Chapter 5
The most terrifying moment of my life came just after my tenth birthday, the day I almost killed my sister.
I should’ve ignored the other kids’ taunts when they called Ferria and me worthless, saying Kinless cowards didn’t belong in their town. But I didn’t. I wanted to prove we mattered.
Despite the warning about the velcrin with jagged teeth meant to shred flesh and the klarvs with claws as long as a grown man’s shin, I accepted their dare to enter the Forbidden Forest.
My heart pounds at the memory. The smell of rancid teeth fills my nostrils before a crushing grip grinds the bones in my hand together, and I’m yanked back to the present. Back to being trapped underneath the swirling, pointed stare of a powerful Fae.
Now this moment is, without question, the most terrifying of my life.
Lev snarls beside me. I tear my gaze from the formidable Fae as Lev attempts to push me toward the door, as if he can take me from the hall and everyone here will forget what I just said—what I just did.
Coils of dark power wrap around my wrists, snaking up my arms like a twisting vine, and yank me back.
A yelp flies from my throat.
“Gods!” Lev jerks, releasing me, glaring at his hand.
Blood drips from an open wound in the middle of his palm.
Bile rises in my throat.
I reach out to assess the extent of the injury, but the dark tendrils press into my skin. They don’t pierce flesh, but the unspoken threat is there.
“Come,” the pale Fae commands.
The power yanks me toward the stage. I cry out and dig my heels into the floor, only to nearly fall on my face when the tendrils pull me with increased force. I stumble forward, then lean back to keep my feet under me.
“My lord, there’s been a misunderstanding,” Lev shouts from close behind. A glance confirms he’s keeping pace with me. “She doesn’t know the ways of Fae. She doesn’t understand what it means to make a deal.”
The Fae releases a deep, humorless laugh. “And whose fault is that?”
“Please, my lord.” Lev throws himself in front of my path, trying but failing to stop my forward progress with his body. “This is not right!”
My stomach drops at the darkness that overcomes the Fae’s face.
“Are you lecturing me, human?”
“Stand down, soldier,” General Ironheart booms.
Lev stiffens, but he doesn’t move. The tug on my arms pauses, as if intrigued to see how this plays out.
Lev’s father stomps over. His furious eyes flick to me before they focus on his son. “Move, soldier.”
Lev’s body shakes. “You cannot let them take her. The town needs her.”
Oh, Lev…
“I said…” Ironheart grabs his shirt and throws him to the side. “Stand down.”
Lev doesn’t fight his father’s grip, though he could. He’s no longer the lanky teen the general struck down whenever he displeased him.
Tears burn the backs of my eyes at Lev’s defeated posture, but when our gazes lock, I exhale a tiny sigh of relief at the strength burning in his brown eyes.
I force a reassuring smile before I’m once again tugged toward the stage.
I do my best to hold my head high, pretending I don’t hear the pitying whispers and grateful murmurs of those I pass. I can’t look at them. I’ll lose my nerve if I do. Because with each step I take, I realize I messed up.
Lev’s right. I don’t know the ways of Fae. And clearly I’ve made a mistake by speaking up. But it’s too late now. I need to focus. To listen.
I need to learn what the hell I’ve gotten myself into so I can get out of it.
I focus on the stage, avoiding the shadowed eyes of the three Fae burning into me.
The Elders watch me with varying expressions. Unease. Confusion. Relief.
The only one who appears concerned is Whitestone. His thick white brows are drawn over sad, apologetic eyes.
Emotion clogs my throat.
I turn away and scan the crowd, relieved when I don’t see a familiar head of red hair. Anton got Ferria out.
Good.
My impulsive sister wouldn’t hesitate to throw herself into danger to save me. Just like I’m doing now.
The tugging stops. My head snaps forward. I gasp and lean back. Instead of the pale Fae, I stand before the one with sun-kissed skin.
The Fae’s dark, swirling eyes capture mine, like living smoke with a mind of its own, conveying emotion that’s otherwise hidden by his stoic features. Emotion I still can’t decipher.
“You are a healer?” This close, his voice vibrates over my skin.
I press my hands to my legs to hide how they shake.
I lick my dry lips. “I-I am.”
His eyes flick down to my mouth. The smoke pulses. “What is your name?”
Don’t tell him.
Names have power. And yet if I don’t, who’s to say he won’t take out his anger on the nearest neighbor and threaten them until I reveal my name?
“Elara.” I gulp. “Elara Stonebloom.”
A tiny crease forms between his dark brows. With predatory precision, his chin jerks to the side. “Very well, then. The deal is struck.”
