Page 17 of Black Hearted (Cursed Fae #4)

Zane

Biscuit was a good girl. She stayed on the trail and rode through the night. Just before the morning light, we stopped at a creek beside a field of beautiful tulips to let her rest.

Exhausted from the fight and fleeing, I accidentally fell asleep for a few minutes, leaning against the trunk of a tree. That’s when Lorelei visited my dream.

If only I could have stayed asleep longer. But Nellie shook me awake, thinking she’d heard something nearby. It turned out to be nothing, but by then, it was too late. The dream was gone—and so was Lorelei.

Even in those few short minutes, I’d gained something I hadn’t had before: a place to start looking.

The Turtle Mountains.

But Lorelei was clear—she wanted me to go to her mother, the queen, first. I just hoped her parents would receive my message before I arrived. I didn’t want to waste time convincing them that Lorelei was in danger and that I was there to help.

“How’s your arm?” I asked Nellie as she used the creek water to rinse out her mouth.

“I’ll live,” she said, but her demeanor was less cheery. She winced whenever she moved too much. She’d dozed a bit while I held her on the horse, but the dark circles under her eyes told me she wasn’t well rested.

Having responsibility for this child, even temporarily, was something I took seriously. I needed to do a better job.

“The second we get to the Spring Palace, I’m getting you a healer,” I promised.

“What about saving Princess Lorelei?” she asked.

“I’ll do that. But getting you healed is also a priority.”

She smiled faintly at that.

“And I’ll bet your aunt will be glad to see you, too. Is she a Spring fae?” I asked.

I wasn’t sure how all of that worked here.

Could different fae live in different places?

I guessed so, considering all the refugees.

We’d even passed several camps along the road last night.

Seeing them had renewed my determination to end this curse.

So many lives had been affected in both realms. This had to stop.

“Mmhmm,” she murmured, sipping some water. Then she pointed to her belly and said, “Feed me, please.”

I grinned. The girl was easy to please—keep her belly full and give her some sweets now and then, and she was agreeable.

I handed her a hunk of smoked meat, some soft herb bread, and a little surprise I’d been saving.

“Chocolate!” she gasped when I pulled out a huge bar.

I’d negotiated it as part of my travel package with Jasper back in Buttercup Village. Nellie had a sweet tooth.

“With dried fruits, yes. But you only get one square a day,” I said, breaking off a piece and handing it to her.

Grinning from ear to ear, and before touching the rest of her breakfast, Nellie snatched the small square from my hand and popped it into her mouth.

I laughed, folding the paper around the remainder of the bar and stashing it away. “Now finish your breakfast.”

She did so dutifully, but soon began to eye the road with concern.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She shook her head. “We’re almost there. That means we’ll be parting ways soon, right?”

I wasn’t expecting to feel pain in my chest at her words. A pang of it ripped through my chest. I didn’t want to part ways with the child, but I wasn’t her family. It was best that she be with her aunt.

“We will have all day to ride, but yes. You need to go with your aunt, and I have to rescue Lorelei.”

Her eyes welled with tears, and she turned away from me.

“Nellie.” I reached for her, but she stood, brushing the tears off her cheeks.

“Let’s ride. I can eat on the way,” she snapped, giving me the cold shoulder.

I remembered the wild little girl in the cabin and how far we’d come, and a sad smile came to my face. I would miss her.

I quickly packed up our things and loaded everything into Biscuit’s saddlebags. Once we were on the road again, Nellie was silent for hours.

I tried to engage her in conversation or songs, but she wasn’t biting.

The closer we drew to the Spring Palace, the more I dreaded leaving Nellie.

The kid had grown on me, and I hoped her aunt had the means to take care of her.

If not, I’d give her all the gold coins I had left to make sure Nellie was provided for.

Biscuit required little rest and rode beautifully through the day. It wasn’t until the sun hung low in the sky and the Spring Palace appeared far off in the distance that Biscuit began to show signs of fatigue.

“How about an early dinner before we reach the Spring Palace?” I asked Nellie.

“Our last dinner together,” she pouted.

It was. A sad reality, but reality nonetheless. Nellie was a child, and she had no idea that there would be no more dinners at all if I didn’t find Princess Lorelei and end this curse.

Biscuit munched on grass and rested while Nellie and I prepared and ate our dinner.

“I’m glad you found me,” she said softly. “I didn’t have enough supplies to last much longer there before you came along.”

