20. Mistakes Were Made
Monster and fae collided, tumbling sideways and crashing into the wall with an ear-splitting shriek and a yell. Together, they veered backwards and I, lingering too close to my escort, took the full force of their momentum as we collided with the ground.
With a clatter, my lantern skidded away, and we were plunged into pitch darkness. Footsteps pounded past my head. Deafening shrieks drilled into my eardrums as, for a moment, bodies writhed on top of me, robbing me of my breath, but then the weight disappeared, and something hit the wall with a sickening crunch. I scrambled away, back to where I’d last seen Anwir, and staggered to my feet.
Ahead of me, the fight continued, the stale air full of shrieks and thumps, the hum of metal slicing through the air and the wet hiss of flesh splitting open. Though the creature made a lot of noise, Idris was silent.
Was he winning? Was he silent because he was dead? His attitude hadn’t endeared him to me, but that didn’t mean he deserved to be slaughtered within minutes of waking up. If only I could see, I’d be able to help, but my eyes widened blankly, nothing but black pressing against them.
Where was Anwir? Had he joined his brother, either in victory or defeat? What if they were both dead, and it was just me and the monster?
I tightened my grip on my dagger. Wait, I had two! Without a lantern to hold, I plunged my injured hand to the second dagger. My palm stung and throbbed, but I didn’t care. I’d rather be in pain than dead. I held my blades before me. I might not be able to see, but if anything attacked me, it would have to get past my cursed daggers first.
A wet choking noise bubbled ahead of me, the sound of imminent death. The fight fell silent, and something heavy hit the floor with a thump.
My ears strained and my eyes stung. Who’d won? Was Idris bleeding out on the floor while that thing crept toward me? The fae’s name formed on my tongue, but I bit it back, willing my ragged breath to quiet. The last thing I needed was to attract the monster when it might yet overlook me.
Something touched my wrist.
I screamed.
A large hand clapped over my mouth, silencing me, as metal clattered to the floor, and I collided with the wall with a thud, one wrist pinned, my hands suddenly empty of blades.
“Shut up!” a voice hissed, inches from my face.
Not a monster. The breath that fanned over my face was crisp smelling, like a winter morning, with not a hint of rot.
My body went limp, and when I was released, I sagged against the wall. “Idris?”
“Human.” His voice oozed disdain as his breath fluttered over my skin once more.
He was still close then. Could he see me? Of course, he could, he’d found my mouth easily enough. All I could see of him was a vague, hulking shadow towering over me, but then, I was just a human, with pathetic human eyes.
“Pick up your daggers, but do not wave them at me again.”
Easier said than done. “I can’t see anything,” I whispered, wishing I still had my lantern or even my torch. Or a working phone. Anything to light my path out of this mess. “Why did you take them off me?”
“You were pointing them at me.”
“Not on purpose,” I hissed. “Are you okay?”
I knew I hadn’t cut him; he’d be desiccated by now if I had, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been wounded by the monster. The phantom ache of claws slashing my belly throbbed.
Idris was silent, and though I couldn’t see a thing, the intensity of his contemplating gaze was evident even in the darkness. The words he’d spoken when I broke the curse came back to me.
What have you done?
What had I done? There’d barely been a spare second to interact with him, but the way he’d disarmed me just now left me in no doubt that he couldn’t care less about me, or any of my kind. Had I awoken some sort of monster? Was he just like his uncle? A human-hating piece of shit? Would he leave me to die in these tunnels? Or worse, was he weighing up the benefits of killing me himself?
When he finally spoke, he somehow managed to make his whisper clipped and hateful. “Keep your mouth shut.”
The hilts of my daggers reappeared in my palms, and I gripped them tight. The prince grabbed a handful of my wrap and half dragged, half shoved me along the tunnel.
“Stop it! I can walk!” I tried to shrug free, but his grip tightened.
“You can’t see, and I told you to shut up.”
“Wait, where’s Anwir? Is he following?” He seemed nice enough. His first instinct when the tower began to quake had been to grab my hand. Was he going to allow his brother to manhandle me?
“He fled the moment that thing attacked, now stop talking before you bring more of them down on us.”
What? He’d just left us? Abandoning me, I could understand. He didn’t know me. But to leave his brother…
Anger bubbled in my belly, overtaking my fear. Without Anwir to direct it at, I turned on his twin. “First of all,” I hissed, glaring at the shadowy outline of him. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. Second, dragging me along isn’t exactly quiet, if that’s what you’re hoping to achieve.”
