by Emma Harley
“It’s just Raina. I’m not a princess, and you’re right. I’m not a general anymore. So from now on it’s either Raina or just Phoenix,” she strained, twisting a flat stone between her fingers before skipping it across the water. Taranis shrugged.
“Fine by me. But won’t you still be a general when you go back to the human world?” Raina’s heart dropped and she launched another stone into the lake.
“As far as they’re concerned, we all died on a mission. There’s probably a headstone with my name on it already. I don’t know what I’ll be when I go back, but I won’t be a general again,” she mumbled. Taranis stayed silent, his eyes watching a small group of silvery fish play among lake weeds.
“If there’s nothing left for you, then why do you want to go back?”
Raina tensed slightly and dropped the last few stones into the lake with a series of plops. He wasn’t here to care about her problems, she knew damn well Taranis was repeating everything she said to the monarchs. And she definitely didn’t want those two getting any closer to her.
“It’s none of your business Taranis,” she snapped coldly, giving him a look of disgust as she marched back towards the castle. He fell into step beside her, sauntering casually through the trees.
“It’s General Taranis.”
“I couldn’t give a flying fuck what you call yourself,” Raina snarled, “in fact I think I’ll call you Maggie.” Taranis paused behind her.
“I didn’t know you remembered that.” Raina stopped and turned to glare at him.
“I didn’t remember anything, it’s what I called a little bitch in the army who reminded me of a maggot. You remind me of him.” Taranis smirked and patted her head quickly before she could slap his hand away.
“You called me Maggie as a child because you couldn’t pronounce my name properly,” he snorted. Raina shrugged and kept walking. “It’s just a coincidence. I don’t remember you at all.”
The general nodded his greeting at a group of guards training in the fields as they left the woods. His presence was bothering Raina, she just wanted to be left in peace for a while. The squad had at least given her space, as had Logan. But Taranis lingered like a persistent ear infection, constantly chatting away.
“So are you ever going to open up and speak to your parents? Or maybe even give Calviere some closure on his broken heart?” Raina’s temper flared and she breathed heavily, wishing for someone to come and distract the bothersome oaf so she could get away from him.
“That’s also none of your business. It’s a wonder you have time to command an army when you spend all your time firmly lodged where you don’t belong,” she hissed.
“Icy,” he smirked, “I’m just trying to make conversation. Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners?”
Raina spun, unable to stop the raging tendril of lightning that wreathed her fingers as she landed a fist on the general’s jaw.
“You keep my mother out of this,” she growled, her canines almost piercing through her lower lip, “Don’t ever let me hear you mention her again.”
The punch had barely fazed him, but his face dropped with realisation of what he had said.
“I’m sorry Raina I wasn’t thinking,” he called, but Raina was already storming into the castle, lightning bouncing off her in tiny sparks.
Whispers flurried amongst the servants as Raina hurried through the castle to get to her room before any more of her magic wormed its way free. No doubt it would get back to the king quickly. She slammed the door to her room and gripped her wrist. The magic was still escaping, but she wasn’t healing quick enough to stop the angry red burns it left behind. Her fingers were cracked and bleeding, and she wanted nothing more than to shove her hand into cold water to sooth the burning and stinging. But that probably wasn’t the best idea with electricity bouncing around her. She dropped to the floor and curled into a ball, desperately trying to bring herself under control.
Deep breaths, she thought to herself, tucking her fists into her stomach. Pain lashed across her flesh as the lightning burned and she yelped, biting back tears of pain as she continued to count her breaths. She heard her door open and strong hands grip her shoulders, pulling her upwards. Kalen was in front of her, sending an icy wind over her and soothing the angry welts along her body.
“Breathe Raina,” he demanded. Her eyes narrowed at him.
“I hadn’t thought of that, thanks genius.” The lightning welted angrily across her thigh and she cried out in pain. For each burn that Kalen soothed, another appeared.
