He knew the Nepheli were far ahead of them. Even without the half-day lead, travel was much easier by air than by elk through deep woods. Especially with the Nepheli mounted on eagans.
He had a lot of ground to cover and feared he’d be too late.
Chapter forty-two
Avery
“Wake up, witchy woman.” The owner of the smooth voice shook Avery hard on her shoulder.
Avery looked around her and felt a rising sense of panic. Her hands were tied behind her back. They also had tied her ankles. The bindings around her wrists and ankles sent an icy wave through her body that dulled the small drum of her magic. She was lying on cold, hard rock in what appeared to be a cave. The space was immense, some sort of enormous cavern. She saw out into the open air with a spine of mountains in the far distance. No trees skirted the entrance of the cave, making her think they were in a cavern along a cliffside.
While the cave was tall and wide, it did not seem to be deep. The dancing warmth of a fire heated her back. Voices in the cave echoed up into the domed ceiling.
The man who woke her up wasn’t in her line of sight, but she remembered those last moments of consciousness in the woods. The golden-winged fae. That was the owner of that honeyed whiskey voice. Avery rolled to her other side and looked at the fae male’s legs.
“Could you at least set me upright?” Avery asked. The man obliged without saying a word, lifting her up into a seated position. It surprised Avery that he listened to her request. “Considering I’m tied up like some captive, I didn’t expect that to work,” she said.
"Ah, well. Even captives can make requests," replied the captor. “Acknowledging if I will fulfill the request is a different matter entirely.”
Avery’s mind shot to Susan, Rue, and Weston. Were they still with her? Fear rattled her chest, her heart beating like a trapped animal.
“Where are my friends?” she rasped out. Her throat was so dry, her mind gummy. Her raging headache and dulled senses felt like she was experiencing the worst hangover of her life. “I need a drink and some medicine.”
“Your friends are sleeping. I was a bit surprised you woke up when I shook you. That burnout you suffered should have lasted more than just two days,” the man said.
“Two days!” Avery’s heartbeat sped up again. Her palms were sweaty, and a growing sense of panic filled her body.
“Yes, your friends have all been very concerned about your safety. Although we enjoyed that little surprise of having another human join us. How lucky am I? I seemed to have gotten a two-for-one on human captives,” the man said nonchalantly.
“How did you know that Susan is a human?” Avery asked.
“That is simple. The iron shackles we placed on her did not sizzle and cut into her skin like they did on your two other companions.”
Avery looked behind her and saw Weston. His wrists and ankles were bound by iron cuffs. The skin that touched the metal bled, a puddle of blood gathered under him. How could he be sleeping? Next to him in a heap were Rue and Susan. The metal cuffs had bloodied Rue's skin, too. Avery winced at the cold metal digging into her friend’s flesh.
Rylo grinned. The smile didn’t reach his cruel eyes. “We also found out how easy it is to coerce the truth from a human. Susan couldn’t control herself from spilling her secrets and yours while you slept.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“We know all about the control we can wield by giving you a bit of food or a drink. Susan tried as best as she could to stop herself, but thanks to her, we know all about your ability to draw on deep magic within Aeritis. I suspected it was you. After all, someone had to have helped Savine access that magic when he made his big show of strength. That thing he did with the trees and how he cut his own people down without touching them must have been delightful to behold!”
Avery’s cloudy head couldn’t keep up with all the information he dumped on her. She vaguely remembered the events that led up to her captivity, but the recesses of her mind were foggy.
“Whoareyou exactly?” she asked finally.
“How rude of me. I forgot you are the only person in Aeritis who would not recognize me. I am Rylo Finnian, King of Nephel. King of the Wind, Ruler of the Skies,” the haughty man said as he flared his golden feathered wings out like a bird showing off its plumage. Behind him, the other Nepheli glanced in his direction as he extended his wings. “This is quite refreshing… to not have my reputation precede me. Tell me, what did you notice first about me? My wit or my shockingly good looks?”
That ridiculous question was insulting. “Your vanity,” she said without hesitation.
“Ah ha!” he cackled. “No one has had the nerve to point that out in our first acquaintance. How refreshing! And I have the distinct advantage of knowing all aboutyou, Avery Hollis of Montana. Including your little dalliance with the Prince of Latiah. That’s what’s gotten you into this mess. Savine may have his tree spies, but I have the birds of the sky at my disposal. And believe me, birds are much better at chatting.”
As if his mind made a seamless jump from one train of thought to another, Rylo’s grin transformed into a sinister grin. “I know! Let’s play a game. You have three friends here with you. I think that was too considerate of me to bring that many companions along. So, let’s see… Who are you choosing to execute? Pick one. It’s your choice. Sweet Susan, our new human companion? Weston, the brave, yet bull-headed guard, or Rue. What a delightful little shifter!”
Cold sweat seeped across Avery’s body. What the fuck was this nutcase talking about now?
She had been taken captive by a psychopathic fairy.
“Kill? Why would I choose one of them for you to kill?” Avery asked. She needed to keep him talking, distracted, while she decided what to do next.
