Brushing the leaves off my cloak, I muttered quietly to myself.
"What did you say?" she asked when I went to pick up the wood basket.
"I said," I exclaimed, spinning to face her as she stood. "There was no need to attack me, I'm not the one unaware that you're madly in love with him!"
I couldn't see her expression in the dark woods, but a small squeak came from her. The sob was followed by another, the sound eerie in the shadows. Going closer, I took her hand and squeezed it. She allowed the contact, squeezing back. Apparently, the witch just needed a friend.
"I've never been in love." I put the basket down and proceeded to hunt for kindling. "However, I've read books that talk about it, and apparently, unrequited love is the worst of all."
A click was followed by a flare of light as a torch appeared in Sarsia's hand. The flames flickered, sending the shadows scattering into the night. Once the clearing was illuminated, we carried on our search for wood.
Bending, Sarsia coughed as she wiped her eyes. The sticks she picked up crackled as she threw them into the basket. "I've never told him how I feel."
I had been chewing on my lip as I looked around me, my gaze tracing the ground, but when she spoke, I spun to stare at her. Love was a concept that I hadn't experienced, yet, I had seen the glow in someone's cheeks when they saw their beloved. Or, the excitement that crossed their faces when they first met. A part of me had longed for it, but never believed it possible, not in the village I had grown up. Seeing the way Sarsia's pain had caused her to lash out made me doubt whether love was a good emotion to feel. Regardless of that, I felt compelled to help Sarsia to end her misery.
"You have to tell him."
My statement was waved away as Sarsia came closer. "He's a high-born fae, former Guard of Althea. I'm a low-born witch-"
"Correction," I interrupted. "A rare witch, last of her kind."
A small smile played on her lips as she picked up the suddenly full basket. It had been only half full a moment ago, but it seemed Sarsia had grown bored of collecting wood, so a simple spell had solved the problem. It was a shame there wasn't a spell to solve our biggest one.
"Either way, we're not suited."
It was my turn to wave away her protest as we turned back towards the cottage. Offering to take the torch, I guided us through the trees. "I don't agree. When the time is right, you have to tell him. In the meantime, what did you mean I can shapeshift? And, why would you impose a spell on me without asking?"
Sarsia's face relaxed at the change of topic. "Your body can shift into a fox. You've lived as a human your whole life, so you won't know how to do it, but we can help you. Larnika can change too."
"He can? How is that even possible? I'm sorry, I find this hard to believe."
My protests went ignored as Sarsia suddenly froze. A noise behind me caught my attention. Before Sarsia told me to run, my legs were moving. She was close behind me, using the light from the flames of the torch to guide us back to the cottage. Wind swirled around us as we ran towards the cottage door.
"Don't panic!" Sarsia almost screamed from right behind me. "They'll be able to stop us from moving if we do."
"They?" I squeaked, barely able to speak as I breathed hard.
The door to the cottage opened before we reached it, Marli gesturing for us to get inside.
The footsteps behind us got louder as Sarsia threw the torch onto the ground, the flames fizzling out and plunging us into darkness.
"Get inside!"
Marli's rushed words made my heart explode in my chest as we lunged through the door.
Slamming it shut behind Sarsia, Marli almost screeched, her eyes wide as she turned back to us.
A high-pitched noise came from outside as the others gathered around. Whatever had been chasing us had met Marli's barrier spell and been prevented from coming any further.
"What was that?" I huffed, my breath harsh in my throat as Marli pulled back the dirty brown material that hung in front of her window.
"Night-sleepers. Low-born fae that have come into contact with the shroud and survived. They change, their minds overtaken by something rotten. They kill for fun, but they can't go out in sunlight." Dropping the heavy material down, Marli shuddered as she wrapped her arms around herself. "They've been exiled to Falonia, but they're finding their way back."
"This needs to end," Sarsia said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
A look passed between us as Larnika reached out his arm, his finger pointing up at an angle. An understanding had been reached. I knew Sarsia's secret, and I would keep it as if it were my own.
