Page 34

T hey walked for two more days and camped out at night, resting and filling their bellies. The gag remained off but Ava didn’t speak much, unsure of what to say and nervous she’d condemn herself in some way or she’d accidentally snap at one of them again.

The starvation, torture and exhaustion had caught up with her and it was almost impossible to filter her words. She just wanted to get to the capital, bathe again and sleep for days. And devour every single piece of food she could find.

She felt safer with this group than with Deidamia’s army but still didn’t trust them and feared her potential execution. Would the supposed kind king actually kill her? The protectiveness Remy had told her about made her nervous as she tried to imagine what the capital would be like.

As they got closer to Mosshaven, the terrain began to change.

The trees were larger, older and had patches of lichen on their massive trunks.

The leaves were an energetic chartreuse and the shrubs at their base a deep forest green.

The ground was soft and mossy interspersed with rocks, blue and purple flowers, emerald ferns and little red capped mushrooms. They were at the base of the mountains now, peaks towering over them with their snow-capped tips and dense forests.

As they settled in for the third night, Ava mustered up the courage to speak again.

They were in a grove of moss-covered trees, the glow of the moon casting shadows along the edges of camp.

Smaller trees grew beneath the larger canopy, packed with rose pink blooms that had opened just as the sun set.

White moths flocked to the flowers, stopping at each bloom as they drank their fill of nectar.

As they ate their dinner, she saw the four of them were deep in conversation, whispering to each other. Too quiet for her to hear.

Ava cleared her throat, trying to get their attention but they continued their discussion, ignoring her. She tried again and still nothing. With a big sigh, she was about to try a third time when Casimir snapped and looked at her.

“If you have something to say, just say it. We can hear you over there grunting like a fool,” he said.

“I was just going to ask if we were getting close to our destination,” she said.

“We should arrive in Mosshaven the day after tomorrow.” He continued to watch her. “Anything else?”

She shook her head. “No. That’s all.”

That was soon.

She closed her eyes and tried contacting Luna yet again.

Luna? Where are you? Can you even hear me? Luna!

Nothing.

The evening went on without incident and everyone retired besides Jorrar, who took first watch while Ava dozed against the tree under a blanket.

Rustling noises from the trees behind her jarred her awake. Something was coming.

Jorrar leapt to his feet and whistled to his companions. The other three burst from their tents, armed to the teeth with weapons. Before she realized what was happening, Jorrar cut her restraints and told her to stay low and silent as something emerged from the trees.

It was massive, the size of a large wolf with leathery dark gray skin and hollow black eyes.

Saliva dripped from its fangs as it stalked forward on all fours, long claws digging into the ground with each step.

Where there should have been a nose, there was a flat spot with two slits and its bat-like ears tilted as it listened to its surroundings.

It was not a helwraith, it was something different, something worse; a bloodthirsty beast sent straight from Deidamia’s war camp.

Ava sat as still as possible, watching the creature prowl toward the warriors. It hadn’t noticed her yet and she hoped it wouldn’t. She had no idea how to fight against one of these things, especially without any weapons.

“Why is it here?” Quinn growled as the warriors took their positions.

The others didn’t answer, backs to each other and weapons at the ready. The creature continued to stalk forward, unafraid of the warriors. Three more monsters emerged from the woods. The four fae were now surrounded, preparing for a fight.

The first monster jumped at Quinn, and the warriors burst into motion. They were so quick, faster than Ava could even keep track of. Their fae blades squelched as they met the flesh of the monsters.

As she watched them fight, a fifth being emerged from her right, eyes locked on her. She jumped to her feet, looking around for a weapon but her eyes found none. The warriors were distracted with the other four and didn’t notice the new threat creeping toward Ava.

Weaponless and vulnerable, she took off and ran into the woods as fast as she could, hoping she could escape. She had gained some strength over the last few days thanks to the hearty meals and sleep, and she pushed herself hard, flying through the woods.

As she got further away from camp, the sounds of battle faded, and she kept running as the creature crashed through the brush behind her.

Growls sounded as sticks snapped under its heavy paws and she increased her speed.

Why did she leave camp? In her panic to get away she wasn’t thinking, and her terror had taken over.

Now she was alone with the monster with no way to fight it.

She should go back because they knew how to fight, and it was her only chance. Maybe she could outrun it and lead it back to camp to be killed by the warriors. She started to change direction, looping back to lead the creature to the camp when she tripped and fell.

Scrambling for purchase she tried to rise but excruciating pain exploded in her calf and ran up her leg as the daemon hound’s teeth sank into her flesh and muscle. She screamed as it dragged her deeper into the woods.

Her leg was on fire. Unimaginable pain crawled up her calf, spreading through her whole body. Poison? It was just her luck they would have poison in their fangs.

She clawed at the ground, trying and failing to grip onto something. It was taking her somewhere. Maybe somewhere else to savor devouring her bite by bite. She tried everything, hitting it with her fists, scratching at its eyes. Nothing worked. It barely even flinched.

She was going to die out here.

As her hope faded, something leapt out from the woods and crashed into the creature, throwing it into a tree. She scrambled away, dragging her injured leg and hid behind a boulder, peering over the top to watch the fight.

It was a bear, midnight black and larger than a grizzly, it roared at the daemon and charged as the creature rose onto its haunches after being thrown.

Though the monster was huge, the bear was bigger and within a few seconds, it had the creature’s head in its mouth, snapping its neck with ease and leaving it to crumple to the ground.

She’d seen this bear before. It was the one causing chaos at camp. The ursine giant lumbered toward her, curiosity in its eyes. This must be Aro. Why was he at the camp when she escaped? Had he helped her somehow? Did Casimir know?

