Chapter 31
I’m trappedin a feathered body, all strength I believed I had sucked from my limbs as Herinor carries me up the stairs between his large hands like a pigeon for slaughter. Guardians, I’ve never noticed how enormous his hands are, his fingers reaching around my chest while his magic keeps the rest of me bound.
My scrawny legs ache from uselessly kicking at my restraints, my wings pulse with exhaustion, my tiny heart pumps so fast it might work itself into a standstill. My voice has reduced to meaningless caws, my thoughts to the image of Myron’s eyes as they locked on mine for a brief moment while I was up in the air. Shock and petrification. He hadn’t known I was capable of shifting, just as I hadn’t known—or any of the males currently walking with me.
“The antidote was supposed to lift the effects of the drug slowly. She didn’t have much magic before. Only the water wielding, but that I could have easily controlled if it hadn’t happened so fast.” Ephegos turns to Katrijanov. “You saw her eat the bread, too. She’d eaten at least half of it when we entered her room, and she took another big bite when we were there. That should have been enough to keep her under control for a day if not longer.”
“Something went wrong,” Katrijanov agrees, his gaze flying to Herinor, whose hands are gentle around my body even when his magic holds like steel. He isn’t hurting me now that I’ve stopped fighting. It’s more important for me to hear every word they speak. If I’m not strong enough to escape, I need to be smart enough. And for that, I need all the information I can get.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Herinor grumbles at the general. “I didn’t help her. I caught her for you when you messed up with the drugs.”
He sounds almost convincing to me, but the tiny, reassuring brush of his finger over the side of my tucked wing tells me he has a plan. I also don’t miss Ephegos’s probing glance in Herinor’s direction. He’d know if the male broke his bargain. He’d be dead, not carrying me through the palace.
“Take her to her room,” he orders, already turning into another hallway with Katrijanov. “She needs to shift back before we can do anything else.”
It’s the best motivation I can think of to make me want to stay in this bird form forever, though I don’t doubt they will stop at nothing to force me back into my human body if I don’t cooperate.
Herinor doesn’t change his grim expression as he walks past the few guards spaced out along the main hallway leading up to the residential level, ignoring when they study us with curious interest.
“Never seen a stray bird?” he barks at one of them, who cringes against the golden ornamentations on the wall like he slapped his face.
It would have been comical, if not for the panic coiling my stomach into a tight knot at the thought of Myron down in the dungeon. Herinor didn’t allow me a glimpse at my husband before he carried me out of the chamber, effectively blocking the view with his massive torso. As he does now.
All I can see is the dark floor ahead, the gold and sepia walls, the ceiling full of filigree, and the large window at the end of the hallway—until he turns left and walks up the stairs and my gaze falls on the female form approaching at a busy pace.
I recognize the servant’s uniform before I recognize her face.
“Kaira—”
I realize I called out to her in my mind when her head snaps to the side, searching the space for any sign of me.
“Ayna? Where are you?”She slows her pace. Stops, gaze finding Herinor cradling me in his hands. Her face twists as if in an effort to keep any sign of distress tucked away behind a mask of confidence. “I can’t see you, Ayna. Where. Are. You?”
Behind me, Herinor seems to grow an inch as he throws back his shoulders, gait turning more energetic at the sight of the part-Flame.
“Find me in her room,” he whispers at her as he casually strolls past her, not bothering to look at her twice, but I can sense the heat rolling off the female as we pass by, the way Herinor’s muscles quiver as if in self-restraint.
There is something going on here, and it has nothing to do with the fact that Kaira isn’t supposed to be anywhere but the kitchens and servant areas.
Kaira’s chin drops an inch as she steps aside as if clearing the warrior’s path. For every other person, it must have appeared like a fae guard almost walking over a human servant, but for me… For me, it seemed those two have been spending more time together than just those few days in the carriage on our way to Meer.
“Ayna?” Kaira’s voice fills my small bird-head, and I wonder how it fits in there. I’ve stopped wondering how I’ve turned into this form, though. Musing about the whys won’t change anything.
“I’m the bird.”It sounds so ridiculous that I want to take it back because I’m human, not fairy or fae or Flame, or any other creature. Yet, I’ve shifted.
“Fuck—”Kaira’s footsteps click down the hallway so fast I am certain she’s running. A door creaks, and I can hear her turn. “How did that happen?” The distress in her voice makes my heart race even harder. “Did they put a spell on you?”
“Crows don’t put spells on people.”
“How do you know? I’ve seen them do all sorts of horrible things.”She sounds farther away, as do her footsteps as they fall along a set of stairs I can’t locate. My new senses are incredible, but that is beyond their capability.
“So have I,”I remind her, because I have. “They can’t put spells on people.” Another reason I am so certain is that I feel it in my bird bones like a truth I was born with.
