I glanced at Finn from the corner of my eye. “So, um, you’re both fairies?”
“Yes, but we do prefer to be called fae.” Kalen stuck out his puny chest. “Where are you from?” he continued, but obviously became tired of waiting for an answer and proceeded to answer his own question. “Probably from Andrysia or Kelliandria.” His eyes widened. “Or maybe you are a tribal princess captured from Rohron? Although I thought the people from Rohron had darker skin.”
I nodded, intentionally silent. I wished I had a map of this world. “Do you live nearby?” I tried to move the conversation away from myself.
“Yes, and we are some of the last few left in Illiador. Most of the fae live in Elfi now.”
“Elfi?” I repeated after him, sounding very silly, even to myself.
Kalen lifted his brows. “Surely you have heard of the land of Elfi, the kingdom of the fae that lies to the south?”
“Oh, that Elfi,” I said, trying to cover my lack of knowledge. “Yes, yes, of course I know Elfi, kingdom of the fae.” I was talking quickly—too quickly—and Finn was looking at me with an unfriendly glare.
Kalen was oblivious to his friend’s mistrust of me and continued with his story. “Ever since Morgana became queen, our kind have been tortured, brutalized, and killed. We’ve been run out of our homes, had our festivals banned, and had our houses burned. Some say that Morgana is trying to run all the fae out of Illiador, since so many have left these lands and gone back to our homeland. Our village in the Goldleaf Forest is the last one left.”
Finn stepped forward. “That’s enough, Kalen. You can’t tell her everything; she may be one of them. Who knows why they have put her in here?”
Kalen’s eyes narrowed and briefly turned silver. “Are you a mage?”
My eyes widened. What was a mage? I knew it had something to do with having magic, but I wasn’t sure. Oblek seemed to have some sort of magic—I had seen him use it on my uncle, and I had felt it when he tried to choke the life out of me.
“I am not a mage,” I said quickly, trying to cover up my dumbfounded look. “I just need to get away from Lord Oblek, or he is going to take me to Queen Morgana.” I hoped that using their hatred for Morgana would spur them to help me.
Kalen’s grew wide. “Why, what did you do?”
I didn’t want to say too much. Not that I knew much to begin with. I still wasn’t sure whom I could trust here, but these fae definitely seemed like a safer bet than Oblek. “I didn’t do anything. It’s because of my family.”
Finn turned to glare at me, arching a brow. “So who is your family? Oblek would not have abducted just any girl. He must be planning to ransom you, not kill you. Wait for your family to pay him and you will be able to go home. We, on the other hand, are to be executed at dawn.” There was an edge to his voice.
“No, you don’t understand,” I said, wringing my hands together. “He said very clearly that he will take me to Morgana in the morning. Please, there must be a way out of this place.”
Finn glared at me. “No one leaves Oblek’s dungeons alive. There is no way out.”
“Don’t scare her, Finn.” Kalen immediately snapped to my defense, moving in front of me as if to shield me from Finn.
I couldn’t understand what I had done to make Finn dislike me, but I was more concerned with how we were going to get out of the dungeon.
I turned to Kalen. “Don’t you want to find a way out? You said yourself that you are to be executed at dawn. Don’t any of you have magic? I thought all fairies—sorry, fae—would have magic?”
Kalen looked at me intently. “It’s a little more complicated than that. Not all fae have the same sort of magic. And we are still young—babies, really—in the fae world. Our magic may not emerge for many years to come.”
I hung my head. We had no plan and no weapons, and Kalen and Finn didn’t look like they were strong enough to fight the guards. We were doomed. I sat down on the cold stone floor, hugging my legs. I clasped my medallion in my palm for comfort, irritated at myself for being so utterly useless.
Kalen came up and patted me on my back awkwardly. “Please, my lady, don’t lose hope. I am sorry we can’t help you, but we are in the same predicament. Our best chance now is to pray to the goddess, Dana. Only she can help us now.”
I nodded and tried to keep myself from panicking. There had to be another way out of here.
