Chapter 5
M y body shook uncontrollably.
Despite the commands, I kept my eyes closed tightly. I couldn’t see anymore. I couldn’t watch my failures again today.
“Your father deserves better than you,” the man hissed. “Who could ever bow to a princess who adds nothing of value to her people?”
“No,” I screamed as I heard the swift sound of a dagger unsheathing. “No more.”
“Lana.”
I flung my arm forward, slapping at the hand touching my shoulder.
“Lana, it’s me.” I looked up into Ian’s face.
It was only a dream.
Rubbing my hand over my face, I leaned my head back and took a long, slow breath. “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep. Is it time?”
Ian knelt in front of the chair in my sitting area. I’d been preparing for the drop, so I couldn’t have been asleep too long.
“Are you okay to do this?” Ian asked softly.
I glared at him, clenching my teeth. “I’m not weak.”
“I’ve never said you were. Not ever.” Ian’s voice cracked.
My mind constantly told me people saw me as weak. But Ian never did. Mostly because he lived through years of taking care of me as he dragged me from the darkness in my head. Through it all, he never once made me feel less than or weak. He worried then, as he worried now.
“I’m sorry,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. Finding my confidence again, I added, “I’m okay. I just didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
He nodded, holding out his hand to help me rise. “Everything is ready. Let’s help your people, Lan.”
Down our usual pathways, we snuck through the city. Once we slipped through the grate in the city walls, we only had a half a mile to walk before we met up with Corbin and Leif. They snuck out the carriage of supplies earlier, along with a horse for me and Ian.
“Your Highness.” Leif jumped down from the carriage and bowed his head. His brown curls fell slightly into his face at the motion.
“How many times will I have to tell you that the bowing isn’t necessary, Leif?” I asked. “Especially on drops where we’re co-conspirators?”
He grinned and the dimple Ian swore let him get away with anything appeared.
“No trouble, I hope?” I directed my question to Corbin, who approached with one of the two available horses.
For all the drops we coordinated together, it still seemed like he kept his distance. His emerald eyes met mine as he shook his head slightly, handing over the reins. “None at all.”
The two Fae, Georgina and Harold, who had made this request a few weeks ago, were from a fairly small border village. Even taking the small size into consideration, their request hadn’t included much, so we added extra coin and grain to it. Sometimes people requested so little it made this feel even worse. They weren’t willing to ask for more than the bare minimum.
After a few short miles, Ian inclined his head. He tugged the reins on his beautiful black stallion, flinging out his arm, signaling us to halt.
The horse scuffed his hoof on the ground twice, agitated by something only Ian and the horses could sense.
“Stay here,” he said. Ian jumped off his horse, tossing me the reins. He ran three steps before leaping, shifting instantly into his hawk form. He soared away toward our drop location.
“Surprised he doesn’t shift into a damn cat with his agility,” Corbin muttered behind me.
Leif stayed with the carriage, his gaze trained on the sky beyond.
Corbin rubbed at his stubble. “Go slowly, Hidden Henchman. We’ll maintain our distance but keep moving in case anything is amiss.”
Slipping on my hood and mask, I clicked my tongue at my horse, not needing to tug on Ian’s. He remained by my side just as Ian would have. We continued ahead, at a much slower pace than before.
A minute later, Ian reappeared in hawk form, plummeting to the ground, and shifting, landing on a knee. His clothes materialized around him as he rose.
“We’ve got trouble. They’ve been ambushed. Let’s go.”
He slung his leg over the side of his horse and grabbed my arm. “Stay here with the goods and?—”
“Don’t you dare,” I snarled as I yanked my arm from his grasp. “Leif, jump on,” I shouted over my shoulder. “You don’t get to tell me to stay behind,” I said to Ian, my glare hopefully communicating the finality of my decision.
He sighed but relented. Leif jumped onto the back of my horse, and in moments, Corbin had somehow unbridled the carriage horse.
We rode hard toward the drop spot, galloping to help the Fae who awaited us.
The metallic scent of blood hit my nostrils before I could discern the scene playing out in the clearing.
The assailants were exactly like the ones who had attacked in the forest earlier in the week.
