Chapter 6
The only way out of here is death?
Oh, well, that’s just great.
Though I probably should have assumed as much when I saw all the volcanoes and lava. This place was the epitome of death. Maybe I’d call it Death Incarnate instead of Eroth.
I struggled to maintain eye contact with Rhydian as I processed this information, refusing to let him see the fear his words elicited in me.
I called on that familiar numbness I always summoned when dealing with my father, trying to shut off my fear.
I hid my angry fists beneath my armpits, and swallowed the panic disguised as bile working its way up my throat.
There was no lie in his eyes, and that realization had my fear skyrocketing.
It truly was unfair. I would either die here in a place I was brought to against my will, or I would die if I tried to leave.
Either way, it appeared death was certain, and now my family would suffer without me there to take the brunt of my father’s wrath.
What would he do to my mom when I didn’t come back?
What would he do to Lila and Joey? They were still so young.
I had sheltered them as much as I could, but without me there to protect them…
The groceries should have been the furthest thing from my mind at that point, but I couldn’t stop thinking about them sitting in the back of my car.
The money spent on them was wasted—even if I somehow got back, the heat would have spoiled everything inside—and now my mom wouldn’t have what she needed.
Then what would my father do? How much time had passed since Rhydian kidnapped me?
Had my father already poured out his wrath for my disobedience?
I finally tore my eyes from Rhydian’s and paced back and forth through the cave, trying to get some warmth into my bones while my mind spun in circles. Gold-ringed eyes followed me wherever I walked, his gaze like a brand, sizzling away on my skin.
Surely there had to be a way out of here that left my heart beating, that allowed me to get back home to my family. I would do anything, give anything. There clearly was no chance of convincing my kidnapper to let me go. Maybe there was someone else in this world that would help me.
We couldn’t be the only two people in this strange place. Right?
I just needed to follow along with whatever this Rhydian wanted until I found someone else who would help me. There had to be someone here who would know how to send me home. I was going to make a break for it the first chance I had.
As I replayed his words for the umpteenth time, a thought occurred to me.
“Wait. You left this place and you’re alive. If what you said is true, then what does that make you?”
Rhydian smirked. “Clearly not human.”
“You look human to me.”
“An unfortunate side effect of the Veil.”
“Veil?”
He huffed out a breath, clearly frustrated by all my questions. “My true form is hidden from you beneath a Veil. Otherwise, you’d faint at the mere glimpse of me. All humans do.”
I arched a brow, studying his features more closely. He had to be lying. Aside from the unique coloring of his eyes, he looked normal. Even the tattoo vining up his forearm beneath his rolled sleeve was a normal sight. This was just another one of his schemes to rattle me, to make me submissive.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Trust me.” Rhydian raised his arm and whistled as he lowered it, mimicking me fainting. “Stronger humans have fainted. What makes you think you’d be able to handle it?”
“Is that a challenge?” I asked. My teeth clicked together from how hard I closed my mouth.
What was I thinking? This guy could kill me without a single touch.
Provoking him was not smart, nor was inviting him to remove whatever his Veil was.
Why couldn’t I control my reactions around him? I’d had a lifetime of practice.
Rhydian’s eyes narrowed, his annoyed glare sending prickles across my skin.
But, after a moment, something shifted in his expression and in the tension of his shoulders.
It was so slight, if I hadn’t been watching closely, I would have missed it.
It almost looked like curiosity. Surprise flitted through me at witnessing an emotion other than annoyance or anger on his face.
“Do you want it to be?” he asked, head cocked to the side.
“I’d like your mind games to end,” I replied instead.
I needed to understand this man—or whatever he was—and this world if I ever wanted to get out of here.
That started by understanding him and this world.
I wasn’t sure what this so-called Veil was, but I had a hard time believing that I would actually faint once he removed it.
And even if he did have some hideous features hiding beneath, I would grit my teeth and face it.
I wouldn’t cower like he was expecting me to.
“Show me.”
Rhydian blinked at me, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Are you actually asking me to remove my Veil?” he asked, eyes widening.
I tried to feign indifference, calling on that emotionless mask I was so used to.
