Chapter 4
REDVYR
“My name is Jessamine,” said the woman riding my wolf while I walked ahead.
Wolf was plenty strong enough to carry us both, but he also had the bundle of hides that I used for my tent and bed strapped behind her.
Besides, I didn’t want to be so close to her.
She was a witch, and though she might appear normal in the daylight, I hadn’t forgotten how she’d used her magick to sting me last night.
She’d been unconscious, yes, but still, there was wickedness hiding behind that pretty face.
I was sure of it. After all, she was running from someone.
If she was innocent, she’d have told me who she was running from and why.
Females could be conniving, and I’d rather not get too close to this one that wasn’t even of my own kind.
“Did you hear me?” she asked.
“Yes, yes. Your name is Jessamine. Noted.”
“Someone is awfully grouchy. Even more so than last night.”
“I didn’t sleep last night because I had to keep watch for whoever is chasing you. Though you refuse to tell me who they are, they might’ve tracked you to my camp, so I wasn’t going to let my guard down. Meaning, I didn’t sleep. So yes, I’m in a shitty mood.”
“Oh,” she said in that simple way of hers. “Sorry.”
Somehow, her apology prickled me more.
“What’s your name?” she finally asked as we picked our way along a snow-covered path near a brook.
The brook was frozen along the edges but the water bubbled around the stones where it was rocky. This path would lead to a cave that I often used on my hunting expeditions.
“Redvyr,” I answered.
“Redvyr,” she repeated. “That sounds rather regal.”
I didn’t bother telling her that’s because it was. It was a name for beast fae royalty. Which is what I was.
“Tell me about the beast fae.”
I hesitated, unsure how much truth to give her. “What do you know of us?”
“I know that you’re descended from one of the sons of Vix, a great, dark fae god. And I know you are the most—” she paused, which drew my attention to her face.
Her cheeks were pink. She was blushing over something.
“The most what?”
“Instinctual,” she finally said, “of the dark fae.”
“Animalistic was the word you were looking for. And you’d be right.”
“Animal senses, you mean?”
“That, yes. Unnatural strength as well.”
“That is your magick?” she asked, genuinely curious.
She must not know much at all about our kind. All fae had some sort of magick. Except the beast fae.
“It is said that we had magick once as well. A gift of speaking to the forests, the trees and plants that live there. Dryads once protected our kind, too. We also had a gift for taming the wilder beasts of the woods.”
“Animals like Wolf? You seem to still have that gift.”
“No. Monsters like bargas, nightvyrms, the great cats of the Solgavia Mountains. Dragons.”
“Wow. What happened? You lost this gift?”
I glanced at her over my shoulder. There was no mocking expression on her face.
“You’ve never heard about the curse of the beast fae?”
She shook her head. Her bright red hair was in a long braid over one shoulder, the breeze blowing a loose strand across her cheek. I tried not to get distracted by watching it lift in the breeze. But it was difficult.
Facing forward, I headed away from the brook through a natural archway made of vines and trees overhanging the narrow path.
During spring, this area would be richly green and thick with vegetation.
The sound of sprites flying through the branches above and birds singing would fill the forest. Winter had come early, blanketing these woods with snow.
I imagine my clan would be frustrated I’d stayed on the hunt so long.
We’d need to break camp and move from Vanglosa as soon as I retuned.
“Will you tell me about this curse?” Jessamine’s voice broke into my thoughts.
It wasn’t an easy story to tell, but something compelled me to tell her anyway.
“Legend says that long ago one of our ancestors, whose name was Kaladyn, was chief of his clan and the greatest beast lord among all the clans. By greatest, I mean that his clan was the largest and most prosperous. He had several wives and dozens of children, but he still wasn’t satisfied.”
“Do beast fae all have more than one wife?” she interrupted.
“No. It was a custom of long ago.” I slowed as we came to a rocky outcropping that gave a view of the ravine and brook winding through the woods.
“Oh, wow.”
Wolf stopped at my side as we surveyed the land below.
“It’s so beautiful here,” she whispered.
If she thought this was lovely, she would be shocked to see our winter camp. Not that she would be seeing it. But I liked that look of surprise and wonder on her pale face.
“Are you feeling better since last night?” I asked, wondering if her pallid complexion meant she was still unwell.
She turned her leaf-green gaze to me. “I feel fine.” She shrugged. “Perhaps a little hungry.”
Frowning at that, I realized she would have to go without food for another full day. We’d have to camp again tonight.
“If you’d eat meat, you wouldn’t be hungry,” I informed her sharply.
She smirked. “True. But I’d probably vomit it up if I did.”
I rolled my eyes. “There are no berries in the woods this time of year. You’ll have to wait until we reach my village.”
“I’ll be fine. So tell me about this chief Kaladyn.”
Stepping back onto the trail that wound on a slight incline, I continued with the story.
“Though Kaladyn had many wives, none were his mate. He—”
“What do you mean none were his mate?” she asked. “You said he had many children with them. Obviously, they mated.”
I forgot that light fae don’t mate the way we do.
“For beast fae, there is a perfect match for each of our kind.”
“How do you know who is the perfect match?”
The truth of it would certainly terrify this woman, so I gave her the less graphic explanation.
