Scarlet Tempest, #1

by Juniper King

He slept on his stomach with one arm draped over me, and the other hanging off the opposite edge of the bed. By the looks—and smell—of it, he must have collapsed after a few bottles of alcohol—he wasn’t even under the blankets.

  I carefully slid out from under his arm; he didn’t even stir.

  The wooden floor creaked under my bare feet as I maneuvered across the small bedroom. I turned around half expecting Aksel to wake up, but he was sleeping like the dead.

  Outside the bedroom on a beaten-up sofa, Ayre lay under a thin, moth-eaten blanket.

  Sun streamed in through the tread bare curtains which barely covered the window, illuminating the thousands of dust motes floating through the air. A glimmer on the floor caught my eye. Broken shards of dark coloured glass were strewn around the base of the wall near a small fireplace.

  Walking closer, the strong reek of alcohol assaulted my senses, powerful enough to make my nose crinkle. Some liquid still stained the deteriorating wall.

  “He does have a bit of a temper, that one.”

  I startled, whipping around to see Ayre still lounging on the couch but with one golden eye open and watching me.

  Once my heart rate slowed, I walked over to the couch, shooing Ayre’s feet away so I could sit on the far end. “Is he really that angry with me?” My eyes went back to the shattered remains of the bottle on the floor.

  “No,” Ayre said as he lifted himself up to sitting. “Well, not you personally, anyway,” he continued, scratching the back of his head. “He’s… not happy with the way things happened in Woodburne.”

  I froze. I had expected his outburst to have stemmed from my foolishness last night. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s devastated, watching a pissant little town he had no attachment to burn to the ground,” I snapped, a sudden wave of anger bubbling in my chest.

  “Selynna—”

  “If he’s so upset, why didn’t he save anyone else?” I shook with anger, my hands clenched to the point of pain.

  Ayre held my stare, nonplussed by my outburst, his eyes soft and understanding. He placed a consoling hand on my knee, the simple action shattering my bubble of unwarranted rage, replacing it with something ugly and uncomfortable. I sighed heavily, my swollen eyes prickling once again.

  This wasn’t Aksel’s fault—it was mine. Ilane had come because of me. Those flereous had come because of me. Aksel and Ayre had gotten gravely hurt because of me. I had instigated things with him last night. Everything was my fault and Aksel just happened to be around to clean up the messes.

  “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean… Gods, I’m such a fucking disaster.” I fisted my hands on either side of my head and slumped forward.

  “You’re not a disaster.” Ayre took my hand, pulling it away from my face and waiting until I looked at him. “You’ve faced a lot of difficult situations in an incredibly short amount of time, and you’ve handled them as best as you could. You’re not a disaster. You’re stronger than you think.”

  I snorted. “Sure, if being ‘strong’ means being emotionally erratic, then, yeah, I’m strong as hell,” I mumbled more to myself than him. I wanted to cry and scream and break things. Anything that could make the hurting stop.

  “Come here,” he said after what felt like a few minutes of silence. “I want to show you something.” With my hand still held in his, he guided me up off the couch and led me towards the door.

  “Where are we going?” Aksel was still dead to the world, after all.

  “Not far,” Ayre said. Well, if he didn’t seem worried about leaving Aksel alone and unconscious then it was probably fine.

  In the still early light, the soft morning sun beamed through the sparse canopy of leaves above, creating a beautiful, dancing mosaic on the forest floor. Dew still clung to the tall grass, so untamed in this area of the forest it was practically up to my bare knees. I shivered.

  Ayre kept a firm hold of my hand to keep me from stumbling through the underbrush as he pulled me along behind him.

  It got darker the farther we went from the cabin, the shroud of leaves high above us gradually thickening and blocking out much of the sun’s rays. We came upon a dense curtain of leaves hanging from a willow tree.

  Ayre turned to face me, his finger over his lips. “Just through here. Move slow and be quiet, we don’t want to startle them,” he whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

  Startle what?