Maybe if I acted like I didn’t care, he’d be more likely to acquiesce.
I gave a shrug. “Well, if what you’ve said is true, then either I die now or I die from trying to escape this infernal place. What’s a few minutes?”
Rhydian shook his head, cracking his knuckles. “I have yet to meet a human who wasn’t frightened when I revealed myself.”
I felt the blood drain from my face, a question immediately bursting to my lips. “How many humans have you brought here?” An even worse thought had my gut sinking. “How many have you brought here to die?”
An unexpected wince contorted his face for a split second, the tips of his ears turning red, before he turned away from me. He started pacing again. “That’s none of your concern.”
I gaped at him. “You…you brought me to a place where I can’t leave, which apparently you’ve done before—many times by the guilt on your face—and that’s none of my concern?”
Rhydian stopped in his tracks, struggling to keep his expression neutral as he glared at me. “Well, maybe you should’ve been more careful. You shouldn’t have let your guard down and let that man try to take you.”
It was clear I was getting under his skin, and I watched for any sign that he was about to hurt me.
When he didn’t take a single step toward me, and that golden light stayed absent, I swallowed my fear, and dared to say, “Yes, because I knew the moment I stepped out of that bakery with a donut stuffed into my mouth that a strange man would try to grab me.” I crossed my arms. “I should’ve been running from you the moment you spoke to me in the store. ”
For a moment, he was silent. Then in a quiet, deep rumble that made my insides clench, he said, “Yes, you should’ve.”
Before I could ask what he meant, his hands began glowing with that gold light like they had when he killed the other kidnapper.
Was this it? Had he tired of me already? Was he about to slay me where I stood?
I pictured Lila’s cute nose scrunch and Joey’s gap-toothed grin in my mind, and the crestfallen look on my mom’s face this morning when I’d made that rude comment. Regret was a slimy feeling in my stomach. How was I ever supposed to apologize now?
I never even got to say goodbye.
Saying a silent prayer that they would be all right without me, I braced myself for the icy cold I imagined death would be.
Gold light filled the cave, forcing my eyes to close.
I waited, holding my breath, for death to find me.
I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe it would be a smothering darkness that wrapped me in an embrace. Or maybe it would just be a separation from my body, and my soul would wander this mysterious place forever. Or maybe I wouldn’t know anything happened at all, and I would just cease to be.
A few moments passed and nothing happened. The gold faded from behind my closed eyes.
“What are you doing?” Rhydian asked, and I flinched.
“Waiting to die,” I blurted, keeping my eyes firmly closed. I wished I could say I was brave enough to meet death with eyes wide open, but that was the biggest lie I would ever tell.
“Death didn’t want you.” His voice held a trace of something I hadn’t heard from him before. Was that…humor?
“Open your eyes,” he commanded.
I didn’t want to listen to him, I didn’t want to follow his commands, but I could only imagine what would happen if I didn’t. I rubbed at the bruise on my wrist, which now hurt worse after being handled by not one but two kidnappers.
“I said, open your eyes, human.”
Pure command laced his voice, and my eyes opened of their own accord, my teeth clenching tightly together, preparing for what I might see. I was glad my jaw was firmly closed, otherwise it might’ve fallen all the way to the floor.
Rhydian had removed his so-called Veil, revealing what lay beneath.
I hadn’t been sure what to expect, maybe a monster with horns or red eyes.
But, for all his bravado, he didn’t look that much different.
It was more of an…enhancement. His features had sharpened, as if he had been blurry throughout our entire interaction but I’d never noticed.
The light-caramel color of his eyes brightened, swirling with the golden ring around the outside.
His skin was perfectly tanned, despite the cold climate we were in, and his dark hair shone like a raven’s feather.
He was slightly taller too, his muscles more defined.
To top it off, pointed ears poked out from beneath his hair, the strangest part of his lackluster transformation.
I loathed to admit it, but he was actually kind of…beautiful.
If I had any ounce of self-preservation left in me, I would have thought before I spoke. But instead, I said, “I thought you said I’d be terrified.”
Rhydian’s eyes widened, once again stunned, as if it was unfathomable that I would have such a reaction—or non-reaction—to seeing this version of him.