“The gods guide us and show us. So Kaladyn believed himself greater than all other beast fae. He believed that he was meant to have a special mate touched by the gods. There was a queen of the dryads who lived in the nearby woodlands.”
“This is not going to end well,” she mumbled.
I grunted in agreement, then went on.
“Suffice it to say, the queen rebuffed his advances. So he took her forcibly. This was a crime, of course, and a great sin against the gods since they beget the dryads. What he didn’t realize was that this queen was the daughter of Elska, the Goddess of the Wood, herself.
When Elska discovered what had happened to her daughter, she appeared at the center of his clan’s village.
Kaladyn fell onto his knees and begged forgiveness but Elska would hear none of it.
With a touch to his head, he became more beastly in appearance.
” Glancing back, her attention was riveted on me.
I flicked my tail. “We didn’t have tails then.
Nor did we look quite like this.” I gestured toward my face.
“We were called the beast fae for our affinity and power to connect with the wild animals of the world.”
Of all the dark fae, we were the ones who actually looked more like monsters. But that was only after Kaladyn’s curse.
“Elska claimed, ‘From this moment onward, your magick is stripped from you and all of your kind. You will keep only the beastly parts of your nature. And within you, chief, I am planting my rage. It will live there always and for your kinsmen to come, reminding you of the peace you stole from my daughter. You will forever be plagued by my fury as a constant reminder of what you’ve stolen.’”
Jessamine remained quiet behind me as we made our way closer to the place we would be stopping at for the night.
“Is that true?” she finally asked.
“It is what has been told.” I didn’t admit that I was certain it was true because of my own affliction. Whenever I fell into a rage, there was nothing for me to do but leave, go deep into the woods until it had subsided.
“That’s so sad,” she added.
“Why? Because I am so ugly to look upon?” I grinned over my shoulder.
Her cheeks flushed pink. “No. That’s not what I mean.”
I laughed. “Witch, you don’t have to lie to me. I know I’m a brute. And Kaladyn may have cursed the beast fae, but we are a peaceful people. Whatever sins of our forefather, we have a good life now even if we are small in numbers.”
“Why are you small in numbers?”
That was more painful to admit, something I wasn’t willing to confess.
During Kaladyn’s time, ages ago, the beast fae were plentiful and many.
Now, there are very few clans. Our females rarely conceive.
It was one reason I couldn’t fault my second Bezaliel when he brought his light fae female Tessa to our village.
Beyond being his mate, she conceived quickly and gave him a healthy son.
“Our population is diminished from what it once was,” was all I told her. “We cherish every new life in our clan as precious.”
We rounded the corner where the mouth of the cave overlooked a view of the vast valley below.
Another reason I liked to camp here was that I could see far and wide with the cave at my back.
It was a well-protected encampment. Now that I was carting around this female with enemies hunting her, enemies she refused to confess to me, I needed this kind of fortress to watch for any attack.
Wolf automatically stopped at the cave, knowing my routine well enough.
“We’ll stay here tonight,” I told her as I untied the bundle of hides stacked on Wolf’s haunches.
I heard her slide down off Wolf’s back as I unrolled the bundle inside the rounded mouth of the cave.
“You don’t think a barga lives in there, do you?” she asked, her voice quivering as she peered wide-eyed into the semi-darkness of the mouth.
Grinning, I pulled the gray fur out and spread it next to the other unrolled hides before straightening.
“Aye. A barga lived here once.” I pointed at the gray fur. “But I took care of him. He won’t be back.”
Wide-eyed, she stepped closer and stared down at the fur she’d worn for warmth last night. “That was from a barga?”
“You don’t have to whisper. He can’t hear you.” I smirked.
She gulped hard and pressed a delicate, webbed hand to her chest. “I didn’t realize you hunted…giant bears.”
Arching a brow, I asked, “Do you not think me capable of killing such a monster?”
Her gaze roamed up and down my frame, her throat working again to swallow. I stiffened beneath her perusal, tilting my chin higher, blood heating at the quiet admiration in her gaze.
“I do not doubt you are capable,” she said sincerely, blinking and blushing as she looked away.
Grunting, I marched past her, disliking how much it pleased me to hear her admit that. “I’ll gather kindling. We’ll need a fire. I’m out of blue coal.”
I’d packed plenty enough of the heat source for a regular solo hunt, but I’d stayed away longer than normal this time. I hadn’t known why I’d stayed. That restlessness again, or perhaps something more.
“I can help.” Her light footfalls followed me outside.
“Stay close to me,” I ordered. “It may seem quiet and peaceful, but there are always dangers in these woods. Some you can’t easily see or hear until it’s too late.”
“I understand,” she said, trailing close behind me as we ventured into the woods, trying to find anything dry to burn.
For a light fae, she seemed to have sense enough in her head. Having heard that most fae of her kind were foolish and ignorant, especially when it came to the woodlands, that surprised me. She surprised me.
I wondered again what she might have done to make her want to flee her homeland.
There wasn’t anything that could make me leave Vanglosa, not even the sins or curse of my own father.
It had actually made me stronger, overcoming the reputation he left behind, and more determined than ever to become the best lord of our clan that had ever lived.
So what crime had this female committed to make her run so far away she found herself in foreign lands, at the mercy of the Northgall winter bearing down on us, and in the hands of…me?