by Allie Santos
“Fine. Before I go.” She turned to pierce me with her hateful gaze. “The kindling you collected, put it in the hole you dug up and start your fire. You wouldn’t want to freeze to death.” With that, she smiled cruelly and flounced into her dome tent.
What a psycho piece of work. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Roark rub his temple, his lips pressed into a thin line. If I had ever seen the image of stress, it was him.
He strode to the scattered wood and dumped it in the hole I had dug. With a wave of his hand, a roaring fire appeared.
I limped to the flames and let it warm me, grudgingly mouthing, “Thank you,” when I caught his gaze. His eyes met mine in a clash and held. There was confusion under all that coldness. I could see it in his posture and the indecisive way he held himself.
His head tilted, and he straightened. He hesitated a second but moved stiffly to the dome tent. Moments later, his tall shadow joined Sabine inside the yellow-lit tent. My eyebrows flicked together when Sabine’s shadow approached him. I watched their forms from my spot on the ground.
She slid her arms around him and murmured, “I’ll relax you.” I could hear the wicked smile in her tone. There wasn’t much I could do but listen considering how close I was to the tent, but I wanted to turn away and cover my ears. A dark, forbidding sense seeped into me.
I cleared my throat and adjusted my posture, so it was less uncomfortable on the hard snow. I brought my ankle closer to me and massaged it gently. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the outlines of their shadows. As their lips met, my mouth fell open in astonishment. Seconds later, he tore away from her and snarl something at her in a different language. These creatures were odd.
She laughed, and the outline of her hand moved down. She expelled a light sigh when she slid in a short upward motion and back down again. My tongue flicked out of my suddenly dry mouth as my breath quickened with the realization of what was happening.
His hand reached up and grabbed her shoulder, and a part of me expected him to push her away for some reason… but he didn’t.
There was more fondling, and his head remained in its rigid posture as she throatily murmured soft, foreign words.
I felt weightless and detached as I watched, wanting to turn away but unable to peel my gaze from their shadowy outlines. I didn’t want this to be happening, but at the same time, I did.
In fact, I wanted to take her place.
What the hell was wrong with me? I wanted to be her. It was stupid and gross, considering what was unfolding before me. But I couldn’t shake the desire for those hands. I wanted them to touch me and grab me roughly as he turned me around and bent me over.
He grabbed her neck and pressed her face into the bed. With swift movements, he tugged her pants down and with the other released his girth. I saw his large outline as he speared into her. Her back arched, and she moaned.
I swallowed harshly again as their outlines writhed in the shadow of the light. Her head tilted, and I could almost feel her mocking gaze. She wanted me to be watching. She wanted me to know she’d seen my desire for him.
A soft whine escaped me, and the sharp pain that had been building registered in the place that was undoubtedly my soul.
His hips paused in their thrusting, and I could have sworn he growled in anger as he continued pounding into Sabine. Harder and faster. The slapping sounded like a beating, and I curled onto my side.
I couldn’t stop the tears that seeped from my eyes and trailed down my cheeks. My throat felt choked and devoid of oxygen.
Right then, I knew one thing for sure: No one was going to save me. The one bit of hope I had let myself feel extinguished.
I whimpered for a very different reason than Sabine and scooted closer to the fire. I tucked my hands into my armpits and curled into a tight ball, escaping hell by closing my eyes and welcoming darkness.
4
I woke surprisingly warm. For a long moment, I simply lay there, enjoying the warmth. Then the rumbling in my stomach clued me into the reality that I hadn’t eaten in a full day. My hand twitched, and I was about to stretch when I registered what had woken me.
Two distinct voices, a male and a female. My body tensed on instinct when I realized everything that had happened wasn’t a dream. The hard ground and the conversation clued me in on that. Trying not to move as they talked, I squeezed my eyes shut. Sightless, I absorbed their rushed words and tried to make sense of them
“You weren’t supposed to grab any vermin. We agreed that you’d wait for me,” Roark growled at Sabine from inside the tent, a few feet away.
