Page 23 of Beyond the Winter Kingdom (Faeted Seasons #2)

Meera

With silent steps, we weaved between squatty pastel huts, their thatched roofs shimmering faintly under the moonlight.

The ground beneath us was spongy and warm, like the soft moss that grew in the shade by the river’s edge, squishing slightly with every step we took.

Shadows clung to the walls like ink stains—our best allies.

Until they weren’t.

The chirping started softly, almost like music, but quickly turned sharp and loud, a grating noise that made my ear ring and my jaw clench.

Then the pastel creatures rounded the corner, moving fast despite their short legs.

They poured into the clearing ahead, blocking our path.

Their big sapphire eyes bled black as they watched us with unsettling focus.

The murder bears went from looking harmless to demonic in about two seconds flat. I would’ve been impressed if not for the fact they wanted to eat me for dinner.

The expressions on their faces twisted. Grins widened into leers. Their fur bristled, lifting away from their skin to become something closer to bramble. The shapes of their mouths, once set in endearing smiles, split to reveal rows of pointed teeth, now more piranha than plush toy.

“Shit,” I hissed, heart stuttering. The air was thick and sticky, clinging to my skin like syrup. “Did you see what just happened to their teeth?”

“And you wanted to stick around,” Sadie muttered to Damon.

“You’re the one that fell for the cute baby bear act,” he shot back. “Have some bedtime tea, why don’t you?”

“Shut up and keep moving,” Vareck ground out and then he tensed beside me.

I could see the lines of pain around his mouth, the sweat on his brow.

The shallow gash in his side from the Nameless was giving him grief, even if he was loath to admit it.

“Head for the tree line,” he snapped, voice hoarse with strain.

More of them filtered from their little huts as we tried to make our way out, but too many had come. Our path was completely blocked, and there was no safe way to the trees.

Sadie crouched, knuckles cracking as she knocked her bracers together. With a hiss from metal splitting air, twin axes appeared, gleaming wickedly. The grin that spread across her face was borderline feral. “They wanna snarl like rabid beasts?” she muttered. “I’ll show them beast mode.”

Damon groaned, casting a glance over his shoulder. “That’s not what they said. Right, Meera? No one actually said anything about beast mode?—”

The words died in his throat.

Two of the fuzzballs darted straight for me, candy-colored blurs, knocking him down unexpectedly.

I staggered back, heel catching on a vine half-buried in the ground.

My arms pinwheeled for balance, but ultimately I failed at stopping my fall.

I hit the dirt with a grunt, the air getting knocked from my lungs on impact.

A yellow bear flew up, aiming for Vareck’s chest as he swung out.

Another one came out of nowhere and landed on his back while he cursed.

A pink murder bear lunged toward me with glee, its tiny mouth stretching into a nightmare smile as it latched onto my ankle. Its paw—once soft and chubby—now sported inch-long talons that dug into my skin.

I shouted, pain flaring up my leg, and kicked out wildly.

My boot connected with its head in a hard thunk, and it loosened its hold on me while letting out a growl.

“Nah uh, nope. Not today, Satan.” I fumbled in my attempt to crab walk backward, but Sadie was there.

My sister was little more than a flash of red hair and steel as she lunged for the creature.

“You wanna bite, little fucker?” she sang while sweet-talking them.

“Let’s see who’s got bigger teeth.” She swung an axe and its blade rang as it split the air, slicing through the bramble fur and meat of our attacker.

Bright pink blood sprayed across my boots as the thing shrieked a high-pitched wail that rattled my bones.

It wasn’t a death cry. It didn’t sound angry or defeated.

It sounded like it was calling something.

Sadie and I looked at each other instantly. “That wasn’t good, was it?”

I pointed toward the sea of pastel. “Decidedly not.”

More shapes loomed behind them. Dozens of the creatures converging like a tide.

We didn’t have time to ponder what else that sound might summon. It was time to move.

A burst of dark wind blew my hair back and sent dust spiraling into the air. Black, bat-like wings exploded from Vareck’s back with a crack. He stepped in front of me, his icy gaze burning bright, voice slicing through the chaos. “Run! I'll hold them off!”

I blinked, still sprawled, adrenaline roaring in my ears. Fear curled like smoke in my throat, but so did something else. Rage.

“You can’t hold them all off by yourself!” I shouted, pushing myself to my feet. “You’re still injured!”

His jaw clenched. Muscles bunched across his shoulders, as Vareck regarded the approaching horde in front of us. “Watch me.”

“No.” I stepped forward, glaring up at him, daring. “If you stay, I stay—and you CANNOT compel me.”

I pushed the words with a pulse of my own persuasion magic, letting it crackle in the air between us. A warning. A line.