Suddenly, there was a scraping noise at the dungeon door. I looked up.
Kalen put his fingers to his lips. “Shh.”
I held my breath. Terror welled up inside my chest. Had they come for me? Or were they going to take one of the others? My hands had gone clammy, and I clutched them together to stop them from shaking.
We waited as the grating noise went on. After what seemed like hours but was really only a few seconds, the thick and battered wooden door to the cell opened slowly.
A young man stepped inside, his black cloak billowing, the hood over his head. He removed his cowl and turned toward me just as a shaft of moonlight streamed in through the tiny barred window, illuminating the stranger. He wore a black mask over his glittering eyes, and his dark, untidy hair fell in soft waves that framed his finely chiseled features—strong jaw and high cheekbones. But his gray eyes looked like storm clouds as he scanned the room in one quick sweep.
Who was he? He didn’t look like one of Oblek’s men.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the infamous Black Wolf,” said Finn in a whispered sneer, coming out of the shadows. “Come to save the day again, have you? And how do you propose to do that this time? Oblek has doubled the guard, and there is a price on your head. Morgana’s men have been given instructions to kill you on sight.”
The mysterious stranger just turned and gave Finn a charming smile. He didn’t look perturbed in the least. He was over six feet tall, lean, muscular, and dressed in a loose white shirt worn over fitted brown leather trousers. A dark leather belt around his waist had a whole arsenal of weapons tucked into it, including a sleek sword and a small knife. I also noticed another knife strapped to his thigh and an additional pair tucked into his high brown boots. He seemed well equipped for anything, of that I was quite sure.
“Rafe, you came,” said Kalen softly.
Rafe nodded as he shut the heavy wooden door quietly. “Did you doubt that I would?”
“Finn said you didn’t have time to come get a useless pair of fae like us and that you were going to let us be executed. But I told him that I knew you would find a way to get us out,” he added with a smug glance at Finn.
Rafe looked Finn straight in the eyes. “Ah yes, Finn . . . quite the pessimist, isn’t he?”
Finn, quite surprisingly, appeared embarrassed and kept quiet.
Rafe turned to Kalen. “Well, we’re not out of danger yet.”
“You shouldn’t have come, Rafe.” Kalen lowered his voice. “Your life is in enough danger as it is. We could have escaped on our own, you know.”
Rafe smiled and patted Kalen on the back. “You know I would never let down my friends, Kalen, no matter the dangers. And I don’t think your mother would have ever forgiven me if I let anything happen to you.”
Kalen beamed at Rafe.
I looked at Finn, who was glaring at Rafe. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t happy that someone had come to help us.
“And who is this?” Rafe asked Kalen, suddenly seeming to notice I was there. He glanced over at me with an amused expression on his face.
I stood up, smoothed my hair and tucked stray strands behind my ears. I must have looked a sight.
“Another prisoner brought in today,” answered Kalen quickly, and he proceeded to give Rafe a quick summary of who I was and why I was here.
“So you see,” he said to Rafe, “if we don’t take her with us, she will surely die.” Kalen was being quite dramatic, but I thought it worked.
Rafe looked me over, obviously weighing the options of whether to help me or not. “She comes with us,” he
said flatly after a moment of hesitation.
Finn didn’t argue as we followed Rafe out of the dungeon. We moved quietly and swiftly in a line up the stairs.
“Who are you?” I asked my rescuer.
Rafe glanced back for a moment, a smile curling at the edge of his lips. “A friend.” He had a deep voice with a very charming accent. Whoever he was, I was intrigued to say the least.
Somehow he had managed to get the lower dungeon door open, and stepped out first. “Wait here.” I heard a scuffle, and, sooner than expected, Rafe was back. “All clear,” he said with a shrug of his powerful shoulders. He seemed very confident, as though it were a hobby of his to break in and out of castles.
We gingerly stepped over two dazed guards, and Rafe took us through a narrow stone tunnel, which was a different path than the one where I had entered the dungeons. The shadowy recesses of the stone tunnel were dark and eerie. The occasional drip of water was the only sound besides our shuffling feet.