They possessed that same unnatural jerky movement to their gazes, shifting and jumping from place to place like they had more energy than they knew what to do with. The air instantly turned hot as an electric current charged around the dark ones.
“No!” I screamed as one of their swords gutted Georgina in one quick movement. She fell to the ground in a heap and the four of us launched into an attack.
Ian went straight to assist Harold, fighting all who stood in his way.
Leif and Corbin engaged their own marks, and two of them set their sights on me.
“Come and get me,” I growled through gritted teeth.
I would not falter this time. I’d remain in the present. Whoever these cursed Fae were, they were terrorizing my people, and I refused to let it stand.
There may not be much I could help with yet, but I would be Queen of Brookmere. These dark ones would not ruin my kingdom.
The blade of my sword clashed forcefully against one of the dark ones. I threw all the weight of my training behind me. He sliced at me like a perfectly trained killer, twirling to meet every one of my offensive strikes. He moved so fast, I could scarcely keep up. He eventually caught me in a fraction of a mistake and advanced, putting me at even more of a disadvantage with my lack of magic.
His offensive attack continued our fight, slowly moving away from the others as he directed me toward the woods. Exactly like the last time.
This would not be the end of me, though. I dug deep into my mind—into the training pit and skills I’d been perfecting with Ian. I may not have perfected many, but I had a handful of techniques, which were flawless if I remained in the right headspace.
The fight had transformed into a dance, a brilliant, bloody dance. Although outside of my norm, I savored it. Ian’s teachings flowed through my veins as though I’d been born to battle. I spun to my left and struck my opponents, the world around me quieting to a dull buzz.
“On your right,” a familiar voice shouted, snapping me from my calm state as a current of warmth tingled down the length of my spine.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed as Kade’s sword stopped a dark one I hadn’t noticed.
“You’re welcome,” he shouted back, our eyes locking for a mere second. A flash of confusion whispered across his face, gone before I could even blink.
More of the dark ones arrived in a never-ending stream, not giving me a moment to distinguish where they were coming from. The smell of blood and the pounding of metal overwhelmed my senses.
“Any day now, Storm. I can’t pull much right now,” Kade growled, fighting off two men.
“Sure, leave the hard work to me,” Storm bit back, slamming his sword into the gut of an attacker, leaving Kade to deal with one. “No problem.”
The pair joined the fight, like avenging angels, destroying the dark ones with ease as they crossed their paths.
“This would be much less severe if the king didn’t have his head in the sand and actually looked out for his people,” Kade grumbled, slicing a dark one across the throat.
Blood spattered, soaking his blade, and fitted black pants, but he didn’t stop.
A sword above my head rattled my blade, but I fought it, grunting through my teeth. “The king is doing everything he can.”
Kade chuckled. “You are a na?ve one, aren’t you?”
My sword connected with the attacker’s, locking us together in a power of wills. I feigned to the right, just slightly, enough to kick dirt in his face. Clawing at his eyes, it distracted him enough to make the kill. My blade slid straight into the man’s stomach, his blood spilling upon the dry ground.
Guilt threatened to consume me as the light went out from his eyes, but I would have to mourn the death and my innocence later. Not now. Not with this battle far from over.
Having a moment of respite, I directed my attention to Kade. “It’s certainly bold of you to speak such treasonous words. You are a stranger to the palace. You know nothing of what goes on within its walls. The king tries to learn how to defeat the darkness, not send men aimlessly out to fight it.”
My words sounded far truer than I believed. A deep-seated part of me hoped my father remained unaware or misinformed of what occurred across our kingdom. He loved our people, and if he knew those beings were so close to Ellevail, he’d take action against the dark ones who plagued us.
Kade defeated his assailant swiftly. “I didn’t think the Hidden Henchman would be so loyal to the man who gives her a purpose, Little Rebel.”
“Little?” I seethed. “How incredibly predictable you are, attempting to knock a woman down by calling her small.”
Another one rushed upon me, taking me away from my brief moment of rest.
“Everyone is little compared to me.” He chuckled, leaving me to my fight.
Perfect. I didn’t need the distraction. Except when I stopped, I realized the attackers were gone, piles of them strewn about the grass near Kade and I. Surveying the others, I realized only a few remained. Ian fought one last Fae. Storm dealt the killing blow to his assailant, while Corbin and Leif ran toward the fallen Fae from the village who requested our aid.