“Well, I had no idea when you’d return. Or how long that bitch Queen would keep you running around doing her bidding. It’s bad enough she took magic away, but she has you serving as her personal pet?” There was a crazy edge to Sabine’s words as she ranted. “At her beck and call? It’s like she’s trying to rub everything in your face.”
There was a grunt. “We can’t have her doubting my loyalty. She doesn’t know who I am. Regardless, we won’t have to deal with her much longer. Her end is imminent,” Roark said in an offhand tone.
Tingling spread up the side I was lying on as feeling started to return. My eyes focused against the blinding rays from above, and I wiggled my toes and blinked quickly. A sharp pain shot up the leg that had been broken last night, and an uncomfortable ache settled in. The conversation the two Fae were having paused as I sat up.
Stilling, I cursed inside my head. I was trying to be quiet, and I’d already managed to rustle the grass around me. Considering all their other attributes, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had super hearing.
Wait. Grass? I shot up and looked around. Every inch of the ground was no longer covered in snow. Light shone through the towering trees as they waved in the light breeze. My eyes felt like they were about to pop out of my head as I whipped my head around and took in everything. Green. Bright. Beautiful.
Looking closer at the trees, I realized what I had thought was bark was actually more vine-like. The trunks were green and thick, similar to a stem of a flower. Even the leaves were varying vibrant colors I had never seen. Purples, reds, oranges, blues, and all sorts of shades in between. Everything was sharply brilliant.
I turned my face up toward the light filtering through the vine-looking trees. My cheeks felt the sting of the cold. There was a slight chill to the air, and it was made worse by my damp top. My waist was warmed by a blanket that had fallen down my hips. I pulled it around my shoulders as my stomach growled again.
Tensing, I gripped the material that looked incapable of providing any warmth, let alone the kind of comfort I felt. It was so thin that if I squinted enough, I could see through it. Trying not to think too far into the small blessing, I shook off the how of it and thanked my lucky stars that I had it. Otherwise, I was sure I would’ve lost appendages.
“It’s awake,” Sabine said in a singing voice, and they strode out of the tent.
I glanced up at them in the light of day, and a gasp escaped my lips. Wow. I knew Sabine was gorgeous, but her features seemed enhanced in the daylight. But as beautiful as she was, it was as if my eyes had a mind of their own as they stuck on Roark. I soaked him up in his black clothing—long pants and a long-sleeved top. It looked like featureless leather material similar to the ones Sabine wore. No, the exact same as hers. But he wore it a million times better.
It fitted to an amazingly tall body. My mouth dried as I checked him out. They were tight to his form, tailored to fit him perfectly. My gaze roved up to find his expressionless face as he looked at me and then flicked his gaze away.
I yanked my traitorous eyes down at my feet. Why was I attracted to him? He was a monster. I literally saw him have sex with another woman mere feet away from me. Oh, and he was with her. Mates or engaged, or however their type explained it. The fact of it was, he wasn’t available. And he wasn’t even my species.
My brain was so involved with its little tirade that I didn�
��t realize Sabine had approached me until she grabbed the edge of my blanket and yanked it from me. She held it up and inhaled with a long drag, her lip curling and her hand fisting.
I clutched the other end of the blanket closer, preparing to put up a fight in case she tried to tear it out of my hands. I’d fight to the death for this warmth that had protected me through the night.
“You manifested a witch charmed blanket,” she said slowly. “Stop using your magic on this worthless thing.” Sabine whirled on Roark.
He didn’t even twitch. Just continued to stare back at her. Sabine huffed as if she were used to this treatment. I watched from the corner of my sight as she let my blanket go, slithered over to him, and caressed his chest. Her entire personality changing.
“Always so practical,” she purred, looking up at him hungrily. “Of course, we have to keep her alive for her to be utilized.”