He stared at me like I’d slapped him. Like the world had tilted sideways.

“Stop being difficult,” he ground out, voice taut, low and furious. “You know what can happen?—”

“I do,” I snapped. “And it’s my choice, right? You took it from me once, and you said you wouldn’t again.” I jabbed a finger toward his chest. “Or was that just lip service?”

“Of course not?—”

“Then you need to trust that I know how to take care of myself. That I can be more than a liability here!”

“I never called you?—”

“You didn’t have to,” I said. “Your actions spoke for you.”

Before he could answer, Sadie cut in with a growl. “Like hell I’m walking away from a fight. This is literally what I live for.”

“You three idiots are going to get us all killed while arguing over who gets to fight the army of murderous teddy bears!” Damon shouted. Then, before anyone could argue, he grabbed Sadie by the waist and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Put me down, you limp-dick bastard!” she shrieked, punching his back with both fists. “I swear to every twisted god?—”

“I think the words you meant to say were ‘thank you, Prince Damon, for saving my bloodthirsty arse,’” he replied with maddening calm as he took off toward the tree line.

I turned to Vareck. “Don’t you dare.”

“Then you better start running,” he said, gaze locked on the horde moving in.

I cursed and grabbed his arm, yanking him with me as I sprinted after Damon.

My lungs ached. My legs screamed. My ankle pulsed painfully where I had been injured. The ground beneath our feet had shifted to something harder, rockier—no longer soft and squishy, but jagged stone veined with glowing cracks. Like Evorsus itself was angry that we’d escaped.

“I’m not made for this!” I huffed, each breath burning as it tore through my throat like sandpaper.

“I would have carried you!” Vareck shouted back, not even out of breath. Show-off. His wings flapped, stirring the air into chaotic eddies. A gust slapped my cheek, hot and dry like a furnace blast.

“Yeah? And then what?” I managed between gasps. “We get overrun because I’m basically dead weight? I’m not as small as my sister, in case you didn’t notice.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t care if you’re not small, and I carried you just fine at Farris’s place,” he said with an easy confidence. “Could always fly.”

“Away? And leave Sadie here? Are you out of your mind?”

He gave a strained grunt—almost a laugh—but didn’t argue. His hand hovered near my back as we ran, just enough to catch me if I stumbled. Not touching. Just close. I hated how much that made me want to lean in.

We tore through the woods, but the woods weren’t the same. At least they didn’t look the same.

Behind us, the sounds of pursuit followed; frantic chirps, rustling bushes, the occasional unholy shriek. Black eyes flickered between trees, closing in. The lanterns the creatures had carried earlier bobbled in the dark like the torches of a mob.

On the way to the village, branches had lifted out of my way. Roots shifted underfoot so I didn’t trip on them. The forest had been accommodating, but now it turned against me. It was like it wanted me to be caught.

“They’re not chasing us,” Vareck said suddenly, eyes scanning the canopy. “They’re corralling us.”

“Great,” I panted. “Now we’re cattle.”

“They won’t touch you,” he growled, barely ducking a low-hanging branch. “I vow it.”

My foot hit a rock, and I stumbled. Vareck caught me by the elbow, steadying me before I face-planted.

“Thanks,” I muttered, heart punching wildly against my ribs.

“You’re welcome,” he said, too softly.

We kept running ... until there was nowhere left to go.

The trees ended. The ground vanished. We skidded to a halt at the edge of a cliff, hearts hammering, breath ragged. Damon had put Sadie down as they assessed the edge.

Beneath us stretched a jagged canyon of endless dark, glowing faintly with unnatural light. The glow shifted as if aware of our presence. The wind screamed upward from the depths, and it carried voices. Not words. Just whispers.

No escape. No fallback. Just wind and eternity.

“We’re trapped,” Vareck said grimly.

“No, you smell that? It’s water,” I said, stomach twisting. It was subtle, but the unmistakable scent of fresh water was nearby. I swallowed thickly, then turned to him. “We jump.”

He blinked. The world paused as our breath caught. “Absolutely not.”

I swallowed hard. “They'll eat us. You said it yourself—they’re herding us. This cliff is the pen.”

Sadie glanced over her shoulder at the approaching mob.

Damon looked at Vareck. “We could each?—”

“Fuck this,” she said ... and jumped. Sadie vaulted off the cliff, arms spread like wings. The wind claimed her in seconds, chanting a dark lullaby that rattled my bones.

“Sadie!” I didn’t think. Didn’t weigh the consequences. Didn’t wait for someone to stop me.

“Meera, NO!” Vareck yelled, voice cracking.

Too late.

I launched off the edge without a second thought, the wind snatching the scream from my throat as I plunged after my sister into the abyss.