Chapter 46
My legs ached, the tender space between my thighs sore and throbbing from Fenn’s thorough claiming of my body in the forest. But the lightness in my head from the fire wine and the pure, unfettered delight of being in love made me oblivious to the pain.
It softened the blow of my departure, knowing I would return. I wasn’t sure if we would reside in his court or mine, but I knew we would be together. That was all that mattered.
I found myself drifting to sleep against his chest, our legs still tangled together, my mind sleepy and content.
A flash of distorted images seared through my mind. Blurry faerie lights. Dancers with butterfly wings. Green-faced ogres leering at me.
Then, one scene came into focus with stark clarity: a circle of red-cloaked witches, hands clasped as they chanted in an ancient tongue.
The witch in the center stepped forward, lowering her hood. She dragged a blade down the center of her own palm. Blood dripped to the ground. In a powerful, echoing tone, she said, “I give my blood to the earth and stars. Let it seal this spell forevermore.”
Her face was mine. Her voice was mine.
The witch was me.
I jerked awake, my eyes flying open. My heart pounded painfully in my chest as I glanced around the darkened forest, searching for that circle of witches.
But Fenn and I were alone. His slow breaths filled my ears as he continued to sleep, blissfully unaware of my vivid nightmare .
How long had we been asleep? Was the fete over? I couldn’t hear the music anymore, but we were deep enough into the forest where the sounds of the river could be drowning out the echoing strains of music.
Slowly, I extracted myself from Fenn’s embrace, despite how I yearned to curl into him, to burrow my face into his bare chest and chase away my fears and worries.
As I eased away from him, I hastily adjusted my bodice and skirt. It was rumpled and damp in a few places, but there was nothing to be done about it. I found the lavender glass vial from the three witches resting in the grass nearby, and I quickly slid it back into my bodice.
After patting down my hair and tucking the wild strands behind my ears, I looked at Fenn one last time. I knew I should wake him. I still needed stardust from him. And if he found I had slipped away without saying goodbye, he would be livid.
But if he looked at me with that dark, sensuous expression again, if he kissed me once more, if he gathered me into his arms, I knew for certain I would be unable to leave.
Besides, I could scoop up a handful of stardust from the Celestial River. Surely, I wouldn’t need more than that.
I blew Fenn a kiss and murmured, “You have my heart, Fenn. Guard it well.”
Then I turned and walked away before the sight of him pulled me back. Tears streaked down my face, and I impatiently wiped them away. This was silly. We would be together. This parting was only temporary.
Then why did my chest constrict so tightly that I couldn’t breathe? Why did a chill of foreboding ripple along my spine, warning me this would be the last time we ever saw each other?
Shaking these irrational thoughts from my mind, I made my way through the forest, emerging to find the bridge empty. I frowned. Perhaps the fete had ended. I wasn’t sure how long I had slept.
The air was eerily silent as I crossed the bridge. Even the river seemed quieter than usual, the babble soft and ominous.
When I reached the other side of the river, I scanned the empty field and courtyard. No music. No dancers. The faerie lights had dimmed.
Something was wrong.
My blood ran cold as I realized what it was. The braziers along the river were no longer lit. The strong Nightfire that Mal had provided must have burnt out.
Panic pulsed in my chest as I whirled toward the bridge, prepared to dash across it and rouse Fenn.
I found myself face-to-face with a huge, four-legged beast. It leered at me with a dozen milky white eyes, large fangs protruding from a wide mouth. Each leg was thin and hairy like a giant spider as it inched toward me. Foam dripped from its open maw.
I scrambled backward with a terrified yelp. The creature scuttled toward me with frightening speed, its legs completely silent on the grass. That was how I hadn’t heard it approach. It didn’t make a single sound as it closed the distance between us, filling my nose with the scent of cobwebs and decay.
Panic surged through my veins, spurring me into action. I spun and fled, my feet scrambling up the steps of the courtyard. Before I could make it to the castle doors, two more beasts appeared in my path, one with large pincers that snapped at me hungrily.
I felt the blood drain from my face. Oh, gods. I glanced behind the beasts, thinking perhaps if I screamed, someone from the castle would come to my rescue.
The doors were sealed shut.
Dread coiled in my chest. Did the staff think Fenn and I were inside? Or had these beasts devoured everyone while Fenn and I had been sleeping?
Fenn .
