Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
LYRA
The mood was glum the following morning as we rose with the first rays of dawn. I’d spent the night shivering on the cold forest floor, tormented by visions of Kaden being tortured by demons.
I didn’t know whether they were dreams or not.
We had no provisions for breakfast and no fresh clothes to change into, so it was with grumbling bellies and sour moods that we set off in search of the Scolendra.
Sorsha was quiet again. Her complexion was even paler than it had been the night before, and her movements were unusually sluggish. I chalked it up to a combination of blood loss and a poor night’s sleep on the forest floor, though I couldn’t deny my concern.
The fae were gifted with extraordinary healing capabilities. She should have recovered from the vampire attack within hours, unless her depleted magic was affecting that as well.
The sun shone weakly through the trees, but soon I started to sweat. The thick canopy trapped the heat and humidity, making for a miserable walk. My body begged for water and something to fill my belly, but we’d left the stream behind and had yet to find another.
I could feel my strength waning and hoped this would not be the moment some ravenous demon chose to attack.
More than once, Sorsha stumbled, her face worryingly pale.
The third time this happened, Adriel furrowed his brows. “What’s the matter with you?”
The princess gave a sharp jerk of her head. “I’ll be fine.”
“But you’re not fine now,” he pressed, his tone too sharp to pass for friendly concern. “You haven’t been right since we left the in-between.”
“Do tell me . . . How am I supposed to act after nearly being killed by a horde of monstrous creatures and then attacked by a ravenous vampire?” she snapped. “Not all of us are accustomed to leaving a trail of blood and carcasses everywhere we go.”
A muscle feathered in Adriel’s jaw, but when he spoke, his voice was surprisingly soft. “I know you were hurt, but your wounds should have healed by now. If your magic is so depleted that you —”
Sorsha let out a trill of bitter laughter. “My magic is just fine. But thank you for your concern.” The last part she bit out with undeniable venom, and I winced.
“Your magic is not fine,” he shot back, his voice low and deadly. “Being unable to summon your wings is the opposite of fine.”
“I’m aware,” Sorsha gritted out, her eyes shimmering with tears. “But please, do continue. I so enjoy being constantly reminded of my shortcomings.”
“It’s not a shortcoming,” Adriel growled, and I could tell it was an effort for the royal guard to keep his tone even. “It’s a handicap. A danger to you and the rest of us, since it’ll be me dragging your sorry ass out of Dorthus when you cannot fly yourself.”
“Ah, I should have guessed. You care nothing for me or my magic. You just don’t want me slowing you down.”
“I didn’t —”
But Sorsha’s turquoise eyes were blazing with fury as she rounded on the royal guard. “Is that why you were so eager to drag me back to Cragsmuir? Because I was a liability?”
From the first time I’d sparred with the princess, I’d known Sorsha was lethal. But I’d never been afraid of her until now.
“No.” Adriel’s eyes flashed. “That’s not what I said.”
“You didn’t need to. That’s how you see me. It’s how you’ve always seen me. Weak. Useless.”
“That’s not true.”
“Why hold back? Your precious prince isn’t here. Tell me how you really feel. You’ve been dancing around it for centuries.”
Something within Adriel seemed to snap, and I stumbled back as his hazel eyes flared with murderous rage.
“Fine. You want to know what I see when I look at you? A pampered princess who’s been safely sequestered on an island for two hundred years while the rest of us have been fighting like hell to protect her.
Kaden has spent lifetimes dragging souls back to Dorthus to feed Semphrys, all to keep you safe. ”
An ugly silence stretched between them, tension crackling in the air.
Sorsha’s eyes glimmered with unshed tears, and her bottom lip quivered. “I never asked him to —”
“Maybe not. But you’re his sister. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for you. Wouldn’t do for any of us.”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.”
Adriel scoffed. “What a selfless princess you are, coming with us to the Great Oak. You didn’t come along to save Kaden or the realm. You were bored with your life at the fort.”
“That’s not true.”
But Adriel jabbed a finger at her chest, his face a mask of angry lines. “You couldn’t wait to get off that island. But you have no fucking clue what’s been going on in your own godsdamned kingdom. No idea what we’re up against.”
Sorsha blinked rapidly, trying not to cry.
“But you don’t care that you’re completely unequipped. That it would be safer for everyone if you stayed behind. You can’t stand to be told no.”
The princess stared at Adriel as though he’d slapped her, and I suddenly wished that I could be anywhere else.
