“Th-that’s very presumptuous to assume I’ll ever have freedom,” the princess argued, brushing non-existent debris from her knees.
“I never presume anything, my dear.” Tabitha fixed Faye with a cool, steady expression. “Once you are free, we will pick up more regular lessons but for the time being, we will have to make do with these fleeting night time visits.”
“Do I get a say in any of this?” Faye asked.
“No.”
Tabitha turned her attention to Raxx. “It is imperative I get as much time with her as possible, Del’Raxxin. Ensure this for me and I will work on a solution to your ‘intimacy’ issues with her.”
“What the fuck is going on, Tabitha? That was unnecessary.”
“On the contrary, sweet demon, it was wholly necessary. Bring her to me again tomorrow night, I insist.”
“Fine, but you owe me a huge explanation.”
“Why are you just staring at one another? What is happening?” Faye’s voice was tense.
“It’s been lovely to meet you at last, Faye,” Tabitha purred. “Until next time.”
“But I don’t--”
Faye was still spluttering with confusion as Raxx grasped her elbow and prepared to teleport them back to the cell. His majick protested as he summoned the last drudges of energy he had.
With one last push, the witch’s office disappeared. Raxx felt his majick disintegrate part-way through the incantation. It wasn’t going to be enough. He focussed his energy on the closest full runic spell he knew of – his room.
Raxx held onto Faye tightly as they crashed onto the hard, wooden floorboards. Exhaustion consumed him until he could fight it no longer.
Chapter Sixteen
Faye cracked her eyes open with a groan. Her body ached, cold and bruised from smashing into the hard, wooden floor.
It was dark. Faye fought to get to her feet, but an invisible weight pinned her down. Her struggling grew ever more frantic as she felt panic creeping into her chest and she gasped for breath.
The princess had a sudden flashback. She had been young, perhaps four or five, when she was caught by one of her mother’s maids using her majick to paint pictures on the wall of her bedroom. Her mother had been furious – at the time, Faye hadn’t understood why but it occurred to her now it was perhaps the use of majick that had unnerved her mother, not so much the mess she had made on the wall. The maid had dragged Faye down a corridor and had thrown her into a broom closet. Faye could still feel the spiders and their webs crawling over her in the darkness as she had sobbed for forgiveness.
Without warning, majick bloomed to life in her palms. Several spheres of light went shooting across the room. Faye watched with wide eyes as they split from one another, crashing with a shower of sparks into each of the candlesticks dotted around the room.
Faye squinted against the glow and struggled up onto her elbow. She was back in Raxx’s home.
The heavy weight that had been suffocating her remained, still pushing her back down into the floorboards. She turned her head, surprised to see a pair of large, black wings splayed out over her and out across the floor. The claw at the tip of one of them had scratched a deep furrow into the wood in a valiant, yet vain, attempt to save their fall.
“Raxx?” Faye swept her hair from her face as she wormed her way out from beneath the demon’s wings.
Raxx was out cold, face down on the floor beside her. A side table, which was once stacked high with books, lay on its side. Large tomes and dusty parchment lay scattered around them. Their landing had been less than elegant.
Faye crawled free from beneath the demon’s heavy wings and hurried to assess his condition. She brought her face cautiously down towards Raxx’s own, relieved when she felt a soft, warm puff of breath against her cheek.
“You’re not dead at least,” she muttered to herself.
Touching her caused him pain. Keen not to cause him any further harm, Faye glanced around the small living space to look for something else to use to rouse the demon that didn’t involve physical contact.
She got to her feet and hurried over to a rusted sink at the corner of the room. Beside it sat the glasses she and Raxx had drunk from the night before. She grasped one and scooped a small amount of water into it before kneeling beside the demon once more.
Faye took the tips of her glove between her teeth, tugged it free and dipped her fingertips into the water. Gently, she flicked small beads of water into the demon’s face and braced for a reaction. When none came, she tried again.
“Wake up, Raxx,” she murmured, gritting her teeth as she flicked another small handful of water at him. Still nothing. With an aggravated sigh, Faye placed the glass down and stared dumbfounded at the demon splayed out in front of her.
He must have hit his head as he landed – and pretty hard if he was still unconscious. Just as Faye reached out to shake the demon, she hesitated and retracted her hand, realising just in time that her hand was still bare.
