Page 8

Luna

The second night was bone-chilling. Filled with the echoing howls of the shadow creatures. My wounds have healed a little on their own. The searing pain of each open injury was turning numb with every step I took. I had used some of the magic Eli had given me for our escape to heal a little more but I was sure he’d never intended for me to do that. I sighed, staring past the branches of leaves out into the distant Winter Wonderlands that awaited us. I could already feel the brisk chilling winds howling against my ear and the frostbite chewing my toes off. I could see the large clumps of puffed snow and the white desolate mountains of the Winter Court that awaited us.

“So, what did you see?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin with how close her voice was. It was like she was some kind of wraith with how silent her footsteps were. Catching myself at the last second I managed not to trip over the rock sunken into the dirt.

We were only midway towards the Winter Wonderlands but farther from those guards. They‘d bought the distraction as their voices faded moments after their footsteps headed toward the blazing tree. I‘d set it on fire in a way that my flames didn’t spread to the other trees in the vicinity. The guards must have still thought my magic was unstabled when they saw that fire. Not that it wasn't. Just not in the way they think. Instead of bursting out into blazing flames, it was more like I couldn’t summon the little magic I had.

I turned, meeting the smiling gleam of golden eyes in the pitch darkness. It was like the stars in the sky. I frowned, rolling my eyes. She wasn’t a star, if anything she was more like a meteor killing everything when it landed. The girl pouted looking at me with puppy dog eyes, as if she could read my insulting thoughts about her. I narrowed my eyes wondering if she actually could. It wouldn’t have been beyond the realm of possibility. No, I‘m being too paranoid. She hasn't recovered her memories, thanks to the boy. She’s not quite back yet. Because if she was then I knew for sure she wouldn't have just sat back and let those guards live. The girl I knew would have ended their lives. "Leave no loose ends", that‘s what she'd said once.

Relax, I reminded myself. She doesn’t have her memories.

Remember, she was never one for the long game anyway.

Sighing, I sped up my pace.

“Oh come, just tell me. One little secret, that's all. Please.” She loomed ever closer towards me as her big eyes blinked rapidly. No matter how hard she tried to look innocent I won’t ever fall for it again. I stared daggers at those pouty lips of hers, everything about her was fake . From her hair to her toes, I had to remember that. Memories or not.

Still, how did she know I had a vision? No, she can't be referring to the vision I just had... Unless. That's right she must know I am still an oracle that's why they must have come after me, but no, that doesn't quite sit right. As I pondered the question she leaned even closer, to the point where my breath intertwined with hers.

Hasn't she ever heard of personal space?

I scowled as I leaned away from her beaming grin, though what was there to be happy for I had no idea. I tried walking farther from her but it didn't matter because she was right at my heels. Trailing behind me like a hawk hunting its prey. But I was no mouse.

“Come on, I know you're an oracle. What visions have you seen so far? Anything bout’ me? Eli told me you were an oracle, and that you could help us, come on. He said our fates or something were intertwined so you should've seen something bout' me right?” She raddled on, her eyes lighting up with hope, hands clasped behind her back as if she were the one being patient with me.

Hold on, she doesn’t know?

Wait, Eli told her I was an oracle? So, she didn't know what I was before now, then...

A realization came across me as I stared at the boy, Eli.

By the gods!

A smile etched my lips as I pondered the thought, I was right. If that little break, the boy made us take wasn’t suspicious enough this new information certainly was. If he was manipulating her memories then. I nearly giggled at the thought, I might have found my leverage against these two. For now, I'll have to wait it out.

Of course, I had my suspicions before but with these two one needed to be more careful.

Being an oracle I can see the future and the past, not just of me but of people that might have major impacts on this realm.

As if sensing or knowing this the girl, Everetta continued, ”Oh come on, I’m sure you must have seen something by now. Like~, our pasts? Or~ Oh! I know maybe the future, really not sure how it works, which is why you gotta just tell me!” I nearly sucked in a breath at the chills crawling up my spine from her words. She was always like this. The crazed look in her eyes as she drew even closer. Causing me to pull back a little more.

I kept my mouth shut knowing if I told this girl anything she would probably try and twist it to her advantage. Use it as blackmail or something.

With or without her memories this girl was dangerous .

“I don’t know what you mean,” I looked away trying to ignore her, focusing on ripping my feet off the ground one by one.

Honestly, could the ground be any more wet? It might as well be quicksand at this point.

The girl sighed, “Oh come on, it couldn't possibly hurt to just tell me a little of what you've seen.” She sing songed ignoring the sudden chill in the air.

The only sign I felt was the rise in energy around us.

Werehounds .

I looked up at the moon. A full-blood moon and it was at its peak, a perfect night for hunting. The girl, following my gaze, looked up at the crimson sky. She frowned, then turned back to me.

“Strange, don’t blood moons only occur once a month, it’s already happened a few days back. Maybe the Summer court has something else going on.” She cocked her head in that eerie way of hers, causing my frown to deepen.

I was locked in a windowless dungeon so I wasn’t aware the blood moon had already occurred. Looking beyond I spotted the mass of werehounds stalking toward us. There was much more than normal. The girl, Everetta, didn't take long to move. With one fell swoop she was already slicing the neck of a werehound. Her tiny dagger cut through the thick neck of the beast. Slashing it clean off. Its body as if not sensing the action held firm for a whole second before blood suddenly gushed out of the open wound like a geyser. The girl didn't waste time to watch the spray of red before she was throwing herself back; she swung her leg out, knocking the werehound beside her and crashing against the body of an Iron Red Tree, one of the toughest wood to cut down. In another instant she was in front of the beast stabbing her blade into its middle eye, the only other true way to kill a werehound besides tearing off its head. The werehounds are notorious for their impenetrable skin. Her eerie golden eyes glowed like the red light of the moon.

