The Hunter
It didn’t take long for Mauro to slump into unconsciousness. Truth be told, I myself hadn’t been able to remain fully awake for the entire journey like I’d hoped. I had been fading in and out of consciousness, so there were some gaps in my memory. But I’d heard enough.
So, the Snow Princess intended to take back the throne. And she was afraid of Demon Fae.
I could use this to my advantage.
I carefully eased myself off the stag’s back, trying to suppress a groan of agony as icy wind howled around me. Despite the cold, it felt like my very blood was on fire. Every move prompted searing pain. I gritted my teeth so hard my head throbbed, trying to push past the agony.
Blood and ice, Demon Fae poison was a bitch.
Mauro didn’t stir when I’d finally managed to slide off him. With a slow exhale, I rose to my feet, my head spinning.
“Where do you think you’re going?” a small voice piped up.
I jumped, whirling around to find the source of the voice. Had a pixie snuck up on me? Perhaps it was another white fox, like Frisk?
Eyes narrowed, I scanned my surroundings, but the blizzard made it difficult to see. The wind stung my eyes, and the poison in my bloodstream was fogging my thoughts.
“Who—Who’s there?” I asked, trying to sound fierce and intimidating.
Then, I noticed movement from the snow at Mauro’s feet.
A tiny white snout poked out from the flurries, sniffing the air.
Gleaming blue eyes peered at me, full of suspicion and distrust. “Don’t think you can just sneak away like that.
” Her voice quivered, but there was a stubborn edge to it that told me I didn’t want to test her.
I frowned, crouching to my knees to get a better look at the creature.
I had seen the tiny dragon emerge from the princess’s pack after I’d been poisoned, but I had chalked it up to a hallucination.
Her scales were so white that she blended in perfectly with the snow, save for her glowing blue eyes.
They seemed almost more luminescent than the moon itself.
“What’s your name?” I asked. I had heard of dragons who roamed the Winter Court, but I had never met one before.
Understandably, they often stayed away from the palace and the crowds of courtiers.
But sometimes, when I was tucked away in my cottage in the mountains, I could hear one of them roaring in the distance.
I had always been curious as to what they looked like, but not curious enough to risk my life trying to track one down.
The small dragon huffed, and a puff of blue ice appeared in front of her snout. “Don’t try to charm your way out of this, hunter. You aren’t going anywhere.”
I almost snorted at her insistence. In ordinary circumstances, it would be laughably easy to evade such a tiny creature.
But with the poison coursing through my veins, I was far too weak to do much at the moment.
From the edges of my hazy memory, I recalled a small voice expressing disappointment that she couldn’t follow Eira and see the pixies for herself. Maybe I could convince this little creature to be on my side.
I heaved an exaggerated sigh, then lifted my palms as a sign of surrender. “All right. You caught me. I was merely curious about the pixies, that’s all.”
The dragon cocked her head at me, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Have you ever seen them before?”
“Once or twice,” I said vaguely. “Their magic is astounding. Did you know it burns like fire? And it’s multi-colored. It looks like an explosion of rainbow fireworks when it’s on full display.”
The dragon’s mouth opened in awe, showing several of her minuscule, sharpened teeth. Like the fangs of a lovable kitten. “Really?”
I nodded. “But it’s far too dangerous. It’s probably better that you stay here and look after me.”
The dragon’s head drooped in disappointment. “Right.” Her voice was full of resignation.
A moment passed. Then another. I tried to keep myself calm and still, but in truth, I itched to get moving. I was already on borrowed time.
But if the dragon flew ahead to warn Eira or the pixies of my movement, then there would be trouble. I needed her on my side.
“I’m Kendra,” the dragon said in a small voice. “Snow doesn’t take me on dangerous missions. Well, not very often. And when she does, I often hide.”
I tilted my head at her, assessing. “Why? You’re so small. It would be easy for you to blend in.” I gestured to the snow around us.
“True.” Kendra’s nose twitched. “But my eyes give me away. And poachers think they can harness magic from dragons. So if I get caught by the wrong people…” She shuddered, her scaly frame shivering. “It’s too scary.”
I rubbed my chin as if considering her predicament. “What if… you could see the pixies and stay hidden?”
Her head snapped toward me, her ears sticking up like an eager canine. “I’m listening.”
“Come with me,” I told her, leaning forward. “You can hide in my cloak. We’ll sneak up on the princess and the pixies and watch from a distance. Completely safe.”
She was standing up straight now, her tiny legs perched on the ground, her lizard-like tail swishing with excitement. “Are you sure?”
Fresh pain pulsed through me, and I pressed a hand to my wound.
It was bleeding again. Damn. With a groan that wasn’t at all forced, I said, “Yes. In my condition, it would be most unwise for me to draw the attention of the pixies. I just want to see what the princess is doing. And make sure she’s safe. ”
Not completely a lie. I did want to see how Eira planned to keep herself alive amongst such bloodthirsty creatures.
Kendra’s nose twitched again. Her gaze darted to the sleeping stag, then back to me. “I don’t trust you.”
“I would think you a fool if you did.”
“Swear to me you won’t hurt me.”
I almost laughed. It seemed the dragon had learned a thing or two from the Snow Princess. “I swear on my fae blood that I will not hurt you or intentionally put you in harm’s way.” Technically I didn’t need to mention my fae blood at all, but I thought it might mollify her.
Kendra blinked once, then nodded. “All right. But only for a few minutes. We should come back before Mauro wakes.”
