Chapter 22
T he fire roars to life with a hungry crackle, flames licking at Obi’s ankles like ravenous beasts. He yelps, leaping back as a wave of panic surges through the courtyard. Crimson tendrils snake towards the grand staircase, forcing the Faeries to scramble out of their path. Their escape is measured in heartbeats.
Adrenaline jolts me. There is no time for hesitation. No time for the fear that threatens to consume me.
I burst through the towering oak doors, the screams and shouts of the fleeing Faeries echoing behind me. White trees blur past as I sprint across the moonlit clearing and deep into the forest.
Please, let the humans escape. Please, let them be sober enough to understand the danger.
The forest floor, a carpet of vibrant petals bathed in silver light, cushions my frantic escape. The deeper I run, the more the chaos fades, replaced by an eerie calm. Only the pounding of my heart and the rustle of leaves against my skin break the silence.
The hag’s vision—the swirling mist that promises freedom—pulls me forward. I skirt the edge of the woods, my senses hyper-alert.
A sharp crack sounds. My breath hitches in my throat. I press myself against a gnarled tree trunk, my heart hammering against my ribs.
A hand clamps down on my shoulder, yanking me back.
No!
Terror floods my veins as a snake-man, his scales glinting in the moonlight, drags me away from the sanctuary of the trees.
No! No! No!
I am so close. Freedom is only a hair’s-breath away, I can almost taste it. But now, it is being snatched from my fingertips.
The fight is over before it even starts.
Tears sting my eyes as the snake-man throws me to the ground, my knees scraping against the unforgiving earth.
Did they get through? “Obi! Shiva!” I cry, my voice raw.
Silence answers my call. I throw myself towards the mist, I’m so close, just inches away… but powerful hands seize my hair, yanking me back.
Four figures materialise from the shadows, encircling me. Three Faerie guards, and…
Dae.
Dae’s hand is in my hair and his eyes are burning with icy rage, his face a mask of fury splattered with crimson.
Blood—the crimson is blood. Panic claws at my throat, constricting my breath. Why is there blood on his face? My gaze frantically searches his body, but finds no wounds. Relief washes over me, then evaporates in an instant.
The blood isn’t his.
Which means it’s Obi.
Nausea churns in my stomach as the realisation hits me like a physical blow.
I can feel it, deep in my gut—Obi’s blood paints Dae’s face.
My chin quivers. I want to smash everything that’s ever existed, starting with Dae’s smug face. This is my fault. Dae warned Obi. And we ignored him.
Rage consumes me, a burning inferno fuelled by guilt and fear.
I launch myself at Dae, my fists connecting with his face in a flurry of blows. Pain shoots up my arms, but I don’t stop. He staggers back, my knees landing between his thighs as I unleash another savage cry.
My knuckles hit and tear into Dae’s face for an eternity before the guards pull me off. It isn’t enough. Did he kill Obi? Or Shiva?
I struggle against the guards, elbowing one in the groin and kicking another in the knee. They both go down. I grab the last guard by the neck. The mouse-boy grabs my offending hand and twists my arm until a crack rings through the forest.
A new scream leaves my lips as blinding white hot pain tears through my body. My eyes bulge as it sears through me, shattering and destroying me. I slump to the ground, my broken arm a limp mess beside me. Shivers rip through me as burning heat envelops me. Sweat breaks out on my brow despite the early spring chill.
There is a wild roar. Dae whips across the short distance, his arm almost a blur as he seizes a knife from his side and drives it deep into the mouse-boy’s heart.
For a moment, nothing happens. The mouse-boy just stands there, still, silent.
Then, he falls back, the dagger sliding out of him as he hits the ground with a thump. Dead by the time he lands.
I thought I didn’t have any screams left in me. I was wrong. My throat tears apart as I try to claw away from Dae with my good arm. The snake-man’s eyes dart to his fallen friend and back to Dae, his breaths coming in short, panicked gasps. I claw harder. If Dae can do that to his own guards, what can he do to me?
The corners of my vision blur, sweat building on my scorching brow as I carry myself across twigs and soil with one arm.
“Cranberry.” Dae shoves the too-still snake-man harshly. “Are you deaf?”
