Page 16

Chapter Sixteen

I kick my feet, desperately trying to make noise and draw the attention of Kai or Garrett, but Kai is shielding his face from the wolf’s blows and Garrett has only just gotten to his feet and is distracted blocking attacks at his ribs. I try kicking backward, but it’s futile as I’m being dragged.

As soon as the shadows of the building cover us, the being spins me around and slams me up against the wall. It’s one of the sharp-toothed fairies. His hand remains firm over my mouth and he grins as he presses his hips against mine.

I raise my free hand to slap him, but he snatches my wrist with a chuckle, uncovering my mouth.

“You are alone and unprotected, little one. What brings you to our lovely home?” His voice sounds like boots on gravel. He leans into my neck and sniffs his nose up my jaw, making me cringe and struggle. “You smell absolutely delectable. No wonder those two were trying to keep a close eye on you.”

“Get off of me,” I say through gritted teeth. I try to raise my knee but can’t get enough leverage to deliver any amount of pain, and it only makes the fairy laugh—if you could call it that. With my free hand, I grab his jaw and push it away from me, digging my nails in and tearing them at his flesh. “Get away!” I shout.

He recoils with a hiss between his teeth and grabs my other wrist. “You are rather a fool. But I prefer my meals fighting anyway, and your tenderness is going to be a fresh bite.” He presses me tightly to the stone wall, taking all leverage from me, and draws my right forearm to his lips.

I gulp a breath but don't anticipate that he will actually bite me. His teeth sink into my skin like I’m nothing but a soft peach, and I let out a shriek. Confusion and fear fuel it as much as the pain, but his teeth penetrate my skin so effortlessly there isn’t much pain at first.

The noise makes him laugh and he runs his tongue across my wound, lapping at the blood. “Even better than I had hoped. You are filled with light. I knew the moment I saw that purple eye of yours. Yes. Perhaps I can regain some of that.” He pins my wrists again above my head, crushing me against the stone wall. The pressure sends pain radiating through my bones. “I’m not sharing you with the others.”

My pouch wiggles and Acorn pushes his way out. “You stay away!” he shouts and with all of his quills bristled, jabs his body into the evil fairy’s chest.

He yelps and grabs Acorn, which only causes Acorn’s quills to penetrate the skin on his hand. He growls and throws him, and I hear Acorn cry out as he slides across the floor, far away from us.

“No!” I try harder to get away. “You hurt him!”

He loops his finger in the collar of my under dress and pulls it down to expose the skin of my shoulder.

My heart thunders in my ears.

“Get off of me! Release me now!” I shout as loudly as I can. “You will have to deal with the prince and his guard if you don’t release me immediately!” I thrash, my feet scraping feebly at the floor and wall, but he only adds pressure to my body, squeezing the air out of me. I have never felt more helpless.

Worse, the fairy is completely undeterred by my threats. Neither Kai nor Garrett is here, and I can’t see any other being in the hallway.

When the creature sinks his fangs into my shoulder, I don’t hold back and release the loudest scream I can muster. This causes him to bite a second time, but much harder and much deeper.

He growls. “I will give you a reason to scream, little girl.” He slams his elbow against the side of my head.

Pain explodes in my ear and stars blind me. I feel myself drop to the floor and sense the weight of the fairy on my chest, his knee pinning my right wrist to the ground. When my vision comes back, the monster looms over me with my middle finger between his teeth. He is about to sink his teeth into my knuckle and undoubtedly dislodge my finger from its joint.

“No! Please!” I cry and struggle with all I have. My boots scramble pathetically and I can’t arch my back off of the floor. All of my efforts are futile. I’m like a fly caught in a web, and no amount of struggling will free me.

Pain sears through my finger and I cry out again.

I hear rushed footsteps, a shout, and then a thud as a human body slams into the fairy, tackling him off of me and to the ground.

A rush of adrenaline allows me to bolt upright, gulping in air, but fear freezes me in place.

Kai’s large form is now on top of the fairy, slamming his fists into the creature’s face. The fairy roars and swings his legs, getting one of them around Kai’s waist to roll him. But I’ve watched Kai train with the other soldiers and know he doesn’t need a weapon to gain the upper hand. He rolls with the movement, loops his arm through the fairy’s, and gains the upper hand by pulling the fairy’s back across his. He twists, pulling the fairy’s shoulder over his own, and a sickening pop hits the air.