“Almost there,” Herinor murmurs as we round the final corner into the hallway leading to my room.
I want to ask him why he tries to make it sound like a reassurance when there is nothing he can do other than execute Ephegos’s orders. All he can do is take me to my room and leave me to my fate the way he’s always done—even before I broke the curse, at the Crow Palace.
“Hold on, Ayna,”Kaira calls before her voice fades entirely. “I’ll be there soon.”
Another reassurance that has no meaning. Even hearing her voice in my head hasn’t made her an ally I can fully rely on, no matter how much I want to.
Herinor ignores the guard at my door saluting him like an officer and kicks the door open, not deigning to explain why he’s carrying a bird around.
“Make sure the stairs are clear,” he hisses over his shoulder before he slams the door in the man’s face.
He doesn’t stop to set me down until he reaches the window, which he closes with his magic before placing me on the table and sitting in the chair in front of me, bringing his face level with mine.
“I know you’re afraid, Ayna. It’s scary to shift for the first time, even for a born Crow.” His voice is gentle, soothing as he keeps his hands on either side of my body, bracing me or keeping me from hopping off the table and trying to fly away, I don’t know.
“Can you change back?”He strokes his thumb over my back.
I need to talk to him if I want to understand what’s going on, so I’d better try.
I have no idea how, but I visualize myself in my human body, hoping it would be that easy.
Apparently, it is. Because a moment later, I sit on the polished wood of the table, my legs tucked under my naked body and pushing Herinor aside with an expanding shoulder.
He leaps off the chair, blindly grabbing for the blanket resting at the foot of the bed and throwing it over my form before turning his eyes back on me. “Good, now let’s figure out how to get you out of here.”
“I thought you couldn’t help me.” My voice is dry and every word hurts like the Guardians scraped my vocal cords from my throat.
“I’m not helping you.” His brows knit together as he helps me step off the table while I clasp the blanket around my shivering form. “I’m helping Myron.”
My mouth opens, but no words come out.
“Did you send the note?” I manage after a few moments of speechlessness. “Because I’m sure telling me not to eat the poisoned piece of food counts as help…”
“I’d be dead if I’d helped you,” he reminds me, his scars stark on his tan face as we reach the sofa where he sits me down before opening the armoire, rummaging through its contents. “Only finery in here,” he grumbles. “You need practical clothes. Kaira will bring something…”
“Kaira, or me.” The door closes, and Clio walks in with a stack of linen in her hands that could be beddings or a set of peasant clothes. I pray it’s the latter.
“We have about five minutes to get out of here.” She kicks the door shut with her boot and drops the stack on the sofa next to me. “And before you ask, yes, I stole them, and no, I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it.” Her gaze wanders to Herinor, who has stopped his digging to stare at her instead. “No, I don’t have my magic back. I’m just that awesome without it.” She flashes a brief grin that doesn’t touch her eyes. “Now get the fuck out of here before the bargain kills you, Crow. I won’t forget what you did for me.”
I have no clue what’s going on, wild shivers still raking through my body as I try to pick up a piece of linen—a shirt—while also not exposing myself.
Clio sighs, shoving at Herinor’s back as she directs him toward the door, ignoring the reluctance in his steps.
“What did you do, Herinor?” I think it’s the first time I called him by his name, but it doesn’t taste bitter despite our history.
He shakes his head. “I can’t help you, Ayna, and I’ll forever regret that I can’t. But I can help everyone else. So I do.” My heart clenches at the look he gives me, full of devastation and fear. Who would have thought a big, ruthless male like him could fear anything? “Ephegos ordered me to take you to your room, but he never said anything about making sure you stay here. Disappearing for now is the best I can do. You don’t need my help. You have Clio and Kaira. Trust Kaira.” His voice wraps around her name, and I know he has more to lose in this palace than I could have ever imagined. “And never forget you have the gods on your side. Vala gave you a mate to fight for. Shaelak gave you wings to match his. Now go and fly, little bird.”
I only notice my heart is breaking for him as he’s crossing the threshold, closing the door behind him to disappear to the Guardians know where.
“Enigmatic like the rest of them, isn’t he?” Ever pragmatic, Clio picks the shirt from my hands and pulls it over my head, moving down the blanket. My breasts bob as she gently pushes me back to tug the shirt in place, and I instinctively reach for my chest.
“I’m sorry I didn’t bring you fancy underthings to keep everything in place, but this is a rescue mission, and I couldn’t care less what your breasts do while you run.”
I’m inclined to laugh. Instead, a tear shoots to my eye, lingering on my lashes as I try to shake the shock of the past hours.
“I don’t know what happened, but it can’t be anything good, judging by your looks.” Skimming me head to toe, she hands me a pair of brown linen pants that remind me of Tavrasian peasant attire. “And I don’t know what Herinor has been up to, but you don’t think I’ve been sitting around, twiddling thumbs while they have both our mates in the dungeons.”
