Page 46 of Courting the Fae Captain (Romancing the Realms #4)

‘Blackbell, a rare flower found along the coast, is known for its powerful properties in reversing spells and banishing evil. Treat with care and mix gently.’

An Alchemist’s Guide to Herbal Remedies

I knew, as soon as I saw them, that the final test was upon us.

Not on the third day, as Jaren had been informed, but tonight.

They came in the night, once more ripping us from our beds like reapers come to claim their pound of flesh.

I didn’t say a word as a key opened my locked door, nor as the guards stood wordlessly at the end of my bed and waited.

Did the Pentad know there were spies among them?

That they had guards—even their prized captain—working against them?

Fuck.

“You are headed for combat,” one of the soldiers said bluntly. “Dress accordingly.”

I rose, calmly shrugging off the blanket, and padded to my wardrobe where I gathered skin-tight pants, a long-sleeve top, a cloak, and some boots.

All black, of course. I also strapped on a thigh halter with several individual sleeves that would fit vials of a little something I’d prepared earlier.

It was Sherai’s answer to the veil theory, though yet untested.

I had to hope she was right and that I hadn’t botched my alchemy.

Unfortunately for us, my little concoctions weren’t in my room but back at the apothecary.

A big problem, but one I couldn’t dwell on.

“They’re dragging us to the final test,” I said to Raithe, doing my best not to let my panic drip through... “The girls … What if it’s too late?” We hadn’t yet spoken to Portia or the other participants. It was a task I’d set aside for tomorrow, when we were all fresh and rested.

I braided my hair back, noting the way the soldiers shifted impatiently in the reflection of the mirror.

I ignored them as I strapped the dagger Raithe had gifted me to my other thigh.

That’s it. That’s the only weapon I had besides my magic.

Of course, no armour was tucked away in the dresser.

We had been given nothing to aid us other than what we’d killed for or been gifted—and it’s not like everyone had a captain at their back to assist.

“Nothing has changed,” Raithe remarked, the shadows of his mind stroking mine in a comforting gesture.

“You fight. You kill, if you have to. But you do what you must to stay alive, you hear me? You do not hesitate. Try to get them on our side, but don’t let your guard down.

We can’t fully trust their intentions, and they may think you’re just trying to sabotage them in the test.”

“People are going to die,” I whispered. My heart beat rapidly, and my stomach curdled as anxiety battled with adrenaline. “This is not what we had planned.”

“So we adapt. We survive. We all have our parts to play.” A brief pause, then I felt the conviction in his voice as he added, “I will not fail you.”

I nodded to myself as I looked at the girl in the mirror.

It was only a few months ago that I first stepped in here intending to escape.

I’d thought this place had clipped me of my wings and my future, but it had awoken a resilience in me I’d not realised was there.

I was not a meek and mild plaything to be bent and abused.

I would not join the bones in the bowels of this place.

I was not the weaker sex. And I would burn them all down before I allowed them to take me.

They would learn to respect the name Aeris Lockhart, or they would fear it.

“That’s my girl,” came Raithe’s distant whisper. “Show them who you really are.”

“I didn’t … I didn’t say that down the bond,” I replied, a little bewildered. Could he read my thoughts, too?

A chuckle hummed through my mind. “You didn’t need to. I love you, Aeris. I never said that before, but I love you. I see who you are, and I bow to you. I would die before I let those fuckers take you.”

My heart swelled at least four times in size. “I love you, too. Don’t die for me, Raithe. Live for me. Fight with me. And be safe.”

A final caress against the walls of my mind was the only response I received before the bond fell silent. With any luck, Raithe would find a way to help or get those females out of the cave and away from the island. If I failed … if I died today, I knew he would at least set them free.

The guards marched us all in single file down the corridors and stairwells. All 20 of us. My nerves jittered under my skin, my pulse beating in an erratic reminder that with every step, I might be walking to my death.

Through the passing windows, I saw snow blanketed the courtyards and crowned the castle turrets.

The windows were frosted, and the air was sharp with a biting cold that burrowed beneath my skin and settled deep into my bones.