“Of course. Hop on.” I leaned in closer, offering my shoulder to her. With a lithe jump, Kendra landed on my shoulder, then burrowed herself into my cloak. Her light talons made the tiniest of pinches along my arm and neck. They tickled, making me suppress a shudder.
“I should be able to track their footprints,” I told her. “Ready?”
She let out a giggle of excitement. “Ready.”
As it turned out, tracking the fox and the princess in the blizzard was trying enough even without the poison spreading through my body.
But I had to grit my teeth and endure it.
Those two would likely get themselves killed by negotiating with the pixies.
I knew how to handle them, but I doubted the feisty princess would be able to behave herself. They’d likely already beheaded her.
Which, I realized, would be in my favor. Our bargain would be nullified with her death.
Even so, I had to know for sure. If the pixies had killed her, I would still need to carve out her heart and bring it to the queen.
As I moved forward, I kept having to pause to knit my magic over my wound. It wasn’t much—just an intense burst of glamour to trigger my fae healing—but it allowed the blood to clot momentarily before the poison took over again.
Sooner or later, I would lose this game. Fae magic couldn’t heal a poison like this.
“You’re dying, aren’t you?” came Kendra’s soft voice. The third time I had to use my magic, she poked her head out from the fabric of my cloak.
I sighed. There was no use trying to deceive her about this. “Yes. If the pixies don’t heal me soon, I’ll die.”
“Then we should probably hurry up.”
I nodded and pressed onward.
After what felt like an eternity, I found them. The pixie magic gave away their location, creating a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors against the night sky.
I wanted to remind Kendra to be silent, but she had buried herself in my cloak once more. She seemed to know that keeping herself invisible was the best strategy.
When I was a few paces away, I halted and withdrew my knives, laying them on the snow at my feet before I continued onward. To approach pixies with weapons was a criminal offense.
Another reason the princess would likely be killed. Such a shame.
But then I heard her as she declared with a loud voice, “My name is Eira. I am the rightful queen of this court.”
I stilled at the power resonating from those words. Gone was the playful princess who tormented me night and day. Gone was the cheerful optimist whose grin made my blood boil.
These were the words of a queen.
Even the pixies were stunned into silence. Kendra had inched her head out to watch with wide, transfixed eyes.
But the princess wasn’t finished.
“When I take back my throne, I intend to change Calista’s unjust laws against those she calls half breeds.
” She spat the words. “I may not be unseelie, but I am half human. You aren’t the only ones to have been mistreated because of your heritage.
Humans are hunted and tortured for sport.
We’ve been banished from our homes, forced to turn over our lands to the superior species.
” There was venom in her words that made me tremble.
How often had I thought those exact words? That the fae were superior to humans?
Kendra’s head lifted, her eyes shining as she gazed at Eira. “She’s incredible,” she breathed.
“My father intended to change this court for the better,” Eira continued.
“He loved a human and saw her for the pure soul that she was. We are different, you and I. I may not have wings or pink skin or glowing magic. But I have a soul, just as you. We are more than just our appearances. We are more than our bloodlines. We are beings with desires and goals, feelings and ambitions, and a whole future of choices and decisions if we only have the freedom to make them. I vow that, as your queen, I will give you that freedom.”
My mouth fell open. If the princess truly couldn’t lie, then she had just made a hefty promise to some of the most savage creatures I’d ever met.
“How are we to believe your promises?” asked the white-haired pixie in front of Eira. “You are part human.”
“I cannot lie,” Eira said. “But, if you wish it, I will strike a bargain with you and seal it in blood.”
Kendra sucked in a sharp breath, her small frame quivering on my shoulder.
I couldn’t blame her. The na?ve princess was dooming herself.
I knew for a fact that a blood bargain with a pixie was dangerous and volatile.
Some fae were killed by the intensity of the pixie magic as the bargain was struck; they couldn’t even survive long enough to fulfill their part of the deal.
As a half human, Eira didn’t stand a chance.
“Snow!” Frisk objected.
The white-haired pixie threw her head back and laughed. “You are a fool, princess! You are issuing your own death sentence with this bargain.”
“Then you will lose nothing,” Eira said, her regal tone unwavering. “Strike this bargain with me. If I survive, you heal my friend. If I don’t…” She shrugged one shoulder as if her own life mattered so little to her. “Then you owe me nothing.”
I wanted to laugh along with the pixies. It would be far too easy for me to fulfill my bargain with the queen now. The force of the pixies’ magic would kill the princess, and once the feral creatures were finished with her, I would carve out her heart and bring it to Calista.
Of course, I still needed to find a healer. A minor complication.
“All right then,” said the white-haired pixie, her grin widening. “Let us strike this bargain. I hope you have made peace with your gods, princess, because you will meet them soon.”
Eira flashed her own smile. “We’ll see.”
“Nyra, please—” Frisk began.
“Silence, fox,” Nyra barked. “Your princess has made her decision. There is no turning away from this fate.”
I inched closer so I could better see this pixie queen. She looked magnificent indeed with her long hair billowing in the wind, her inky black eyes wide with delight.
“Bring me the ceremonial dagger,” Nyra commanded. A few pixies shuffled, and one broke through the crowd, reverently bowing as he placed a long, jagged dagger in the queen’s hands.
Frisk was whispering something to the princess, but she shook her head, her expression fierce with determination. She looked fairly confident for someone about to die. I squinted at her, trying to figure out what she was planning.
“Don’t stand there and bleed on my doorstep,” Nyra called out suddenly. “Come and join us, good sir. You can get a much better view from here.”
Kendra let out a squeak and dived back into my cloak. All of the pixies turned their heads to fix their black eyes on me.
Well, shit.