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thirty-two

I didn’t know we’d gotten any sleep, but we must’ve, because I startled when I woke in an unfamiliar room. The gentle breathing beside me anchored me back to space and time. I’d barely registered the dingy room last night. I’d seen nothing but my fiery-haired Prince.

I looked to the peeling green argyle wallpaper and then to the window that sat above the bed.

Dawn was upon us and the soft light from the eastern sunrise trickled through sheer curtains.

As flashbacks of last night played in my head, I began to take stock of where I still felt sore.

I touched my neck and felt raised puncture marks.

The bite was still tender. I felt like a bruised apple that had fallen from a tree.

An image from last night—Galen’s silhouette against the amber glow of the fire—came back to me, making my stomach tighten. I snuggled into him before the reality of the day was upon us. He stirred at my touch and I watched him take in his surroundings. And then his gaze fell on me.

“Hi,” he said with a sweet smile I’d only seen him use with me.

“Hi.” I kissed him back, wanting to melt into him and stay there forever. I’d probably have a stupid grin plastered on my face for the rest of the day.

I got up and dressed myself, before undoing my braids, making the decision to wear my hair down. I didn’t want the others to see Galen’s bite mark—to treat me differently.

Galen was glowing a brilliant shade of gold this morning. His uhra was so bright, it never completely faded from view, like a shimmering second skin. It wasn’t the first time I thought he’d looked like the sun god, Cyro .

My magic seemed to have filled his cup and then some.

He wouldn’t need to drink from the bottles of blood that he and the other cursed faeries had packed.

Something about that simple fact filled me with pride.

It felt good to provide a precious resource to a Prince who seemingly already had everything.

I smiled at my reflection in the mirror, admiring my free flowing tresses. Things were looking up.

As we rode out and up the steep mountain pass, Raf spooked me when he silently appeared beside me. “Hey, I’m sorry about last night. Galen always knows how to provoke me.” He brought Zag closer to Hibiscus and they said hello with a quick sniff before ignoring each other.

I held my breath as his all-too-familiar scent drifted my way. “I think we can agree that you mutually provoke each other. And I’m sick of being in the middle. The last thing we need is to start a forest fire.” I shot him a sharp stare. “It would serve you both well to try harder .”

He’d been aloof with me yesterday and then had nearly caused a fight in the tavern. I could only imagine what he’d do if he saw the bite on my neck. I subtly smoothed my hair around my shoulders.

He scoffed. “There’d be no forest fire. I’d cover his world in darkness before he lit a match.”

Males. Faerie males . I rolled my eyes and asked Hibiscus to pick up the pace with a kick of my heels. She seemed eager to leave the dragon shifter in the dust. That’s why she doesn’t like him, I realized, loosing a laugh. I didn’t blame her. His dragon form was terrifying.

I rode up to Louis and let his calming turquoise energy wash over me. I’d take any energy I could get. I was bleary-eyed with fatigue, but had no regrets about how I’d spent last night. “How long will we ride today?” I asked with a yawn.

“Until the conditions make it too rough to travel. If you look up at those clouds—” He pointed to a dark blue haze rolling towards us.

“There is a storm forming off the lake. It'll be overhead by the day’s end. Now is the time for us to make haste. We need to find a safe place to camp before the storm arrives—preferably a cave where we can stay dry.” Did Louis have a special ability to sense rain because of his connection to water ?

I was about to ask him, when an arrow flew past his head, missing him by inches. I looked behind me to see if it had struck Raf or Alaric, who were picking up the rear. They were unscathed and running towards us as Rafael shouted, “RUN!”

Then Galen was galloping towards us, yelling, “They’ve blocked the path! We need to fight!” The group raced ahead, while Louis hoisted me off Hibiscus and ran me to the cover of the trees. Hibiscus followed us as far as she could through the thick vegetation, whinnying as she fell behind.

“Stay down. If a stranger approaches you, use your wind to knock them back. Freeze them solid once they are on the ground. Fight to kill. Use your dagger as a last resort.” Louis left me and ran ahead to join the other men.

I felt more vulnerable here than I would’ve had I gone and fought with them.

I was a sitting duck. I tried to see what was happening through the dense forest. I could smell magic as shadow, fire, and water clashed nearby.