The snake-man’s shaking hands fish inside his pockets and he pulls out a few cranberry seeds, dropping two to the floor and thrusting the rest into Dae’s outstretched fingers, his eyes never leaving the mouse-boys open, empty ones. Tears slide down his cheeks, collecting on his scales and dripping down to the branches beneath his feet.
I flinch, whimpering as Dae falls to his knees before me, his face bleeding from my punches, his own blood mixing in with the blood splattered on him. Obi’s or Shiva’s? Tortured, dead, or worse? I snivel, my nails digging into the soil as I try harder to leave his vicinity. But it’s pointless. What can I do with a broken arm against the Faerie King?
He holds out the cranberry, pressing it against my lips. My upper body falls to the floor as I use my good arm to shove him away. White pain lances through me, again drawing a guttural groan from my lips as my second arm falls to the ground with a sickening lurch. I whimper.
“Please, don’t be stubborn,” Dae begs. His eyes soften as he reaches the cranberry towards my lips again. I turn my head to the side—it’s all the movement I can manage.
I gasp as he blocks my nose with a forefinger and a thumb. When I part my lips to breathe, he slips a berry inside my mouth, stroking my chin before moving away. The delicious taste of blood and cranberry bursts on my tongue, dancing across my taste buds.
“Show me.” His soft winter voice sways on the breeze, brushing up against my ears. I stick out my tongue, barely able to suck in a breath, and he releases my nose.
I spit at Dae. A guard shifts. Drawing his arm up, the snake-man stops the other guard, his empty eyes fixed on his fallen friend. With a raised eyebrow, Dae reaches for his sleeve and wipes the spit from his face.
“How’s your arm?” He asks, circling me to get a better look at my injured arm.
“What did you do to Obi and Shiva?”
“Show me.” He reaches out and grabs my healthy hand, turning me until he gets a clear view of my limp, sagging, cracked limb.
A warm tingling spreads through the upper half of my broken arm as it knots itself back together. Tears fall harder as I bite into my bottom lip to stop from screaming or crying.
My arm is now fully healed. Dae picks it up and inspects it further before letting it sink back down to the ground.
My eyes drift to the mist. He tuts, shaking his head slightly. “You won’t make it, love.”
“How did you find us?”
His smile is soft and kind. “These are my forests. You think I don’t know when you’re running around in them?”
My hands are shaking. “Where are Obi and Shiva?”
“Don’t worry, he’s not in any pain. He’s sitting by a nice warm fire as we speak.”
Despite myself, I scoff. “No, he’s not.”
“I can’t lie.”
I don’t dare believe his words, but it is true that he can’t lie. “He’s not in pain?” The whirlwind of events has left me depleted, and I slump to the ground, letting my head fall back on the forest floor, empty of both passion and strength.
“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
My eyes narrow into slits. “If you’re in such a giving mood, send me home.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“You really let him go? Just like that? Unharmed?” I sit up, leaning closer to Dae and pressing my hands together in a prayer.
He shuffles awkwardly, his knees scraping the ground. “I couldn’t let him go without a small punishment.” A smirk flutters across his face. Gone before I can even be sure I’ve seen it.
“What did you do?” My voice shakes.
Dae’s response is too quick. Far too quick. “What would you do?”
They fought, then. My lips part slightly, my heart picking up a new beat. “Where’s Shiva?”
“Shiva is where she is meant to be, with Abnehor.”
An icy breeze brushes up against my arms. “What does that mean?” I ask, shivering.
“It means Shiva knew what was good for her and told us what was happening before it was too late.”
The world stops spinning. My stomach plummets and my hands tighten. Each word comes out slower than the last. “Shiva told you we were escaping, and how?”
He shrugs and I scream, launching myself at him for a second time. I pummel his face with each word, holding his arms down with my legs, fire tearing through my tired limbs. “You have stolen everything.”
He wiggles free, grabbing my arm with the last word. I squirm against his grip, but he’s too strong. Prying his other hand free, he grabs my left arm before flipping me onto the floor and pinning me down.
“You’ve taken everything from me.” I scream between choking breaths.
A surge of strength empowers me to struggle harder against his grip, my limbs straining against his control. He holds firm, eyes darkening. I stop squirming when something hard and cruel presses against my stomach.
Grabbing me by the back of my neck, Dae hauls me up, away from the mist, through the forest. My feet scrape against the branches and I fall several times as he drags me all the way back to court. Throwing me through the wide oak doors, he slams them shut behind us.