The fairy screams in agony as his shoulder is either broken or dislocated.

Kai kicks his feet against the wall at my side for leverage and flings himself back, once again on top of the fairy. He twists, grabs the creature by the head, and slams it against the stone floor. This stuns the fairy long enough for Kai to adjust his grip.

Garrett suddenly falls on his knees at my side and pulls my head into his chest. But I still hear the sound of the fairy’s head striking the stone floor twice more, each with a grunt of effort from Kai.

And then all I hear is the two of them panting and Garrett’s heartbeat in my ears.

“Is he dead?” Garrett asks softly, but his voice sounds so loud in my head.

“I think so.”

Garrett moves his arm and Kai inspects my shoulder. The anger burning in his brown eyes slowly fades. He silently slides one arm beneath my legs, wraps the other around my back, and picks me up.

“Is she okay?” I hear Acorn ask.

“She will be. You were brave,” Garrett replies. “Are you injured?”

“No. I’m fine.”

I’m trembling like a leaf in Kai’s arms.

He takes me directly to his cell, sits on his bed, and rests me in his lap. It is only then I realize that I’m crying and clutching so desperately to his vest and shirt that my knuckles are white. The pristine gold of his vest is now smeared red with my blood. Blood splatters his knuckles and the sleeve of his right arm.

“I’ve got you,” he whispers comfortingly. “Breathe. There you go. Again. Slow. In through your nose, out through your mouth,” he coaches.

My heart has finally released its grip on my throat. “He was going to eat me!” I shout.

Kai rests his cheek on top of my head and smooths my hair. “I wouldn’t have let that happen.”

Garrett steps forward, holding Acorn in his hands, and kneels. “How do I search in your pouch for medicine you need?”

“You reach in,” Kai says gruffly.

Garrett glares at him. “She enchanted it so it’s bigger on the inside.”

“Not right now. Please,” I beg.

Kai’s grip on me tightens. “I’m sorry.”

“We really need water to clean the wound properly,” Garrett mutters. “We don’t know what that dark fairy’s teeth may have done.”

“I’ll find it!” Acorn scrambles into the pouch. Seconds later, he shoves the poultice out, along with the vial of pink healing liquid. “And I think this will work since we don’t have water.”

I grimace. “That’s difficult to make and should be used in emergencies.”

“I would say this is an emergency,” Kai states, his tone edging on annoyance.

“I’m not broken,” I counter sharply. “What if you get broken by that wolf next time? You can’t tell me he didn’t hurt you.”

Kai shakes his head. “Garrett has a point about the fairy’s saliva. Fairies are magical, and what if going bad made it poisonous or something?”

I can’t deny that with the rush of adrenaline gone, my shoulder feels like it’s on fire. Each breath sends sharp pain all the way down into my ribs, and I’ve only just managed to get those healed!

Garrett accepts the vial from Acorn and pops the cork. He says nothing as he holds it up to me, but I read the earnest insistence in his gaze.

“It’s the only one I have,” I try one more time. “I think we should try the poultice first.”

Kai moves his hand to my knee, and his wedding band glints in the light. “I can help put it on.”

Is it wrong if I let him help? “I can manage,” I say weakly.

The fingers on his hand twitch into a fist, but he resists the urge to hold me in place. His other arm drops.

I climb off of his lap, hissing between my teeth, but turn. “Thank you for saving me. I thought he was going to...” My breath hitches.

Kai picks up my hand and kisses my palm. I can tell he wants to say something, but he doesn’t. “I’ll always be there for you, El,” he whispers. “No matter what.”

I want to believe him. My attention drifts to the wedding band on his finger. “Is your wedding even valid?” I ask. “Was it all just a farce?”

He follows my gaze and his brows furrow with thought. “According to our laws, we are married. Even if she’s a fairy. Which only complicates everything now.”

“What happened?” a voice demands.

I lift my gaze to see Tem with three waterskins draped over his arm. He’s looking from me to the other two with his only eye.

“A fairy monster attacked her,” Garrett explains. “Prince Kaison...stopped him.”

