Alwyn’s icy voice drifted my way as she said, “Yes, Norah. What is the plan?”
So, Alwyn was putting this entire situation into the palm of my hands. If this all went wrong, it would be my fault. My heart thumped, and I glanced at Liam, who stood on my other side.
Liam gave me an encouraging nod, and Finn flashed me a tense smile from where he stood just beside him. Rourke was further down the row, but Kael was nowhere to be seen. He hadn’t shown up in the lobby, though Ciara had insisted she’d seen him on her way to warn the second years.
Clearing my throat, I strode toward the center of the lobby and raised my voice so that it could be heard throughout the expansive room. “We wait for them to break down the door. That will create a bottleneck, so only one or two should be able to get in here at a time. Those with arrows will shoot first while those of us with swords will stand back. If the Redcaps manage to get too far inside…” I glanced around at the cluster of sword-fighters around me. “We’ll take them down with our blades.”
It was a decent plan, one that had a pretty good chance of success. As long as we were able to take down the Redcaps, one by one, as they entered the lobby, no one would even get hurt.
The wood creaked against the force of the next blow. Splinters rained down on the floor, and several changelings gasped.
A single long bloodied claw punched through the door. It scraped through the wood, creating a sharp, high-pitched noise that set my teeth on edge. With a yank, the Redcap tore the door from its hinges, and then it let out a deafening roar. I stumbled back, motioning to the row of rangers at the back of the hall.
We all waited silently, staring at the furious Redcap. The creature rose up before us, its matted dark fur blending in with the night. Shivers coursed along my skin as we waited. Rourke had taken charge of the rangers, and they wouldn’t loose their arrows until the perfect moment.
Ducking its head, the beast stormed into the Academy’s front lobby. Rourke cried out the order, and an array of arrows soared through the air. Several made their mark, punching through the Redcap’s thick skin. The beast tumbled to the ground, and blood poured from half a dozen wounds.
In an instant, the Redcap was dead.
Another claw shot through the open door, and the sharp edges glinted underneath the overhead lights. The claw curled around the fallen beast’s body before dragging it across the stone floor, leaving behind a smear of blood, fur, and mottled flesh.
I shuddered, wrinkling my nose at the sight.
As soon as the beast had been dragged from the lobby, another rushed through the broken door to take its place. I motioned behind me again, but I didn’t need to. Rourke had sounded the call. The Redcap charged toward us, coming in close. Too close. With a roar, the beast swiped its claw at the nearest changeling. She stumbled back out of the way just in time. And then a dozen arrows sunk into the beast’s flesh. He fell to the ground so hard that the floor rumbled underneath us.
Roars sounded from the bashed door. I swiveled my head toward the sound to find that two more Redcaps had stormed inside the Academy while we’d all been too focused on the first attackers. These two were larger than the others, their matted chests heaving with the intensity of their breaths. And then they charged.
They were past the front of the lobby within seconds, cancelling out the effectiveness of our rangers. The front line fighters braced themselves and raised their swords to meet the flesh of the beasts. My heart hammered hard as I watched Finn and Liam launch toward the first. They were strong and powerful, but I was scared for them all the same. Alwyn took the second, swirling with the speed and grace of a violent dancer.
Another Redcap charged through the door. Its red eyes landed right on me. Heart thundering, I tightened my grip on my sword and braced myself for the beast’s attack. It was on me within an instant, its deafening roar pounding against my eardrums.
When it reached me, both claws sliced through the air. I ducked low and rolled to the side, thankful for the weeks of practice with Rourke. The beast bellowed when it didn’t hit its mark, hurling a heavy fist right at my head. Gritting my teeth, I threw up my sword to block the blow. My blade sliced into flesh, and the Redcap staggered back.
I jumped to my feet and bent my knees, raising my sword high. As if by instinct, my body began to move, twisting and swirling and dancing side to side. The world was a blur around me as I blocked and parried. And when I finally stabbed the beast in the heart, I’d forgotten where I was.