  His hand still holding mine, Ayre led me through the low-hanging branches, holding them up for me to duck under.

  “Oh…” my voice was lost in awe.

  I stepped into the edge of a small clearing. In the center, glittering magically under the full light from the morning sun, was a large pond, the water clear as crystal and calm as glass. On the far edge was a doe taking a sip of water. Her focus drew up to Ayre and I as we stepped through the leaves, her shining black eyes weighing the level of threat we posed. After a moment she bowed her head back to the water, uninterested. Though she was a spectacular sight of nature in herself, I knew she was not what we’d come here to see.

  Tiny glowing orbs floated just above the water’s surface. Dozens of them. I took a step closer, mouth agape.

  “They’re wisps,” Ayre whispered in my ear. “Humans sometimes call them ‘fool’s fire’. Wisps are shy, so humans don’t often see them. They tend to hide if they sense any of you stumbling through the forest.”

  “They’re not scared of us?” I asked in awe.

  “Well, they might be a little nervous around you, but they have no reason to be afraid of me. If you stay with me, you’ll be fine.” Right, satyrs were forest creatures. “Come here.” He tugged on my hand a bit, guiding me to the water’s edge.

  I knelt while he stretched his legs out in front of him. I stayed perfectly still so as not to frighten the little wisps. Even when pins and needles began to spread through my folded legs, I didn’t move an inch.

  Some of the spirits closer to the edge of the pond began floating towards the shore. Eventually, one of the little creatures came to investigate Ayre.

  Upon closer inspection, they weren’t just balls of white light, they were little cherubic beings. Large heads made of what looked like white fire, wispy arms, and a body that ended in a small tail.

  The brave little wisp floated right up onto Ayre’s head and began playing with his bed-hair.

  A feeling of glee warmed my chest. I would never have expected a sweet, animal-like innocence from a Super.

  I was reminded of the time when I’d found a mouse in the orphanage. I would sneak him little bits of crackers and some cheese whenever I had the chance. At first, he would always inspect me, just like the wisp had, stretching out his nose to give me a cautious sniff before grabbing the crumbs and running away. I’d fed him so often that eventually he would come right up to me and give my finger a friendly little boop.

  “They’re playful and curious by nature,” Ayre added. “Sometimes they see children in the forest and try to play with them, like a game of hide-and-seek. Sometimes the children get lost. Humans think it’s something malicious, that they spirit children away on purpose, but it’s not like that.”

  “Humans often fear what they don’t understand,” I agreed.

  A second spirit tentatively floated closer to me. I stayed still as stone as it continued towards my face, inspecting me. I couldn’t help grinning like an idiot.

  It had no eyes, but instead two absences in the flames that seemed to act as eyes. The little cherub gave me a tentative blink as it sized me up. It must have been satisfied with what it saw because it scooted around my shoulders and began playing in my long hair, just as the other one had done with Ayre. I had a moment of panic, thinking it was fire, but it felt more like the cool kiss of mist.

  “They’re curious of you. They probably don’t see many humans all the way out here.” Ayre’s little spirit friend was tugging and fluffing his hair, almost like it was playing or trying to preen him, like a bird.

  “It tickles,” I sa
id rather innocently, tingles dancing across my skin. The little wisp finally stopped moving and got comfortable at the back of my neck, cuddling up in my long hair. It was calming.

  Ayre took my hand again, surprising me, his warm fingers wrapped around mine were strangely reassuring. My eyes met his and whatever emotion was hidden behind his eyes looked deep and heavy. It was strange to be looking at such a serious version of the seductive face I had come to know.

  “I know what you’re going through is awful,” he began, “and you have a lot of emotions going through your head right now. This isn’t your fault. None of this is your fault.” His thumb stroked the back of my hand. “You of all people probably won’t agree but looking for a little distraction or physical release doesn’t make you a terrible person. And I promise you, Aksel’s not mad at you,” he said with a little smirk. “I know it won’t make the pain go away, but I hope this can make you feel at least a little better.”

