“Princess,” I growled.
“Hunter,” she growled back, her pale eyes flashing. She drew her own knife, much smaller than mine but still deadly.
“Get back on the stag,” I bit out.
“No. Without you, I have no chance of getting into the palace.Youget on the stag.”
“You don’t even know what this creature is! It’ll kill you in seconds.”
She offered a wry smile. “Your faith in me is touching. Really.”
“I’m not kidding, Eira. You have to get out of here.”
“You two are both fools.” Mauro pawed the ground nervously.
“Get to safety,” Eira whispered, brushing her hand down the length of his nose. “I’ll call for you when we’re free.”
Mauro snorted and ducked his head. “Don’t die, Snow.” With those parting words, he took off into the forest. Seconds later, an eerie black mist pooled into the wood, obscuring our surroundings. I knew only from her frightened, trembling breaths that the Snow Princess remained beside me.
“It’s a Demon Fae, isn’t it?” Her words were tinged with horror.
I frowned. Most fae believed the Demon Fae were a myth, something told to children in bedtime stories to frighten them into obedience. Just like fae beasts.
The genuine terror in her voice piqued my interest. Had she encountered a Demon Fae before? I made a mental note to interrogate her later.
I tightened my grip on my daggers as darkness flooded the forest. When it had once been bright as midday, now it was dark as midnight, with no moon to light our path. “TheDemon Fae often inhabit abandoned woods like these. I should have been more alert.” If I hadn’t been so distracted by efforts to torment the princess, I would have been able to sense it sooner.
Now, we would likely both die.
“How do we kill it?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve never done it before. Watch out for their claws; they are poisonous. They are weakest in the eyes.”
“Does iron work on them?”
I turned to her, though I couldn’t make out her expression. “Yes. But it works on us, too. If it takes your weapon from you, it can kill you with it.”
I felt her shudder beside me as a low hiss erupted from within the darkness.
I crouched to one knee, pressing my hand against the snowy ground to anchor myself. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, trusting my remaining senses. A foul stench filled my nostrils, growing stronger with every second.
“They can see in the dark,” I warned the princess. “Our only hope is to distract it. Keep it confused.”
“What if there’s more than one?”
“They are nomadic and live in isolation. If there is another, they will fight each other before coming for us.”
“Well, that’s something.”
How the hell could she be optimistic at a time like this? I was about to snap at her when a blast of a sharp, eye-watering aroma filled my nose, making me choke on my words.
“Down!” I roared.
The princess dropped to the ground beside me just as something lunged, a deep growl rumbling around us.Keeping my eyes closed, I inhaled deeply, then slashed when the same pungent smell surrounded me. I barely nicked the creature, but it still hissed in fury. Hot breath blew against my face, and I jumped backward to avoid getting skewered by its claws.
The creature roared, incensed by my evasion tactics. Instinct had me opening my eyes, but darkness still surrounded me. I shut them again, but my hesitation cost me. Something huge barreled into me, slamming me backward until I collided with the trunk of a tree. I groaned as I crumpled in the snow, my ribs on fire.
I sensed the creature moving closer. I shoved myself backward, rolling in the snow, my shoulders bumping against roots and rocks. The Demon Fae crashed into the tree, and it snapped. Branches fell around me, and I scrambled to dodge the debris. Something small and hard knocked against my skull, and I staggered backward.
