“Then I cannot allow you to do this. You’re already risking more than enough for me. I can’t ask you to do this for the sake of birthday wishes,” Faye cried.
“Can I be frank for just a moment, princess?” Raxx stated plainly. The faerie nodded and he continued. “What we have already done is enough to have me executed three times over. We’re past putting me at risk.”
“I had never considered...” she trailed off.
Raxx grabbed his undergarments from the floor and pulled them on, before standing to search through the mess on his side stand. He produced a battered feather quill and a ripped piece of parchment and held them out to Faye.
“Keep it short and don’t sign your name, just in case the message gets intercepted,” he instructed.
“Raxx, I can’t. I—” Faye took the items from him, but stared down at them in her hands. Her mouth opened and closed as she battled with indecision.
“Under normal circumstances it would be challenging, but the king is away from Banesteppe. With the compound uninhabited, no one will know I was there. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’mverygood at being covert,” Raxx teased before his tone fell serious. “This is your only chance.”
Faye laughed and wiped another tear from her cheek. The princess hesitantly nodded and lifted her knees to rest the parchment against them. Quill in hand, she stroked the feather, searching for the right words.
Raxx sat quiet and patient at the edge of the bed, until the nib of the quill began scratching. With a small smile, he turned away and began to dress.
As instructed, Faye had kept her note short. She eventually handed the parchment back to him and Raxx glanced down at it.
‘Happy thirtieth birthday, to the best big sister anyone could ask for. We love you so much. We are safe and working on a way to smuggle a proper letter to you. All our love, L&F xxx’
The shadow demon nodded briskly and ripped the message from the large sheet. He blew on the ink to ensure it was dry before rolling it between his fingers.
He strode over to his tunic and tucked the message safely into one of the pockets. “I will head to the king’s quarters right after I leave you in the morning. I need some more information from you first.”
Faye sat up. “Anything.”
“Where will the bird find your sister?” Raxx asked.
The princess shot him a confused glance. “I thought it already knew the way?”
“He knows the way to Awrelwood. I will need to provide direction from there,” he explained.
“And the bird will understand that?”
Raxx nodded.
“Incredible. Well, my sisters and I lived in our father’s castle, but not in the main wing. Your bird will have to fly due West from there. He will see a tall tower, with a darker slate roof than the others. There are three separate balconies – Sivelle’s is the far left.”
The shadow demon nodded, making a mental note of the instruction.
Faye clambered up onto her knees and sniffed. “You have no idea how much this means to me, Raxx.”
Feeling awkward, the shadow demon simply shrugged, stooping to collect his shirt from the floor where he had thrown it in the midst of passion.
“Come, Tabitha will be waiting on us.”
∞∞∞
The morning was crisp and clear as Raxx hurried from the cells across the courtyard to King Zelrus’s compound. There had been a fresh layer of snowfall overnight, yet the shadow demon left no trace behind as he approached.
Hidden away in the shadow realm, Raxx gained access to the building effortlessly. He sailed past the guards posted beside the locked doors without a second thought.
It was cold and dark inside without the fireplace alight in the main hall. Raxx bounded up the staircase. His warm breath fogged before his eyes as he solidified his presence, standing in the centre of the king’s study.
The large wooden desk had been cleared of all paperwork before Zelrus had made his departure. It looked unusual without the mountains of parchment the shadow demon was accustomed to seeing stacked on top of it.
Raxx found his eyes drawn to the candlestick, returned to its rightful position on the mantle above another dark, cold fireplace. He could still see the surprise and dread on the Lephas’s face as the king hurled it in his direction.