Was he really so full of himself that he thought I’d faint from his beauty or something? Last time I checked, seeing a beautiful man wasn’t an actual cause of death. Rhydian had the audacity to stalk up to me and wave his hand in front of my eyes, as if I were blind.
I took a giant step back, my heart jumping into my throat at how close he’d gotten, at the way he raised his hand. I tried to say, “Get away from me,” but my words stayed choked in my throat.
Lightning fast, he grabbed my arm, his nails digging into my skin, though they didn’t draw blood. “Human, there are few who rival me in this world, in both power and appearance, so I suggest you watch your tongue. I don’t think you understand the danger you’re in here with a Dark Fae.”
I fell silent, my body locking up the moment he touched me, my brain recognizing that there was danger and shutting down.
When he released his grip on me, I took a step back from him, rubbing at my wrist. My eyes found the floor, and I couldn’t get my feet to move. His gaze was a brand on my skin as he studied me.
After a few more quiet, tense moments, he sighed, giving a dismissive wave of his hand. “I’m not going to hurt you, human.” A pause. “Not more than I already have,” he muttered quietly, as though I weren’t supposed to hear it. Then he turned and walked farther into the cave.
Wait. That was it? After all that, he was walking away? A deep breath finally worked its way into my lungs, the tightness in my chest releasing.
“W-where are you going?” I called out.
He said over his shoulder, “I’m going home.”
“You live in a cave?”
His snort echoed between the walls. “Don’t be ridiculous. This simply leads to my home.”
I started to follow him, not wanting to lose him in the dark. “Why would we be taking a cave passage to your home?”
Rhydian cast an annoyed glare over his shoulder. “Because this is a dangerous place, and I don’t particularly feel like saving your life a second time.”
“You wouldn’t have to save it at all if you hadn’t brought me here.”
“An act I’m greatly regretting,” he retorted. The darkness started to swallow him up, and I quickened my steps, not wanting to be left behind and die from the elements.
Down, down, down the cave tunnel went until I was sure we had to be underground, maybe even under the volcanoes themselves if that were possible.
The cold air constricted my lungs, and I struggled for every breath.
My fingers and toes were filled with needles as they fought to hold on to any sliver of warmth.
Rhydian’s earlier words began to replay in my mind.
He had said that he was a powerful Dark Fae.
What was that? I had never heard of such a thing.
I wanted to ask, but it was taking all of my stamina to keep up with his long strides and not lose him in the dark.
If it weren’t for the faint glow of his magic he held aloft in his palm, I was certain I’d have been lost in these tunnels long ago.
The one positive side to having to follow him was the long walk provided the barest relief from the cold, especially when the earth started ascending and my calves and heart began to burn from the exertion.
When the tight tunnel walls finally fell away, revealing more winter landscape, with even more of those lava mountains in every direction, Rhydian came to a stop.
We were in a valley between the volcanoes, and built into the side of the only mountain without lava sliding down its side was an enormous stone castle.
It was so large that it was nearly half the height of the mountain itself.
The two moons in the sky illuminated just enough to see that the grounds surrounding it were clearly in decay.
Thorns and leaf-less bushes littered the yard beyond the front gate, making it appear as though it were abandoned.
“You…you live there?” I breathed, unable to tear my eyes from the castle.
He smirked, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “Where else would I live?”
“In a normal house? Not a giant castle surrounded by lava that could kill you?”
He waved a hand in dismissal. “Don’t be silly. With my magic, it can’t hurt someone like me…” He trailed off, looking me up and down. “You, on the other hand…” A treacherous smile spread across his lips, as if he were toying with the idea of pushing me in.
I crossed my arms, ignoring him as I stared at the castle. How were we supposed to get there when streams of fire coated the ground in every direction?
“Besides,” he continued after a moment when I didn’t react to his thinly veiled threat. “Where else would a prince live?”
I couldn’t help it—a strangled noise slipped out of my mouth as I gaped at him.
“That’s right, human. I am Prince Rhydian Malathar, the last remaining heir in the Kingdom of Eroth.”