Sabine got on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. I hung my head just in case they did things that would make me sick. There was a swish, and I glanced up to see the tent collapse into itself and revert to its former scrap. Sabine flounced to it and shoved it into the thin bag hanging across her chest. It was then that I noticed a sharp knife attached to her hip, blending in with the material of her clothing. It was nowhere near as large as the one Roark had strapped to him, but it was no less intimidating.
“Time to catch the next ingredient,” Sabine said cheerfully. She dug into her bag and pulled out a scroll of paper. “According to the Hag, the next human should be in Boyd, Texas.”
“Joy,” Roark said expressionlessly.
I didn’t know what it was that caused my reaction. Maybe the obvious sarcasm. Or the oxymoron he presented at that moment. Or even the ridiculousness of my situation, which had built hysteria within me. Whatever it was, the next thing I knew, a giggle escaped my throat. His head turned to me, and I saw honest shock written on his face, while Sabine had the threat of death on hers. I coughed into my hand and looked down.
“Congrats, you’ll be the first human going through a portal while conscious,” she said in a high-pitched voice. I blinked at her and said nothing, pulling the blanket over my head like a hood. “Let’s get trekking.”
Portal? I knew I was no longer in Oregon. The strange trees and odd animals had clued me in on that. Was I in another dimension or another world entirely? My hope at escaping fizzled out. There really was no way out for me.
Roark strode off. Sabine flounced after him and easily kept even with his pace. I followed after them, and as soon as I took a step, my leg hitched. My throat closed up as I took another step. My gait wasn’t normal. It was hampered by a limp. I gasped, realizing the crazy Fae had screwed me up.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I looked down at my feet, watching the awkwardness of my steps. Pressure built in my chest. I glanced up and saw their forms far from me already, saw the cocky swing of Sabine’s hips, and choked down the sob that wanted to escape.
I couldn’t let myself cry. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. Swallowing my agony, I quickened my limp to catch up with them. It still wasn’t enough. Not long after, they realized I was a half-mile behind them. I was huffing harshly to catch up. Roark’s shoulders tensed, and Sabine whirled around and glared.
When they blurred and were suddenly next to me in the next instant, I jumped back, startled at the overt reminder of their lack of humanity. I tried to shuffle back, but a rough hand wrapped around my arm, and a squeak of pain escaped my lips. Roark scowled and released me as if I had burned him.
“I’m going to have to carry her, aren’t I,” he bit out.
I took a wobbly step back at his tone and squeezed my lips together. Sabine let out an irritated sigh. Seconds later, I found myself over her shoulder, staring at the back of her knees. Blood quickly rushed to my head and it only got worse as they started walking.
“Remind me why we can’t run to the portal before it closes?”
“Humans are too fragile and if we run with them for long, they’ll bleed internally,” Roark said as if he’d had to remind her often. That made sense. It was like my gut flew into my throat when he’d used that speed while holding me and that was for a split second. It was good to know that I really would have imploded if he’d kept going.
“Technically, she may not—” Sabine started, but Roark interrupted her before she completed her sentence.
“We don’t know how circumstances affect her durability.” They fell silent.
I wasn’t what? I hated being talked about as if I wasn’t here, but I wanted to know what they wanted with me. My only hope was that they’d offhandedly mention it, because I wasn’t about to risk my throat being torn out for asking.
Her bony shoulder perpetually jabbed my empty, hungry stomach. I drew in a sharp breath and it seemed to give Sabine pleasure because she added a little hop to her stride that sent her shoulder deeper into my tummy. From then on, I held my gasps in, muffling the ones that wanted to escape. The silence went on for a while longer until Roark’s deep voice broke it.
“How many more girls do we have left to capture?”
“One. Not counting this one, but to be safe, we’re fetching an extra.” There was a smile in her reply. Girls. There were more girls they had abducted. For what? Oh, God, this was premeditated. What if it was trafficking? Like some supernatural ring of trafficking.
