Chapter 38
DAHLIA
“Why is there only one? I told you to bring me both of the brats!” a woman’s vicious growl jerks me from my sleep.
Groaning, I open my eyes. Grass seeps through my fingers, lit up by the early morning sun. A nightgown clings to my skin. Long shadows stretch over the grass. From trees, maybe?
“You only gave me one soul, my darling, so I brought you the angel I thought would be the most fun,” a low voice chuckles.
“My soul for them both. That was the deal, demon!”
I turn my head towards the sound. My vision is blurry, but I can just about make out two figures standing amongst the trees.
I rub my eyes, squinting. We’re in a forest. But I’ve been here before. It’s the clearing near Lord Elheart’s palace. The woman is familiar, too. Her luscious golden hair is the colour of sunrays.
But the man…
My vision sharpens. It’s the same tall demon who was lusting after Blossom last night.
I claw into the dirt.
“Your exact words were ‘I want Tamryn and Lord Tauren’s whore’,” Navir explains, smirking. “‘Bring them to me and you can have my soul’.”
“Yes. Them,” Urma hisses. “Plural.”
“‘Them’ can be singular.” He grins. “Wouldn’t you agree, Dahlia?”
Snarling, I push myself up. “Where am I? What did you do to me?” I jab my finger at Navir.
“I did nothing other than use the pathetic scrap of power Lady Urma’s soul gave me to bring you here,” he explains. “Though you’d think it’d already been eaten. Tasteless little husk of a thing. Like eating coal.” He chuckles.
“You’re a foul man.” Urma turns angry red.
“Demon,” he corrects her. “And you shouldn’t frown so much. It’ll give you more wrinkles.”
Urma looks ready to explode, and I take that as my opportunity to escape.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she spits as I take a step towards the trees. “Lord Elheart and his guards are moments away, and you wouldn’t survive five minutes in these woods,” she sneers. “Your demon lord can’t save you now, Your Highness.”
Right now, wolves sound a lot more tempting than staying here. But before I can run, horses burst through the greenery.
“Lady Urma,” a desperate voice calls. My stomach sinks at the sight of Lord Elheart leading a squad of mounted guards. We’re surrounded within seconds. Armoured guards on huge horses block every exit. “You said you’d found Tamryn! Where is she? Is she here?” Elheart stammers.
“My lord.” Urma dips her head meekly. “I’m afraid there’s been some confusion. You see, I had paid for both your daughter and Princess Dahlia to be delivered to this forest at sunrise. However, it seems that the creature I hired failed to deliver both girls to me, and so I—”
“You hired a demon.” He pales, while Navir just bows mockingly. “You foolish child. Tell me you did not give this creature your soul?”
“I live to please you, sire.” She puffs out her chest. “My soul means nothing compared to the happiness of my—”
“You stupid, ignorant girl!” His shout is loud enough to send the birds fleeing their nests. “A lost soul is what started all this! Did you learn nothing from my mistakes? A lost soul cost me my family. How could you ever think it would put it back together again?”
I can’t think about the words he’s saying because I’m too focused on how awful he looks. His shirt is creased, and his eyes are sunken with exhaustion while his facial hair is a scraggly mess.
He looks just like Father did in the days after Amaryllis’s ‘death’.
Like a man who lost his daughter.
“If it’s any consolation, your prized whore’s soul was barely edible,” Navir pipes up. “I doubt you’ll even notice a change when you fuck her.”
“Leave this place, demon,” Elheart snarls. “You will not be taking anymore of my court’s souls today.”
“If you say so.” Navir shrugs. He slinks away from Urma, but instead of leaving through the gap in the horses, he brushes past me, whispering in my ear. “I suspect this won’t be the last time we meet each other, little princess. Your older sister has something I very much desire.”
“Blossom?” I frown. “You need to stay away from her.”
But the demon just grins in a cat-like way before disappearing into shadow form.
“Take Lady Urma back to my palace,” Elheart barks at the nearest guard the second Navir is gone. “I’ll deal with her later.”
The guard hops off his horse to grab Urma’s arm. Despite her furious protests, he drags her through the trees.
“As for you,” Elheart glares at me, “I’ll be finding you a nice, comfortable cell in the dungeon.”
I cover my chest with my arms, suddenly very aware that all I’m wearing is the thin black nightgown Tauren put me to bed in. “Tauren will come for me.” I hold my head high.
“The salt barrier is still very much intact,” Elheart sneers.
“My sisters then.” I raise my voice. “You can’t just lock me away. I haven’t done anything to you!”
“You stole my daughter!” His tone makes me freeze. “You came to my palace with the intention of stealing sweet Maeve, and you stole Tamryn instead. Therefore you are a thief, and in my court thieves are punished. I will have your hands cut off by sunset.”
I pale. “You can’t do that.” I won’t be able to dance. Ride horses.
“I can, and I will. In fact,” his grin makes me feel queasy, “I will send a messenger to your dear demon lord telling him that if he does not return Tamryn to my palace by noon, the next messenger will be sent carrying a box with your hands inside.”
“But Tauren’s palace is hours from here!”
He tugs on the reins of his horse. “Then you best hope my messengers are fast riders. Take her away,” he barks at his guards.
His men grab my arms, hauling me roughly towards the palace. I writhe against them, but it’s pointless. All I can do is let my body go limp, the sunlight stinging my eyes as I watch an owl, oddly enough, swoop across the fluffy clouds.