He must have been leaning against the door, and when I opened it he fell through. He’s covered in blood, the door and ground below him as well. I push him forward, his weight making it difficult, but I manage to get him into a sitting position. Shutting the door behind him to keep him there. I brush his long dark golden brown hair away from his face to get a good look at him. My brows furrow as I take in his handsome features, a defined jaw, straight nose, and dark, perfectly arched brows. Something about him seems familiar, but I don’t know who this Fae is… I start backing away to make my run for the tree line.
I make it only a few steps when I get an electric buzzing in my fingertips and up my arms. The sensation foreign to me makes me pause. I crane my neck to look back at the Fae on the ground, and I wonder if this feeling could be a sign… maybe this man knows how I got here. We are both in rough condition. Was this someone trying to kill me? Did I fight him?
Deciding to trust my gut, I walk back over to him and look at his wounds. He has a hole that appears to be a stab wound through his leathers at his shoulder; the nasty gash is still bleeding. Leading me to believe he’s not native to whatever territory we're in. I’m starting to freak out, there is no way this is just a coincidence. The clenching in my gut is making me believe this is something else.
Sitting back on my heels, I stare at the man in front of me. My brow furrows more the deeper I concentrate. Why do I have this feeling not to leave him? He looks to be my age maybe younger but, just barely, is my guess. I don’t recognize him, but that feeling in my gut… the buzzing sort of energy deep in my chest is telling me that he’s important and not a danger to me somehow.
Blowing out my breath, I sit in silence for a long moment as I try to decipher the new feeling. My mother was a seer. She always taught me to follow my instincts. From the time I was a small girl, she would brush my silver blonde hair at night, tying it into a pleat down my back. She would tell me stories of the moon and the power of her silver light. She would say,
“Raelle, one day, things will be different in Aldramani. Dad and I won’t be around forever, but just remember, always follow your instincts. You are destined for greatness, you know.”I haven’t found the greatness she’s told me I was destined for yet, but I will always hold on to the belief that maybe one day she would be right. So, I sit and wait for him to come to—trusting my instinct to guide me. I watch our surroundings for anything or anyone who might cause us harm.
The door ended up leading me under a decrepit moss-covered bridge, with large boulders and rocks piled all around where they had fallen from place... Nothing looks familiar about my surroundings. If I’m in Demetrey the territory is large, and I don’t know every region.
As I sit there, I bite at the skin on the inside of my cheek. My mind fumbles through everything I've been through since I woke up and as hard as I try to think about what brought me to this situation… I don’t remember anything leading up to my wakingin the darkness of the underground tunnel system. I sit down in front of the man, scooting back until my back rests against a large boulder. Tilting my head back, I look at the fading stars in the sky and wonder if my family is looking down on me from beyond the veil right now, with the gods at their sides. My eyes flutter closed, and a tear escapes beyond my lashes, as the sense of overwhelming longing and defeat washes over me. I wish my brother was here with me.
I wish all of my family were still alive.
Chapter three
I must have fallenasleep, but I jump awake when I hear movement in front of me. The male is finally starting to stir. Preparing myself to fight, I move to my feet. If he wakes up and tries to attack me, I’ll be as prepared as I can be. I palm a fist-sized rock, wishing for a dagger, but I will make do with what I have. Watching him closely, I wait as he groggily begins to open his eyes. When I come into focus, he lifts his hand to his forehead rubbing the crease that's formed at the center. He looks around his gaze locking with mine as he winces and whispers confused.
“What the hell, Raelle? Why do you look like you’re about to hit me with a rock?” he groans, “ugh, and why does it feel like youalreadyhit me with a rock?” Lifting the rock defensively, I prepare for his attack.
Wait, did he just call me by my name?
His voice raises into a whisper yell as he looks around. The sun starts to rise on the horizon, painting everything in a purple hue. “What in the actual fuck, Rae. This isn’t some game. Put the godsdamn rock down would you?!”
We just stare at each other for a long moment, me debating what to say to this person who clearly knows who I am. I for which, have no godsdamn idea who he is, and it’s honestly freaking me out. He is the one who breaks the silence, his eyebrows raised to his hairline. “Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t you know where we are? We need to get the hell out of here, and quick. Do you know how long I’ve been out this time?”
This time?
I stare blankly at him, but I lower the rock to my side. My fist still clenched tightly around it, the sharp edges biting into my palm. I don’t know what he’s talking about. I don’t know where we are, not really. The thought pulls my mouth down into a frown. I don’t know how long I was out, let alone him... I don’t even know who he is.
What the fuck is going on?