  A lump grew in my throat and I turned away to hide the emotion building behind my eyes. It was true that I couldn’t forget about what happened, I don’t think I could ever forget, but my heart felt a little lighter, both from the wisps and from Ayre’s attempts to console and befriend me.

  “Thank you, Ayre, I appreciate the sentiment. It’s going to take time for me to fully process things, but I’m glad you two are here with me.” I gave his fingers a little squeeze.

  “Take all the time you need, we’ll be here with you,” he grinned.

  A smile grew on my lips in response to his. I knew now that I had a genuine camaraderie with these two Supers. Much like Aksel, deep down Ayre was a nice guy, more than just the sexual deviant I thought he was when I’d first met him.

  “You two seem close,” I pointed out.

  Ayre shrugged and looked back to the pond. “I guess you could say that. We are business partners.”

  They seemed closer than business partners.

  Ayre’s focus was trained on the wisps floating on the pond’s surface. He watched as the little one that had been keeping him company decided to flee back to its kin.

  “I was surprised we didn’t see any Supers while we were walking yesterday.” From the stories people told, I had always pictured the forests to be teaming with supernatural creatures hiding behind every tree and bush.

  I looked over at Ayre’s profile and saw the corner of his mouth pulled up in a smile. “I’d nearly forgotten.”

  My head quirked to the side. “Forgotten what?”

  “The kind of misinformation that tends to spread through secluded little villages,” he shook his head. “Most lower-level beings tend to keep to themselves. If they sense a human around they will likely hide and wait for them to pass, unless they like causing harm or mischief—pixies or kitsune or redcaps are prime examples of that. Humanoids like Aksel and I generally live in human towns or our own homes in Kimyr.”

  “Kimyr? You mean the supernatural realm?”

  “You don’t think we call it the ‘supernatural realm’, do you?” he smiled teasingly. “Kimyr is the name of our world.”

  Made sense. After all, we didn’t call our world the ‘human realm’, it was just Loam.

  It was interesting, though, that the true name of the supernatural realm was never included in any of the books I’d read, proving just how little we really knew about Supers. But I had learned from those books that Supers could pass effortlessly from one realm to another. Some stayed out of our realm entirely, but others enjoyed the interaction with humans or our lands. Ayre of course being the kind of Super who enjoyed fraternizing with human women.

  “So then why all the stories of Supers attacking humans?”

  “Because it does happen on occasion, but the instances get blown way out of proportion. Usually the attacks that you hear about happen when a human unknowingly walks into some being’s territory or den, they almost never happen on human lands. There are Kimyrians who hate humans, just like there are humans who hate Kimyrians, but most of us like where our two realms have ended up. We want to keep the peace.

  “That being said, if Ilane’s attempted kidnapping of you got around to human ears, fairies would be on the watch list until some other species did something worse.”

  I thought about that, how all fairies could have ended up becoming targets because of Ilane’s actions. “That seems… unfair.”

  Ayre shrugged again. “It is. But I suppose it makes sense, in a way, given that not too long ago we used to be enemies. I’m sure you know, but there used to be a lot more human and Kimyrian deaths before our leaders got together and prevented all-out war between our two species. Some prejudices just can’t be forgotten.

  “I wouldn’t say we’re wanted criminals on human lands or anything, in larger towns we have more anonymity, but… have you ever been in a shop that sells expensive things? Precious stones, or high-end clothing?”

  “Actually, I have.” Woodburne only had one of those shops, it sold overpriced jewelry and clothing. Poor people like me liked to peruse the wares on occasion and fantasize about what could be.

  “How did the shopkeeper treat you?”

  “Well, they followed me around the store as I browsed. It made me feel pretty uncomfortable, actually.”

  “That’s kind of what it’s like for us to be in small towns like yours, mercenaries are like the shopkeepers, watching and waiting for us to do something wrong.”

  “Is that why Aksel pretends to be human?” I couldn’t help the question from coming out.

  Ayre huffed a bitter laugh through his nose. “They wouldn’t even wait to draw their blades at that point. You saw him out of his glamour, right?”

