A Curse of Flame and Ash, page 5
I nodded in agreement—too many unknowns. Being so far away from the Fae border and the battlefront, my parents didn’t concern themselves with searching familiar merchants, but the Fae may want to display their new authority over us.
“It’s still reckless for me to travel alone, though.”
“You won’t. Take the route we use to sneak out and run into Ravenwood, keep straight until you meet the stream and follow it east to a small waterfall. Wait for Nolan there. I’ll tell him where you are,” Cara firmly instructed as my mind blurred, piecing the information together rapidly, attempting to find holes and threats.
“My guards—”
“I’ll take care of them. When those doors open, I want you to run. Fast. No matter what you hear behind you, don’t stop. Just get out of here.” Cara untied my robe and started dressing me in the yellow dress Oulixeus pulled out for me as I absently stared at the floor.
“This isn’t very practical…” I frowned at the flimsy material Cara wrapped me in.
My friend sighed, “Nothing you own is practical.”
“And the guards on the wall—”
Cara tightened the laces before grabbing my cloak. “I’ll find a distraction.”
“But if someone sees me, if Oulixeus finds me…” The thought twisted my gut.
“Elle,” Cara grabbed my shoulders and stared straight into my eyes, her honey irises crystallising into a fortified battle shield. “It’s not ideal, I know, but if you want out, this is our moment to try.”
My heart hammered against my rib cage, clamouring for freedom. I nodded and Cara thrust my small travel bag filled with coins, jewels, and my papers into my hands.
“Okay, repeat the plan to me.”
I recited it perfectly, and we pressed a kiss to each other’s cheeks, knowing we may never see each other again. A rushed goodbye, leaving an empty pit within me.
Cara silently lifted the normally creaky latch, and we spotted my guards, Patrick and Eric, at the end of the hall. Tiptoeing toward them, Cara swept her leg low and brought Patrick to the floor. His large head thudded and blood marked the carpet. Her next set of movements unfolded swiftly. Wrapping her arms around Eric, she swung herself onto his back and pulled him into a chokehold.
“Now!” Cara hoarsely cried while putting all her strength into choking Eric.
I ran. Fleeing so swiftly, I gripped the wall at the end of the corridor to turn sharply and steadily. A broad central staircase in the tower featured stone columns on every floor, and as I hurried across the balcony, I halted, hearing the clinking of armour ascending the stairs.
Fuck.
Slipping behind a column, I sucked in my stomach and held my arms rigid, clutching my bag as the guards made it to the top. If they turned right, I’d be discovered within moments.
Please turn left. Please turn left.
And they did—relief didn’t last long, though, when they marched toward my chamber. Toward Cara.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She’d instructed me to leave her behind, no matter what. Did she subdue Eric? Could she handle two more? The night of the attack, she successfully fought three men at once. My confliction hindered me.
“Hey,” a guard shouted, pieces of armour clanging as they hurried toward the commotion. It pained me, but Cara had insisted. No matter what you hear behind you, don’t stop. I trusted in her capabilities to defend herself. If I went back to help, and made things worse, then Cara had sacrificed herself for nothing.
Lunging for the stairs, I rushed. Steadying my lungs proved more challenging than forcing my steps to stay silent. Surely the entire castle would hear my huffing, as I snuck into an ancient passage hiding on the second floor. It led me straight through the kitchen and into the stables where I crouched along the wooden partitions, sneaking past the horses crunching on their hay and clomping their hoofs. Aside from the quiet horses, the stable appeared empty.
Creeping toward the doors, I peered into the stable yard just as a woman screamed at two large men wearing unfamiliar leather armour, highlighted in the sun like gold. The woman crawled away from them, her nails digging into the dirt as she trembled.
The men stalked toward her and her fear became my own, until I saw Oulixeus’ face in place of the guards. I needed to help her.
“Oh, come on. I’ve never been with a human female before.” One of them whined as they both continued to approach the woman with terror painted on her face. Human female. These weren’t men at all.
The hair on my neck rose as the other Fae turned his head to the side and chuckled. “Aramis has fun playing with them.”
