The Fae smiled, tilting his head with an elegance that belied the threat in his stance. ‘Oh, I believe you, wyverian. But Nymeria…’ His grin deepened. ‘She’s never been one for restraint.’
Kage spun round, instinct flaring too late. Another figure, silent as a passing shadow, had appeared behind him, summoned, no doubt, by Fae glamour. He hadn’t sensed her presence, not even the whisper of breath. She moved like lightning, too fast to track, and struck three precise points on his body with devastating accuracy.
His muscles locked. His knees buckled. The world tilted.
As he collapsed to the ground, he caught a glimpse of the two Fae looming over him, their eyes shimmering with cold contempt.
And then the world dissolved into darkness.
…
Kage’s eyes fluttered open, and at once he became aware of the ropes biting into his wrists, binding him to a wooden chair. Beside him, Arden was similarly restrained, his verdant gazegleaming with unease.
‘Not friends of yours, then?’ Kage muttered, his voice dry as dust, as he cast a calculating glance about the room. It was an unremarkable space. Square and spare, the walls and floor fashioned from rough-hewn timber. There was no furniture save for the two chairs they currently occupied. A solitary lantern hung above, casting a soft, amber glow. There were no windows, only a single wooden door, one that now burst open with a force that stirred the dust in the air.
Kage regarded the newcomers with measured calm. The male was a formidable presence, towering and broad-shouldered, his limbs thick with muscle and shaped for violence. His skin was dark as midnight, smooth and gleaming beneath the lamplight. Hazel eyes glinted beneath close-cropped black hair, steady and unreadable. His antlers were thick and short.
The woman who followed was no less striking. Her complexion was nearer Arden’s. A rich, warm brown. Her eyes, a piercing blue, were sharp and assessing, and may have been the most beautiful Kage had ever seen. Her long dark hair was drawn back tightly, coiled in braids that crowned her head and nestled between the elegant sweep of her slim antlers.
‘Arden Briar,’ the man said with a slow shake of his head, voice thick with weary disbelief. ‘You’ve landed yourself in a fine mess.’
‘Have I?’ Arden replied breezily.
The man let out a humourless chuckle. ‘The king gave you a direct order, and yet… here we are.’
‘I needed a little holiday,’ Arden said, unrepentant. ‘The rigours of court life were beginning to affect my delicate constitution. I daresay you’re feeling the strain too, Elric. Are those worry lines I spy carving themselves across that handsomebrow?’
Kage shot Arden a sharp, warning glance, but the Fae paid it no heed.
‘Defying an order is treason, Arden. You know the penalty.’
‘I didn’t defy it,’ Arden replied with a shrug. ‘I simply failed to execute it. A subtle but crucial distinction.’
‘It’s the same thing, and you bloody well know it.’
Arden rolled his green eyes, the picture of exasperated charm. ‘Well, perhaps it’s time someone rewrote the rule book. As it stands, it’s rather unfriendly.’ His gaze slid towards the woman now standing silently at Elric’s side. ‘Nymeria, you’re as ravishing as ever. Are those new blades? They suit you.’ His voice wavered slightly as she unsheathed twin knives that shimmered ominously beneath the light. ‘Perhaps now’s not the time to play, darling. Wouldn’t want any accidents, would we?’
She stepped towards him, the tip of one blade grazing the fabric of his trousers with the whisper of a threat.
‘The king wants your balls, Arden,’ Elric said, his voice cold. ‘For cowardice.’
Arden sighed dramatically. ‘I’ve never quite grasped the logic of linking bravery to testicles. I mean, yes, they have a tendency to shrivel in fear, but that hardly seems enough to condemn a man.’ He wriggled in his seat as Nymeria’s blades drifted closer. ‘Really, love, be a darling and put those away, won’t you?’
Elric’s attention shifted suddenly, leaving Arden to puff dramatically at the blade trailing his chest as though it were a flame he could extinguish with breath alone.
‘Why are you travelling with a wyverian?’ Elric asked, his tone shaded with genuine curiosity.
‘I’ve always fancied myself a personal guard,’ Arden replied lightly. ‘Boost my ego.’
Elric’s expression soured. ‘You know, Arden, you’re really not as amusing as you imagine yourself to be.’
‘Nymeria finds me hilarious,’ Arden quipped.
The three men turned to look at the woman. Nymeria responded only with a raised brow and then, without any emotion, drove one of her blades into Arden’s thigh. His mouth snapped shut, and his eyes flew open, gleaming with pain he did not dare voice.
‘Did you know,’ Elric said, voice almost wistful as he turned his focus back to Kage, ‘that we are taught to endure pain but never express it? They torture us, and the more we scream, the more inventive the torment becomes until eventually, silence becomes our shield.’ He lifted his hand, revealing the stumps where three fingers once were. ‘Guess who cut these off?’
Arden gave a long-suffering sigh. ‘Are you honestly still bringing that up? That was part of your sentence. I was merely following instructions.’
