Page 11 of The Wars of Monsters

~ Cara ~

Ten years ago

IwasinZalei,realm of the fae. Or at least, that’s what the male named, Xander, had told me. If I believed him that meant I was absolutelynoton my island anymore, though, I’d figured that out the moment a bear with horns had attacked me, and I’d been saved by three men. Well,menwasn’t exactly the right word. They were fae as Xander had also pointed out, not human. Two of them looked only a little older than I was, and the youngest appeared to be around my age.

I fidgeted nervously with the skirt of my ragged nightgown as I followed my new companions further into the depths of the strange forest I found myself in. We trekked past pale white trees, and I tried not to think about the fact that I had no idea where the fae were taking me. It was obvious these fae weren’t the same beings as the Katakin monsters who visited my island. The village elders had always spoken about the monsters being hideous and cruel, and so far, these fae had proved to be the opposite. They’d saved me without knowing who I was and until I could find a way to return home, they seemed my best bet at staying alive. Also, as much as I tried to mentally prepare myself for the idea that they could be leading me toward something terrible, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was safe. Which was crazy, because more than once I saw eyes blinking back at me from the darkness of the trees, and from the strange clicking and scratching noises I could only guess what creatures they belonged to.

I shivered at the thought and almost yelped when something warm landed across my shoulders.

“Sorry, I thought you were cold,” Xander said hurriedly, seeming almost as startled as I was as he stared at me. “But if you’d rather I take it off…”

It took me a moment to understand that the soft warmth across my back wasn’t the body of a monstrous creature about to pin me down, but Xander’s silken cloak.

A small smile crept over my face as my fingers lifted to trace the smooth fabric. “No.” I swallowed. “I mean, thank you. I just thought—”

“That it was another Choram bear?” the youngest fae teased, and my cheeks heated though I knew I had no reason to feel embarrassed for running from that wild beast. The idea might have been laughable in this place, but I knew that’s what any islander would have done.

“That’s enough, Ellis,” Xander said, waving him off before turning back to me. “You don’t have to worry,” he said reassuringly. “Nothing will harm you while we’re around.” His voice was warm and kind, but I focused on what he’d said.While they’re around. Does that mean I’ll die in this forest without them?

When he continued to stare at me, I nodded slowly, surprised when the small action made his shoulders visibly relax. I was no one to him but some poor girl they happened across. “Why did you save me?” I blurted, unable to stop myself.

Xander frowned. “That bear wasn’t playing around. If we hadn’t acted, you wouldn’t be here.”

“But you could have been killed,” I pressed, his reply not giving me the information I wanted.

Ellis snorted and gave me a toothy grin. “If you think that was impressive, you wait until you see how we fight against the king’s soldiers.”

“Quiet,” Xander reprimanded, whirling on the fae.

I slowed my steps. “The king’s soldiers?”

Xander’s gaze settled back on me. “Forgive my brother. Sometimes he doesn’t know when he should hold his tongue.”

Ellis made a vulgar face, and Xander pinched the bridge of his nose. I smiled softly, momentarily distracted from the small piece of information Ellis had given away because Xander’s reaction reminded me so much of how I sometimes felt with Raine. Seeing my smile, Xander’s lips curled upward as his gaze connected with mine.

For a moment, I couldn’t do anything but stare back, his glittering-blue eyes holding me in place. The girls on my island wouldn’t believe me if I ever made it back there and described him to them. The male had an ethereal beauty that was too sculpted to be real, pointed ears and all. Now that he didn’t have his cloak, I could see more of his lean, muscular body, and his short dark hair that contrasted against his pale skin and blue eyes almost made it seem like he was glowing in the moonlight.

“We’re close,” Nathaniel, the fae on my left side said to Xander, and I blinked as if I’d been woken up from a dream. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Ellis tapped his chin. “What he means to say is that you don’t intend on bringing her in like this do you? Bernan will croak if he sees her ears and realizes what she is. In fact, I think I can hear him now, starting to rattle off some long speech about the war with the monsters.”

War with the monsters?I opened my mouth to ask what he was talking about, but Xander replied, “Of course, not.” He turned to Nathaniel. “Can you bring Samson to us?”

Ellis laughed. “Samson? What’s he going to do? Bore her to death with one of his lessons about plants?”

Ignoring Ellis, Xander asked Nathaniel, “Unless you have a better idea?”

Nathaniel still looked concerned, but he didn’t answer and simply started through the trees again without us.

I stood awkwardly as we waited, leaning against the trunk of a large tree and ignoring the way the wood bit into my back. The more time that passed, the more my heart raced. Xander had asked me where I was from when we’d first begun trekking through the forest, but I hadn’t said much other than confirming I was from a human village. As much as I wanted to go back, there were already monsters tormenting my people, so I didn’t want to give too much away. And in any case, there wasn’t much more information I could give them other than to describe the island and explain the full situation of what had happened with the monsters. But for now, I kept my mouth shut.

Xander stood close to me, but Ellis paced in front of us and stared into the trees every so often like he was contemplating following Nathaniel.

I was about to pluck up the courage and ask about the war with the monsters when rustling came from the bushes close by. Ellis jerked toward the sound, and Xander straightened a moment before Nathaniel appeared from between the trees. He was followed by a male who looked at least a decade older, with golden hair tied in a short ponytail, and a scholarly look about him.

The newcomer’s thick brows lifted when he spotted me, and his face only paled further when he noticed the shape of my ears. My stomach dropped.If humans were rare in this forest, it was possible they knew nothing about my island.

“You shouldn’t have brought her here,” the newcomer, who I assumed was Samson, said in a hushed whisper to Xander and the others as he ushered them over to him and turned his back to me. “Have you forgotten our history?”