His ear arched to a point, his jaw as straight and sharp as a blade, cheekbones high and narrow. These were predators. These were Fae.
Mortals were no longer safe in the courts we’d won centuries before. Digging the ball of my foot into the dirt and preparing to sprint into the yard, my heart thudded hard when an arm reached around my waist and pulled me back. A hand covered my mouth and carried me into an empty horse stall and I swatted my hands, hitting any part of my captor I could as I tried to squirm free. Pushing me into a mound of straw at the back of the stable, the arm let go of my waist, but the hand remained over my mouth. Snapping around, I recognized my abductor’s sorrel hair and gentle features.
Foster.
I fell into his arms as he lifted a finger to his lips. “What are you doing?”
“Escaping,” I whispered.
“Now?” He ran a hand down his face and sighed. The straw next to us suddenly thumped.
“It’s her last chance.” Cara. Oh, thank the gods! We embraced one another.
“How?” A bruise had already formed along the side of her face and her lip had a cut, but she was here, safe, and I allowed the relief I felt wash over.
“Another time, Elle,” she said as she let go of me.
“That woman, we have to help her.” I pointed to the yard, afraid she’d be assaulted before any of us could stop it.
“No time, Elle. There is literally no time left. The Fae are here. They’re here. The longer you stay, the more there will be, and the harder it’ll be to sneak past them.” Cara rationalised with me, her way of begging me to let it go.
“They don’t seem to notice us!” I argued. Maybe they didn’t possess heightened senses after all.
“They’re preoccupied,” Foster chimed in, souring my stomach because mortal predators behaved the same—nothing else existed while preoccupied with their prey.
“I can’t leave knowing they raped and murdered her.” We argued with hushed voices. Cara bit the inside of her cheek, but she understood more than most why this mattered to me. She tended too many of my own bruises.
“Fine. I’ll deal with it. Foster, get her out.” Cara gave in, her eyes flickering to my throat.
“No. No, no, no. This is insane. Cara, you can’t take on two Fae. Elle, this isn’t the plan. What do you think your parents will do if you’re caught? What will Oulixeus do?” Foster shook his head wildly, fear strumming through his honey-brown eyes, identical to Cara’s.
“Foster, I’m running with or without your assistance. I’d rather try than do nothing.”
His face softened at my tenacity. “What’s the new plan?” He relinquished with a hand drawing across his face.
“Just help me to the garden.”
“Is anyone else involved?” He sighed, clearly already hating this plan.
“Just Nolan.”
“How far do you think he can travel with his wagon before Oulixeus realises she’s gone?” Foster weighed the problems with the abrupt change in plans, always our voice of reason.
“He’ll be so distracted with the Fae that it’ll take him a few hours before he discovers she’s gone, and by then I’ll have it figured out.” Cara affirmed, tugging at my heartstrings. My life lacked abundant experiences, yet I recognised the rarity of our friendship and her loyalty. They both pulled me from darkness, comforted my demons, and provided the hope I needed to stay alive. I didn’t know if I deserved this type of love, but I would be forever grateful.
“Fine.” He shook his head, reddish-blonde hair catching on his lashes.
Cara embraced me and I squeezed her tight, memorising the familiar scent of cloves and grapefruit that often comforted me after nightmares.
“Let’s go,” Foster interrupted. Opening his palm, I took it and he pulled me away from my best friend. We shared one more look before he had me through the hidden door in the back of the stables, leading to the garden.
Cara’s voice shouted at the Fae in the distance. If any mortal woman could succeed, it’d be Cara.
“You know where you’re going?” Foster asked as we crept through the garden, hidden behind giant trees. I nodded and replayed Cara’s instructions, my heart quickening the closer we reached the lilac bushes covering our secret exit.
Staring at the hole, my entire life flashed before me. Feeling loved as a young child before my banishment to the tower, my overwhelmingly confusing relationship with Oulixeus, all the times I almost allowed the darkness to consume me, and the family I found in the midst of it all. I turned to Foster and draped my arms across his shoulders and he enfolded me in his, holding me firmly but lovingly.
