“Hello? Who’s there?” she called again, her voice shaking with fear.
Raxx watched the faerie tense, preparing to run and he leapt into action. He reached out through the night, grasping her shoulder tightly. Lori sucked in a breath to scream but he silenced it with a large palm over her mouth.
“It’s alright, princess,” he murmured at her ear. “I mean you no harm.”
A string of muffled protests met him and Lori struggled in vain against his hold. He pulled her off her feet, dragging her physical presence into the shadow realm with him. Now neither of them would leave a trace, no one else would be able to track her back to Raxx and Faye.
Ignoring Lori’s thrashing and soft cries beneath his palm, the shadow demon manhandled her until he had a firm hold on the princess before darting back towards the camp.
His thoughts turned to Faye, sleeping soundly in her tent. A grin crept onto his face, perhaps this ‘gift’ could serve as an apology and convince her to start talking to him again. He doubted the sun sprite would wish for anything else in all Hestaesia right now, other than her sister being returned to her safely.
Fuelled by his desire to appease Faye, Raxx sprinted back towards their camp. It had been a long while since he had last travelled with such urgency and, even with Lori in tow, he leapt around the pines as they rushed through the forest.
Lori’s squirming stilled momentarily as she spotted the light from the fire through the trees. Though her breathing was ragged and irregular in her panic, the princess hung lifelessly within his grasp. Raxx leapt over a fallen log and skidded into the camp, materialising in time to spray snow into the fire. It hissed and crackled, wavering against the onslaught.
“Don’t scream or even think about running,” he murmured. Raxx lowered Lori to her feet and cautiously peeled his hand from her mouth.
The princess obeyed him, standing still and silent, frozen in terror. Raxx strode to Faye’s tent, not taking his eyes from Lori for a second. He crouched and peeled back the opening.
“Get up.”
The princess grumbled something incoherent.
“I’ve found Lori.”
Though it took a second for his statement to sink in, Raxx almost laughed when Faye sprang upright and clambered from beneath her blankets. He held the tent open for her as she crawled out into the snow.
“Faye?” Lori gasped and stumbled forwards as Faye leapt up. The sisters rushed to embrace one another.
Raxx got to his feet, watching the reunion. Neither faerie said anything for a long while, they simply held onto each other. The shadow demon stood patiently, waiting for the faeries to have their moment. When they finally pulled apart, both princesses sniffed and wiped their eyes.
“I can’t believe it,” Lori whispered. “What are you doing here? Why would you come after me like this?”
“You left with no explanation, just that note. Of course I came after you.” Faye grabbed her sister by her shoulders firmly. “What in all Hestaesia were you thinking, running away like that?”
“It’s complicated, Faye. I just couldn’t—”
“Nothing is ever so complicated you couldn’t come to me and Sivelle first, Lori!” Faye interrupted, sudden anger rising in her voice. Her hands tightened their grip on her sister. “We’ve been so worried about you.”
“Sivelle. Where is she?” Lori’s eyes widened.
“She stayed behind. You know father could never be mad at her. She decided to try and field some of the attention away from our absence until we can get back to Awrelwood.”
Raxx stilled. Faye thought she was going to be returning with her sister to the faerie capital? Even after everything she had seen? For the first time since they had met, Raxx felt truly deceitful. There was no way he was going to allow that to happen.
“I’m not going back,” Lori stated. Raxx turned his back on the princesses, feigning disinterest, but his eyebrows rose in surprise.
“What do you mean you’re not going back?” Faye’s voice was quiet.
“I can’t. Not ever. It’s a long story, but things have changed since I’ve been out here Faye, things you wouldn’t—”
“Please. Don’t even think about telling me I wouldn’t understand,” Faye replied bitterly.
“I’m sorry, but you wouldn’t. You shouldn’t have come after me, now father is going to…” Lori trailed off. There was a long tense silence. “You should have stayed with Sivelle. Father sent his men after me to kill me.”
Raxx turned to look back at the faeries. Faye stood, holding Lori’s hands in her own. Her wings fluttered; tension rolling off her.
“I dared not think it was true, but I know.”
