“Oh, now I almost want to see what she’d do if you let her run into something.” The female barked, laughing. I turned my glare to where I thought she might be based on her voice, but she only chuckled in response.
“You’re pretty gutsy.” She giggled. “Most humans we bring in take a while to open up to us, but you seem to not be afraid of the Fae. Especially if you tried to stab our king.” Her tone was more curious than anything, so I sighed loudly, listening as it echoed around the tight space.
“I’ve always had an issue controlling my anger.” I admitted. “I refuse to cower before the Fae just because they think themselves superior. Plus, while most Fae seem to be terrible, I’ve recently found out there’s a couple good ones out there.” Thinking of Kian cemented that fact, even if I was unsure of the ones with me.
“I think we’re going to get along fantastically.” The female chimed, cheerful and upbeat. Although I couldn’t see her, I could imagine the smile she was wearing as she said it.
“Just what we need, another Harpina.” A male voice snorted, who I was pretty sure was the redheaded warrior.
“Oi!” She protested. “You’d be lucky as shit to have another me! At least we don’t have to deal with anotheryou. The whole kingdom would run to the nearest shore.” I couldn’t help the giggle that rose up in my throat and spilled out of my mouth.
I felt Calix squeeze my hand, “Ignore those two. They’re like small children, they can never stop arguing over something.Anything,really.” He groaned. A smile twitched at the corners of my mouth, but I forced it back down. I didn’t know these people, I only knew their brutal reputation. Nothing made sense at the moment, and I needed to figure out what was going on and why. That had to be my focus.
That, and finding my friends.
“My—my friends.” I gasped, tugging Calix’s hand. “Priscilla and—”
“We’ve got them.” One of the men behind me answered. “One a bit less willingly than the other, unfortunately.” His tone was grim, and I knew instantly that Emmie had fought them. My eyes closed momentarily, useless in the darkness. I could only hope that Eris and I could coax Emmie back from this attachment she’d formed to the king. He was no good for her—for anyone.
We walked through the cold passageways, down and down and down. A chill crept over me as we walked. Every time fear tried to take me, Calix was there—squeezing my hand, joking with the others. It somehow managed to calm me enough to make it through. When we came to the door at the end, I nearly wept in relief. The brunette man slammed the door open and we all walked out of the dark passageway.
I blinked, the lights from the city near blinding after such encompassing darkness. Thankfully, the city was blanketed by the darkness of night. Courtesy of the man beside me, so at least the sun wasn’t there to scorch my eyes. I watched in awe as more darkness came spilling from Calix, surrounding us as we began to walk swiftly away from the palace.
Calix looked down at me, andOld Gods, I hadn’t truly appreciated how tall he was before. He definitely had a foot on me at least. I was fairly short, just a couple inches above five feet, but he had to be well over six feet. Probably several inches above it if I had to guess.
“We need to get out of the city.” Calix declared. “The darkness will mask our escape.” The joking king from the passageway was gone, replaced with a much more determined one. “Eryx, go find Titan. Let him know we’ve got Asteria, and we’ll meet them outside the city.” The brunette, Eryx apparently, nodded sharply before he transformed into a hawk before my very eyes. My jaw dropped, not only at getting to witness another shift—but because Iknewthis hawk.
He trilled at me as he passed overhead and flew into the darkness surrounding us.
“Did you have him spying on me?!” I demanded, whipping my head toward Calix.
“I’ll explain when we’re safe.” The king grunted in return, and I grumbled, but followed along.
Calix let go of my hand to draw his sword and covered me as we began moving swiftly out of the city, where we’d apparently meet up with the rest of his army. I knew he could fly, he was a royal after all, so if he really needed to get us out, he could. I realized that he’d have to leave people behind in that case, and I softened a bit, knowing this meant he was unwilling to leave any of his people behind at Dusk’s mercy. They didn’t have any, and he likely knew that well.
I tried my best to keep up with my shorter human legs, but I inevitably lagged behind. The Fae with me refused to let me get far from them thankfully. One of them was always behind me, another beside me—and when whoever was leading noticed, they slowed notably to match my pace. It made me feel sort of guilty for holding them back.
I sighed in relief as I caught sight of the city gates looming ahead. As we passed through, I paused in horror, the bodies of fallen guards littered the gates. Reminding me, I was surrounded by Fae with a brutal reputation for a reason. I was quickly moved along, and I swallowed bile as I skirted around all of the bodies.
“They wouldn’t have let you go, nor would they have protected you or the other humans here.” The red headed man said, recognizing my discomfort.
I glanced over at him. There was a compassionate look in his eye, one that was rare in the Fae from my experience. I was beginning to think these Fae were nothing like those I had encountered before. I nodded my understanding; well aware these guards would never have let me leave. Some of these same guards stood and watched as humans were beaten or killed. Just because there were one or two good ones, didn’t mean the rest were anything but awful. Though I did say a prayer to the Old Gods that the guard who tried to help me, who armed me with a dagger, was nowhere nearby.
Outside the city,several horses were waiting. Calix gestured me over to a beautiful black war horse with a silver mane and tail. It whinnied as we approached and Calix hushed it, running a hand down its neck and whispering to it.
“You’ll ride with me.” Calix turned to me, holding out a hand. I glanced to see the others already mounting up, so I swallowedhard, trying to bury my nerves. Calix smiled softly, one side of his mouth tipping up.
“Never ridden before?” He asked quietly.
I shook my head, looking at the giant creature he expected me to get on. It was absolutely a powerful warhorse, made for fighting with huge muscular legs that hit the ground at random intervals, making me twitch. I nearly screeched as Calix’s hands circled my waist, lifting me up and putting me in the saddle. I looked around with wide eyes from my new vantage point, trying to stay perfectly still.
“Relax.” Calix chuckled, mounting up behind me. “The horse can feel your emotions. If you’re nervous, you’ll make her nervous. You’re perfectly safe.”
“We’ll see about that.” I scoffed. Calix huffed a small laugh, while Harpina began cackling in the background. Calix’s arm banded around my waist and pulled me into his body, forcing me to relax into him. Except it did the opposite of relaxing me. His body curved around mine, pressing into me as he leaned forward, gripping the reins. His breath was in my ear. His firm chest was against my back. His arms and scent surrounded me. His legs bracketed my hips and I felt a distinct hardness pressed against my backside. What felt like pure energy radiated out from every place he touched me, like sparks were going to catch any moment.
Calix snapped the reins with a kick, and the horse took off through the woods. I held on for dear life to the saddle, a plush black leather that was rapidly being marked up by the indents of my nails. A husky chuckle in my ear distracted me from tearing the leather to shreds. I turned my head to look back at Calix, and I was surprised to find his face all but pressed against mine. His mouth close enough I inhaled the breath he exhaled. Deep inside, I wanted to close that distance. Something in me sang forhis darkness and wanted it closer. I didn’t like not knowing why, so I shoved the strange feeling down deep.
I’d had more than enough Fae men ruining my life, thank you very much.