I inhaled a deep breath and unleashed a piercing scream that echoed in the night. The creatures shuddered, scuttling away from me. It seemed they, like the ogres, were repelled by loud sounds.
I could use that in my favor.
When my scream died, the creatures scurried closer to me. I bellowed loudly, my throat raw from the intensity of my shout.
Once more, they recoiled from the noise, giving me the opening I needed. I ran down the steps, sidestepping the approaching monsters. My bare feet burned with each stride as I sprinted for the bridge.
Get to Fenn. Get to Fenn. I repeated the words in my head as a chant.
But when I reached the bridge, I stopped short. An entire horde of the spider-like creatures waited for me.
Shit. Perhaps I shouldn’t have screamed so loudly. Now every unseelie beast within a one-mile radius knew I was here.
I had no dagger. No weapon. I was alone and severely outnumbered.
Suddenly remembering, I pulled the lavender vial from my bodice and smashed it on the wooden beams of the bridge. It shattered, and an eerie violet smoke poured from it, coiling in the air.
I wasn’t sure what I expected—perhaps the witches to appear instantly and rescue me?—but the unseelie beasts only continued to advance.
The witches were not coming. I was on my own.
Even so, I bared my teeth, refusing to cower in fear.
You are the most powerful fae in this kingdom, I reminded myself. Perhaps the most powerful fae in all of Valora.
Unbidden, Mal’s voice from my dreams echoed in my mind. You have more control than you think, Aurelia. Think of the level of control you exercise when we are flying through the sky. You put your trust in me to keep you safe, and you must do the same with your magic. Let it go. Let go of the reins, Aurelia.
Had that conversation been real, or merely a nonsensical scenario conjured by my subconscious?
In this moment, it didn’t matter. Though my arms trembled with terror, my heart seizing in my chest, I held myself still and forced a steady breath. The creatures drew nearer, closing in around me, cutting off any hope of escape.
Still, I focused on my deep breaths. My eyes closed, and I thought of riding atop Mal, soaring through the sky. I thought of the one night we had sailed across the stars, gliding among the heavens. The stars shone just like tonight, guiding us along.
I thought of the way my arms had stretched wide as if I, too, had wings. I had leaned back, hands spread, the cool night air whipping at me. The freedom. The release. The sensation of all my restraints snapping, my cage shattering, my wings carrying me away…
A burst of energy flowed from my chest, igniting something powerful within me. I threw my head back and roared into the night, but the sound wasn’t my voice; it was the voice of a deadly beast within me.
Two of the unseelie creatures scuttled away, their quivering forms vanishing into the forest. But the rest approached with wary interest, their legs twitching.
I roared again, and smoke poured from my mouth. My teeth elongated into fangs, and my forked tongue darted out, tasted the air, tasting their fear.
I would devour these vermin. I would crush their bodies, feasting on them as if they were nothing. I inched closer to them, my back arching. Somehow, my body felt longer. Larger. Something slithered behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder, alarmed to find a scaly black tail extending from my rear, swishing along the grass.
But I was too enraged to register my shock. Nothing had felt so right in my entire life. This was me. This was the power locked inside me.
I threw my head back and screamed, a feral and monstrous sound. Blue flames poured from my mouth, igniting the air.
A creature lunged for me, barbed mouth open wide. I swiped a clawed hand, my arms now black and scaled. My talons tore into the beast’s flesh, and hot green pus poured from within, forming a steaming heap on the ground. I whirled, gutting another creature. Then another. Two more rushed me, but the rest had fled, wisely taking cover in the forest, knowing they would not defeat me.
I inhaled deeply, then breathed more flames that engulfed the creatures. Their piercing shrieks filled the air as my fire consumed them, burning their flesh. The rotting stench stung my nostrils, but I poured more fire, burning and burning until they were nothing more than ash. My vision was tinged green, but I could see more acutely than ever, the broken bodies of the creatures crisp and clear, even in the darkness.
When the last of the beasts dissolved into a pile of ash, I spread my wings wide, unleashing an almighty roar of triumph. I was unstoppable. Powerful. Lethal.
Nothing could stop me.
“Aurelia?” cried a familiar voice.
I turned, my large dragon’s body lumbering awkwardly, my long neck craning to see who approached. Across the bridge, I made out a figure, dressed in only his trousers, his bare chest gleaming in the moonlight.
It was Fenn, his face pale and his mouth open in horror.