“Ah. The dead hag in the hallway.” He points his thumb over his shoulder. “They’ll be questioning you about that.”

Kai shrugs. “He should have kept his teeth and hands to himself.”

“He bit you?” Tem reaches out. “May I?” I let him assess the bite mark on my finger, forearm, and finally move the collar of my nightgown to assess the deepest of the wounds. He clicks his tongue.

“What is a hag?” I ask.

“A fairy who loses their purity. Fairies are born of light. You understand this as a magic user.”

I nod and in doing so draw pain up into my neck.

“Well, when fairies begin to entertain dark or evil thoughts, they begin to lose their light. Those who begin this path lose the color of their wings first. It is the only warning before they are entirely consumed and become hags. If you do not return to the light you were born from, you will become the darkness you created. You’re going to need some medicine.”

The alarm blares, alerting all prisoners to return to their cells.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any sort of bandages to help her?” Garrett asks.

“I’ll have to see if the guards allow me to get it and return to you. They’re pretty strict on their time for the doors locking.” He hands the men the waterskins. “They only fill it once a day, but they may be a little lenient, considering the injury.”

Kai uncaps his without hesitation and holds it out to me. “Use mine to rinse the wound.”

“Oi, you four! In your cells!” a fairy guard with yellow wings hollers from down the hall.

Tem puts on a dashing smile and turns to face him. “Ah, Malachi. It’s good to see you. This young lady was attacked by one of the hags and has some wounds. Do you mind if I fetch some bandages for her?”

The fairy stops a safe distance away, his lips tight. Over his right shoulder is another fairy, this one with pink-red wings, who has his sword drawn.

“The men need to step into their cells,” he finally responds. His attention locks on Kai and the blood on his clothing. “You’ll be condemned for murdering one of us.”

“It wasn’t a fairy any longer,” Kai replies coldly. “And I wouldn’t have had to if it hadn’t attacked Elowyn. She shouldn’t even be here. Surely you are not the only one to notice she’s the only female in this prison? We all know this puts her in significant danger.”

I want to argue that I’m not fragile, that he taught me how to fight, but I was completely useless against the dark fairy—or hag—just moments ago. If I had trained at a university, I might have been able to cast spells and actually put up a fight. What good is enchanting in a situation like that?

The fairy refocuses on Tem and nods. “I’ll escort you personally.” He extends an arm toward the cell I share with Garrett. “Go in.”

Kai steps forward.

The fairy’s eyes darken. “I said you to your cell. I have full permission to punish you if you disobey, whether or not you’re Queen Genoa’s prize.”

“Queen?” Kai’s brow twitches.

The fairy scoffs. “You are so oblivious.”

Kai’s jaw flexes.

“Kai, Garrett is with me,” I say, not wanting him to be punished over something so foolish. He’s already on thin ice with the dead hag. I’m also in too much pain to argue further.

He sucks a breath in through his nose and looks to me. “I’m sorry.”

Garrett gestures to himself. “I’m pretty experienced in protecting others.”

“You didn’t keep her safe from the fairy, did you?” Kai’s tone is cold.

Garrett snorts. “Because you shoved me to the ground as I was running.”

The fairy arches his brow. “I really want to be celebrating with my family right now, but here I am trying to get a stubborn human to return to his cell before I have to beat him.”

“Kai, just do as they say,” I say with all the firmness I have left. I step away from him and into my cell.

Garrett follows.

The door clatters shut and the lock clicks in place.

I face Kai through the bars. “I’ve been fine for the past year. It’s just one night.”

Kai drops his gaze and turns to his own cell. I feel bad, but at the same time, we have each forged our paths.

“Humans.” The fairies slip into their own language and their voices fade.

Garrett takes the waterskin Kai gave him and faces me. “I would have been there first. Hold your breath.”

I look away as he pours the icy water across my shoulder. I gasp and somehow manage to resist the urge to pull away. Not only is it freezing, but it stings the moment it comes in contact with my open wounds.

Acorn climbs out and drops to the ground. “I’m never getting a normal day’s sleep around here.” He wraps around the jar of poultice and unscrews the lid.