Wrapping my hands tight around the hilt, I yanked my sword from the beast’s skin. I tried to block out the sound of steel inside of flesh and the sight of all that blood. Just as I wiped my blade with the end of my cloak, I heard a strangled cry from behind me. I whirled toward the sound.
Alwyn had fallen to the floor, and a Redcap loomed over her twisted body. There was a cut on her cheek, and her cloak had been ripped to shreds. The beast pounded its chest, roaring in brutal anger. He was going to kill her. One swipe of those massive claws, and she’d be dead.
I dropped the bloodied cloth and pounded my feet on the ground, my eyes focused on Alwyn’s terror-filled face. The beast raised its claws. With a shout, I launched through the air, my sword held high. I had no idea if I would make it. I had no idea if my blade would find its mark.
Just as the Redcap swung its claws toward Alwyn’s broken body, I threw all my weight behind my sword as I flew right at its gut. The tip sunk in as I landed on the ground. With a grunt, I shoved the blade in further, twisting and turning until I was certain the wound was deep.
And then the beast crashed onto the floor.
Alwyn scrabbled back, her eyes wild. Tears poured down her face, and blood caked to her skin. She gave me a slight nod and a smile before I turned back to the door.
If my count was right, there would be only one Redcap left. With a deep breath, I raised my sword and strode over to the broken door to peer outside. Finn’s hand whispered at my elbow as he tried to hold me back, but I stepped forward all the same.
Because I didn’t hear the scratch of claws or the roar of beastly lungs.
I heard someone crying.
I stepped through the broken door and lowered my sword. A girl huddled on the stone steps, shuddering as sobs shook her trembling body. Keeping a tight grip on my sword, I glanced from left to right, scanning the darkness for any sign of another Redcap, though I knew I wouldn’t find them. I could tell by looking at her exactly what she was. This girl was the other beast. And she looked broken.
I knelt down beside her and put a timid hand on her shoulder. She flinched, and her sobs suddenly stopped. She whirled toward me, her eyes wild, her pupils dilated with red.
“Get away from me,” she hissed.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I said quietly. “I just want to help. I know that you cannot help yourself when you become the beast.”
“You’re fae,” she spat. “Of course you want to hurt me. That’s all any of you ever want to do.”
A pause. “Is that why you came here? Is that why you attacked the Academy?”
She sniffled and let out a harsh laugh. “You have no idea about anything, do you? You don’t know what it’s like out here, not when you’re hidden away in the safety of this place. But these are glass walls, Norah Oliver. And one day, they will break.”
Unease churned through my gut. “How do you know my name?”
The girl pushed up from the ground and lifted her chin, suddenly defiant and strong rather than sad. Her glittering green eyes pierced my soul. There was something about her, something I couldn’t put my finger on. Her long blonde hair reached her waist, highlighting her gaunt form. She looked as though she hadn’t eaten in days. How long had she been living out in the wild of Otherworld? When was the last time she’d had a full meal?
She took a step forward and shoved a finger at my chest. “I am you. And you are me.”
Blood roared in my ears. “What are you talking about?”
“Did
you ever stop to think that you had to take someone’s place?” she asked, her voice turning sharp. “There were four fae babes who were chosen to become the Tithe that year. Sophia, Lila, Sam, and…me. When Queen Marin decided to hide you in the human realm by replacing me with you, what did you think would happen to me? Did you think I’d be allowed to stay at home with my family? Of course not. If I suddenly did not disappear as planned, that would be too obvious to her enemies. They would know what she’d done.”
All the blood drained from my face as I blinked into the furious gaze of the girl before me. None of this had ever occurred to me, but now that she was spelling it out, one excruciating word after another, I felt as though I’d been staring into a sea of clouds all these months. Everything she said made sense. Why hadn’t I seen this until now?
My mother had hidden me in the human realm by having me take the place of the fae babe who had been meant to go in the first place. And then that babe had never been sent.