Nausea rose in my belly, having nothing to do with my empty stomach. What if they made me a sex slave? Oh, God. Oh, God. I was a freaking virgin for God’s sake! It would kill me. Sure, I’d been close to the business with Jeff, but we hadn’t actually gotten to it. If I was sold and forced, God…
What did Fae have any business buying human girls for sex, anyway? These two seemed disgusted by my humanness, so maybe I was wrong. I’d never hoped to be wrong about something so hard in my life. Another whimper escaped me. There was a pinch on my numb leg that I barely felt.
“Shut up,” Sabine spat. I concentrated back on their conversation with my heart pounding.
“Hag said the offering shouldn’t take long. If all goes as planned and the prophesy is as we think, we must prepare for battle. While they reel over the return of magic, we attack full force,” Roark said, an edge to his voice.
Without warning, I was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Grunting, I rubbed my hip and glanced up. Sabine stepped up to Roark and tried to touch his face, but he evaded her fingers. She settled them on his shoulders.
“I will help you, my love. You will regain your rightful place,” she said and squeezed his shoulders.
Roark’s face showed the first hint of emotion, one that seemed at home on his face. Greed. A shiver of apprehension ran down my spine. The downfall of many. I got to my feet, shaking the numbness out of my body, and ignored the twist of hunger.
Roark gave a curt nod, his eyes already far away. “I want to be done with this.” He turned around and faced… nothing but trees.
“I’ll go forward first. We both know my mind is the saner of us,” Sabine said, cackling.
At that announcement, my spine straightened. God, she was the sane one? I was doomed. With an emphasis on fucked.
“You’ll have to hold that,” she continued, waving in my direction. I winced at the disgusted glance Roark shot me.
Contrary to the disgust on his face, when he gripped under my legs and behind my shoulders, it was with a gentleness that took my breath away. His fingers curled into my clothing as he took my weight. One of my arms went behind his head, near the hilt of the dangerous-looking weapon. I fisted a hand at his back and the other at the front of his shirt.
Clutching the blanket to me, I was comfortable for the first time in what felt like ages, which was surprising considering how hard his arms looked.
“Let’s go,” Sabine said and walked forward.
There was a disturbance in the air, and she nodded with a sly smile. I looked up and saw two pairs of twined trees curling into each other like lovers to meet one an
other. It created a large archway that would only be noticed if you were paying close enough attention. It was well camouflaged by the backdrop of the trees.
She held her hand out to Roark. He hesitated and then shifted to hold me with one arm. I could tell by the look Sabine sent me as her hand grasped his that she blamed his hesitation on me. She was a lunatic. I tried to nestle closer to Roark—Mr. Lesser-evil—without her notice.
Somehow holding up my by-no-means-petite body, he stepped forward, following her. From one moment to the next, it was freezing. My body shook uncontrollably. I tucked my stiff face into the crook of Roark’s neck, seeking shelter from the onslaught of the lashing cold. Roark tensed and relaxed just as quickly, thankfully not protesting when my cold nose grazed his neck.
That I hadn’t felt this icy chill when she brought me through was telling. It wasn’t that snowy Oregon weather had turned me into an icicle, because I’d never felt a sensation like this. No—I hadn’t felt it because she’d punched my lights out before she took me through the portal.
In comparison to this cold, I think I preferred the punch. I didn’t look up until the cold subsided. Roark didn’t put me down as I had expected. Lifting my head from Roark’s neck, I blinked as I took the surroundings in. It only pushed home that I was dealing with supernatural shit.
Tears prickled my eyes as I recognized everything, and I realized how different the human world was compared to their world. I rested my head on Roark’s shoulder, biting my lip. I was back among humanity.
As the slog continued, and I was relieved to see the sun shining down on the rough-barked trees with their green leaves spanning over the tops of the expansive trees. The sense of familiarity hit me as birds chirped and flew overhead. The relief I felt was palpable.