The charged atmosphere was reminiscent to the heavy energy in the air before a thunderstorm.

The attackers were likely thirsty faeries hunting for magic. Blood Robbers, Galen had called them.

I heard the sound of crunching footsteps behind me and whirled to face the threat. Stunned, I took in the faerie before me—the brunette male who’d harassed Meli—the one Galen had burnt to the bone. He looked fully recovered now, sneering as he approached with unmistakable vengeance in his eyes.

I took a step backwards as panic set in. I wanted to run rather than fight, but the brush and uneven terrain made any attempt to flee difficult, if not impossible.

“Leave me alone. Was Prince Galen’s message not clear enough last time we met?” I growled at him, surprised by the ferocity in my voice.

“If you knew how thirsty I was, you’d understand why I don’t give a fuck what the Prince thinks. I’ll have my own fire once I take your magic—then he can be the one that burns.” He was maneuvering closer to me as he talked, while I was working up the courage to send him flying.

He lunged and I struck with wind. I watched him soar into a solid pine tree ten feet away.

He hit so loudly that I heard something inside of him snap .

I’d never hurt anyone like that before. And then I was being dragged by my long hair that I’d stupidly left down, worrying more about a bruise than my safety.

The blonde male—the one who’d restrained me in the exact same way in Monrovia—held me tightly against his chest that reeked of uncleanliness.

I gagged as he pulled me close and said, “You won’t get away so easily this time. Your Prince is busy.”

I screamed before he struck my head so hard that I saw stars.

There was a blinding flash of white behind my eyes as I flailed to defend myself.

By the time I was seeing straight, he’d shoved a dirty cloth in my mouth and was binding my hands behind my back.

I tried to remember Louis’s lessons… Rafael’s words, but the ringing in my ears made my recall fuzzy.

I knocked back into him, shoving him as hard as I could, attempting to throw off his balance. It worked for a moment—he loosened his grip on my hair, allowing me to turn around and knee him between the legs. He roared in anger while I ran as fast as I could.

There was rope around my hands, but it wasn’t tight. I could shimmy my wrists free when my head stopped spinning. I looked back to see if he was following me. I didn’t see him. The brunette was gone too. Panic shot through me as my magic readied itself.

The blonde popped out in front of me. “You’ll pay for that, you bitch!

” he yelled, coming at me with fangs bared, ready to bite me wherever he could.

The brunette tackled me from behind as I managed to get a hand free.

I shot ice at the blonde as I hit the ground hard.

I heard him scream and fall, but I was still fighting the brunette, kicking him as I tried to grab the dagger from my thigh.

He was on top of me, trying to pin my hands down. “How do ye like it, girly? From the front or back?” His fingers were fumbling under my dress, working to pry open my legs. He laughed as I resisted. I thrashed and fought with everything I had as I felt his hot, sour breath against my throat.

I screamed, waiting for his fangs to connect with flesh.

Instead, he was thrown off me with shadows that lashed around his neck and choked him like a noose.

I heard the blonde screaming as black vines tightened around his neck next.

Then, they were both struggling from two nooses, suspended in the air.

Raf left them hanging as he helped me up, turning me around to assess the damage.

I pulled away before he could find the marks on my neck.

“Did they hurt you?” His typical stoicism was gone as he frantically asked over and over, “Are you okay? Did they bite you? ”

I was in a daze, watching the two men fight for breath. Their faces turned red, then purple. “I-I’m fine. Just a bit disoriented. I was struck in the head.” I felt the side of my skull where a large lump was forming.

Raf’s response to my answer was brutal and swift, blasting them with a stream of shadow so violent, they disintegrated before my eyes. In seconds, they were nothing more than black confetti, raining down on us. The wind blew our direction, and I felt it settle over my hair, my face.

I hunched over and vomited as my stomach involuntarily clenched in response. Raf was at my side immediately, but I jerked away from him when he made a move to pull back my hair.

I was trembling from shock by the time the other men arrived. Galen’s eyes were wild as he ran over to me. “What happened?” he demanded, frisking me for injuries. His gaze swept over the puncture marks as he examined me. I pushed away from him, needing space and a break from being manhandled.