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S omething hard hit Ava in the face and she lifted her head from the pole as she opened her eyes. It hit her again, this time on the side of her head and she jerked to her right, searching for the source.

“Pssst.” The prisoner in the cage next to her was throwing pebbles, trying to get her attention. “Good. You’re awake,” he said as Ava met his eyes.

“I am now. That hurt.”

“Sorry,” he said in a high-pitched, scratchy voice.

She looked at the prisoner. He was much shorter than most human adults, broad and stocky but the height of a child.

His skin was a mossy green, peppered with bumps and warts, and his face would not be considered handsome by most standards.

His teeth were crooked, eyes full of mischief and he had long pointed ears.

He was thin and malnourished, with tattered clothing that didn’t cover much above his waist.

“I’m Remy,” he whispered. “What’s your name?”

Keeping her voice quiet, she answered, “Ava. What is this place? Where are we? ”

“You aren’t from here, are you?”

“No.”

Well, technically she was. But she wasn’t going to explain that to a stranger.

He regarded her intensely. “You aren’t a daemon though. Nope nope nope. Not you. You’re different,” he said with his strange little voice.

“No, I’m not. I’m a human.”

“What’s a human? I’ve never heard of that. Are they tasty?” He smiled.

“Um… I don’t think so,” she said. “I’m a human. Just me.” She tried to be friendly in case this creature did indeed want to eat her.

As if reading her mind, Remy said, “Don’t worry. I won’t eat you. You’re too pretty and seem kind. I can tell. Do humans have magic?”

Ava smiled. “No, they don’t. And I’m relieved to hear you don’t want to eat me. Deidamia and Andras tricked me and brought me here.”

Remy gasped. “They’re back? Oh no. Oh no no no. This is bad. Bad bad bad.” He rocked with his head in his hands.

Ava tried to get him to talk more but he kept repeating himself over and over, rocking back and forth to soothe his terror.

“Remy!” she whispered louder. “Talk to me. Why is it bad? Tell me everything.”

Remy stopped rocking and looked at her with his large eyes. “They were stuck in another world. It was the only hope we had. That they couldn’t come back. Their armies have been waiting. Watching. Hoping. And they hurt us. For fun. Fun fun fun. Except it’s not fun.”

“How did they get here in the first place?” Ava asked. “Are they from Eorhan?”

“No.” Remy shook his head. “Legends say the daemon of seduction tricked a king into letting them in. A king that wanted power.”

Tricked a king. Just like her grandfather’s story. The one that had terrified her as a child. It was true. So far everything was turning out to be true.

“Why didn’t anyone kill off the armies while Deidamia was gone?”

“I don’t know. The kingdoms weren’t getting along, I think. Not helping each other. Not strong enough. Nope nope nope.”

“Why did they capture you?”

His voice changed, became angrier. “They killed my parents and captured me. Why? Because they could. No other reason. To show their power. Oh no. No no no.” He shook his head again.

“I’m sorry about your parents, Remy. I’ve lost family too,” she said, and Remy looked at her expectantly, so she continued. “My mom died a few years ago.” And Eleanor, but she wasn’t ready to talk about that yet, the guilt and shame washing over her.

Interested now, Remy asked, “How did she die?”

“Cancer.”

“What’s cancer?”

“Um—” Ava paused, realizing their language and terminology was likely different in this world. “It’s a sickness. Sometimes you can stop it but sometimes you can’t.”

“Did healers help her?” Remy asked, mesmerized by Ava’s story.

Ava smiled sadly. “They tried. But it didn’t work. I’m sorry you lost family too.”

Remy smiled back, an ally for the time being.

“Do you think we can escape?” Ava asked. “Is there somewhere safe we can go away from the army?”

“No. No safety.” Remy looked scared again. “Not near here. If we got far away… maybe. Escape is impossible. No one has ever been able to. We stay here until we are dead. Dead dead dead.”

Ava sighed. “Well, I have to try…” Remy looked at her, blinking. “So, um… what are you?” she asked, hoping she didn’t offend him.

Remy laughed. “What am I? You are human. I am a hob. Hobgoblin. We live in the woods all throughout Eorhan.”

Ava smiled back at him. “What other beings live here? Can you tell me about this world?” she asked.

Excited to give her a history lesson, Remy settled back against his cage and looked at her, speaking quietly so the guards didn’t hear.

