Page 16 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody (Elven Fantasy Romance #3)

Chapter 15 Rhianelle

S venn’s revelation regarding the amount of Asterdust was met with mixed reaction from the court. It’s a silent and heavy imputation. Because that would mean the Aeonians are still creating the drug.

Be as it may, the war is inevitable now. The council decided the violence the rebels incited must be answered and the threat of Asterdust has given us enough cause to storm into the fortress.

In two days, I will meet the rebel orcs of Tavan in battle. The prospect fills my mind with fear and sorrow.

I look to the sky and wonder what Aerin would have done in my place.My mind slips back through the years. To the time I ended up in the forbidden forest.

Day 2 in Astefar

Sunlight filters through the forest canopy, shimmering on the metallic blade of the pocketknife Oscar had given me. I’ve tied the weapon to my walking stick with a vine. This spear and the helm on my head are the only protection I have to survive in this wilderness.

Grief overwhelms me when I think of the fate of the young knight who gave me these gifts along with Loren and the twelfth.

I lay on the forest floor in a daze, staring blankly as I clutch my stomach. I have no shoes and there are glass shards in my feet. The last proper meal I had was two days ago. I’ll starve to death if I don’t die from this infection first. I tried eating the tree bark, but it only made my tummy ache.

I miss Aerin. I miss Mother and Father. I miss Rainer. I curl into myself and cry all over again because I feel so lonely.

Something tackles my head, clutching the helm tightly.

“Ouch…” I mutter in pain, rising to my feet.

What is going on? This creature will not let me go. And by the gods… it’s heavy. The sudden attack multiplies my fear by the seconds. I hear a scratching sound, like a blade grating on metal. Whatever this thing is, it’s trying to gnaw my head off.

I shake it away from me fiercely. “Get off me, you stupid thing!”

It won’t come off. I charge towards a tree and ram my head towards the hard trunk. The creature on my head tumbles to the ground, curling in pain.

Terror storms into my heart at the sight of the spider with its razor-sharp teeth. If it weren’t for this helm Oscar had placed on my head, I would have been punctured by those fangs and died from her venom.

The beast is about the size of the seafood platter we use for the royal dinners in Volundr. Not that big. I can take it down. I just have to watch out for those jutting teeth.

“Go away!” I spread my arms apart.

The creature backs several steps with its many legs, intimidated by my threatening pose.

Rainer once told me to make myself look bigger if I ever encounter a mountain lion in the Kashran range. “Leave, now! You already lost, weakling.”

“I’m not weak—I just have a conscience,” the spider stutters. “I don’t eat little girls.”

“Liar. You’re a terrible hunter, aren’t you, huntsman?” I cross my arms, narrowing my eyes to the spider.

“Shut—shut up,” she mumbles, backing away. “I’m a salticidae, not a huntsman.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “A weak, salty spider…”

“I wouldn’t be so weak if my name wasn’t stolen,” she bites back.

“Your name was stolen?” I quirk an eyebrow.

The spider nods, jumping to a nearby tree trunk.

For a handful of heartbeats, we stare at each other.

The truth is, I pity her.

We’re both weak. We’re both small. We’ll both die here in this forbidden forest where only the strongest survive.

I draw a line on the forest floor with my stick. “This is my side and that one is yours. Don’t you dare come here.”

Day 3 in Astefar

My body is feverish and I can’t sleep from the chills and rigors shaking through my body. I place my knuckles between my teeth to keep them from chattering. If I don’t it might attract the attention of the prowlers of the night.

An eerie screech resounds from the bushes behind me, followed by the sound of someone gasping for breath. I peer over the dead tree trunk and see movements in the dark. Fear peaks sharply in my heart, but I creep closer.

The Night Rats are swarming over Salty Spider, dragging her into the deeper parts of the woods towards their nest. I clasp my hands to my mouth, careful not to make a sound. If I stay quiet, no harm would befall me.

This is how you survive in Astefar. This is how you survive anywhere.

In the faerie books I read, the Night Rats’ queen is a vengeful creature. If I invoke her wrath, we will be enemies forever. I have no reason to endanger myself in the dead of night to help a stranger.

Yet there is something inexplicably sad about watching Salty Spider being pulled away to be shredded to pieces.

I leap from my hiding spot, swinging my spear madly. “Go away!”