Rafe’s hand lit up, illuminating the tunnel with a soft glow. He seemed to be one of the mages Kalen had talked about. I was fascinated to see real magic at work once again, as long as it wasn’t directed at me. I moved closer, the warmth from the ball of light a beacon to the others as we traversed the darkness of the underground passageway.
The tunnel opened into a small, shadowy alcove in the main castle. The corridors were deserted at this time of night, and we ran as quietly as we could through the dark passages. Rafe seemed to know exactly where he was going, and the others followed him without question. As we entered the courtyard, we had to keep to the shadows, crouching at times and flattening ourselves against the dark stone walls as we moved.
“How did you get into the castle?” I asked Rafe.
He gave me a faint smile. “It wasn’t difficult. Oblek’s guards are not very well trained. The eastern gate is poorly guarded, and half of them are drunk or passed out at this time of night. The hour before dawn is the best time for an escape.”
“Or a robbery,” I added, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. I guessed he was some sort of thief or outlaw from the way Finn spoke earlier.
He seemed to find that funny and chuckled. “True.”
“How do I know if I can trust you?” After all, I knew absolutely nothing about him except that he was a wanted man.
Rafe stopped abruptly and turned toward me. “I don’t think you really have a choice right now, my lady.” His tone was clipped.
I held his gaze. He was right; I didn’t have a choice. He was my escape route, and I had to trust him—for now, at least. I shook my head. “Fine. Now what?”
“We go to the stables.” Rafe signaled Kalen and Finn to follow.
I glanced back. Finn was still scowling, but he didn’t dare question Rafe.
There were three guards in the stables. They drew their weapons when they saw us, rushing at Rafe with their swords raised.
Rafe raised his right hand and shot two bolts of white light from his palm. Both guards crumpled to the ground, just as Christopher had when Oblek’s bolt had struck him. The third guard tried to shout for assistance, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out. Rafe had done something with his magic, rendering the guard unable to speak.
Frustrated, the guard rushed toward us, his sword raised. Rafe already had his sword in his hand. He blocked a blow to the head from the remaining guard and pushed him backward, slicing him cleanly on his leg, then hit him in the face with the hilt of his sword. The guard went down as fast as the other two.
He turned to me, his stormy eyes gleaming with the thrill of a fight. “We should leave now. It will be dawn soon.”
I nodded. Was he for real?
Kalen grinned. “Whatever you say, Rafe.”
“Get the horses,” Rafe ordered in the tone of voice of someone used to being obeyed without question.
We untied and led three horses quietly out of the stable. I followed Rafe, my heart still pounding. I hoped that I wasn’t making a mistake trusting him, but he was my only option, even though he could just as easily betray me to Morgana.
“Kalen, we will regroup at the meeting place,” Rafe said quietly, so Finn couldn’t hear. The two fae mounted up. “You,” he then said to me, and held out his hand.
I faltered.
“Come with me,” he urged.
One of the guards spotted us and started shouting, “The prisoners are escaping!”
Before I could respond, Rafe jumped up onto the horse in one fluid stroke, clasped my hand in his, and swung me up behind him. I grabbed onto his waist for dear life as he gathered up the reins and rode out of the stable.
Dawn was upon us. The gates had been opened to let traders and farmers into the castle, and shouts of, “Close the gates, close the gates,” rang in my ears as our three horses galloped across the courtyard toward the drawbridge. Guards clamored to grab the creaking iron chains and started to slowly pull up the drawbridge.
My heart hammered in my chest. Everything was happening so fast I barely had time to breathe, let alone think. Rafe let Finn and Kalen’s horses go first and veered our horse around to face the guards. He held out his hand and shot jets of white light like before, buying us the seconds we needed.
“It’s the Black Wolf,” shouted one guard.
“Get him,” shouted another. “The queen is offering a fortune for his head.”
A frenzy of chattering broke out as the word spread. More guards hastened to help their comrades.
