Chapter 18 Zara #2
“Remember who you serve. The Royals are the priority.” Byron peers at Emlyn again then at Alix before transforming into a large black wolf with black eyes and taking off toward the court.
I look up at Alix. “We aren’t leaving her.”
“No, we aren’t. But we need to hurry.”
I hold my friend tighter. “Ready, Em? I’m going to help you up, okay?” Emlyn rests her head on my shoulder but doesn’t respond. She grasps onto the cloak and pulls it gently around herself and shivers.
I release her from my arms, and my skirts are slick with wetness. I peer down at the bright red fluid covering my lap and panic when I realize Emlyn is covered in blood from her wound, which is now gaping open again. She pales and collapses to the ground, eyes half open.
“Emlyn!” I immediately unwrap the cloak from her shoulders and try to stop the gushing blood, and Leer places his hand on top of mine to add pressure. Alix is near us in an instant, and we back away so he can attempt to heal the wound again, but nothing happens.
I lean over her and press my hands over the wound to hold pressure on the gash again. “Why isn’t it working?” I scream to no one in particular, tears flowing from my eyes. I cough and sputter through the sobs. “It should work! Please, make it work!”
Alix doesn’t respond, and in one swift movement, he lifts Emlyn’s limp body into his arms. “Follow me through the forest. Only step where I step.” He looks back at me and Leer. “Are you able to keep my pace?”
We both nod and Alix takes off in a dash toward the palace.
We follow closely behind, and I conjure all of my energy to keep up with both of them through the bramble.
I’m fast, faster than most Fae, but what I wouldn’t give to be able to shift in this moment.
Or when whatever creature that was in the woods attacked us.
Then maybe Emlyn wouldn’t be hurt. Maybe I wouldn’t feel as helpless and weak as I do right now.
Alix never slows nor does he look behind him to make sure we're still following, and I love him for that.
All that matters is Emlyn. Her cheeks are sullen, and her hair is matted to her forehead with sweat when we finally make it back to court, and the guards at the gate step aside for Alix and bow low as Leer and I pass.
“Get the healer to Emlyn’s rooms now!” Alix shouts to any of the guards who will listen and two of them scramble away.
I rush ahead and open the large oak door to Emlyn’s rooms and follow Alix to the bed where he gently lays her on top of the blankets.
Leer paces back and forth in the corner and I race out into the hallway to check if the healer is coming.
When I turn back to Emlyn’s bedside, Alix is kneeling by the large bed, one hand resting on her arm, the other stroking the top of her dark hair.
I choke back a sob when I see the way he looks at Emlyn.
I reach for his shoulder but pull it away when the healer and the two guards burst into the room, followed by Alfrie.
Leer approaches his squire and whispers something into his ear.
Alfrie’s brow puckers with concern, or maybe fear, and he glances at Emlyn lying in bed.
They walk over to Alix and I still hovering near her, and Alfrie gently places the back of his hand on her forehead as the healer gets to work mixing a concoction of sorts.
Alfrie spins around, green eyes piercing through me as they rove hastily over my body. “Are you hurt?” He gives me a once-over, assessing me for injuries. He pulls his brow together with what appears to be…panic?
The look of fear etched on his face takes me by surprise. “I—I’m fine.”
“What happened?” He returns his attention to Emlyn, gingerly unwrapping the blood-soaked cloak to look at her wound.
My eyes sting and tears threaten to fall again as Emlyn’s face scrunches in pain under Alfrie’s touch. “We…we were attacked.”
Alix is speaking right next to me, but it sounds like he’s miles away as he explains what he saw. My vision blurs and a wave of dizziness comes over me. I sway and Leer is there, grasping my elbow to steady me.
“Come on, let’s give the healers some space to do their work.” Leer’s smooth voice is comforting, and I allow him to usher me out into the hallway. As we exit, I faintly hear Alfrie saying something about ‘poison’. And ‘if she pulls through’…
If? Oh gods.
My knees buckle and I crumple into a weeping mess on the cold stone floor in the hall. Leer drops to his knees next to me and wraps his arms around me as I cry into his shoulder, leaving puddles of tears on his fancy dress shirt.
Alix steps out into the corridor and leans against the wall.
He runs his hands through his black hair, vulnerable and small, somehow.
No longer the strong bodyguard always hiding in the shadows and ready to strike down any threat.
He’s silent for a moment, then as if he only just realizes I’m on the floor in front of him, he leans down and helps Leer lift me to my feet.
Alix takes me by my elbow and looks me up and down. “Are you all right? I’m sorry I couldn’t slow down back there.” He glances at Leer. “Thank you for keeping pace with Zara.” He sounds gracious, yet there's a level of mistrust in his gaze as he eyes the prince.
“Of course.” Leer brushes a hand to my cheek and tilts my face up to his. “Will you be okay? I’m going to go and see if I can assist Alfrie.”