My skill is poor and I can’t hit a single rat, but the creatures of night cower at the sight of the helm over my head.

“Be gone! Be gone!” I scream so loud my throat hurts.

The rats scuttle back into the shadows where they came from. I turn to the spider as she tries to stand with her spindly legs.

“Are you all right, Salty Spider?” I ask her.

She limps slowly and climbs towards her dark burrow on the tree trunk.

“Did they hurt you?” I try again.

No answer. Nothing but writhing and whimpers of pain.

I stand on the tip of my toes to look into the hole. But it’s too dark and my feet are hurting again.

“The night is half gone. It’ll be morning again soon,” I say to comfort her.

I return to my side of the forest floor and close my eyes. The fever wrecks through my body with the force of a cyclone. Something is nibbling on my feet. But I’m too tired to care. Perhaps the Rat Queen is here to take her revenge.

The world grows dark behind my eyes. Maybe this is it. Maybe this time I’ll die.

Day 4 in Astefar

For the first time, I wake up without the constant throbbing ache in my feet. It is replaced by a cool, numbing sensation. The pain and glass pieces have been purged…

…and I have shoes now?

They’re made of spider silk. I glance to the tree to look at Salty Spider.

“It’s for saving me last night. Don’t get any wrong ideas,” she says, averting her gaze with pride.

“Thank you,” I say to her. I’m so grateful I can cry. Tears crowd my eyes, and before I know it, they stream down my cheeks. I know mother said it’s a sign of weakness. But I can’t stop them from flowing. “Thank you.”

“Sure—sure. Don’t mention it.” The spider blushes and backs away into her burrow.

“Princess Rhianelle!” Governor Graysen’s voice filters through the air. “Come out, we just want to talk.”

Ice streams through my veins at the sound. My heart hammers in my chest wildly, locking me in place. It takes a long moment to finally be able to shake the fear paralyzing my nerve. I crawl carefully to the forest edge, weapon in hand.

The governor is dressed in his usual court attire and coat. His face and movements are casual as if he didn’t just kill Oscar, Loren, the twelfth, Jessica, and the priest a few nights ago.

“Your uncle will kill every single person in this village if you don’t write to him,” he shouts again.

I peer through the thick bushes to find the governor and several armed guards.

“I won’t harm you. We just need you to write a letter,” he promises,

Lies.

I do pity the villagers of Feywildra and Jessica’s family, but I know it’s a trap.

“Who are those people calling for you?” Salty Spider asks, scuttling closer to look.

I turn away from the village. “No one.”

Day 5 in Astefar

Salty Spider yawns, waking up from her afternoon nap. Maybe I should call her lazy spider instead.

“Where did the golden thing on your head go?” she asks.

“I traded it last night with a traveling hermit crab,” I say, showing off what I have with me.

Salty Spider drools at the sight of the carps in my hands. “For those?”

“Don’t be silly.” I shake my head. “I bartered it in exchange for fishing lessons.”

“Fishing lessons…?” she mutters incredulously.

“I caught these myself.” I beam proudly. I cast one to her and she catches it easily with her fangs. “For you.”

She tilts her bulbous head curiously. “Why?”

“For the silk shoes you gave me… and I want to be your friend?” My cheeks heat with the request. I’m half afraid Salty Spider will refuse me.

But she just tilts her head further until she almost turns over. “Friend? What is that?”

How do I explain it to her?

“Friends are people who share their food.” I shrug, bending over to start a fire.

“They don’t hide treats from each other?” Salty Spider adds.

“Yeah…” I mutter absently, stoking the kindlingI gathered. For the first time, it works.

Salty Spider’s fur bristles and she stays far away from my fire. If I am lucky tomorrow, I can venture to the river again for food. But rivers and watering holes are the most dangerous place in the forest. There is an eight to ten chance one might die. The creatures there are quick to learn your habits. If I frequent that place too often to find food, the probability of me being the next meal is high. I eat my fish quietly while staring into the flames.

“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly sad?” Salty Spider asks, noticing the change in my mood. She sits at the furthest edge of the fire’s orange light, hating the heat from the flames.

My heart punches my ribs at the question. I stare into the fire a little longer before answering her. “A week ago, a lord asked me if I had wanted to come live with him and his wife. They have no child. If I had just gone with him, I could have eaten every day.”

