Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
MAX
Living in the Blackwoods Coven, I was used to the dark green forests encroaching on all sides, the clean night sky filled with twinkling stars overhead and the sounds of rushing waves in the distance, as the Coven backed up to a cliff overseeing the ocean.
It was the only lullaby I was granted as a child, living in a village frightened of my power.
Here, there are no sounds of water, nor the faint rustling of critters. The air is hot and acidic and the sands shift underfoot, instead of compact, wet mud that sucks my boots in with every step.
In so many ways, this territory is foreign to me and my heart yearns for the familiarity of the deep woods, and of the salty air. Even if that was not my true home, I still miss it.
The gardens of the palace are deserted. There are forlorn, gothic plants popping up from red sands with black rocks acting as a border. In the far back, is an ebony forest of decrepit trees.
Surrounding the gardens is a tall, black granite wall, that makes the land feel suffocating. I wonder what’s beyond it. What are they protecting the inhabitants of this castle from?
Fee leads me to a far corner, further away from the castle than I’ve been in weeks, to a large boulder. It’s surrounded by translucent flowers, parrot tulips, with feathered petals the deepest shade of blue.
Holding the gem at my neck, I notice the same color reflected back to me.
“This was my mother’s favorite spot,” she tells me, sitting on the boulder. “She used this place to think. To escape. Kaden and I would often follow her out here and just enjoy the silence.”
Sitting beside her, the heat of the day dampens my brow and the back of my neck.
“Escape from what?”
Fee shifts. “Life.”
I can relate.
“I can see you and Kaden as children,” I prod, hands folded over my lap. “Running in the sand.”
“Kaden still does.” She snorts, rolling her eyes. “He uses this area as his training grounds.”
That would explain the sand all over his clothing the other night. I’m foolish for the surge of jealousy, thinking his unkept appearance was due to another Fae and not from training. It should have been obvious, but again, I know very little about Kaden, other than what he’s shown me.
“It’s beautiful, but you didn’t bring me here to talk about the gardens.” Fee never does anything without reason, even when Kaden instructs her.
Smirking, the princess looks at me, keen eyes glinting with humor.
“Tomorrow, we begin training.” She gestures to the palace.
“Your footwork is lacking and you can barely handle a sword.” When I try to defend myself, she holds up her hand.
“I saw it in the forest, blood summoner. In order to survive, in order for my brother to survive, you need to learn to fight. Better, anyway.”
I roll my eyes. “Or your brother could stop drugging me.” My magic is a decent defense. It’d be easier than learning to use a weapon, something I’ve tried for years and the skills still lack.
She leans back on her hands.
“There is so much you don’t understand,” she huffs. “Things in play that concern you, me, this entire world. Things that if you knew, would put you in more danger.”
I shift, uncomfortable, body slick with sweat. I don’t like knowing there are people out there, risking things for me, but I hate it more that I’m being kept from it. I should know, to help, to be prepared.
“And you can’t tell me,” I guess.
She nods. “Not yet. Not until we know it’s safe.”
Safe. The only way I’ll be truly safe, is if I’m out of this palace. Away from enemies and hidden secrets. On my own where Zelos can’t use me, and where Kaden can’t lock me away.
My eyes fall to the trees again, a makeshift plan forming, slowly, in my mind.
“Where does that lead to?”
Fee tilts her head, brows furrowed. “I wouldn’t.”
“Wouldn’t, what?”
Giving me a suffering look, she points to the dark hole between the thick branches. “That forest is so dense, no light exists within. Not many people are brave enough to go in there.”
“And that concerns me, how?”
“Blood summoner,” she drawls, lips lifting.
“This world is not forgiving. We are a desert territory, with that entrance leading to nowhere. Villages are far and few between. Should you decide to do what I know you’re thinking—” she side-eyes me and I pretend to be innocent, “you wouldn’t go anywhere.
It’d be a wasteland.” She kicks at the black rocks, mind elsewhere.
“You would still be trapped, just not by the court and bond, but by the vastness of sand, with no shelter or water to speak of. It's not worth it.”
Keeping my face neutral, I store that information away for later.
Anything is better than being stuck here as a captive, regardless if true.
I would gladly fight against the elements than waste another day here, connected to the prince who wishes to make my life as miserable as possible.
And that’s before Zelos decides to use me.
Why is Kaden taking so long to hand me over anyway? Isn’t that why he claimed me? Force me to do his father’s bidding? Tying my soul to him, he keeps me imprisoned, a tool ready to be sharpened.
Either way, I can’t fully trust Fee. Her loyalty is to Kaden. Everything she says has to be taken with a grain of salt.
The princess sits forward, elbows digging into her knees. “And because you’re now trapped in the middle, you should know something. Kaden and Fenrir have history. A long one.”