Kalen and Finn raced toward the gates amidst the choas, clearing the drawbridge, and galloped ahead, out of harm’s way.
A few of Oblek’s guards had pulled themselves together and started shooting arrows at us. Rafe raised his hand, and I could feel magic pulsating around us as the arrows stopped inches from our faces, falling to the ground.
We raced for the drawbridge as an arrow whizzed past my head. If we were caught now, they would definitely kill us. What if an arrow hit our horse? What if an arrow hit me? Various scenarios started playing out in my head, all of them ending in a gruesome death. My hands shook, but I clung to Rafe, determined not to fall off the horse.
Our mount galloped furiously toward the drawbridge, which was now at an angle, chains creaking as guards desperately tried to raise it. The drawbridge formed a steep slope, and Rafe spurred the horse even faster. The horse slipped once, and I nearly fell off; I screamed, but we still thundered on.
I closed my eyes and prayed.
Finally, I felt the horse jump, and my heart jumped with it. I could hear arrows whizzing past my head and the guards shouting. I felt a jarring impact as we hit the ground but miraculously remained on the horse.
When I finally opened my eyes, I realized that we had cleared the moat and were heading toward the forest that lay in wait behind Oblek’s dark castle.
Avalonia
The dark forest looked menacing as we raced toward it. The sun had just started to rise above the trees, illuminating the tops of the towering oaks.
The guards tried to chase us, but we had a considerable lead, and Rafe was a magnificent horseman, so we managed to shake them off. We lost them as soon as we entered the gnarled forest. For some reason, they didn’t seem to want to follow us there. I had no idea where Kalen and Finn were; we had split up, and I was all alone with Rafe.
Rafe slowed the chestnut horse deftly to a walk. “Are you all right?”
I nodded. “I think so.”
He craned his neck to look back at me and smiled. I wished he would take off the silly mask that hid the rest of his face from me.
The forest seemed different once we were safely within its boundaries. From the outside it looked like a dark and shadowy place, but from the inside it was bright and cheerful, with sunlit groves; beautiful, tall cedars and oaks; and sparkling waterfalls that plunged effortlessly into shimmering ponds. Birds happily chirped their morning tunes, and the wildflowers were fragrant and bright. Dewdrops clung to the vibrant emerald foliage, spark
ling like fairy dust in the light of first dawn.
Rafe seemed to know where he was going as we rode along a small, winding path through the trees. My main concern right now was to figure out what to do next, and I was still trying to decide whether I should trust him. Morgana’s guards were also looking for him, so being with Rafe was probably not the safest place for me right now.
Rafe broke the silence first. “It’s been an interesting morning, my lady. I don’t mean to be rude, but where will you go now?”
“I’m not really sure,” I said truthfully. I couldn’t decide what I should tell him.
“If Oblek intended to hold you for ransom, he will come after you. Are you going to tell me who you really are?” He ran a hand through his dark, tousled hair. “Or am I just supposed to guess?”
I hung my head. I had to tell someone where I was really from. He seemed resourceful. Maybe he would know what to do, or maybe he knew who my real parents were. I decided to take a chance. I was at a complete loss in this world, and I needed help.
“My name is Aurora,” I said finally and proceeded to tell him everything that had happened to me since I arrived at Redstone Manor. I told him about my uncle and how he sold me to Oblek, about the strange tapestry, and even what he said about my parents and me.
I didn’t tell him about the dreams, though; somehow I felt it was too private to mention. But it did feel good to finally have someone to talk to about all this.
Rafe stopped the horse, jumped down quickly, and turned to glare at me. His eyes narrowed. “I do understand that you have gone through a lot, my lady. But I don’t think you need to resort to lies about who you are.”
I bristled. “I’m not lying.”
Rafe raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t want to tell me who you really are, that’s fine. But a word of advice: if you are going to use another name, you should find one that not everyone in the kingdom knows.” He held his arms up to me to help me off the horse.
I swatted his hands away and jumped off the saddle. “I can dismount myself.”
The Last of the Firedrakes (The Avalonia Chronicles Book 1) Page 4