I’d never have to forage or hunt for food or start a fire.

“They’d let you eat every day?” Salty Spider is genuinely shocked.

“Yeah,” I mutter and nod. “Not just every day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, and snacks too.”

I count the meals with one hand to show her.

Her eyes sparkle with awe. “What a life… Do you think the lovely people will adopt me too?”

I give it a thought or two. “I don’t know. Probably.”

If not, I’d just sneak Salty Spider into the washroom. She can hide in Lord Kearne’s bathtub.

“Princess Rhianelle!” Graysen’s calls for me from the forest’s edge.

My stomach grumbles with indigestion at the sound of his voice. But I force myself to move to the bushes. I jolt at the rustling sound behind me.

Salty Spider steps in close, waddling like a duck behind me.

“Why are you following me?” I ask her.

“I’m bored.” She shrugs.

We watch quietly as the governor’s guards leave out a table and writing materials over the forest’s edge.

“If you will not come out, then at least write your family a letter,” Graysen says grimly. “Please, your uncle will kill the entire village.”

“Your uncle sounds grand. I’m sure he’ll make a great husband,” the spider whispers to my ear. “Introduce me to him.”

I cringe at the thought of the spider marrying Rainer.

The governor strides forward to the forest and I grip my spear tight. He has never been brave enough to step that far. He trains his eyes to a tree in the forest as if talking to me. “Think of the children, Princess.”

I’m a child too…

And he almost sold me to the slavers.

The villagers of Feywildra gather behind the governor. Their faces sallow and sunken with hunger. They have nowhere to go. The entire region of Elowen is poor.

If Rainer doesn’t kill them, my mother will annihilate this entire place out of existence. I’ve heard the stories. The Wiolants are the most feared noble house in Aelfheim for a reason. Mother is a Wiolant by marriage but her heritage as someone from Kashran makes her twice as deadly. Her clan will annihilate the village, not for hurting me, but to preserve their honor.

A deep dark part in me wants that to happen, wants Rainer to kill the governor for what he has done to me, but I know the villagers do not deserve that.The thought that Jessica’s sister and other undeserving children will suffer drags a knife straight to my heart.

With a long sigh, I search for the biggest leaf on the forest floor. I spy an elephant ear leaf and start folding it into a paper crane. Salty Spider watches my every movement with rapt attention.

“Spider.” I turn to her.

“Yeah?”

“I propose a bargain. I am royalty. I can bestow you with a new name,” I say, passing her my tithe. “In exchange, I need your help with something.”

“You know fae tradition well for an elven girl,” she muses thoughtfully.

Mother always kept me indoors, so I read a lot.

“What do you say?” I ask her.

Salty Spider takes my crane with her spindly hand. “Deal.”

Day 6 in Astefar

“It’s time,” I say to Salty Spider.

She nods.

If I do this, Rainer will not come to save me.

A bitter reality slowly sets in me. I breathe in the crisp and fresh air of Astefar. This forest is my new home now.

I bid the spider farewell and continue my journey alone out from the forbidden forest. The atmosphere is tense as the entire village watches me. I’m a little embarrassed by my tattered dress but I walk proudly in my shiny spider silk shoe. Some of the folks are crying, some are praying at the miracle that I’m still alive, but most of them are fearful.

“Hello, Princess,” Graysen gives me a wry smile. Being face to face with the governor makes me want to cry and scream and vomit.

The villagers, guards, and everyone must stand a distant away from me. That is what was promised. I settle on the seat they’ve provided me and look at the writing materials on the table. My fingertips move to trace the objects.

I miss writing, I miss reading…

The governess stirs beside her husband dressed in a bright orange dress. She folds her hand in front of her lap. “What would you tell your uncle?”

“I will tell him how the twelfth division knights sacrificed themselves to save me from being sold to the slavers by bandits. Their bold sacrifice shall be remembered, and their heroic tale will be sung in the great halls of Volundr,” I announced loudly. There is no fear in my voice, only steel determination. “You will arrange for their remains to be sent home.”

I watch the tiny shift in the governor’s face at that order. He is angry being pushed around by another Wiolant. A smaller one.