“I caught that,” I mutter, glancing around at the gardens once more, trying to commit the layout to memory. No guards. Is that normal? Or does the princess not need them? “Kaden hates him, that’s obvious.”
She snorts. “There’s a good reason for that, blood summoner.”
“Going to tell me what?”
She smirks, but it’s tense. Fee isn’t the one to mince words, usually sharing her distain and making others deal with it. But now, she’s holding back. What could this history be that even she won’t speak of it?
“That’s for my brother to share.”
Hands flinging out, I explode. “Then is there anything you can share? Maybe anything useful?” I’m a foreigner in a land no outsider has been in for centuries. Up until a few nights ago, I was confined to a dungeon.
Any information, anything I can use to escape, to understand, would be beneficial.
“Well, Dark Fae are hunted for our blood.” I inhale sharply, glancing up at the princess. I didn’t exactly expect her to be forthcoming.
Turning, I wait she looks at the flowers, avoiding my gaze. I heard the rumors growing up—that Dark Fae has special blood, but nothing to suggest being hunted.
“Why?”
“We can heal any cut, any injury with just a few drops of blood. Humans have wanted it for years.”
“Is that why the Humans have continued to fight you, even after the end of the Great War?” Why there are still battles even though the war has been over for centuries?
She nods. “Humans want anything that will give them power. If Dark Fae are selfish, then only Humans can match us in their greed. They steal our people, draining them, to use for their Human aliments. It’s a hot commodity.”
My stomach twists, contents sloshing. “Do the other Fae lands offer anything that would cause Humans to seek them out?” This is the first I’ve heard of it—the Witch Covens didn’t trade with Dark Fae and kept our borders closed to them. The other kingdoms ignored us. Information was limited.
Sighing, Fee crosses her arms, nodding. “Every Fae offers something of value. The Woodland Fae’s blood will heal barren grounds, allowing crops to grow even in the worst conditions.
The Sierrian Fae’s breath can change the wind’s direction, helpful for sea faring.
” At my curious brows, she shrugs. “All Fae have something that connects to our lands. Kaden is the only one who actually has magic, who controls shadows.”
He’s a rarity then. Like me.
“Is that why Fenrir mentioned him being their weapon?”
Fee’s hands clasp her dress, wrinkling the silk.
Her red nails pierce the fabric as she looks off, emotions rolling off of her in violent waves.
“My father made Kaden into a weapon. When his curse manifested, the only way to keep him here, was to leash his beast and sell him as a sort of protector to the rest of the Fae world. Otherwise, he’d be sent away to rot.
“We’ve been the first defense against the Humans going after the rest of the Fae for centuries.
We hold the line. Do you think we want to be warriors?
” She snorts delicately, voice cracking.
“No, we’ve had little choice. And because of that, Kaden is the face of our ranks.
He’s been put into a role, molded for it, with very little thought as to what he wants. ”
There’s a stabbing pain, of sympathy, pity, for the heir. To be forced into being a warrior, a monster, instead of allowed to thrive, hits me harder than it should.
I was forced into a role as a monster that the children were afraid of in the Blackwoods Coven. Unfortunately, I can relate to feeling trapped, stuck into an image that doesn’t feel right. Forced into a role that you don’t want.
Standing, I dust off my dress, my heels digging into the sharp lava rocks. “Anything else I should be aware of? Do we have talking candles? Perhaps vicious clocks ready to devour me?”
Fee snorts, dusting the red sand from her arm, following my lead.
“No clocks. But whenever you go anywhere, take one of us with you.” At my confused look, she pats her chest. “Me, Reid. Kaden, even Uncle. Don’t take a guard, unless it’s Zeke.”
My lips pucker in thought. Odd. “And why not a guard? The captain seems to have more important responsibilities than escorting me around the palace. And I’m sure, as royals, you all have better things to do.”
“As the future queen, you will too. One day. But just trust me.” She crosses her arms, hunkering as if to hide within the thin fabric, her arms a barricade. “None of the guards are on your side. Only Zeke.”
With that final thought, Fee gestures for me to follow her. “Here, I’ll show you the stables. We don’t have Guardian Horses like the Blackwoods Coven, but we have Coal Stallions.”
Tripping over the rocks, I follow her past the trees to the back of the castle, where the land opens up, rolling hills of red sand looking back at me. It’s majestic and isolating. There is nothing here but wide expanses and silence.
“What do they do?”
“Blend into the shadows,” she responds, shrugging. The sand kicks up around us, blending into the crimson sky. “Legend says at one point they could breathe fire, but it’s just a myth.”
And as we open the stables, I try to stop thinking of the heir and how though he trapped me in this world, he’s as trapped as me. Stuck in a place he should never have been.
But the pull of escape through the forest is bigger.