The girl sneered as she continued to poke a strong finger at my chest. “Queen Marin didn’t want me dead, but she couldn’t very well let me go free, now could she?”
My face drained. Queen Marin couldn’t let her go, because if anyone found her...then they might realize she’d sent another babe in her place.
“Where did you go? What happened to you?” I asked, even though I knew what she would say. Looking into her eyes now, it was clear. She’d been lost to the wild of Otherworld, and she’d become a beast along the way. And now she had come for her revenge.
She leaned forward, her nose only a breath away from mine. Her eyes danced with darkness and anger, built up from years upon years of horror. “The Wilde Fae. They gave me to the Wilde Fae. And then I got bitten by a Redcap, and your precious Hunters kept trying to track me down to kill me on the spot. Because you see, Marin was dead by this point, and the Hunters had no reason to keep me alive anymore. I’ve spent my entire life running from them. They’ve killed friend after friend after friend, but no more. I’m here to put a stop to this. And you’re next.”
Claws flashed in the air as she raised her arm high. I spotted them a second too late.
Chapter Twelve
The next few minutes were a blur. Pain exploded in my neck, shouts roared around me, and the world went black. Consciousness left me. When I cracked open my eyes, it seemed as though years had passed. My entire body felt as if it had been put through a blender, and my neck throbbed with an impossible pain. I stared up at the ceiling, recognizing the unique pattern that ran along the top of each wall. I was in the infirmary. Again. And this time, I had a thick bandage weighing down on my neck.
Wincing, I cut my eyes to the left to find my four instructors dotted around the room, all passed out in uncomfortable chairs. Liam, the closest, must have heard my movement because he was by my side within an instant. He leaned onto the thin mattress, took my hand, and squeezed tight. Those fiery eyes of his had dimmed, worry erasing the passion and desire they usually held.
“Norah,” he said in a rough voice as he rubbed my hand between his. “Thank the forest. You had us worried there.”
“What happened?” My voice came out a croak. Also, ouch. Even talking made rivers of pain run down my neck.
Liam’s expression went grim. “The Redcap girl attacked you. Somehow, she was able to shift her hands into claws without shifting the rest of her body. She ripped right through your neck. If Kael hadn’t been there, there’s no way in hell you would have…well, let’s just say the wounds would have been even worse than they are.”
Frowning, I tried to think back. “Kael was there?”
I didn’t remember him being there at all.
A nod. “He decided to transform into his beast and went outside to catch the Redcaps from behind, just in case we weren’t able to hold them off. He would have gotten to the fight sooner, but he ran into a couple more beasts along the way. By the time he got the front doors, you were outside. He was there when you spoke to the girl.” A pause. “He filled us in on everything she said.”
I winched, leaning back into the soft pillow and closing my eyes against the pain. “She was right to be angry. She was right to hate me for what has happened to her all these years.”
“Maybe so, but that doesn’t make what she’s done right. Revenge is never the answer, no matter how powerful of a siren call it might be.”
“Where is she?” I asked. “What’s happened to her?”
“She’s in the dungeons, awaiting her fate, whatever that may be. Alwyn wants to get opinions from the other fae before she does anything. It’s not a particularly straightforward situation.” Liam let out a heavy sigh.
“We should do something to help her.”
“Norah.” His voice was pained. “She tried to kill you. She killed Boyd, and she killed the Hunter that we found in the forest. She’s viscous and angry, and it has nothing to do with the beast within. She can control it, just like Kael can. So, all of this? It’s her.”
My heart slammed against my ribcage. “I know.”
“And yet you still want to help her?”
“We did this to her.” I took a deep breath and plowed forward. “The reason she’s so vicious and angry? It’s because of me. I took her place in the Tithe, and she was forced to be raised by the Wilde Fae. She’s been hunted all her life. And it’s all because of me.”
My voice cracked on the last word, and a tear slipped down my cheek. How could I live with myself if I put the final nail in this girl’s coffin? How could I ever be the kind of fae I wanted to be if I let this girl be executed? Yes, she’d done some horrible things, but so had we.