All I can manage is a shrug as I shift my gaze to the ground to escape his eyes. He stumbles to his feet and grabs my arm gently. I agree we need to get out of here, and he isn’t being aggressive. So, for now, I allow him to guide me away. He leads us from the bridge toward the tree line in the distance. Both of us are uncoordinated in our movements, from all we've been through, but he eventually lets me walk on my own. Confident that I won’t fall on my ass, I stumble along behind him.
“Hey, have you seen Kait? When we split up, I lost her too. I don’t know if they managed to capture her…” He trails off, a frown threading his brows together. “Or worse.” He whispers ominously as he looks back in the direction we came from and the ever-brightening sky. “I thought they got you…” Sadness flickers in his eyes as he cranes his neck to look at me over his shoulder. “ We need to get to cover quickly, and try to cover our scent the best we can,” He scrapes out, brushing his cheek with the back of his hand. “I know with all this blood on us, it’s going to be hard…” He takes a deep breath and shakes his head, steely determination replacing the sadness. “If she were caught, she would want us to keep going. We will come back once we have reinforcements. If there is one thing that Kait is, it’s resourceful. She wouldn’t want us sticking around worrying about her.”
He doesn’t wait for a response from me, but rather turns his head and keeps trudging further into the trees and the dark cover of the forest in front of us. As we get further in, he begins to slow our trek. It’s brisk under the cover of the trees. The morning air is crisp with moisture, but the sky is clear where I am able to see through the breaks in the canopy of pines, the stars gone from the sky, replaced by the blue cloudless sky.
We walk for what seems like hours. When we come to the edge of a large clearing where there is a cluster of large boulders, we silently decide to rest for a short time. I still haven’t spoken to the male, though I have an overwhelming sense of safety with him. I still don’t recall his name or anything about him. It’sunsettling. I try to will a memory I should have back into place without success.
He notices me staring at him and gives me a puzzled look, his lip twitching into a smirk, quirking his right eyebrow and showinga dimple on the opposite cheek. The smile doesn’t quite touch his golden hazel eyes. The deep sadness pulls his shoulders down, the look of devastation making me feel sad too. He closes his eyes and shakes his dark brown hair to the side, clearing it from his grief-stricken face. His hair is almost long enough to touch his shoulders; he reaches back and ties it at the nape of his neck with a leather band.
“You okay?” He wrings his hands in front of him as he begins to pace. “I know things look bad right now. Really bad, but we knew this was a possibility when we went out on our own.” He pushes dirt around with the toe of his black boot.
On our own? Shit, this is wrong… something is broken in me.Should I tell him I don’t remember who he is? I remember who I am, at least… I try to work through what I do remember. My family all died while I was in Lesa in combat training. I went out looking for answers because their deaths didn’t make sense. But after that? I don’t recall any of my searching. My face must show some of the turmoil that I’m going through internally because the male I’m sitting with looks at me like my puppy just died.
“Seriously, Rae, you haven’t said a word. Are you ok?” He looks at me pointedly. He’s not giving me a pass this time. I take a breath to collect myself. I can feel my heart start to race in my chest. A sheen of sweat collects at the nape of my neck then, a prickling sensation runs down my spine that has me looking around. The sense of someone watching us growing. Someone is close.
The male notices my attention and begins to look around as well. It’s quiet where we are, and a slight breeze has picked up. I know there were birds chirping and small animals in the distance rustling about just moments ago. The sudden stillness of the forestputs us both on high alert. We are both completely frozen, sitting in a way that has us ready to launch if needed.
There is a sudden crack of a twig, causing me to whip my head in the direction of the sound. A disheveled pale-skinned, dirty blonde female covered in muck and blood stumbles into the space we occupy. She collapses hard to the ground in front of us with a thud. Wrenching upright at the same time, I am ready for a fight in case she’s not alone, but no one else comes into the clearing. The male drops to the girl immediately. He sucks in a sharp breath reaching down and pulling her into his lap.
“FUCK! KAIT! Oh. No. No. No… Gods, they really did a number on you. Wake up, you beautiful girl, I need to know you’re okay. Were you followed?” he gently taps her cheek with his fingers. His gaze breaks from her face to mine, then scans the surrounding forest, and concern brackets his mouth. She shakes her head only the slightest amount. A moan barely audible breaks from her busted, bleeding lips. Whether she was indicating if she was not followed or not okay, it’s unclear. Before she can elaborate, the lights go out in her deep blue eyes, and they roll back into her head as she loses consciousness.
He fusses over her, ensuring she is in the most comfortable position he can manage in the woods, and takes note of all the injuries she has suffered. Which, from what I can see, it’s a hell of a lot. He curses under his breath multiple times as he takes in all the damage to her. She is badly beaten.