  “Yeah.” Remembering that night, my voice came out small.

  “Well, you’re still with us. You weren’t scared? Didn’t want to shout for mercenary help?” His voice had lost some of its kindness from before, adopting a more derisive tone.

  “Of course not,” I snapped in response, annoyed by what he was implying. “He’d just saved my life, why would I be afraid of him? If I would have called mercenaries on anyone—which I wouldn’t have done anyway—it would have been Ilane. Besides…” I stopped myself mid-thought.

  “Besides what?”

  I felt the tips of my ear warm. “It was, well, it was kind of… cool to see a deydre.” Fairies and satyrs were one thing, but a deydre? Seeing one was rarer than getting struck by lightning.

  “Cool?” The corner of his mouth pulled up into a little smirk. I looked away to hide the blush rising in my cheeks.

  “No, I mean, not in a weird gawking way. People always talk like deydre are monsters and that they’re horrible looking, but he was actually really… intriguing?” Was that the right word?

  “Intriguing?” Ayre said with a little chuckle.

  “I mean, no, I… argh, never mind.” My face was scorching hot at this point. Everything Aksel related in my mind was nothing but a jumbled mess at the moment.

  Ayre chuckled to himself before his attention was drawn back to the water. We sat together in amicable silence for a while.

  I hugged my knees into my chest. Why would Ayre have thought I would call mercs to save me? I was regularly harassed by mercs, the thought of calling them to help hadn’t even crossed my mind. Aksel was a much better guardian, I felt way safer with him.

  My face twisted into a frown. Mercs follow around innocent Supers, and rumours get spread because of how they look, and yet the mercs hadn’t protected anyone from the two evil Supers who’d actually posed a threat and destroyed the town?

  “Can I ask you something?” I asked.

  “Of course.”

  “Something’s been bothering me since yesterday,” I broached. “You said before that the inn was the last place the flereous came to, and that Aksel was mad with the way things had happened…” I wasn’t sure how to ask my question. “So then, where were you two while they were attacking the rest of the town? Where were the mercenaries?”

  Ayre looked up to
the sky, his eyes pensive as he phrased his answer. “I told you that flereous work quickly,” he sounded defensive.

  “But… there were only two. I know for a fact there were a couple mercs in the tavern that night, and—”

  “Selynna,” Ayre snapped. I flinched at his sharp outburst. “Don’t you think we feel bad enough about this situation already?” His eyes bore into mine. “You might not like it, but not everyone is as altruistic as you want them to be. You were our prerogative.”

  A sudden heaviness expanded from my chest at his words. I hadn’t meant it to sound judgmental, but I could see how it might have been construed that way. His standoffishness only made me feel worse about the whole situation, making me want to retaliate by snapping back at him. I was the one who’d lost everything.

  …but he was right.

  It hadn’t been their job to save the town. They weren’t some legendary heroes, no matter how my mind embellished them. My throat grew thick.

  I was projecting, feeling guilty for not having seen the signs myself. I’d been more or less awake the entire night, tossing and turning while others suffocated and died.

  “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… I’m grateful to you both… I just…” The words caught in my throat.

  Ayre sighed heavily, the corners of his mouth sagging. He put his hand on mine again. “No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. That night… Aksel and I were ambushed in our room. We heard a knock at the door and thought it might be you looking for more answers.

  “I opened the door and got knocked unconscious. Aksel told me that the female flereous barged into the room and stabbed him in the stomach before he could get to his weapon. She started a fire in our room and left us both for dead. Aksel woke me up, I healed him, and we hid in another room, just before you came staggering by.”

  That’s right. I had been so self-centered that I hadn’t even asked about the blood all over Aksel’s shirt, and the blood coating Ayre’s face.

  Ayre ran a hand through his hair and leaned back on his palms. “I brought you out here to make you feel better and I’ve probably just made you feel worse.” He gave me his signature, lopsided smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Though even with a hint of sadness, it was enough to make my heart skip a beat.