“This is not your fault, my love. You cannot blame yourself for the decisions made by others far before you were even born.”
A sharp pain went through my neck, and I winced. Liam shifted up onto the bed, brushing a stray strand of hair off my cheek. His touch was electric, and a soothing heat began to spread through my skin.
“We’ll talk about this later,” he murmured. “For now, you need to sleep.”
The next time I awoke, Liam was gone and so was Rourke and Finn. Kael sat by my side, staring out the window with a hollow look in his eyes. My neck was better, at least. It no longer felt as though every single nerve ending had been torn in half.
“There she is,” Kael said with a smile, though I could see the pain and worry hiding behind his attempt at lightheartedness.
“Hi, Kael.” I reached up to touch the bandage on my neck, one that was much lighter than the one that had been there before. “Where’s Liam?”
“He had to rest.” He glanced back out the window again. “Alwyn had to practically drag him away from you. He’s drained himself trying to heal your wound.”
My heart clenched tight. “I wish he wouldn’t have done that.”
“There was no talking him out of it,” Kael said with a slight smile. “He’d do anything for you, you know. And so would I.”
“I heard.” I gazed up at him and reached out to touch his hand. “Thank you for saving me.”
He stiffened and glanced away. “You shouldn’t be thanking me. If I’d been quicker to see what was happening, you wouldn’t be in this situation right now. You wouldn’t be…”
He trailed off and closed his eyes, and a strange unease began to slither through my gut.
“Wouldn’t be what, Kael?”
“You were wounded pretty badly, Norah,” he said in a tight voice. “She got her venom inside of you. A lot of it. I’ve never seen anyone survive an attack that severe, and I’ve certainly never seen anyone come out on the other side and not become…”
Again, he trailed off, like he couldn’t bear to speak the words aloud. Dread pooled in my gut as I stared at him. The venom. The claws. The survival. All the blood drained from my face as I weighed his words in my mind.
No. It couldn’t be. He had to be wrong.
But there was no escaping it.
“Redcaps spread their disease with the
ir fangs and their claws,” I whispered, the horror of the realization sweeping over me. Tears filling my eyes, I twisted my hands around the bed sheets. “Are you saying I’m…I’m one of them now? Are you saying I’ve turned into a beast?”
I certainly didn’t feel like anything of the sort, not that I had any idea what it felt like to have a monstrous creature brewing inside of me. My hands were still very much hands. I didn’t crave flesh or blood. I still felt a lot of pain from my wound, yes, but I felt like me. The same Norah I’d always been.
Kael finally met my gaze then, and his eyes flicked across my face as if he were searching for something in my expression. “No, I don’t see it in you just yet. The venom hasn’t claimed you. You would know if it had.”
Relief whooshed through me, but it was only momentary.
“That said, it soon will,” he added, through there was a spark of hope in his eyes that hadn’t been there moments before. “We need to find you some Winter Starlight. If it hasn’t taken ahold of your soul yet, then we still have time.”
Suddenly, he was on his feet, and he was halfway to the door in less than a moment.
“Kael,” I called out, pushing up onto my elbows. He glanced over his shoulder with a fierce determination in his eyes that took my breath away. “When will you leave to go find it?”
“At first light,” he said. “I’m not waiting any longer than that.”
“Then, I want to come with you.”
A pause. “Norah, you haven’t fully recovered. Your wound has mostly healed, but you need to rest.”
“I will rest. Tonight,” I said in a firm voice. “I want to go with you, Kael.”
“No.” He shook his head. “You’ll stay here and rest while I go and fetch the Starlight. I’m not letting you ride all over Otherworld until you’re fully healed.”
And with that, he was gone.
The next morning, I was waiting for Kael in the stables when my four instructors rushed in for their horses. They all stopped short and stared when they found me on my old familiar friend, the horse I’d secretly named Biscuit after saving her from lightning that day in the Summer lands.
A Touch of Starlight Page 9