“Eorhan is ruled by the High Fae. They are powerful magic wielders, and they rule over us all. Split into five kingdoms. Some wield ice, some lava, others can manipulate stone and rocks. Some have the power of the stars and others have powers of the earth. All creatures are ruled by them. All creatures great and small. Even hobgoblins.”

If she was truly from here, did that make her fae? Was that even possible? She had not felt any different since arriving and still didn’t have magical abilities. How would being born in the human world have affected her heritage? Her magic?

Deciding to keep this information to herself for the time being, she asked, “Are the fae nice?”

Remy looked at her mischievously. “It depends on what you think is nice. They are warriors. They can be ruthless. Some are benevolent and some crave power. Most have stood against Deidamia and her army, but others have allowed them into their kingdom, hoping they won’t be slaughtered.

Better to be ruled by daemons than wiped out, they say. ”

“Do you agree with that?” Ava asked.

“Oh no. No no no. I’d rather die,” he whispered harshly as he stared into her eyes .

As they spoke, a prisoner in another cage stirred, groaning and turning her head.

She didn’t seem to be aware of what was going on around her and appeared as though she’d been brutally beaten and close to death.

She opened her eyes and looked at Ava as she lay there, breath coming in short slow pants.

“What’s her name?” Ava asked Remy.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “She was here before I arrived, and she will not speak. I think she’s dying.”

“What did they do to her?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “Sometimes they take the prisoners somewhere else.”

“For what?”

He shook his head again and shrugged.

Ava looked at the prisoner with compassion and fear for herself. She appeared mostly human aside from her pointed ears. Her hair was short and curly, but she was so caked in filth her skin tone or hair color were imperceptible, and her tattered clothing revealed gruesome bruises.

The flaps of the tent opened and a guard entered. He was tall, slim and muscular and had cunning green eyes, short black hair and a pock marked face. He stopped and stood in the center of the room, inspecting the prisoners with disgust, but the moment he noticed Ava, his eyes turned feral.

“What do we have here?” he said as he stalked toward her. “A new prisoner for me to play with, I presume.”

He reached the spot where Ava sat chained, crouched in front of her and stroked her face with his hand.

Fight back, Luna’s voice sounded .

“Get away from me,” she said before spitting in his face.

He calmly stood, wiped his face and then looked down at her with barely contained rage. “You’re going to regret that.”

He walked over to the cage with the prisoner and unlocked the door. The girl didn’t fight as she was dragged out by her hair, resigned to her fate. Remy covered his ears with his hands and backed into the corner of his cage, rocking with his eyes closed.

Ava looked at the guard. “Please don’t hurt her.”

He laughed as he dragged her to the ground in front of Ava and then set the fae woman down. She didn’t move, breathing ragged as she opened her eyes and looked straight at Ava. Her eyes bored into Ava’s as she conveyed a message. It was a silent plea; kill me.

The guard looked at Ava and knelt in front of the prisoner. “See how she’s run out of usefulness? This is what will happen to you if you don’t cooperate,” he said as he held the woman’s head between his hands.

Then the light went out of her eyes as the guard snapped her neck.

Ava screamed as nausea took over. Fighting against the bile working its way up her throat, she started to sob and tried to remind herself death was a blessing for this poor fae.

Death. So much death she had already witnessed in such a short amount of time. Eleanor and now this woman. How was she going to get out of here?

The guard kicked the body away from Ava and knelt back down in front of her. His eyes roved over her body filled with desire and the promise of pain. His hand gripped her hair and yanked her head back, baring her throat to him. He leaned forward and ran his nose along her neck, breathing in deeply.

“Your fear smells delicious,” he whispered.

Ava whimpered and tears streamed down her face. The guard pulled back and gave her a cunning smile when the flaps of the tent opened and Andras stepped in.

He paused, looking at the guard. “I told you to dispose of the useless prisoner. I did not give you permission to touch the new one. Get out,” he barked .

The guard rose and nodded to Andras then glanced at Ava one last time before leaving.

She looked to Remy, but he was still rocking in the corner, hiding himself from witnessing the death of his fellow captive.

“What do you want with me? Please send me back home,” she begged Andras through her tears.

He towered over her, placing his hands in his pockets. “We have plans for you.”

“What plans?”

He remained silent, looking at her with boredom.

“How long will I be here?” she asked.

He knelt, closing in on her. “As long as it takes, Ava dear. We’ll use whatever means necessary to get what we need.” He crept closer, watching her reaction. “It may take months. Until then, you’ll remain with us.”

No. She wouldn’t allow it.