"What are you doing?" I asked Larnika when he stabbed his finger in the air.
He frowned at me, his head shaking as I glanced between his face and his finger. "The fae have a loyalty gesture. When we agree to protect one another, we stand in a circle, point to the centre, but high, like this..." He indicated that his finger was pointing exactly as he described, which made me bite my lip. For some reason, his gesture made me want to laugh.
"And, then..." Trenton took up the mantle. "... we join fingers in the centre and pledge our allegiance to whatever journey we're about to embark on." As he spoke, he reached his hand forward and touched the tip of Larnika's finger.
Sarsia did the same as she took a deep breath. Even Marli came closer, her skirts brushing against the dusty floor. She didn't join her finger, but stood nearby, watching us.
"Come," Larnika said to her. "We have vows to make in order to rescue your sister, so you have to join us, even if you're not coming to find the dragons."
"Dragons?" I vaguely remembered Larnika mentioning the dragons when we'd first arrived, but had thought no more of it.
Marli came into the circle, extending her finger. Her arm shook as she tried to hold it steady, sadness reflected in her gaze when it met mine. She had to live in the cottage alone, with the strange Night-sleepers not far away. I wasn't sure I would survive the way she had to. Being alone was a frightening thing, especially in a kingdom that was growing more dangerous by the day.
"The only way to defeat Jordeek is to seek help from those outside of Althea." Larnika stared at me, his gaze boring into mine. "The dragon king is famed to be generous, which means we need to ask for his help in overthrowing the fake Seelie King."
Glancing at the circle of extended arms, with their fingers joining in the middle, I almost turned away. A few days ago, I agreed to leave my village to save it. Jordeek had shown his true colours several times. His greed was making the kingdom vulnerable to a death that ravished the earth. I had seen it with my own eyes.
"And, there really are true living dragons?"
"Yes," Marli said, the corner of her lip creaking into her cheek. "I've seen them."
Silence descended as all eyes watched me, waiting to see if I would join them in a journey I knew nothing about.
"Where are the dragons? How long will it take us to get there?"
They all smiled, knowing that they had won me over. My hesitation was real, the threat of dragons, and kingdoms I had never heard of, sent a shot of fear through me.
Trenton answered my question when the others glanced at one another. "Their land is called Dragonscale. It's on an island in the sky, about seven days’ journey from here."
"Seven days?" I choked.
Sarsia shrugged. "It's not far really, not compared to the size of our world."
The size of our world? I had never thought to question the basic maps that Mr Kingsman had shown me. They were small, the land mass not very big. We had been taught that our village was the safest place in the world, which was why hardly anyone had left. I was starting to see why.
"The dragons will fly us back if the king agrees to aid us." Larnika's arm was still as strong as it had been when he'd raised it minutes ago.
My heart was loud in my ears as I imagined the big fiery creature, with oval eyes and fire-breathing mouth with huge teeth. There had been pictures of dragons in the books I'd read
. Like witches, I had believed they were human’s idea of beasts that didn't exist.
"Princess," Sarsia said, taking my hand with her free one. "Do you have a better idea on how to stop the shroud?"
Her words were soft, her eyes kind. She could feel my fear, my doubt. And yet, everything they had told me so far had been true, I'd seen it with my own eyes. Why would they start lying to me now?
"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," I muttered as I reached out a finger and joined it to theirs.
"Repeat after me," Larnika said. "I, Layanna Fairling, Princess of Althea..."
My cheeks warmed as they stared at me, their attention intent on my words. "I, Layanna Fairling, Prin..." The words got stuck in my throat. Clearing it, I tried again. "Princess of Althea."
"Solemnly swear to do everything in my power to lift the shroud over Althea and reclaim the kingdom back to its rightful heir."
Repeating Larnika's words, I kept my voice strong. Even though doubts were still strong in my mind, I had to do what I could to help the kingdom my family had ruled. Denial could only go so far, but as the words echoed around us, heat exploded in my chest, the force of it making it hard for me to breathe. I kept my finger connected to the others as the instance warmth travelled up my arm and into me.
