Eira screamed, and instinct had me lunging toward the sound, slamming into the large form of the beast. I tackled it to the ground, dragging it in what I hoped was the opposite direction of the princess.
The foul stench assaulted my nostrils as I blindly slashed with both daggers. The creature shrieked, the sound high and shrill. It burned against my ears, but I struck again. The beast’s cry was a survival instinct meant to ward off attackers with the intensity of it.
But I was undeterred. I swung and sliced, choking on the putrid smell, ignoring my instincts to flee. The creature wailed as my blade met flesh. Hot liquid gushed along my arms.
Something sharp pierced my gut, and I roared, my senses overpowered by the pain. I fell backward, and the creaturepawed at me again, its claws grazing my shoulder. The acid of its poison scorched my blood. I cried out again, the anguished sound ripping at my throat as I rolled onto my back, my body consumed by agony.
A turmoil of pain and fury burst within me, and something exploded from my chest. The ground seemed to rumble from the impact of my wound. I knew nothing but torment. My blood boiled, and fire raced along my veins, slicing me open from the inside out.
Never in my life had I known such pain.
Everything went still. At first, I thought I’d blacked out. But then, the creature released a hoarse wheeze, as if it were gasping for breath.
The princess let out a furious shout, and the Demon Fae released a high-pitched squeal. I heard the distinct sound of flesh tearing open. More liquid gushed, drenching me completely. The Demon Fae choked and gurgled, and I realized Eira must have sliced its neck open.
Something heavy collapsed beside me. Then, utter silence filled the forest. My blood still on fire, I blinked slowly as the darkness in the woods receded, allowing light to bleed through.
Clutching at the bleeding wound in my gut, I rolled over to inspect the dark creature that had attacked us. I had never seen one of the beasts before; my only encounter had been brief, and I’d fled the darkness before it could catch me. As I drew closer to the body, my breath stuttered in shock.
It was a man. He had pointed ears, light brown hair, and all-black eyes that stared up into nothingness. Long, black claws extended from his fingers, some of them coated with blood.Myblood. Across his throat was a jagged bloody gash, no doubt where the princess had slit his throat.
Eira’s eyes were wide, her face paler than death, as she stared at the dead creature in horror. Black blood stained her neck and the left side of her face.
“He… looks seelie.” I swallowed down the bile that crept up my throat. “The Demon Fae look just likeus.”
We decidedto bury the Demon Fae. We didn’t want anyone else stumbling upon it—or worse, another Demon Fae to appear, drawn by the smell of blood.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to do about the bloodstains on our clothes. I used my waterskin to clean the black blood off my skin, but the hunter was covered in it. And it mingled with his own blood, which stained his clothes and hands crimson. He tried to stifle the bleeding, but he was losing too much.
I whistled for Mauro, and he arrived within seconds.
“Shivering bones, you survived,” he breathed. His dark eyes fixed on Theron. “Oh no…”
“He’s been poisoned,” I said, wiping sweat from my brow. My hand came back slick with inky blood. “How far are we from the nearest village?”
“I’m fine,” the hunter growled. “We need to find a river or stream to clean the rest of this blood. Otherwise we’ll attract other fae beasts.”
“He’s right.” Mauro pawed nervously at the ground. “If we head for town, we’ll only draw the creatures there.”
“But everything is frozen this time of year,” I argued. “We won’t find any bodies of water nearby.”
“How did you kill it?” Theron’s gaze was pinned on me, his coal-black eyes full of accusation.
I glared at him. “Can we discuss this later? You’re dying.”
“If you have magic that can help us?—”
“I don’t have any magic that can cure you! And that’s our most pressing concern. So will you shut up and let me think?” The last thing I wanted to do was attract attention to my powers of invisibility. I dug through my pack and thrust a sparkwood apple toward the hunter. “Eat this.”
He waved it away. “No.”
“Eat it. You need your strength.”
“I need a healer, not a damn apple!” he snapped.
Groaning, I shoved the apple back into my bag.Stubborn ass.
“The pixies,” Theron said, his breath winded. “They have healing powers. There are colonies of them that live in the mountains.”