“Do you want me to get you out of here alive, or not?”
“Well, obviously, but you don’t have to manhandle me. I can walk.”
He was silent for so long that I expected him to abandon me and leave me lost in the dark, but instead, he released my wrap, a little roughly, I had to say, and waited.
What an absolute crank. Still, my escape options were limited. Taking a deep breath, I sheathed a dagger and lifted my hand, groping blindly at the prince. Was that an arm? I squeezed. Yes, that was definitely a bicep, and a very nice one at that, as far as I could tell. The fae stood perfectly still as I slid my hand into the crook of his elbow.
“See?” I whispered. “Isn’t this civilised?”
I could almost see that unnaturally perfect face twisting into a sneer.
“Fine.”
“Fine. Lead the way.”
The sulking prince set off at a steadier pace, a silent, prowling stroll. I gripped his arm, hating myself for finding comfort in his presence. He might be a piece of work, but he was here. I wasn’t alone. I slid closer, until my shoulder pressed against his arm. He didn’t complain. He was no doubt biting back his reprimand, driven by his need for silence, but I honestly couldn’t care less, as long as he got me out of here alive.
We crept through the tunnel in silence, pausing while Idris peered around pitch black corners with his stupid fae eyes. The only sounds were the soft padding of my feet, and my uneven breathing. The prince was so silent that, if I hadn’t had a firm grip of him, I wouldn’t have known he was there. I was glad he was, even if I suspected he was hating every second of my company. To think, everyone this side of the rift expected me to marry one of these stuck-up royal brats. A life sentence. No, an eternal sentence, if Sage’s claims of me being given immortality could be believed. No, that was nonsense. These creatures might live forever, but I was human, and mortal. I belonged to a mortal world. I would return to it and live my natural life with people who loved me for who I was, not revered me for what I had been forced to do.
I allowed my mind to drift far from the dark, twisting tunnels, across woodlands and meadows and mountains, back to the human world. To my little house, with Dad busy in the garden, pruning his hydrangeas, and Mum fussing over me, telling me I worked too hard and should put my feet up. I would put my feet up. I would sink down onto that squashy, faded sofa and stay there for weeks. I’d eat my meals on trays, and I’d binge TV, and drink all the coffee Mum could make. I’d saved the world. God knew, I deserved a break.
Idris stopped so suddenly that I bumped into his shoulder. I fell still too, my daydreams melting away into the darkness. My skin prickled.
“What—”
“Shut up!”
But too late.
A screech pierced the still air, and Idris wrenched away from me. I threw myself to the floor, scrambling until I found the wall and pressed myself against it. Something scuttled in the dark, and metal rang, that beautiful shivering sound, almost like a note of music. My eyes strained wide, but I could see nothing. I felt more than heard something move nearby, followed by a soft whoosh and an ear-splitting shriek. Something wet pattered on stone. Shuffle, thump, scratch, hiss. I screwed my eyes shut, for all the good it did me. Splitting flesh. The familiar scent of blood filled my nose, and something crumpled to the ground with a thump.
Oh God, please don’t let Idris be dead.
If he was, I was next.
Something grabbed my arm, and I sucked in a breath, but instead of devouring my bones, my captor hauled me to my feet. “There are more. Move.”
I couldn’t find the voice to argue as I stumbled along beside him, his fingers biting into my wrist. We didn’t need to be quiet anymore, apparently. Idris dragged me along at such a speed that the soles of my boots slapped the floor, echoing along the tunnel.
We whipped around a sharp turn, Idris dragging me, but no sooner had we rounded the corner than the fae skidded to a halt, shoving me in another direction.
“Shit, they’re everywhere. Run. Run!”
I didn’t need to be told a third time. Clinging to his sleeve, my grip tight with terror, I ran blindly at his side. What sounded like hundreds of scurrying footsteps pounded along behind us, my ears full of chittering and shrieks. If only I could see, if only there was the slightest light, I’d be able to run faster. I was slowing us both down. If it came to it, would Idris leave me behind?
My insides hollowed out at the thought. Even with my daggers, I had no hope of fighting them off when I was blind. I’d still be alive when those things started eating me. How long would it take for me to die?