"You really are the Lost Queen," Marli said, tears streaming down her face.
"Are you ready?" Larnika asked, his strength radiating as he kept the circle strong.
Glancing at Sarsia, I nodded when she smiled at me.
Trenton winked, his light eyes contrasting to his dark skin. Whether I liked it or not, these people were my new friends. We would have to rely on each other for protection and support. I had to trust that they would take care of me, and that I could help them with their mission.
"Yes," I said loudly. "I'm ready to journey to Dragonscale. We will get help from the King of Dragonscale and defeat Jordeek Glyneria once and for all."
Chapter Twelve
The cold finally diminished as the sun rose over the hilltop, highlighting the mountain in the distance.
We had travelled through the forest for two days. Marli and Sarsia had cast night invisibility spells around us before we'd left.
That hadn't stopped me from shivering by the fire, my ears listening for any sound of the Night-sleepers. They were out there, I felt them, but the spell had worked so far. Not one of them had come near, leaving me to imagine what the former Seelie Fae looked like.
"Can you see Loridan in the distance?" Sarsia came to stand beside me, her hands on her hips.
The sword she always carried rested on her hip, the gold hilt reflecting the sunlight. Glancing down at my dress, I prepared to ask for my own protection. I felt exposed having no weapon of my own. It was time I got one.
"I need a sword," I said, turning to face the witch.
Raising her eyebrows, she cocked her head to the side and stared at me. The others were gathering their things from the camp, their talk loud enough to reach our ears.
"No," Larnika shouted to Trenton. "You shouldn't piss on the trees. The Night-sleepers will smell it and be able to track us."
My mouth dropped open at the same time as Sarsia rolled her eyes. "You will see who they really are on this trip."
"Shame," Trenton shouted back. "I rather like the idea of leading them into a trap and slaughtering them dead."
"We can hear you." Sarsia's call was met with red cheeks when the men looked up from where they packed the satchels on their saddles.
"Sorry, Princess." Trenton's smile didn't look anything like an apology.
They led their horses closer to us, bringing ours along too.
"What about my apology?" Sarsia asked, a glint in her eye.
Dismissing her complaint with a wave of his hand, Trenton stared out over the rolling fields. I was told they were the most dangerous part of our trek to Loridan. The land was at the very edge of Althea, leading into the kingdom of Sariah. When the others had explained that human maps left Althea out, I had agreed. I had never seen Althea, or any other land, between Mediya and Sariah.
"We are leaving the Shrouded Kingdom," Larnika murmured as we all stood in a line.
The brown grass had streams and clumps of trees breaking up the vast landscape. It was dry here, the sun already hot on our skin.
Lost Fae often traversed the barren-land in an attempt to enter Sariah, a place where humans and fae lived together.
Humans didn't know that the fae existed, which was why the dangerous fae were kept out.
Unseelie were known to trick humans into doing their bidding, or even luring them to their death. My lessons on fae politics had been intense over the last two days of travel. My head was ready to burst with all the new knowledge.
"Let's go." Waving us forward, Larnika started the descent out of the woods and onto the flat land.
Taking my arm as I went to mount my horse, well Laliya's horse, Belnio, Sarsia brought her mouth close to my ear. "Your sword will come to you at the right time. A fae never inherits their sword until they're ready to wield it. In the meantime, work on your powers."
"I don't have any," I snapped, far too quickly.
Her chuckle vibrated as she moved away, her swift movement propelling her onto her own horse in moments. Clambering onto my own, I frowned to myself as I fell into line, behind Larnika, in front of Sarsia, with Trenton bringing up the rear.
What power was the witch talking about? I had seen glamour, which was something I was supposed to be able to do, but didn't have the desire to. Unless I glamoured Sarsia into giving me a weapon. Even a knife would do. Not that I knew what to do with the said weapon.