“I will say that I choose to stay here with you under your protection and study in the Arawynn temple in the village,” I say as I write. “If you’re smart, you’ll write letters to my uncle confirming this, praising my prowess and obedience to the gods.”

“No one has ever cultivated from the gods at such a young age,” he hisses with derision.

I level a hard stare at the governor. “My uncle will believe me. I’m a Wiolant. Greatness is expected from us.”

Graysen’s face turns red from the building wrath inside of him. “How do we know your letter is not a trick to get your uncle here?”

“You’ll know if you’re still alive by next week,” I say easily. I sign the letter with my name and seal it with my official seal.

The governor smiles as he approaches me. “Well then. Thank you, Princess.”

There is nothing sincere about his face or his voice.

“That’s close enough,” I tell him, covering my nose from the obnoxious smell of his perfume.

One guard with a well-trimmed beard steps closer. More are coming from the trench and bushes like well-hidden Night Rats.

“After her!” Graysen bellows. “Don’t let her get away.”

I sigh. Of course, the governor would betray his promise.

But I anticipated this.

I tug the string on my shoulder. Before his guards can lay their hands on me, Salty Spider reels me back into the forest with her elastic string.

I hold my breath as I am being flung over back into the woods. The hard ground and sharp branches await me once I fall. Instead of crashing, I land safely on the spider’s soft mesh.

Salty Spider untangles me from her newly improved web.

“I’ve done my part,” she says breathlessly from her effort. “I reeled you back as promised.”

“Thank you, friend. This is for you.” I give her my last strawberry hairpin. “From henceforth, you shall be called Jessica.”

Jessica blinks all eight eyes over her new name.

“Thank you,” she says before scurrying deeper into the woods.

Day 81 in Astefar

The governor and his sentries are chasing me again. They’re brazen enough to enter into the edge of the forbidden forest now. Too bad for them, I know these parts of the woods like I know my heart.

One by one, I lure them right where I want them to be.

“You little brat!” the governor screams as he lunges towards me. I sidestep from him easily and he tumbles forward into my trap.

The governor breathes in quick gasps, clutching his abdomen. “What have you done?”

His body twists and turns until he is unable to move or speak from the stickiness of Jessica’s web. I watch him as he struggles viciously. His eyes are bulging from anger and panic. The stench of his fear is far worse than his perfume.

All eighteen of his guards are caught in Jessica’s web too. I feel their fear as they thrash to escape, only to get themselves further entangled in the trap.

Hope rises to their faces when they see me.

“Please, Princess, let us go. There are wolves in these woods,” a guard begs through tear-streaked face.

There are far worse creatures here.

“I know you’re a good person. You wrote that letter to save us,” another one says.

Just because I don’t want my family to kill the villagers, these guards think I’m noble enough to let them go.

“We were just following orders…” an older guard pleas desperately.

Orders…

“Did the Governor tell you to steal my Nameday presents?” I ask him.

“I will return every trinket—”

“I don’t care for them. I just don’t understand why you slaughtered the pony my uncle sent me. You didn’t do it for the meat, you simply did it for fun. The same way you hurt the tavern maid in the village.”

“And you…” I drawl and look at another dark-haired guard. “You put those arrows through Jessica’s body.”

Anger burns deep in my chest. Every evil thing, every misdeed, I saw it. These sentries and the governor are bad people.

Liars and murderers.

“Yes, we’re guilty of all that. Let us face the judgement at the capital in the eyes of the Elders and the gods,” one argues.

Even bad people deserve justice, noble and virtuous Aerin would say. She is probably right. But I’m not like my sister. I strum the spider silk to call my friend.

Once for ‘Hello, Jessica, I’m still alive.’

Twice for ‘Help!’

And thrice for… ‘Dinner is here.’

This is the only mercy I can grant them. When she’s not playing with her food, death by Jessica is usually swift. Once darkness falls there are far worse creatures that roam the forbidden forest.

I hear the scuttling sound of my friend as she draws closer. She has molted twice since the last time we met, her bulbous abdomen growing larger. My friend is far bigger than Judge or any Noctrals now.

Jessica gasps in surprise. “What is this? Treats?”

I nod, watching my reflection in her eyes. All eight of them.

She clasps her hands to her mouth, blushing at my gifts. “Rhianelle, you shouldn’t have.”

The guards flail desperately at the first sight of Jessica’s shining black fur.