The thought of what might have happened if I hadn’t found her made a knot tighten in my chest.

“I’m glad I found you, too. I didn’t know how much fun life could be with a sassy eleven-year-old in it.”

“I’m twelve,” she yelled, correcting me.

I’d called her eleven on purpose. Bursting into laughter, I rolled onto my side as she jumped on my back and started to playfully pound my ribs with her good hand.

I was just about to throw a weed at her when a twig snapped behind us.

In one swift move, I tucked Nellie beneath me and sprang to my feet, ready to draw on what little magic I still had access to in order to protect her. But whoever was there was already retreating, a blur of movement through the trees.

“Who was that?” Nellie’s voice trembled with fear.

“I’m not sure. Maybe a scout,” I told her. “Come on. We should go.”

Was it a scout from Buttercup Village? Or someone else?

I’d left Donahue his share of the prize money in the hopes it would deter him from coming after me, but maybe he didn’t care. Maybe the villagers just wanted the very heart that beat in my chest.

I quickly gathered our things, threw Nellie onto Biscuit, and settled behind her. Then we rode fast and hard toward the palace and surrounding city on the horizon.

Tents of what I assumed were refugees from the other courts were scattered about around the main city walls.

I understood why this would be, having seen how much of the land here had been ruined by the curse already, but it still made me sad to see so much upheaval for these fae.

It also made me feel more resolved to do everything I could to destroy the curse.

I steered Biscuit to the south, where there weren’t as many fae loitering about.

The sun was setting, and I feared if we didn’t make it there by dark …

The ground shook with the sound of heavy hoofbeats behind us.

I turned and saw at least two dozen men riding hard on our tail. I recognized one of them—Malek from Buttercup Village. Even from this distance, his icy blue gaze was filled with loathing as he gained on us.

“Don’t look behind us,” I told Nellie.

Of course, she did exactly that.

A shriek tore from her lungs when she saw the advancing horde.

“We’re gonna die!” she screamed.

“No, we’re not,” I said, urging Biscuit to go even faster. I felt bad for the loyal mare—she’d been riding nonstop for almost a full day—but I needed her to go a bit farther.

“Come on, girl,” I muttered, stroking her neck as Nellie and I jostled up and down with the speed of her gait.

The entrance to the city and the Spring Palace beyond was in sight, along with half a dozen guards. If we could make it there, we’d have a chance.

If I was honest with myself, though, I wasn’t sure I had enough magic left to fend off the advancing fae.

I was running on a fraction of my usual power, and I feared that the longer I stayed in Faerie, the more it drained from me.

I only wish I knew why. The princesses’ magic hadn’t waned when they traveled to Ethereum, so why was my power failing me here?

In the distance, I saw the guards at the gate suddenly scramble. At first, I thought they were coming to our aid, but that hope was dashed when they began to close the gate.

“No!” Nellie wailed. “What are we gonna do?”

I thought fast, my gaze taking in the closed gate and the guards now moving into position in front of it.

“When we near the gate, we’re going to stop and dismount. Then you’re going to run behind those guards,” I yelled over the pounding of Biscuit’s hooves. “I’m going to fight with whatever strength I have left.”

“I’ll fight, too,” she yelled back. At that moment, I wanted to meet her grandmother, to see what kind of woman had raised such a ferocious young lady.

“No. You run behind the guards and try to convince them to help. Tell them I’m a friend of the queen.”

That was stretching the truth, but my hope was if they believed Nellie, it would buy us some time.

As we neared the city gate, the guards didn’t draw their blades. Instead, they held their hands out in front of them, which told me they had powerful magic.

I yanked back on Biscuit’s reins, and she skidded to a stop. I leaped off her back and then pulled Nellie down as well.

Turning toward the guards, I lifted my hands in the air in a display of surrender.

One of them stepped forward. “Who are you, and why are you being pursued?” he asked as the fae chasing us closed in.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Nellie beat me to it.

“He’s the best friend of Queen Gloriana, and if you let him get hurt, she’ll kill you all.”

It was a life-or-death situation, and now was the worst possible time to smile, but I couldn’t help it.

This kid.

“Well, not exactly,” I said with a nervous laugh.

The riders reached us, and I realized it wasn’t just Malek chasing us. Brunok and the Enforcer were with him as well.

“He’s got black blood,” Brunok shouted at the guards.

“And shadow powers,” Malek added.