Something unyielding caught the toe of my boot, and I lurched, losing my grip on Idris. Pain bolted up my knees before my belly collided with the floor. My knuckles, gripping my dagger, cracked against stone. Something clattered beside me. Something small, a sound I recognised.
I groped my empty pocket.
“My phone!”
I scrambled, patting the floor in the dark. I couldn’t leave it. I needed it. My only connection to my world, my family. My frantic fingers scrambled over the rough rock, even as the thundering of many feet closed on me. Panic tightened around my throat. I couldn’t breathe.
Where was it?
My fingers brushed something smooth, and I let out a sob of relief as I snatched my phone up. A shadow darted over me, landing softly on my far side, and a heartbeat later came the whoosh of metal and the slice of flesh. Warm, sticky liquid sprayed over me.
“Get up!” Idris roared.
I couldn’t see him, but I sensed him, flitting through the endless dark, his swords swinging and slashing. Shrieks and screeches curdled. Bodies fell.
Someone grabbed the scruff of my shirt, half choking me as I was hauled to my feet. I was released, and I’d barely sucked down a breath before I was shoved away. I staggered, and almost fell.
“Run, you fucking fool!”
I ran. Or rather, I shuffled awkwardly, my hands held blindly in front of me, my feet wary of another fall. At my back, the fighting continued. Those screams. They slashed along my bones, making my hairs stand on end and my ear drums shrivel. But worse than that, I was alone. I might not be able to see, but I could sense it. Idris had stayed behind to fight, giving me time to get away.
I hesitated.
I shouldn’t leave him. I was a liability to him, but I shouldn’t leave him to fight alone in the dark. But what could I do to help?
“Get help,” I whispered to myself.
If I could make it out, I would find the witches and Anwir. The prince could help his brother, the witches too, if the wards could be broken. They were brave and fast. Useful. They were everything I was not.
I squeezed my phone, the phone I had gambled my life, and Idris’, to retrieve. What was wrong with me? The stupid thing didn’t even work, and now it would be my fault if Idris died…
Gradually, the shadows grew clearer, until I realised I could see. Only faintly at first, but then a sob burst from my lips as I rounded a corner and saw the tunnel mouth opening to reveal a world of green.
I’d made it.
I broke into a real run, blinking in the blinding sunlight as the stone beneath my feet turned to gravel then grass. Squinting, I spotted the witches lurking just beyond the treeline, and I veered in their direction, stumbling to a stop before them.
“Idris,” I gasped, buckling over.
My stitch was back with a vengeance. I needed to speak, to send them back into the tunnels, but my throat was too tight. God, I was unfit.
Stomping steps approached. Before I had a chance to straighten, a hand closed around my neck, forcing me upright. Idris’ blood-splattered face appeared not an inch from mine. All I could see was fanged teeth.
“What the fuck was that?” he spat.
“Your Highness!”
“Unhand her!” A male’s voice, barking a command.
I lifted my eyes to the pale green ones glowering down at me. They were so close my vision blurred.
“You almost got us both killed, mortal,” Idris snarled, but his hand dropped, and he spun away from me as though I was some dirty, contaminated beast.
My fingers brushed my throat, though I wasn’t hurt, only shocked.
I’d been stupid, risking everything to save my dead phone. The princes had only just awoken, and one had already brushed death because of me. Further proof that I wasn’t meant for this world.
“Are you alright?”
I blinked up at Prince Anwir. He hadn’t come as close as Idris had, and I was able to focus on the utter perfection that was his face. There was no revolting gore splattered over his fair skin, probably because he’d fled at the first sign of danger. Worry shone in his beautiful, pale eyes, quite at odds with his cowardly actions. Despite my annoyance, relief flooded through me. He was alive. The heir I’d almost died to save had made it out of the tunnels unscathed. I hadn’t killed the only known person capable of fighting Maelgwyn’s shades.
Pansy appeared at my side, concern shining in her eyes as she laid a hand on my arm.
“I’m fine.” I let my hand fall away from my neck to prove it, but my trembling fingers gave me away. I wasn’t fine. Not at all. “Can we go home now?” My voice sounded pathetic, whining. Like a child.
“Soon enough,” Sage replied in her usual brisk tone. “We need to get beyond this ward and then we can warp.”
“There are definitely wards then?” I’d hoped that things might be different on this side of the cliff.