“None of them are good husband material.” Jessica sighs wearily. “But they’d certainly make good dinner. I can even save some for supper.”

The governor and his guards scream and scream and scream. I wait for the gods to curse me. I wait for the guilt to prick me. I wait for the shame to swallow me.

None of it comes.

Jessica clicks her jaw and rubs her hands gratefully, the same way I say grace to the gods before a meal. “Rhianelle, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

I make a quick stop at the Wiolant House to meet my uncle. As always, I find him in his study, staring out the window, lost in his reverie. I know he’s not really looking at anything out there. The mask covering the right upper side of his face hardens his face into something stark. My uncle earned that scar from an orc general while he was trying to avenge Aerin. I’ll be facing that kind of ruthless enemy in battle soon.

A sense of pride fills me as I look at the grey armor he adorned, draped with a sash of the proud emerald stag emblem of our house. My awe immediately drains when I see the bottle of vial by the windowsill. The purple elixir has a distinct sweet smell about it.

I stare at Rainer Wiolant in disbelief. “Asterdust is forbidden.”

His silver eyes meet mine—dark, hard, with a hint of remorse. The guilt displayed on his face has nothing to do with him taking the drug. It’s only there because I found out.

“I thought you hated the Elders, but here you are, taking something vile they made…” I can’t find the words. “Look at what it did to the rebel orcs.”

The silence between us turns charged.

“It’s for the pain. The long travels have taken its toll on my body,” he finally says.

“It doesn’t matter…” I shake my head. The Aeonian has decreed that punishment for the drug possession is death. And their word is law.

The Elders have destroyed House Wynnsgraves for it. Generations ago, Aelfric’s noble family owned a flourishing region in the north. Through the deadly rule of the Archon, his entire family was annihilated. The power struggle lasted decades and the fight was brutal.Some of the family members started using Asterdust. The Aeonians pitted them against each other, humiliating, and dismantling them piece by piece until nothing was left but ash.

And now the same thing could be happening to us if the Elders find out about my uncle breaking the law. They only need a reason, a spark to destabilize us. In the past, Rainer would never do anything that could besmirch the name of our noble house, but now…

There’s not enough air in the room for me to breathe.

“I can’t protect you if you’re caught.” I find my voice again, although it’s shakier than I’d like.

“They won’t find out. This is the last vial. After that, no more,” Rainer promises. There’s a note of dismissal in that voice, telling me not to press him further on the matter.

I shove the hurt and worry deep down my heart. Maybe he’s telling the truth. My uncle doesn’t look like he’s suffering from an Asterdust addiction. He can stop whenever he wants to, right? This is Rainer Wiolant after all.

He is wise, brave, and resilient. Those traits paired with his unparalleled strength as a servant of Kvatosh give a lethal combination of a warrior worthy of songs and legends.

And if there’s anyone who can recognize the pitfall and flaw to my strategy, it’s the Silver Stag of the East himself.

I squeeze the parchment in my hand. “I came up with a plan for the battle, Uncle.”

I show him the tactic I came up with last night, keeping my fingers steady. “I’ve divided our small forces into two.”

Rainer’s cool and appraising eyes scan the paper.

“Not bad.” He nods briefly. That’s the closest to an approval I will get from my uncle.

“I’m afraid that I may have spread our army too thin,” I add when he doesn’t follow up with anything else.

“No, it’s a clever choice,” he murmurs wryly. “The elf who crafted the design of Tavan fortress is Dante the Mighty. We won’t be able to break through the walls easily.”

“I was hoping you can pass it as your plan.” I swallow nervously.

Rainer gives me a strange look as he stares at me. I feel nervous under that keen gaze. Before my anxiety can mount any higher, his features soften. “Present this to the council. The warlords would be fools to reject it.”

“I should…?” I give my battle plan another glance. If Rainer says the strategy is sound, then it must be. I’m going to do as he says and show this at a meeting at the war camp tomorrow. I refuse to be seen as weak again. I’ve fought so hard to shed the helpless skin I was forced to wear.Just like Jessica, I’ve molted into a stronger, better me. I see the well of wisdom in Rainer’s eyes and nod. “All right, Uncle.”

“This battle will test your mettle, niece. To see if you are indeed worthy, bearing the same name as your mother.” He moves over to gaze out the massive window.