Garrett steps in front of me and grasps my opposite arm. “Sit down. You’re pale.” With his help, I lower to the ground. He accepts the poultice from Acorn and dips his fingers in. “Will this sting?”

“A little, but only because of the pressure of actually applying it.” I hold the shirt down. “I can do it.”

He responds by pressing the poultice into the bite as gently as he can, spreading it in a thin layer. The off-white ointment changes to pink as it mixes with my blood. “Prince Kaison never should have sought you out after being turned into a frog. He should have gone to his father. Some other poor wizard or sorcerer should be caught up in this. Not you.”

I refuse to look at him. “Well, I’m sorry you’re stuck with a useless witch who can’t even cast spells.”

He lifts my chin with his finger. “That wasn’t what I meant. You deserve to be taken care of, Elowyn. You deserve to be safe and protected. You deserve someone by your side, not stringing you along and playing with your heart when it’s convenient for him.”

“Kai isn’t like that. You may know him as a soldier, but you don’t know him the way I do.” I pull my face away from his touch. “He came to me because he knew what happened was wrong and he didn’t know who else to trust. I was happy to help him. Maybe I actually hoped for the chance to have him break off the wedding?”

Garrett rubs some more of the poultice into the wound on my arm. “It’s not my place. I shouldn’t say anything more.”

The lock clicks and the door grinds open.

We both turn to see Tem enter. “I’ve got a whole basket of supplies, which includes some ingredients so you can make more poultice. There are bandages as well. I recommend putting a leaf of goldtongue under your tongue to help with the pain.” He shows me the plant he refers to. I’ve never seen it before and I wonder if it’s specific to the fairy realm.

“This way, sir,” the guard commands.

Tem steps back out. “Rest well. I’ll see you at the break tomorrow morning.”

Garrett returns to my side and pulls out one of the rolls of bandages. “You’re going to have to hold your arm away from your body so I can properly wrap it. The bite is in a very inconvenient location, unfortunately.”

I lift my arm and immediately grimace. “Mmm. Talk,” I say. “I want to think about something else. You said you were an orphan? Do you have friends?”

“Yes. A good handful.” Garrett slips the bandage under my arm. “One of them is a man named Robert. I think you would find him amusing. He’s shorter than you and feisty. He’s deceptively fast and can slip into the enemy’s defenses without being spotted.”

I rest my head on the wall. “He is a soldier?”

Garrett nods. “A good one too. Then there is Darnick, who is about five years older than I am and can beat anyone in a drinking contest.”

“You drink?”

Garrett grins. “Every soldier does. Prince Kaison can best most of us, but even he hasn’t beaten Darnick.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s part dwarf,” Kai adds from his cell.

My attention drifts to him. It’s the first time Kai has spoken since we returned to our cells. The soldier life is a side of Kai I’ve never known. He won’t speak about his war memories with me aside from where he went.

Garrett finishes wrapping the bandage and then tugs the bloody sleeve back up on top, though it’s a bit futile considering how much it’s stretched.

“Have you and Kai ever fought together?” I ask softly.

Garrett nods. “On more than one occasion.”

“Are you friends?” I ask.

He hesitates. “Sort of,” he eventually says. “It’s not that kind of relationship. It’s more of a duty to the throne.” He drapes his cloak across me and leans his body against my good shoulder for some added warmth. “I would trust the prince with my life on any battlefield, and I would lay it down for him. I would like to believe he would do the same for me.”

“I would,” Kai replies. He sits with his back and head against the wall, and his knees are up so his arms are resting on them. “I’m sorry I dragged both of you into this,” he whispers.

“You didn’t know the full truth,” Garrett says.

Kai’s lips tug. “Yeah. Well. You’re right. I should have gone to my father. He knew the truth and would have probably understood what was going on. Maybe he could have spoken with Genoa before we broke their binding.”

“Maybe this is just one of those times fate is unavoidable,” Garrett adds.

I feel my head drift to Garrett’s shoulder and don’t bother trying to sit back up. I’m overwhelmed by exhaustion.

Garrett helps shift me so I’m lying on the ground with my head in his lap. He drapes his cloak over me.

As much as I don’t want it, I want it. I want to be held. I want someone to love me. And would it be so bad if it were an honorable soldier instead of a prince?