Turning into a fox was not a power I was inclined to use either, even if the eyes of the small beast had appeared in my dreams every night since I had seen him.
"That heat!" Trenton exclaimed when the sun was fully on us.
I waved a hand in front of my face, trying to cool myself. Unclipping my cloak, I hung it over my saddle and rolled up the sleeves of my white under-shirt. The leather dress that hung over it made sweat line every part of my skin.
"How long does this take?" I asked when Larnika kicked his horse into a trot.
Looking over his shoulder, he shouted back his reply. "Only a day."
"A day that feels like a month," Trenton piped up from behind. "Be prepared to hear swearing coming from my lips in an hour’s time. I apologise in advance."
Joy blossomed in my chest as we all laughed together. The others were opening themselves up to me, allowing me to see who they really were. I wanted to share myself too, but the more I learnt about life in Althea, the less I knew who I was.
"Look out!" Larnika called as a stream appeared in front of him. It had been hidden by the crest of the land, revealing itself only when we got close.
Pulling up his horse, he watched the trickle of water as it flowed past. My horse suddenly shied, a scream escaping him. Rearing up, he knocked me off the saddle before he stamped back down to the ground, his hoof only just missing my leg when I landed with a thump.
"Something alarmed him," Trenton said. "A serpent just scuttled off."
Managing to unravel my skirts, I got to my feet and grabbed the reins. Belnio hobbled when I tried to get him to move. "He's hurt his leg."
Bending down, I prepared to inspect it.
Larnika's boots thudded on the ground next to me before he grabbed my wrist, wrenching it away from the horse.
"Be careful," he said as I was about to protest. "If he's been bitten by that serpent, he’ll be filling up with poison. We must leave him."
"No!"
Shaking the fae off, I bent down and took hold of Belnio's hoof. I wouldn't allow my horse to be left to die, that would be cruel. I would check to see if he had a thorn or something prickly in his leg, just in case it wasn’t a serpent bite.
"Larnika's right," Sarsia said from her horse. "We need to go. If that serpent was a slave of the Unseelie, it won't be long until your horse is de
ad."
"Unless..." Larnika knelt down beside me.
His gaze watched my hand as I ran it up the horse's leg, pushing gently to see if I could find the bite mark.
"Unless?" I whispered, holding the hoof firmly when the horse tried to rip his leg away.
Ah, I had found the sore spot. On instinct, I placed my hand over the area, closing my eyes as I did. Warmth flowed from my chest, down my arm, and into the wounded area of the leg. The horse calmed as I hummed to myself quietly, not quite sure where the tune had come from.
"Let me see." Larnika moved my hand away and lifted the hair where the wound had been. "Just as I suspected, you healed him."
"I did?" It was a silly question, considering the horse stamped his hoof and nudged my hair with his wet nose.
Smiling to myself, I stood and put my arms around his neck. The beast nuzzled my side, his breath huffing in and out. I knew it was his way of saying thank you.
"See," Sarsia almost sang. "A perfect opportunity to work on your powers. As the Princess of Althea, destined to be queen, you've got a lot of them to discover."
“That tune you were humming.” Larnika grabbed my arm and spun me around, causing me to gasp. “Where did you hear it?”
Frowning, I tried to pull away from him as he stared down at me, his gaze penetrating me uncomfortably. His fingers pinched the skin of my arm, slowly getting tighter and tighter.
Squirming, I made a sound in my throat. His eyes cleared, the confusion in them leaving as he released me and stepped back.
"I'm sorry, Princess, I-"
"Don't call me that. My name is Layanna." Moving away from him, I took hold of Belnio's saddle and swiftly jumped back onto the horse.
"That's the spirit of fae royalty," Trenton said as he came up beside me and indicated that I fall in line beside him as we guided the horses through the stream.
Huffing, I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I kept my gaze forward, not daring to look back at Larnika. My hands shook from the shock of his abrupt change of character. I had no idea what tune I was singing, but it gave him no right to scare me that way.
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