“The cuffs are letting it out,” Raina panted, “But they’re stopping me pulling it back in.” Aija stepped in front of her and stooped down, holding a small pouch. The queen lifted a pinch of glittering black powder and looked behind Raina’s head.
“Catch her.”
She blew the powder into Raina’s face, and the last thing Raina remembered was being swept up into someone’s arms as she dropped into a depth of blackness.
Chapter 13
Raina couldn’t move. There was no floor, no sky and no horizon in the pit. It made no difference if her eyes were open or closed, she couldn’t even see her own body. She couldn’t feel anything, only a creeping feeling of unease in the eternal black. She couldn’t see or hear anything. Not as much as a breath of wind passed her. She wanted to call out, but something in her gut begged her to stay silent. The anxiety in her gut was growing, as though something was approaching her, but nothing came. It was just silent. True silence. It was as if the world had a constant noise that no one ever realised was there until it stopped.
Raina couldn’t rid herself of this terrible feeling. It was pressing on her chest, squeezing her stomach so badly she thought it would make her sick. Unable to move or speak, she had to stay there laying down. Or standing, she couldn’t even tell.
A tiny speck appeared in the midst of the darkness. Like a pinprick of blood that appeared to grow. Raina gut wrenched and her body begged her to run as the pinprick split into a pair of swirling viridian eyes that narrowed right in on her. There was no head or face that followed, just the eyes that bore into her soul. She could feel something trailing down her cheek, like a gentle finger made of the coldest ice. The finger trailed down her arm and a sharp nail pricked her skin like a needle.
The unnatural frost that ran through her body felt like she had been frozen into ice, ready to be shattered at any moment. Raina would have screamed if she could, but the eyes appeared to laugh despite no sound or lips.
The cold voice rang through her soul like a wave of death itself. Ancient and chaotic, Raina felt terror wash through her. “Interesting.”
Chapter 14
Raina awoke with a jolt. Her blood still chilled, unable to shake away the memory of those malevolent eyes staring at her. The voice that had spoken turned her bones to jelly. Primordial and cruel, laced with centuries of bloodlust and poison echoed in her mind. She ripped the sheets off her and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
It was just a nightmare. Probably brought on by whatever that damned queen had thrown in her face to knock her out. Her arms were coated in some sort of herb-scented salve and wrapped in bandages. Several more were wrapped around her stomach and legs, tightly pinned on so they didn’t fall off when she moved.
Her clothes lay in a heap in the corner, ragged as though they had been cut off her. She was in her underwear, she noticed with a blush. Rummaging through her bag, she pulled out some fresh clothing as she listened quietly at her door. As though someone could sense she was awake, the door was wrenched open, and Logan's honey-gold eyes stared down at her.
“You’re awake,” was all he could say. Raina nodded and looked past him to the common area full of people.
The team were sitting around either playing at the pool table or talking in hushed tones with the Fae males. Logan handed her a glass of water and turned to leave.
“Going so soon Calviere? You haven’t left in days,” Taranis called, grinning at the blush s
preading across Logan’s cheeks. Kalen sighed as Logan clenched his fists, stepping towards the cocky general.
“Give him a break Malakhai,” he groaned, “he’s going through enough.” Raina ignored the pointed stares and cleared her throat.
“How long have I been out?” she croaked. Her throat was hoarse from disuse and dehydration, and she found herself feeling grateful to Logan for a simple glass of water. Kalen and the general glanced between each other with a grimace.
“Four days.” Raina turned as JJ spoke, although he hadn’t bothered looking at her. He rubbed chalk on his pool que and continued playing. “The opium powder here is pretty strong stuff.” Kalen forced a smile at her.
“How are your wounds?” Raina pulled back one of the bandages to show a blistering welt.
“They don’t hurt much, but shouldn't they be healed by now? I thought Fae had super healing or something.” Kalen clicked his tongue and pointed at the cuffs.