“I’m fine. I just hope…” my voice trails off. Leer nods, cupping my face, and offers me a half-smile before slipping back inside Emlyn’s rooms.
It’s just me and Alix now. And the guilt drains me. Not only did I go behind his back again, but now Emlyn’s injured. Badly. It’s all my fault. I reach for his arm, “Alix. Alix, I’m so sor—”
He holds his hand up to stop me and takes a step away from my touch. “Don’t. I tried. I tried to warn you, but you never listen.”
“But—" I try again, but Alix jerks his chin in the other direction, refusing to look at me. I give up and sink back down onto the floor resting my head against the door. “I shouldn’t have left her.”
He emits a heavy sigh, and he slides down to the floor beside me. “Yes, you should’ve. You did the right thing. If it had been you who was hit…” He doesn’t finish his thought.
“What was it that attacked us? You said you recognized the poison. Was it a creature of some sort?”
He doesn’t answer and stands abruptly.
I get to my feet too. “Alix? Who was out there?”
He flinches. “Commander Byron has heard whispers of Unseelie soldiers being sighted in the Woodlands. I’ve been ordered to put several of our remaining soldiers on watch around the borders to Masseda—that’s why I’ve been so adamant about you and Emlyn staying close.”
“Unseelie soldiers? Here? Does my father know?”
Alix’s face twists in agony. “Byron wanted to keep it under wraps for now. Until we discovered if the rumors are true.”
I gape at him. “Alix! Emlyn could’ve been killed. I—I can’t believe this.”
“I know. I honestly didn’t think the rumors had any merit.
But when I saw that gash on Emlyn and the smell…
I’ve only seen that kind of wound during skirmishes with the Unseelie soldiers after the war.
” His blue eyes are stormy, and he stands just a bit straighter, ridding himself of all of the vulnerability he had let slip earlier.
“I need to speak with your father. We both do.” He glances at the wooden door, pensive as if considering going back in to check on Emlyn but then turns toward the corridor.
“We should probably let him know what happened. Hopefully Commander Byron has already spoken with him. We can’t deny this threat any longer. ”
I’m glued to the spot in front of Emlyn’s rooms. “I don’t want to leave her again.”
He holds out his hand. “The healers will take care of her, and Alfrie. I’m sure Leer will come to find you if there are any changes. You can’t do anything more for her.”
I look back and forth between the door to Emlyn’s room and Alix, then tentatively, place my hand in his and let him lead me to the throne room.
We walk in silence, staring blankly ahead with no expression on our faces.
Courtiers and servants move in and out of the halls, cheerfully talking and eating whatever canapes are being passed among them on silver trays.
Their chattering ceases and smiles falter when they catch sight of the blood coating my gown and Alix’s armor.
Their judgmental brows arch and they glance at one another, but they bow low to the floor as we pass.
I’m only thinking about Emlyn and the fact there may have been an Unseelie attack in the Woodlands so close to Masseda. On me.
And Byron knew they might have been out there.
I was barely two years old when the Fae realm fell apart, but I’ve heard all of the stories.
Before the Great War, several troops of Fae left Masseda and created their own kingdoms. There were two other Courts of Seelie Fae, Lanray and Gridan, but a smaller group left all reason behind and created what would be, essentially, the darkness to our light: The Unseelies, led by a stunningly beautiful and evil Faerie, called Thea.
The Unseelie Court was located in the farthest southern region of the land, and since its inception, there hasn’t been peace in the realm.
The Unseelie Fae are known to be hideously ugly, with gray and wrinkled faces and mouths filled with sharp and jagged teeth, but their vanity is such that they cloud their appearances with glamour.
The problem with glamour magic is that it can only be used by the Unseelies as it requires a piece of your soul in exchange for its power, making the wielder uglier with each spell cast.
The Unseelie have no souls, and they are already repulsive, so they can use the magic endlessly.
After forming their new Court, Thea wanted more. More land, more creatures to fall under her rule and at her feet, to bow down her false beauty, and she would do anything to get what she wanted. And murder anyone who opposed her wishes.
Thus, the Great War for lands began.
The fighting lasted for nearly six years, but unfortunately, for the Queen of the Dark, the Unseelies would not succeed in gaining any more lands to consume from the Seelie Courts.
Mostly thanks to my father and his grand army of wolves.
And the King of Gridan. His line possessed the ability to shift into great cats like lions and lynxes, the only predatory form capable of fighting against Unseelie magic.
Sadly, for the Gridan’s, only Fae who can take the form of a tiger can actually kill an Unseelie faerie—and one hasn’t existed in the realm for hundreds of years.
The Gridan royal family was slaughtered years after anyway with the annihilation of the villages. And from recent revelations, I unfortunately know why.
But all of fighting and massacres ended ten years ago, and I suppose I understand why we weren’t ready seeing as my father thought he rid the realm of the Unseelie. All was quiet. There haven’t been any threats made, no attacks, and no one has heard even a rumbling from the Unseelie Court.
So why now?