A burning sensation encircles the base of my neck like a scalding necklace. A cry flies from my throat. I hunch forward, clutching my neck as the burn grows, burrowing into my flesh.
“Elara!” Lev shouts.
Other screeches of protest and outrage rise around me. I barely hear them. The sickly scent of burnt flesh stings my nostrils. I squeeze my eyes together. Tears fall.
Then, as quickly as the pain began, it’s over. The tendrils that are still wrapped around my arms pull me, dragging me upright when I want nothing more than to fall to the ground.
Through bleary eyes, I stare at the Fae. His lips press into a tight line. His eyes dip down to my throat, then back to mine. The muscle in his jaw tics.
The pale Fae steps forward, his cold voice dripping with approval. “Good. Now, come.”
He spins on his heel, his cloak flaring out, then stomps through the meeting hall. My neighbors stumble over themselves to hurry out of his path. The other two Fae follow, leaving the unconscious human rebel lying at the base of the stage.
Magic tickles my fingers. I reach out to check his pulse before the dark power wrapped around my arms draws me after the Fae.
The room tilts, edges blurring.
“Wait!” I cry out. “Wait!”
They ignore me.
I drop my weight, hoping it will slow the magic down. I’m a fool. It doesn't so much as pause.
I jerk my head from side to side. I pull my arms to my chest. I fight and flail like trapped prey, desperate to escape the jaws of my captor, to escape my fate. A fate I don’t even know the details of.
Just before we reach the double doors. General Ironheart steps into our path, his hand still gripping his sword.
“Where are you taking her?” Ironheart asks.
My gaze darts left and right, searching for Lev, but he’s not in sight.
Shadows wrap around the general’s legs. “What did I say about asking questions?”
The shadows throw the general across the room. Screams pierce the air as his body slams into the wall with a heart-stopping thump before he slides down the wall and lands in a boneless heap.
The Fae continue walking. I’m pulled after them, staring wide-eyed at the immobile general, praying to the Gods he’s alive.
The streets are eerily quiet. Most of the town is in the hall. Those who aren’t are hiding in their homes.
A breeze cuts through the market. Each of the Fae’s cloaks billows out behind them.
Trembles wrack my entire body the farther away from the meeting hall we go. I fall, the uneven ground scraping my knees and palms.
The Fae don’t spare me a glance. Power continues to drag me forward.
I scramble up and work to keep my shaking legs from giving out under their quick pace.
“That seemed a bit dramatic,” one of the Fae says.
I’m too busy trying to figure out how to get out of this mess to know which it was.
“But necessary,” the pale Fae states in his cold, detached voice.
We round the bend, past the bakery with the scent of baked bread still hanging in the humid air. The dark ropes dig into my skin when I stumble once more.
I hiss in frustration, but fighting is futile.
I can’t resist the shadows twisted around my limbs, and I’m too terrified of discovery to risk calling forth my own power to try and help.
Not that I know what it could do. I doubt the ability to heal broken bones will be strong enough to sever the shadow magic dragging me around like a sack of potatoes.
But maybe I can find another way to get myself out of this mess?
I shove down the instinct screaming at me to keep my mouth shut and channel Ferria’s bravery when I ask, “Where are we going?”
None of them looks at me.
I grit my teeth. “Look, I know Fae despise humans, but if you want my help, you need to tell me where we’re going. Now.”
I brace myself for a volatile explosion of power. Instead, one of the Fae turns and laughs.
It’s the one who walked in with the injured human.
Under the moonlight, amusement shines in his gaze. “A bold one. How refreshing.”
“Shut it, Jaxon.”
I flinch at the icy tone.
“What?” The Fae, Jaxon, snorts at the pale one. “Am I not allowed to speak?”
“Not in front of the human,” he growls back. “The Mother knows you have the biggest fucking mouth in all Eranthia.”
My head snaps between the Fae, my feet shuffling against the muddy path as I’m tugged along. “I won’t tell anyone anything. I swear to the Gods.”
This time, all three Fae shift their dark eyes to me. The weight of their attention is suffocating, even more so when they don’t speak.
Don’t cower, Elara.
I raise my chin. “Wh-what do you want with me?”
“We have a patient for you, little healer,” the other tan Fae says. His black, inky hair is darker now that clouds have blocked the moonlight.
“A patient?”
“Did I stutter?”
I press my lips together and swallow down the lump of fear. “What’s wrong with the patient?”
He turns back around.
Jaxon answers, “You will find out soon enough. If not, your town pays the price.”
Dread coils tight around my lungs, and I almost keel over when I take in the copse of trees growing denser around us. A glance confirms we’re off the main road, walking deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
“Wh-where are we going?” I ask again. “We shouldn't be in the forest.”
The Fae face forward.