He parted his lips, but changed his mind about whatever he wanted to say. Instead, he pulled from the embrace and swept the branches blocking the hole. “Elle, go.”
Sucking back the tears, I crouched in the soft garden dirt and crawled through to the other side before running with all my might to the woods.
I refused to stop running, even with the trees hiding me. Even when branches ripped threads from my cloak and grabbed my hair, causing me to trip onto my knees. Nerves in my wrists pinched as they caught my full weight, moist dirt digging under my fingernails.
The further I ran, the more familiar this became. The trees grew taller, trunks thicker, and spread further apart. But sunbeams floated between the empty spaces instead of the mist from my dreams. Freedom, as fresh as the rain soaked into the forest floor, rested on the horizon, and the notion forced the panic to dissipate.
Following Cara’s instructions, I easily discovered the rushing waterfall. Blood carrying adrenaline through my veins slowed and weak legs guided me into the clearing around the waterfall. I made it.
A man kneeled at the river, splashing water onto his long golden hair and face. My brow rose as I contemplated the chances Cara or Foster already found Nolan and told him to meet me here. Driving a wagon, he could potentially arrive sooner than me.
I stepped closer to him and searched the clearing to discover three massive horses, but no wagon. “Nolan?”
He stood and slowly turned at my greeting, displaying golden armour. My stomach sank and my legs halted, noting the intricate flames etched on the breastplate and gauntlets.
I muffled a gasp as a burning heat wrapped around my left hand, a pulsating throb originating in my ring finger, and drawing to my elbow.
He cocked his head and parted his lips. Thick, lush lips, and a smoky voice rolled from them. “Why, hello there.” He advanced a step, wearing a smirk. Golden locks, wet from the water, curled around copper skin. Dimples cradled by high cheekbones and a square-cut jaw, as if chiselled from marble, served as both a warning of his fearsome nature and a source of inexplicable fascination. His emerald eyes, reflecting sunbeams like swirling flames, beckoned me forward despite my instincts urging to flee. Running a hand through damp hair, they appeared—pointed Fae ears.
I stumbled backward and the hands of another found me. Firm umber hands clasped my dainty biceps and I twisted to look over my shoulder as my stomach plummeted. Another Fae. His amber eyes glinted like jewels and studied me, as if anticipating any move I may consider making. His stern expression highlighted the diamond-shape of his face, pointing to a pronounced dimple in his chin, and with that look, I instantly recognized he didn’t play games. He watched the golden-haired Fae in front of us, awaiting instructions.
“Don’t be afraid,” the golden-haired one insisted, coming closer to run a finger along my cheek.
“She’s quite beautiful.” A third Fae spoke, stepping into the clearing. He wore similar armour to the other, but only the edges were gilded in gold, not the full suit. I angled my face away from the fingers gliding along my face, snarling. “And feisty. I like that.”
“What are you doing in the woods all alone?” The stern Fae holding me spoke smooth and slow, but with a force that made my trembling difficult to hide. My shoulders thrashed back and forth, attempting to break loose, and he held me tighter with little effort.
“None of your business!” I snapped my teeth at the green-eyed Fae, his dimples deepening, amused by my reactions. The burning sensation in my arm increased. It had to be some kind of magic. “You’re hurting me!”
“Let her go, Molvys.” Following orders, the one called Molvys freed me.
The third Fae from across the clearing sauntered over, his sandy hair shining in the sunlight peeking between spring leaves. “What’s she going to do? Run?” He laughed and I contemplated it, but I knew they’d be quicker.
Evaluating me, the emerald-eyed Fae asked, “What’s your name?”
“What are you going to do with it?” I retorted, and a spark lit in the flames swirling in his irises.
“Conláed is right. You really are beautiful.” He circled me the way a predator stalks its prey, and I stayed hyper-aware of his movements. The angle of his head. Where his boots squished liquid from the moss. And the closer he came, the more my arm burned.
“What are you doing?” I dared to ask.