I have the same name as mother…

The only reason I was named Rhianelle the second was because mother refused to look at me after I was born. Lady Deirdre had to fill in every motherly task, to care, to feed, and to bathe me. The healer took it upon herself to assign me a name. A strong name, same as Mother’s.

Mother treated me differently from Aerin, loved me differently. Even as a child I caught on these little things…

Rainer’s heavy sigh breaks my thought.

“The beast is proving himself to be useful,” he muses, looking at the horizon as if he can see the trail of dead bodies Svenn had left on the field.

Beast.

I don’t like it when people refer to Svenn like that. Even though he is one. More than one. I just don’t like the way my uncle says it. “Don’t call him that.”

Rainer’s eyebrows crash together as he turns to me. “He’s merely a tool for us to use. You do not have to care for the vampire.”

I flinch at the casual way he says it. “The vampire is my husband.”

My uncle’s chest rises as he draws in a breath. “Do not be fooled by his shell. That beauty is part of a vampire’s arsenal to lure his prey easily.”

Shame fills me at the admonishment. Suddenly I feel like a kid again. I bunch my fists and stare into Rainer’s intense eyes. “I like him.”

I’m surprised at the words coming out of my mouth. I should be revealing something like this to someone like Blaire, Siofra, or Lady Deirdre. Better yet, I should tell Svenn how I really feel about him. Instead, I find myself confessing it straight to my uncle’s harsh face.

“I like him,” I say it again.

This time tears stream down my eyes because I know it’s not because of the mating bond or anything else. I truly do like Svenn. Want him. Need him.

The coiled muscles in my body unfurl at the relief in that admission. I try putting up walls, sturdy ones like that third pig in my uncle’s story. I really did try. But it’s useless.

The realization must have opened up some kind of dam over my bottled-up emotions because the water won’t stop flowing from my eyes.

Rainer seems at a loss of what to do. I am the opposite of his calm nature. We’re too different to understand each other. So, he does the only thing he knows whenever I break down. He drapes his hand over my shoulders, slowly pulling me into his embrace.

“You’re too trusting,” I hear him whisper. “I’m afraid someone will take advantage of your gentle nature.”

I feel my cheeks grow warm.

“I like him,” I repeat into my uncle’s vest. Silence fills the room as he strokes my back.

“Then he is a lucky vampire to have my precious niece’s affection,” Rainer mutters softly.

We stay like that for a long moment until all my emotions are spent. He pulls away and gazes down at me. “Dry your tears. I have something for you.”

I follow him deeper into the mansion until we reach a vault at the lower level. He unlocks the metallic door easily with a key. The floor is covered with trunks overflowing with gemstones, diamonds, and pearls.

“What is this place?” I ask, gawking at the armors, axes, paintings, and crowns.

“Part of the perquisite and bounty your mother collected has been sitting here gathering dust for ages,” he answers briefly. “It’s all yours now. Take whatever you want.”

The opulence and wealth in the room is near blinding. Rainer pauses to appreciate the illustrations lining the walls. There’s a sentimental longing as he gazes at the late queen’s portrait. I wander around the chamber on my own, taking my time at the weapon aisle.

Swords, stilettos, and daggers with decorative pommels line up the sturdy rack. I marvel at the spears and javelins—my uncle’s favorite choice of weapon. I should pick something for the battle.

An ornamented chest catches my attention. Peculiar and pristine, with not a speck of dust on it. I run my fingers on the dwarven letterings on the lid.

A gift for the Queen of Elves.

It doesn’t seem right that the bequest remains unopened. I bring it to my uncle’s attention.

“A wise choice, niece. That twin blade is a gift from Dunrovin, the last Dwarven territory your mother claimed for Aelfheim before her passing.” Rainer swallows his own words slowly. Talking about her is still difficult for him. He was her trusted right hand and friend. “I’ll have it sent straight to your tent.”

“Thank you, Uncle,” I say with a smile.

He nods and casts another glance at the painting.

King Theign and his kin were lucky that it was Aerin who found them first after they slaughtered my parents fifty years ago. If it were my uncle, I don’t think their death would come as swiftly or as delicately.

I throw my arms around Rainer to remind him that he hasn’t lost everything. I’m still here, Uncle.

I’m still alive.