“Those are slowing your healing. And the healers can’t work on you because the cuffs stifle their magic once they touch you too. The king has sent for some other healers, more powerful ones don’t need to touch you.” Raina's attention wavered as her eyes dropped to her arm.
“Did they take my blood or inject me with something?” Taranis narrowed his eyes on her as she pushed the concern from her face and turned her arm away.
“Of course not, why do you ask?”
Raina shrugged. “I just feel sluggish.”
Kalen chuckled. “You’ve been unconscious for four days, you might need some food to come around.”
“I’ll get something from the kitchens,” she grumbled, ignoring his calls to stay and let a servant bring her food.
Raina hurried down the stairs, making sure no one was following her as she slipped into the library. On bare feet she was completely silent, save for a tiny creak as she closed the door. Row upon row of books towered to the high ceiling above her. Safely away from prying eyes, she gave in to the anxious voice in her mind telling her to look.
She flicked on a small desk lamp as she examined her arm, a chill spreading through her like a glacial wind. Right where the thing had pricked her in the dream, lay a small dot of dried blood, surrounded by a purpling bruise. It hadn’t just been a dream then.
Raina lifted the lamp towards the shelves, swearing as the bulb fell out with a thud. Upon further examination, it turned out to be some kind of glowing ball that easily detached to be carried around instead of a bulb. Raina anxiously poked at the ball before lifting it into her hands. Scouring the shelves, she realised she had no idea what she was looking for. Was there even a name for things-that-happen-in-your-sleep-happening-in-real-life?
Raina scanned her brain for things she had seen in movies. It was all she had to go on right now. Astral Projection? Dream Manipulation? Telepathy? They all sounded ridiculous. But then again, when she watched a movie about superheroes that could move things with magic, she was a human girl, in a human world, with no inkling or knowledge of magic. It was a fairy-tale. Yet here she was now, wandering through a darkened castle in a Fae body, wearing magic cuffs to stop her blasting the city to pieces because she was a cursed princess.
Raina pulled down a book that looked promising. Oneiric Observing and Communicating. She set the book down on a tiny table and leafed through it. Her hands shook slightly as she dropped the ball into her lap.
The entire book was in runes. Her mother made her learn the odd symbols as a child, teaching her them along with the regular alphabet. It seemed like such a useless thing to know at the time, yet she couldn’t control the welling of gratitude and sorrow in her chest as she read over the runes.
“Thanks Mom,” she whispered softly, flicking through the pages. She paused on a page depicting a bald lady partly merged with a humanoid male. “Physical contact in the oneiric realm is near impossible. One can speak, or make oneself visible to the host, but physical contact is impossible across realms. This prevents harm to the host.”
Raina flopped back and examined the bruise on her arm. Maybe it was just a dream, the healers probably gave her an injection and her unconscious mind distorted the tiny feeling. She poked at it and recoiled. The small patch of skin felt like ice. Raina shuddered and slammed the book, poring through the shelves for anything that might make sense.
An armful of books later, she flopped down onto a chair and began flipping through the dusty pages of the Encyclopaedia of Entities, hoping to find something that resembled a pair of floating eyes and invisible claws. Although as she reached the last page, she found this too had been fruitless. The other books were similarly useless. The volume about Astral Projection had given her as much information as the dream book. The projector can see and speak to people, but they can’t touch them.
A clamouring of muffled voices and footsteps outside the library made her heart race, but she merely went further back into the library, where it seemed no one had deigned to visit even for a spot of cleaning. The shelves were dustier, and covered with cobwebs. Raina had to brush the dust off just to read the titles of some of the books. They looked so old and yellowed she was afraid to even touch them for fear they would fall apart in her hands. She carefully pulled one from a shelf high above her, almost dropping it as a loud bang from behind her made her jump.
General Taranis rounded the corner as she did, his steel grey eyes narrowing on her.