“I’m looking at you.” He stood directly in front of me again, removing all the space between us and forcing me to tilt my head up towards him. He stood taller than anybody I’d ever met. My arm continued to burn, but another sensation seared deep within me. A hum rang in my ears, drowning the rumble of the waterfall and the conversation between the other two Fae, as a heat flushed over my cheeks. He reached for my left hand, but I stepped away.
“I know who you are,” he announced.
“Oh?” My brow arched.
“We’ve all heard rumours of the beauty possessed by the Rhyddean princesses. Seeing as I’ve never seen a mortal as beautiful as you, you must be one of them.” He reached for my hand again and I tucked it behind my waist.
“You’re speculating.” Slowly backing away toward their horses tied to a tree, I tried to keep one eye on the distance between my escape and me, and the other on the Fae who watched me with something like amusement.
“I’ve also heard Princess Orla is a golden beauty. She’d fit right in with the Fire Fae, I’m sure. Most of us share blonde hair.” The other two snickered from a distance. He stalked forward at every step I took backward. “The daughter, Princess Linnaea, is said to be a sensuous beauty like her mother.”
“I wouldn’t know.” A little closer. I didn’t know how to ride, but I needed to take the chance.
“And then there’s the mysterious daughter. The eldest. Some call her the shut-in. Rumours claim she’s the most beautiful out of all seven daughters.” His chin tilted as I snorted.
“You know what they say about rumours,” I said in an attempt to distract him.
“No. Enlighten me. What do they say about rumours?” he urged.
“They’re—” Sturdy horse muscles met the top of my shoulders. “They’re spread by fools.” Carefully and subtly, my hands explored the horse for reins, a saddle, anything to grip. But the massive beast stood too high.
He took another step toward me and tugged on one of my loose curls. “Only a fool wouldn’t believe how beautiful she is. But I’m not surprised. Your beauty is more exquisite, elegant, ethereal compared to what these mortals are used to. So this means one thing.” His smoky voice caressed my senses. “You’re Princess Elowyn.”
A shiver trailed across my spine hearing my name roll off his lips and I slightly arched toward him, almost like he’d called my body to him. But something else spoke to me, too.
Stepping closer, he reached for my hand as I withdrew the dagger hiding beneath my skirts, and pressed the tip into his firm chest.
“My, my. You are full of surprises. Are you going to stab me in the heart, Princess?” His lips curled into a grin full of excitement and intrigue.
“Don’t mock me.” I added pressure to the tip of the jagged blade, and it pierced the skin beneath his shirt, soaking up the blood. My hand shook at the foreign sensation of piercing a weapon into another living being.
And before I could understand the feeling, he snatched both of my hands, disarming me. “Let go!” His friends approached and laughed as they enjoyed watching me struggle.
“Okay, okay, Aramis. You had your fun.” Conláed chuckled and patted my captor on the back, picking up the blade.
“Aramis?” The most vicious Fae in mortal written history?
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
“Come on, Princess.” He lifted me halfway onto the horse and I kneed him in the throat. The unsuspected action gave me a quick opportunity to try to get out of this mess. He dropped me to the ground, and I crawled away, gripping the spongy moss to help me stand. I pushed up to run, only for my wrist to be snatched by Conláed.
“As much as we all love to play cat and mouse, we don’t have time for that, Princess.” He winked and pulled me into his clutches. Fuming, I spat in his face and he laughed as he wiped it away.
“We seriously don’t have time for this. Bind her,” Molvys suggested while Aramis pulled a rope from a saddlebag, already one step ahead of him. I twisted and pulled from Conláed, desperate to be free.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Aramis wrapped the thick, rough rope around my wrists, tightening it with a single flick that burned against my skin. I winced, and to my surprise, Aramis bent a knee and kissed each wrist, his mouth lightly touching my skin. The surging pain in my left arm slowed to a gentle simmer.
He pulled the rope down and wrapped it around my ankles. “There.” He tugged on it mockingly. “No escaping us now, Princess.” I glared at him as Conláed let me go and mounted his horse, Molvys already atop his.