It was a flurry now, but there must have been heavy snowfall in the last few hours, given its coverage.

Not ideal for fighting in, though it did make for a picturesque battlefield.

And they were sending us outside to die tonight, I just knew.

I shivered, pulling my cloak tighter around me.

That white sheet across the land would soon turn red, soaked with the blood of countless victims. From females failed by society, and the masked monsters parading as males.

Regardless of what happened, I would make the Pentad bleed before my end. One way or another.

The soldiers shoved us out the great doors of the hall and into the bitter cold.

My cheeks stung immediately. I flexed my hands and wished for gloves, but I was thankful to feel those fresh calluses against my fingertips.

Raithe had helped create them, had helped to hone these hands into those of a warrior.

They reminded me that I was stronger than when I’d arrived.

That I’d already survived so much and would survive more still.

The snow crunched beneath my boots as we walked, and I held out a hand in fascination as a perfect snowflake landed on my palm. Its glistening edges shimmered briefly before melting into my skin. A beautiful anomaly in a world so rife with ruin. Just like Sherai and Akira … like Raithe.

We halted in a straight line at the garden’s edge, in a space where the terrain lay open to the elements near the cliff’s edge, rather than obscured by a wall.

It now appeared to be an arena of sorts, with covered seating erected on either side of the snow-covered ground.

Males occupied the space on one side, lounging in thick fur coats with servants standing by with delicacies and drinks.

I wondered if they’d been up all night drinking, or if they, too, had recently woken for the event.

The other side housed only five seats, which were obviously for the Pentad.

Seeing those five places sent anger bubbling beneath my skin.

This was an arena, and we were the gladiators.

Our deaths were passing entertainment for these elitist assholes.

The only comfort was knowing I would make them squeal once this was done.

I felt no guilt about that fact whatsoever.

It warmed me, deep in my darkening little heart.

The crowd quieted as the Pentad took a step forward. Even the whistling wind seemed to pause, as if noting how important this moment was. The sea serpent stepped to the forefront, always the ringleader, and gestured at the arena.

“The final test,” he exclaimed for all to hear.

“A final farewell to the journey that led to this moment. We hope you enjoyed your stay.” He paused, as if politely allowing for a cordial response.

No one spoke a word. “The Wedding Rite is our most beloved ceremony, reserved for the most promising of females. You started this test in a blood offering to the beasts below, and we ask that you do so again. Normally, we end the Rite with some mercy. Allowing the losing females who made it this far to live and find another potential husband. However, tonight, we rein in a new era. One where only the strong survive, and the powerful Fae of this court take back what is rightfully ours. It begins with you. Become your wildest self—your most primal being. Take what is rightfully yours by blood. Claim it. Kill for it. And stand victorious over the fallen. Raulo, the wrathful God of War and Change, smiles on you tonight as you battle for the hand of the captain.”

My heart plummeted as his words sank like a stone into my stomach.

This was truly the end, then. I had never expected the Pentad to be merciful, but they were downright unhinged if this was the beginning of some great calamity to overthrow the court.

Rein in a new era? It begins with us? I frowned. More like our deaths.

I looked at the five males with pure hatred filling my veins.

It would be so easy to shove them off the cliff and end this insanity.

The drop beyond promised a swift death on the rocks far below.

The ocean roiled below, its waves foam-capped and angry.

An ocean wind whipped through my hair, fluttering the braid and making me brace in my boots against the icy cold.

But it wasn’t the wind, nor the sea, that made me tremble.

It was the five males standing in their black robes and their golden masks.

It was the purveyors of death, looking upon their curiosities like we were priceless cuts of meat to be devoured.

I turned and caught my friends’ faces down the line of females, noting the bravery in Sherai’s honey-brown eyes and the resigned acceptance in Akira’s nearly black ones.

Two very different females who had proven their love and loyalty time again.

Our friendship had been forged in the hottest fires to that of unbreakable steel, not iron or glass.

We were sharp and deadly and fierce, and we were in this together.