“Why the hell did you disappear?” he snapped, pulling her roughly to the doorway. She wrenched her arms out of his grasp with a growl. “I fancied a bit of light reading, what’s your problem?” Raina’s eyes fell on the gathering of people in the foyer, suddenly very aware that she was bare-footed and coated with streaks of dust from the bookshelves. Several well-dressed Fae males stood with cold and stern expressions as their attention turned from the king to fall on her. Alexei’s face flashed with relief as he spotted her.
“Thank the gods you’re alright. Where did you disappear to?” he demanded, pulling his hand back as though he was about to hug her. Raina shrugged.
“I was in the library, I got a bit bored. Did you gather a search party or something?” she asked sweetly, gesturing to the males behind him. The king grimaced and turned to them.
“We’ll meet in the grand hall, please give me a moment,” he excused, leading Raina into the dining hall.
“You need to stay here Raina,” he insisted, “Don’t let her out of your sight General.” Taranis bristled.
“How shall I do that Your Majesty, I’m expected at the meeting too.” Raina glanced at the king's wrinkled forehead and thin scowl. “Something is wrong, what happened?”
Silence fell between them as the males seemed to have a mental argument that Raina couldn’t hear. With a sigh and a lazy wave, she padded towards the stairs.
“I’m going to get dressed, I have no interest in knowing your secrets.”
Raina cleared the stairs and rushed to her room to pull shoes on, her arm throbbing. The king’s face betrayed too much. He was obviously worried about something, and he wouldn’t have sent out a search party if it didn’t involve her. Searching through her bag for jeans, she unfolded her old general’s attire. A fine black jacket emblazoned with medals all colours of the rainbow, threaded with gold buttons and a ruby lining.
She shoved it down carelessly and yanked on her old boots before sauntering back downstairs. Logan and the queen stood in the foyer with the king, their heated discussion dropping as they spotted her.
“Don’t stop on my account,” she sighed, brushing past to the dining hall to find the kitchens.
“We have to tell her Alexei,” Aija hissed. Raina dropped her head and spun around.
“What do you have to tell me?” she moaned. Logan cocked his head at her.
“Nothing, just go to bed.”
Raina’s chest heaved as she bit her tongue, refusing to begin arguing with him. A stupid little voice in her mind urged her to show them her arm, but she shook away the thought. She didn’t
know what it meant, and the last thing she wanted was any more supervision. The king sighed and beckoned to Raina. She merely raised an eyebrow and followed them through several hallways and into a grand hall.
Most of the Fae males had sat themselves down at a huge oval table. Several humans and a few other species she couldn’t identify were also present. A middle aged man stood by himself well away from the others as they were talking, his hazel gaze fixed firmly on Raina as they entered. The chattering hushed as the king swept to the head of the table, Aija beside him. Raina didn’t miss the soft smile she gave to the lonely man at the side as she sat down at the other end of the table.
Kalen took a seat beside her, his smile so forced that Raina thought he was in pain. Elias sat himself between a female with glittering white scales and the human man, shooting wary glances at everyone around him. The king coughed for their attention.
“I’m sure you will be pleased to meet my daughter, Princess Raina. I thought it prudent that she be involved in these talks with us.” No one spoke, but Raina caught the sneering expression from a few of the males. One of the humans, a balding man with a thick neck spoke up.
“Forgive me your majesty, but surely a princess with no control over her power and no training in these affairs would be better off ignorant to the blight?” he simpered, his eyelashes fluttering like a teenage girl. Raina rolled her eyes and ignored the jibe. Becoming a general had given her an immunity to ass-kissing men, they weren’t worth the breath she would waste arguing. The king stared the man down.
“If I were you I would hold off on those comments until you know the girl better Lord Brondell. Raina has not decided if she is willing to accept her role as a princess. General Phoenix led armies in the human world, as it stands, she outranks you even without a crown.”
Raina couldn’t help but feel a swell of gratitude for the king. The snickering died down quite quickly under his stare as he addressed the man beside Elias.
