Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
“ I need to go.” Lila swallowed down the ache in her throat. The words severed the moment, ending the comfort of his embrace. Just like that, the blissful now turned to then .
“I know,” Rafe replied.
She hated herself for breaking the sweet silence, where only the sound of their breath disturbed the forest’s hush. They should have lain there, murmuring endearments and wallowing in the newness of their pairing. They should have been looking for the next bridge to cross. Instead, the journey was done.
There was no telling if there would be another encounter. She might return at the head of an army. She might never make it out of the forest. Even if she made it back, what would she find?
Lila slipped from his arms and rose, finding her dress and shoes. She ignored the sparkly overgown, leaving it where it had fallen.
Rafe rolled to his feet and swiftly dressed, every motion tight with apprehension. “Take my jacket. You’ll freeze.”
“There will be too many questions if you return to the banquet without it. ”
“I’m free.” He held up his wrists, now without the silver cuffs. “I’m not going back inside.”
“Good point.” She took the jacket. It was too large, but she was immediately warmer.
Rafe lightly held her shoulders as he leaned in and touched his lips to hers. She drank in his heat and wild energy, running her hands along his hard forearms until she grasped his hands. She pulled him close, twining her fingers through his.
“Remember the names I gave you,” he murmured. “Go as swift and silent as moonlight falls.”
“Is that a blessing?”
He kissed her forehead. “It’s a wish we make for our hunters.”
Lila wanted to ask more, but if she waited too long, she’d lose the nerve to go at all. With an act of will, she stepped away, keeping his hand in hers until only their fingertips touched.
“Be safe,” she said softly.
Then she darted into the trees, turning only once to see Rafe watching her, his white shirt bright against the mottled darkness. The urge to run back to him almost buckled her knees, yet giving in would help nothing. Lila pushed on.
She’d freed him as far as she could, but he was still a prisoner. She had to find help before that could change. Even so, regret at leaving him behind struck like a knife thrust.
She broke into a run, willing branches from her path as she fled. Feet all but silent on the soft forest floor, she aimed for the road. She’d left her car there nights ago—a sleek but sensible Toyota hybrid—and hopefully no one had towed it. There was a spare key fob beneath the rear bumper, protected with a spell. All she had to do was retrieve it, and she’d be on her way.
Lila slowed as her path climbed to the edge of the property. The trees grew sparser, the pale ribbon of the road easier to glimpse beneath the moon. An uncertain prickle ran down her spine as she neared. She was so close. Soon she should see the outline of her silver-gray vehicle. It was no more than thirty yards away.
She paused, panting as she took one last look around before the final sprint to freedom. There were no headlights on the road, no sentries, no one but an owl shifting its grip on a branch above. With a bound, she launched forward, gathering speed. The quicker she moved, the less chance she’d be seen.
The perimeter spell caught her two steps from the road. Lila tripped, her balance swept from beneath her by a tingling wave. The sharp pins and needles ripped a gasp from her throat, but it didn’t stop there. Like an electric bolt, the spell threw her into the air, suspending her for an agonizing heartbeat before hurling her back into the trees.
Rafe watched Lila leave, all too aware of every step she put between them. His conscious mind—the one honed for the logic of daredevil missions—knew she had to get to the city. It was the only way to summon help for their families and themselves. And from what he’d seen, it would take professionals to stop a player like Farras. For one thing, his retinue was large enough to count as a small army of fae.
But she hadn’t been the first to leave. Izetta—battle-hardened and wise to the city’s underground players—had gone for help and not come back. He’d done what he could by giving Lila the names of his friends and allies, but would she be any safer? She certainly wasn’t helpless. She was skilled with magic and cool-headed in a fight—Rafe had learned that the hard way.
He followed her path to the road, anyway. She drew him as if the silver cuffs had been replaced by something forged as they lay together. It was stronger than logic or mere protective instinct. They had come together first as allies, then confidantes, and now because they had called to each other, flesh and soul. There had been no conditions, no expectations but their need for each other.
He’d endured enough battles to know the future held no guarantees. And yet, just this once, he wasn’t willing to let the slim chance of holding her again slip away.
Rafe moved silently, ghosting between the trees. Loam and cedar scented the air, along with the bitter, exhaust-flavored tang of the road ahead. Above all that was the intoxicating scent of Lila herself. Maybe he followed her just to breathe it in as long as he could.
Soon he would have to concentrate on his own safety. Hiding from the fae, even for a few days, would test his skills to their limits. He hoped Lila would find help quickly.
She picked up speed, moving too fast for him to follow in human form. He quickened his pace as she vanished from sight, grateful for the path that led through the tangle of trees.
The land began to rise, ascending from the natural valley that separated the south side of the way station from the road. A few places were steep enough he grabbed craggy roots and saplings to keep his footing on the slippery ground. He caught sight of Lila once she neared the edge of the property. He smiled at the confident energy in her stride. She was almost free.