There, she said it. mates. Both our mates.
“He really is my mate,” I admit in a whisper, a numbness spreading where pain was dictating minutes ago. The panic hasn’t ebbed, though, my heart still pounding mercilessly.
“Can we push the epiphany back until we’re out of here?” She picks a pair of sturdy slippers from the armoire while I fill her in about what happened in the dungeon, monitoring her every move with my new spectrum of senses.
“He gave me that serum before to wake up my fairy senses, and he gave me the drug that nullifies my powers. I still have none of them at my disposal, thanks to said serum.” Grimacing, she helps me into my slippers. “Not what I’d call combat gear, but we’re not going into battle.” The yet is a silent addition we both know she doesn’t need to speak. Soon enough, we’ll face a war Ephegos has been helping Erina prepare. Humans attacking Askarea with magic-binding weapons… My stomach turns, and I retch on my shoes, barely missing Clio’s hands as she hops aside at the last moment.
“Whatever of the drug is left in your system will purge fast since you ingested it through food, and he gave you the serum to wake your senses, so you should be fine within a day or two.” Her eyes snag on the bruise on my face, which I’ve mercifully been able to ignore—or have I been.
“What’s wrong?” I wipe my mouth on a corner of the blanket, realizing my face isn’t throbbing the way it was in the dungeons.
“The bruise is almost gone. You are healing yourself.” She brushes back my hair and ties it with a strip of fabric she rips off the hem of my shirt. “Ephegos is a fool to experiment on you with his potions. Whatever he gave you triggered your powers to wake up. He probably wasn’t expecting that you’d turn into a Crow yourself.”
I try not to think about the implications of her assessment. A Crow. The first female Crow in millennia.
“He certainly made a mistake he’ll regret once we’re all out of here and have our powers at our disposal.” The conviction in her tone is almost convincing.
“You’re coming with me? We’re all getting out?” It’s a vain hope, and I try not to cling to the thought of seeing Myron again, free of shackles or anguish. The real Myron with all his vast fae powers and his ocean-blue eyes.
“You and I are getting out.” Clio tucks my hair in place, hiding the lengths in the collar of my shirt to make me less recognizable. “We need to leave the males behind for now until we are both at our full strength and we can rescue them.”
I try not to let the panic take me over again at the thought of Myron in chains, Myron in pain, Myron unconscious and bruised and bleeding. Apparently, my mind is dead-set on showing me exactly those images I fear so much because all I can see now is his gorgeous body strung up on the metal table, his blood pooling beneath his head as pain sears both our shoulders.
I make a mental note to ask Clio exactly how mating bonds work and force myself to stand. “I thought you wouldn’t leave without Astorian.” I understand now why she said it back then. I feel the same about Myron. The thought of abandoning him is almost unbearable.
“If we stay, none of us gets out. Plus, you’ll be married to Erina within a week. It’s not like we have a lot of options to work with or excessive time to make better plans.” She guides me to stand, and I let her. “Herinor found a way around his bargain. Help Myron because Ephegos hasn’t explicitly forbidden that. Too full of himself to believe he could be outmatched by a drugged and shackled male. Now it’s time for us to act before Ephegos binds Herinor with another order.”
A soft knock on the door has both of us holding our breath. Clio pulls a knife from the skirts of her uniform, stepping in front of me like she is ready to kill. Knowing her, she is.
“Just me, Ayna,”Kaira announces herself through the door before it swings open. I instantly relax.
“Come in.” Placing my finger on Clio’s arm, I indicate for her to lower her weapon as Kaira joins us, a satchel slung over her shoulder and a skirt draped over her arm.
“Herinor told me what happened,” she informs us as she closes the door behind her. “The guard is gone for now, but he’ll return soon. If you want to run, now’s the time.” She doesn’t spare Clio a glance. “And you should wear this instead.” The skirts she pulls from her arm unfold into a servant uniform, white apron and all. “It will be easier to smuggle you out if you blend in. Nothing against you, Princess,” she says sweetly to Clio, who glares daggers at her. “The pants are perfect for running once we’re out of the palace, but until we’re past the gates, you’d better put on these.”
Thankfully, Clio’s pride is second only to her need to get her mate out of the dungeon. And that makes her pragmatic more than ever. With a few efficient movements, the two females have me in the uniform, adding the white cap to my head to cover most of my hair.
“You got my note, then?” Kaira asks as she pulls her satchel to the front, digging up a piece of bread. “This one is clean.” Out loud, she says, “You’re probably hungry if you missed another meal.”
My stomach grumbles, but I still have the taste of bile on my tongue. “Later. Let’s get out of here first.”