Sage gave a brisk nod, her eyes sweeping the trees. “We must reach the border of Tir o Haf with all haste.”
God, would it never end? It was supposed to be over by now. This should have been a moment of elation. I battled down my turbulent emotions, forcing myself to focus on the birdsong overhead, and the golden beams breaking through the branches. We may not be safe yet, but at least it was peaceful. At least I could see. The sun was warm on my skin.
Sage approached Anwir and sank into a curtsy. Such a show of deference didn’t suit her, but Anwir smiled, inclining his chin. “Sister Sage of Nairsgarth, isn’t it? I take it I owe my freedom to you?”
Indignation bristled along my spine. Okay, so Sage had done her part, but I was the one who’d risked life and limb to wake his ungrateful arse.
“My coven and I have worked tirelessly these past centuries, Your Highness. I must apologise for our late arrival, but it seems we were waiting for the right human.”
The witch nodded in my direction, and heat hummed in my ears. At least someone appreciated my efforts, though that someone being Sage was almost as disconcerting as my many brushes with death. Pansy squeezed my arm in silent appreciation.
The prince didn’t look at me. Instead, his face grew several shades paler. “Centuries? How long has it been?”
Sage pressed her lips into a thin line before answering. “Two hundred and seventy years.”
A flurry of emotions crossed Anwir’s face. Shock, dismay, confusion. “I thought… it seemed an eter–” he cleared his throat and his face settled on simmering rage. “My uncle will pay for this.”
“An eternity?” Sage asked in a hushed voice. “You were aware of time passing?”
I grimaced at the idea of being trapped, fully aware, inside a useless, unresponsive body. An hour would be torture, never mind centuries.
“Almost,” the prince answered, his brow knotting in contemplation. “Not all of the time, but it was like trying to wake from a dream.”
A memory of my recent dreams popped, unbidden into my head. Kisses and teeth. Hands around my neck. My fingertips brushed my throat, the same spot Idris had grabbed. I glanced at him. To my relief, he lingered at the edge of the group, staring between the trees and paying no attention to me or anyone else. Beneath his crossed swords, his shoulders sagged. My heart twisted in pity. Just because he was a piece of work, it didn’t mean he deserved such a miserable fate. Neither of them did.
But pity, both for them and myself, turned slowly to pride. I’d done it. I’d freed them from their nightmare. Now they could rid the world of Maelgwyn, and I could go home. It didn’t seem the right time to smile, so I quashed my giddiness by pressing my lips together and fiddling with the sharp point of the letter A nestled against my chest. The fine chain whispered against my skin, a familiar, grounding sensation.
“You’re sure you’re alright?” Pansy whispered, peering up at me.
I nodded, and tears rushed to my eyes. I was alive. I was free. I was going home. Pansy threw her arms around me, squeezing tight.
“I knew it was you,” she whispered.
I laughed. “I wasn’t so sure.”
The witch beamed up at me, breaking the hug but still gripping my arms. “You did it, Aliza. You really did it.”
She was right. The weight of the last few days lifted from my shoulders, leaving me as light as a bubble. If not for Pansy, I might have drifted into the sky.
Sage and the prince continued to talk in low tones, but my head was too full of my own dreams to listen. Dreams of reunions, of graduation, of ordinary, everyday life. I had no interest in the prince’s future plans. My job was done.
Anwir sidled up to me, interrupting my idle reverie with a small smile. Pansy made herself scarce.
“I never caught your name,” the prince said.
I snorted a dismal laugh. “There wasn’t really a chance for introductions. I’m Aliza.”
“Aliza,” he repeated, testing the word.
Ahead of me, Sage stiffened, and I wondered if she was about to offer up the rest of my title. Aliza with an A, the human.
“Well, Aliza,” the prince continued. “I believe I owe you my freedom. Thank you for breaking the curse, and waking me and my tedious little brother.”
My lips curled into a grin. Only that morning, I wouldn’t have believed myself capable of such a thing, not today, but it was done. The curse was broken. I was free, or at least, I would be, just as soon as we escaped Tir o Haf. “I wasn’t given much choice, but for what it’s worth… you’re welcome.”
Even if he had abandoned me and his own brother at the first opportunity. Still, maybe it was understandable. Those cave zombies were pretty scary. I’d have run too, if I’d been able to see.
We fell into silence, but Anwir stayed at my side. I didn’t bother to look back to see where in the line Idris might be.