When the flash came, he dropped to his belly, covering his head from hard-won instinct. Detonation . But not a kind he recognized.
When he looked up, Lila tumbled down the incline like a discarded toy. Rafe sprinted toward her, clambering up the hillside in a shower of stones and leaves. Lila had landed facedown and unmoving beside a stump hidden by ferns. Rafe dropped to his knees beside her, panic an acid taste on his tongue.
His mind raced. What had she said, back in the dungeon? No living thing can leave this way station without permission. But wasn’t such magic meant to pen intruders? Prisoners? Surely not other fae ?
And hadn’t she said it was fatal? Gingerly, Rafe brushed the tangle of hair from her face. Her features were slack and smeared with dirt, but she was breathing. He ran his hands beneath her and down her limbs, checking for blood and broken bones, but found nothing. Then he grasped her shoulder, shaking her gently. “Lila?”
The breeze was carrying the burnt-toast stink of magic from the top of the rise. With only the slightest variations, that scent was always the same. It didn’t matter who or what cast the spell, it had the same choking stench.
“Lila, wake up!”
He cursed under his breath from sheer relief when her eyes fluttered open. She moaned weakly, her fingers twitching as she gathered herself to sit up.
“Careful.” He kept his tone kind but matter-of-fact, the way he’d been trained by the Silent Wolves. “Think before you move. Where does it hurt?”
“Everywhere.” With a groan, Lila pushed herself up until she knelt beside the ferns. She squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing her temples. By her sickly pallor, Rafe guessed it was a lucky thing she’d eaten lightly at the banquet.
“What happened?” Rafe asked once she finally opened her eyes again.
Dawning realization crossed her features, collapsing into what looked to him like dread. It took two swallows before she found her voice. “I can’t leave. They fixed it so I can’t go home.”
Rafe inhaled sharply. A wave of rage froze his brain—fury that someone had put her in danger—but he slowly pushed the anger down. He couldn’t help her if he couldn’t think straight. “Are you physically hurt?”
“No. I’m no good to them dead.” She wrapped her arms around herself, as if suddenly chilled to the bone. “But every fae attuned to the security of the way station will have felt the spell activate. We can’t stay here. We have to move. ”
Rafe rose and helped her to her feet. She swayed, letting him take her weight against his side. Slowly, he guided her a step at a time to level ground.
“I don’t understand,” she ground out. “Mother. Ademar. Why would they do this to me?”
Rafe couldn’t guess fae motives, but he understood pack. “There’s something they believe only you can give them.”
“Lord Farras.” She bit out the name. “Or perhaps Farras himself set the trap. I escaped him once, thanks to Father. Maybe there will be no second time.”
“What did your father do?” Rafe asked.
“He ended our betrothal.” She stopped moving and pulled away as if she’d finally found her balance. “And now he’s in prison on ridiculous charges.”
The anguish in her voice seared Rafe’s heart. “I’m sorry.”
“I want to help him.” Her chin trembled, and she bit her lower lip to stop it. “I want to save my family. I can’t do it by submitting to a monster. Even if I do, he’ll never stop.”
That sounded unbearably complicated. Rafe put an arm around her shoulders, drawing her close again. She tilted her face up to his. Tears reflected the moonlight and turned her eyes to silver pools. Rafe’s chest filled with a swirling sensation, as if he’d been drinking for days.
“No child, willing or not, should be used as a sacrifice,” he said. “That goes against pack and nature.”
“What about duty?” Tears slid down her cheeks like liquid jewels.
He kissed them away, tasting salt. “You can’t save your village from a dragon if you let the dragon eat you first.”
She looked down, her long lashes hiding her eyes as the words sank in. Rafe guessed no one had ever given her permission to save herself before now. Except maybe her father? That would explain her grief.
“Then what do I do?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion. “ I can’t leave, and I won’t pretend they haven’t put a leash around my neck. My only option is to fight back.”
He held her at arm’s length, studying her face. “How would you do that?”
She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. “If I can’t go for help in person, I can get a message out by magic. Or I think I can. It will be risky.”
“We need fighters on our side.” Rafe’s mind raced. If they couldn’t find allies from outside the way station, they needed ones from within. Damn Izetta, why wasn’t she here with an army of bloodsuckers at her back?
“Everyone here is part of Lord Farras’s entourage.”
“What other prisoners do you have?” he asked. “Are there other shifters? Undead?”
“Not that I know of. Just other fae.”
“Fighters?”
“Traitors.”
“According to whom?”
“Good point.” A look of pure inspiration crossed her face.
Rafe’s heart lifted at the sight.
Lila started back toward the house, fresh purpose in her stride. “How about Captain Teegar of the Royal Guard?”