a crescent in the sky and I can’t help but sit here in awe as a horde of dragons flies over the castle heading towards the keep or perhaps past the mountain range.
They’re massive creatures, terrifyingly beautiful as they soar past. Their talons alone are almost the length of me. Their colorful scales glint under the pale moonlight as their massive wings carry them home. I stay as still as possible, hoping to not bring attention to myself in case they have riders.
No matter how many times a day I see them, be they wild or bonded, I can’t help but stare, feeling a pull to the beasts I will never have a chance of meeting once I leave here, unless it’s the inside of their mouth or burnt to a crisp with their flame.
“We should head back,” I murmur to Nero once the dragons are only specks in the sky.