Storm brought a dark one to his knees, holding him by the shoulders and bringing a ball of flames near his face.
Kade grunted a few feet from me, caught between two assailants.
“I’ll never break,” the dark one hissed at Storm, and my attention jerked to their position. “You know nothing of our plans.”
Storm whipped a blade across the collarbone of the Fae, and as the shirt fell away, I noticed a thick black circle, surrounding a thinner, tapered shape. It appeared similar to an eye. Black ink stood out on the sunken, pale skin of this particular dark one, marked clearly beneath the center of his collarbone. A low-button shirt would have revealed it, as well as Storm’s slash job.
A hiss at my right and a stinging sensation on my leg distracted me.
A dark one who escaped Kade had nicked my calf with his blade. The arrogant bastard still fought, though. I was mid-spin when I glanced his way, noticing him lost in his own fight.
The dark one twirled his blade in his hand. “He will keep coming for you. You can’t stop us.” His head twitched, jolting like a pulsating vein before he charged, running in more of a zigzag pattern than straight at me. His movement allowed me to use the latest set Ian taught me and I sliced across his stomach, his scream dying as another blade ripped through his neck.
I whirled around, only to come face-to-face with Kade, his bloody sword at my throat.
The cold steel pricked my skin, but I held steady. A darkness shadowed his eyes, but they grew even darker as he looked me over, his body tense and his breathing choppy.
Prepared to push him away, I put my hand to his chest. “Kade,” I said. I had meant to shout, but it came out softer.
He blinked, his sword remaining at my neck, but his eyes cleared the longer he stared at me, until he looked down to my lips, and they immediately shifted back to grey.
His cocky grin returned.
“Get your blade away from her, now .” Ian seethed.
As soon as Ian spoke, Kade’s grin faded.
I didn’t need Ian to run interference with this man, though. Not as I previously needed him all the years before.
“I vowed to destroy the last Fae who threatened me with a blade.” I didn’t step away, didn’t back down, and Kade’s lips twitched into a small smile.
“Careful, Little Rebel,” he said. “Violent words tend to lure me closer, not push me away.”
He lowered his weapon at the same time Storm tugged him backward, putting space between us. He clasped Kade’s shoulder, and I didn’t miss the way he stared at his eyes, looking for something.
Maybe Kade only had outbursts when his eyes darkened.
“You all right, brother?” Storm asked. I turned from the pair, not ready to believe Kade was anything but an asshole.
“How are you here? How did you find us?” Ian’s fury mingled with his power, rolling off of him in a display of dominance.
Kade didn’t appear the least bit intimidated. “With our superior magic and senses,” he said, “we smelled a fight.”
Storm crossed his arms. “We’d been following a group of dark ones.”
“I think you mean to say, ‘thank you.’” Kade glared at Ian. “Be happy we were here, and let’s all move on, shall we?”
Corbin cleared his throat to get our attention. “Georgina and Harold both fell,” he said. “We didn’t plan to be away and would be missed from—” He hesitated, glancing at Storm, then Kade. “We don’t have time to do the drop ourselves.” Corbin watched his words carefully, his message unwavering.
The drop had failed.
My heart tightened. Georgina and Harold had only been trying to help their village. They’d done so willingly, aware of the danger, and their lives had been sacrificed.
“We’ll take the supplies to the town. Where were they from?”
I whipped my head toward Kade. He’d go out of his way to help strangers?
“Winershire,” Ian said, scratching his stubble, looking at me. “Hidden Henchman, it's your call.”
I shifted my gaze between Storm and Kade. They had fought with us twice now, likely saving our lives in the process. Conceding, I nodded once in confirmation.
“We have ways of knowing if the supplies got to their destination,” Ian said. “If you are stealing from us, we’ll know.”
“Yes, sir, Little Sidekick.” Kade winked at me at the nickname he had given Ian.
Rolling my eyes, I signaled to my own companions. “Corbin, obtain the goods and hand them off to Kade and Storm. Gentlemen.” I faced the two of them. “Let's hope after your own drop, I never have to see your smug faces again.”