Though the creature was dead, Aro very well may kill her too. She sat still, looking into his yellow eyes as he stopped and stared at her, mere feet from where she was sitting.

“Thank you for saving me.” Her voice quaked, but she didn’t shy away.

He walked closer, stopping with his nose inches away. She closed her eyes, waiting for a blow. She could smell the dirt in his fur and feel his warm breath upon her. Then, something wet trailed down her face.

Opening her eyes, puzzled, she looked at the bear. Did he just lick her? Aro lowered his head and nudged her hand as if asking her to pet him. So, she did, scratching behind his ears and laughing.

“You are so sweet,” she said, rubbing Aro’s muzzle and scratching his head with both hands as a low happy growl rumbled in the back of his throat.

Aro walked around the boulder and nudged her back, attempting to get her to stand up. She tried and was able to stand on her uninjured leg but the moment she tried to put weight on the other, she gasped in pain and almost collapsed, holding on to the nearest tree.

“I can’t walk,” she said, looking at Aro whose height on all fours reached the level of her shoulders.

Gosh, he is huge.

Aro lowered himself down and looked at her expectantly.

“Um…. You want me to ride on your back?”

He chuffed as if saying, “Duh. ”

Aro watched her every move as she nervously hobbled to him, swung her leg over and gripped his fur, hoping she didn’t hurt or upset him. He rose and ambled toward camp, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. Her leg throbbed with every step.

She was riding a bear. She was in a magical realm, with a group of fae warriors and she was riding the bear of the general, Ava realized with disbelief.

They had only been walking a couple of minutes when Casimir burst from among the trees, breathing heavily. Was he coming to help her? As soon as he caught sight of her on his bear, he froze, eyes wide. His eyes took in the scene as he inspected her, then moved down to her bleeding leg.

“He saved me,” she said hesitantly.

He narrowed his eyes at Ava and then looked at Aro. “Let’s go.” He turned around and headed back toward camp, the bear following with Ava.

Aro made a chuffing sound resembling laughter as he followed his friend back to the others. Casimir’s shoulders looked more tense than before, silently brooding as they walked back.

She remained quiet as they made their way through the woods, running her fingers through Aro’s rough fur and scratching his ears during their trek. Aro made happy growls the whole time and Casimir glanced back at one point, seemingly curious about his bear’s quick acceptance of her.

They emerged from the trees into camp, the remains of the other creatures the fae had killed lying on the ground, one whose head had been severed clean.

“How the fuck is she riding Aro?” exclaimed Raine, looking from her to Casimir.

Jorrar was holding back a smile and Quinn raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, looking at Ava and the bear.

“The fluffy moron apparently has a soft spot for human fools.” Casimir shook his head as he dragged one of the bodies away to dispose of it.

Raine laughed as he walked up to her and glanced at her leg. “That’s two pairs of my pants you’ve now ruined.”

“I—shit. What? These were yours?” Her face turned red.

“They were. But it’s fine. I’ll get more,” he said and held out his hand for her to hold onto.

Ava carefully climbed off Aro and collapsed to the ground. Raine returned to aid the others in cleaning up camp and she leaned back against the tree she had been tied to as Jorrar approached.

“I can’t even walk, so tying me up is pointless,” she said.

He nodded his agreement and inspected her injuries, asking her what happened. She explained one of the creatures had grabbed her leg and was dragging her away when Aro showed up and killed it.

“Dragging you away?” he said as he ripped open the leg of her pants to better access the bites. “It didn’t kill you on the spot?”

“Obviously not,” she said. “I figured it was taking me somewhere else to eat me or something.”

He opened a small satchel and removed a vial of brown liquid.

“This will hurt,” he warned, before pouring two drops on her wounds.

She gritted her teeth, holding back a scream as tears formed in her eyes. Aro walked closer and lay down next to her, plopping his giant head in her lap, comforting her through the pain. She stroked his head and he purred with contentment.

“I’m sorry. I know it hurts but those daemon hounds have poison in their fangs. This is leeching the poison from your wounds and it’s quite painful,” he explained as he continued to pour the liquid over the remaining punctures. Then he looked at Aro. “I’ve never seen him act this way before. ”

“Who? Casimir? Or the bear?”

He chuckled. “The bear. Casimir is often grumpy, that’s nothing new. Aro likes you. The only person he’s ever let touch him or ride him is Cas. I’ve known them both since they were barely able to walk and Aro hardly tolerates my presence.”

“I’ve always been good with animals.” She shrugged. “There was this cat… Anyway, she was injured, and I helped her. From then on, she became sort of a friend to me.”

Jorrar listened quietly as he bandaged her leg. “Animals are precious to those of us from Monterre. It is our sacred duty to care for them and keep them safe. That cat sounds like she was special to you.”

“She was. I miss her,” she said.

Jorrar finished treating her wounds and made his way back to the fire as Casimir approached and stood over her, arms crossed, taking in Aro’s head in her lap. She smiled sheepishly. “Jorrar said Aro likes me.”

Casimir ignored her comment. “Why was the daemon hound taking you away? Why didn’t it kill you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Those hounds were sent from Deidamia,” he said. “They were hunting you. Why? What do they want from you?”

“I told you. I don’t know.”

He knelt, closer to eye level, and quietly said, “You’re lying.”

She held his gaze but said nothing. She wasn’t ready to tell them her story, still not sure how much she trusted them. It made more sense to wait and meet the king. Then she could go from there.

Casimir stood and walked away, joining the others by the fire. “We will get the truth eventually, Ava.”