Something was definitely wrong. There shouldn't be this many. I frowned brows drawn in confusion as I stared out into the army of werehounds, their razor-sharp fangs ready to tear your flesh from your bones. The acrid smell of their breaths as it fogged the night air. Their tufts of midnight navy blue fur spiked as they readied themselves to attack. Their giant paws alone could crush a human's head with one stomp of their lethally sharp appendage.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to fight?" Sneering down his nose at me I rolled my eyes. As arrogant as ever I see, giving out a command like he owned everything. Excuse me for trying to take in the situation before jumping into action. The girl at least wasn’t as arrogant. I'll have to give her that.

His hands clutched the nape of the hound. With a squeeze, the head popped off. The boy wrinkled his nose peering down at his blood-soaked clothes. With a flick of his hand, he cleaned the pool of blood and small splatters of tissues that stained his precious fabric. Behind him, a trail of ice and organs lay splashed on the blood-soaked ground.

Rolling my eyes I allowed for the fire in my heart to burn beneath me, extending the flames out, shaping and molding it like a pierced arrow to aim straight for the hound charging towards me. Its jaws snapped in the air as if it could already taste my blood. I suppose even the boy knows when to help, for I could sense his magic reaching out to me; giving me some of his energy. With a flick of my brows, I ignited the ground beneath the creature's feet. In an instant, the hound howled engulfed in bright purple flames. Its body instantly charred before the flames slithered like a snake to another victim. Wincing I tried not to look, I'd rather not touch the creatures. I tried making their deaths as quick as possible in the flames but I'd rather not have my hands covered in their blood.

We’d faced these hounds in our past lives and had helped to suppress them. If these werehounds were left unchecked then most of the wildlife would be destroyed. Judging from things it appears they have. These hounds prayed on anything moving, they didn't have a specific set of prey like most normal creatures. Which was why the Shadow Lands were nothing but monsters and predators.

As I finished off the last of the hounds I turned noting the sudden quiet. The girl looked down at a specific dark spot. At first glance, it just looked like a black splotch on the ground. Upon closer inspection, one could tell it was a shadow, which meant it was a dark fae, one of the fae kinds that controlled the shadows. In other words, a corrupted fae. In the past, they had been under my brother's rule, so did this mean that my brother was the enemy as always? Typical. I scoffed.

Holding up a hand as if to halt us from attacking, the boy watched the shadows carefully observing their movements. In the next minute, it formed into a being, like a crawling mass of spiders shaping into a person. I watched as the shadow tilted its head to us and smiled, leaving a big wide gap in the shape of a grin.

“Found you.” Its voice, like chalk screeching down a blackboard, echoed in the empty night sending chills down my back and goosebumps crawling up my arms. As if this night wasn’t cold enough. I scowled down at the almost translucent form with its pitch-black body and hollowed-white eyes. It didn’t have facial features per se, it was more like they had a black outline of where their nose and mouth should be but that was it.

It was definitely my brother, no doubt about it. He probably sent this scout to find me and report back to him so that he could kill me himself. But in an instant, a dagger cloaked in light magic sliced through the fae, which should have killed it. Light magic was the only thing that could touch these types of fae or anything cloaked in light magic.

In the past, to kill a shadow fae or injure them, a weapon needed to be made of light or embedded with light. But, this shadow remained intact and whole, letting the dagger fly through its body.

That-that shouldn’t have happened.

Did my brother grow more powerful?

I felt the slithering icicles crawling up my spine as I fought to hide my fear. Clenching my fists so tight I felt my nails drawing blood from my palms as I tried not to shake from rage and horror.

Smiling one last chilling smile it slithered away leaving a feeling of dread in my stomach as I frowned.

Did my brother find a new way to extend the shadow fae's powers?

"Hey, umm doesn't this shadow seem a bit different from the past? Ah-" All of a sudden the girl was dropping to her knees, her nails digging into her skull as she screamed. It was like a banshee crying out in the pitch-freezing darkness.

Great another problem.

Pushing me aside the boy, Eli, hurried towards the girl, his hands immediately glowing in the blue halo of his ice magic. I rolled my eyes as always as he rushed to rescue her. In the next moment, the girl would be fine.

It was probably just one of her memories coming back.

Not my problem.

The shadows must have reminded her of the past. Guess, the boy couldn’t hold back all her memories for long. I let myself grin at the future chaos that would ensue. Oh, how the rift would start to crack between them once she remembers everything. It would only be a matter of time. Every fae knew of the Bastard Prince’s story and how he rose to power. It’s a shame, I thought the boy was smarter than this, trying to outmatch the girl. It's a fool's hope. Then again, maybe I was a fool too.

I turned my back on the whole mess. The boy was muttering something to the girl but fuck that shit.

I'm not here to witness any more of their lovey-dovey or whatever it is they were.

In all the years I've known them, they never got involved romantically, which I always found odd considering how much they cared for one another. Instead, they took on other partners but always remained close. That was why my brother never fully attacked them, it was always two against one. But it wasn't as if my brother never tried. He did and he always failed. I smiled a bit at that. How I loved watching him lose, which was the only reason why I was teaming up with those two children rather than my blood-hungry brother. If these two were back it was only a matter of time before they led me to my brother. I could still remember the smile he wore that day, the day he killed the one I loved, the only person in the world in all my lives I truly cared for. I will make him pay, I’ll make them all pay.