Part of me wanted to defend Sorsha, but this felt like a private battle between her and the male she’d known all her life.
“Safer?” she hissed, nostrils flaring. “You want to talk about keeping Kaden safe? You’re supposed to be his royal guard. You’re supposed to protect him, and you let him get captured.”
Violence danced in Adriel’s eyes at her accusation, and I braced myself for the storm.
“What good is being my brother’s constant shadow if you can’t even do your job?”
“You think I wanted to leave him behind?” Adriel hissed, taking another step toward her. “You think I wouldn’t lay down my life for his in a second? It fucking killed me to fly out of there without him. But I — was following — orders.”
“Following orders,” Sorsha huffed. “Right. I’m not sure what more I’d expect from the living statue.”
She spat the last two words at him with such vitriol that I winced.
Adriel just stared at her, fists clenched at his sides. His breathing was low and ragged, and he vibrated with such fury that, for a moment, I thought he might strike her.
But then he loosed a breath, and I watched the fight drain out of him. Hurt flickered behind the mask of rage, and I could tell that her words had broken something inside him.
He pivoted as if he meant to walk away, but the royal guard stopped dead in his tracks. His head lifted, and the corner of his mouth tugged up as he turned back toward the princess.
“What are you smirking at?” Sorsha grumbled, looking unsettled by their argument.
Adriel didn’t answer right away, but a flicker of understanding lit his gaze. He glanced around, taking in the tall trees, the fine silvery mist that hung over the ground, and the lush blanket of moss covering the forest floor. “They’ve found us.”
“Who’s found us?” Sorsha asked as I drew my twin swords.
“The Scolendra. They’re said to sow discord among travelers in the Demon Woods. Destroy camaraderie in a group and fracture trust to make it easier to lure fae from rival courts away from their party.”
“Are you certain?” the princess asked, tossing her blood-crusted braid over one shoulder. “I’m quite sure it was you who said all those vile things.”
“Don’t you understand?” He took a step toward her, bending to bring his head close to hers and pitching his voice low. “The Scolendra can sense emotions like anger and resentment. The most powerful among them can magnify those feelings and use them to their advantage.”
Sorsha glanced around. “If that’s true, why haven’t they made themselves known?”
“They favor the element of surprise. To drive individuals away from a group and stalk their prey from the shadows.”
“Should we split up?” I asked.
Adriel tilted his head, grimacing as he considered the possibility.
“I’ll go on ahead,” said Sorsha.
Adriel opened his mouth to speak, but Sorsha held up a hand. “It’s not because of what you said about me.” She swallowed. “I can do this.”
He sighed and dragged a hand through his messy copper locks, regarding her with concern. “We’ll be close behind. And you should sing.”
“Sing?” Sorsha gave him an incredulous look.
“The Scolendra favor music. I don’t think they’ll be able to resist.”
Apprehension flickered in Sorsha’s gaze, but she merely nodded and strode off along the path that wound around a mossy knoll.
I watched her go with a feeling of unease, but Adriel settled on a fallen log, picked up a stone, and began sharpening the blade of his sword.
In the distance, I heard Sorsha hum a few shaky notes before a tune emerged. It was an eerie, lilting melody that was unfamiliar to me, though it sounded like a children’s song.
The lass went out one foggy morn to pick some fickleberries
Her mother warned her of the sprites and that she should be wary
Spirits of olde, they lured her far — far from her humble home
She soon got lost, got scared and wailed, why did I ever roam?
The lass climbed up a rocky ridge in search of her family’s stead
Slipped on a stone, down she fell, and shattered her pretty head
Sorsha’s voice drifted away, and the knot in my stomach wound tighter. Gripping my swords, I strained my ears for the sound of a struggle, but —
A twig snapped a few feet behind me, and I whirled to face our attacker.
A tall figure stood in the shadow of an elm tree, cloaked in silvery mist. Something green glistened where the stranger’s face should have been, and my heart lodged in my throat.
My instincts roared at me to attack, but Adriel hadn’t risen from his spot on the log. He was the picture of calm, honing his blade. His white-knuckled grip on the hilt of his sword was the only sign that he was just as alert as I was.
The figure stepped forward, and the scant light trickling through the trees fell across her face. Flaming red hair with streaks of gold hung almost to her hips. She wore dark green robes with embroidered bell sleeves that were so long they hid all but the tips of her fingers.