Within seconds I’m hard, and I curse myself because how fucked up do I have to be to want her like this? When she’s dying and in pain?
But it doesn’t matter. I’ll always want Kari. In any state. Forever.
I lie down next to her and hold her as tightly as I dare, but it’s a long time before I’m able to sink into sleep.
CHAPTER SEVEN
________
AERIC
I wait until I hear the humans’ breath smooth out with sleep before I speak. “I know that you’re awake.”
Brae and Verys rise with barely a whisper of sound and join me at the edge of the clearing. This is the first time that we’ve been remotely alone since this happened, and all of us should rest, but like them, I don’t think that I could close my eyes. I’m swirling inside with the pull toward Kari, what it means, and how much I don’t want this to be happening right now.
“This can’t be an accident,” Verys says.
“The fact that we were there?”
He nods. “I have no idea if any other fae were close enough to feel what we felt, or to save her. But it feels…”
“Important,” Brae finishes for him. “I know. Even without everything else, the Goddess wants her alive.”
I bristle a little, muscles tensing. No. I throw my senses outward, listening to the jungle for any sign that we’ve been followed, letting the rich scent of nature speak to me and calm my mind. Even from here I can catch her scent, sweet sugar and roses. Perfect and delicate. Sorting out my senses grounds me, and I’m able to bring my focus back to Brae. It’s not his fault that this is the last thing that I want, or the fact that any time someone tells me something is willed by the Goddess I want to scream and hit something. I’ve had too many people justify bad things with that excuse. But in this case, he might be right.
It doesn’t make me feel better.
“So you both?” I ask. There’s no need to tell them what I’m referring to. It’s like a tug in my gut, leading straight to Kari. The three of us felt a pulse of magic when we exited into the human world, and now I know what it was. But I don’t want it. Not like this.
Please, I pray, hoping that she’ll hear me and listen even through my anger. Please, not like this.
“Yes,” Brae says. “It’s how I know that it can’t be an accident. There aren’t coincidences like that in Allwyn.”
Verys nods too.
“But we weren’t in Allwyn,” I protest. “We were in fucking New York.”
Brae gives me a look that I deserve, because even I’m not that stupid. “How long ago were we invited to that performance? How much time did Kallan spend in the human world preparing? How—”
I cut him off with a raised hand. “I know. I just—this isn’t what I had planned.”
Verys smiles grimly. “In my experience, what you have planned and what the Goddess has planned for you are rarely the same.”
I swallow down the words that are about to fly from my lips, because if anyone would know, it’s Verys. “Well,” I say, “I want to be sure. When we cross the border, we’ll know.”
“Yes,” Brae says with a sigh. “Though I’m not sure I need that to know.”
I grit my teeth and resist responding. Glancing out into the woods, I scan the mist that’s seeping through the trees. All of it seems to be quiet, for now, even though we’re broadcasting our presence with the firelight. This section of the Kingdom of Nature isn’t one where I’d expect to encounter much danger—unless we’ve been followed.
“We need to move faster,” I say.
“Do you think she can ride?” Verys asks, the question directed at Brae.
He nods. “Yes, but not on her own. It’ll have to be one of us.”
“Not with him,” I say, nodding to where Kari and Kent are tangled in sleep. His hands are possessive, even unconscious, curling around her hips and back. The urge to walk over and tear them off rises, but I don’t want to wake her. Seeing her in pain sends terror twisting through my gut, and the fact that she has some peace on her face is comforting. For now.
That dress she’s wearing, dirty and tattered from our travel, still clings to her body in a way that I can’t look away from. My eyes seek out the places that her pale skin is exposed, and my anger flares again at the human man because right now, I’d do almost anything to take his place.
Verys makes a non-committal sound. “He knows her, and he clearly cares about her. We’re strangers. If she wants to ride with him, we can’t stop that.”
“He’s still human,” I say. “He can’t carry her as long as we can.”
“A point that I’m sure will make him like us that much more,” Brae says with a wince. “I heard your conversation.”
A soft breeze picks up through the trees, unsettling the mist and sending tendrils of it towards the fire like a cold hand reaching. “Don’t worry about it. As long as we keep her alive, he can’t hurt us.” I swallow, the next words painful as I speak them. “Even if she doesn’t survive, he won’t be a problem.”
I hear Brae’s sudden intake of breath, and Verys goes very still. The thought of Kari dying, even the possibility, feels like a hole is opening up in the earth beneath me. A giant fist is clutching tight around my chest and I can’t breathe.
“We’ll get her to Urien,” Brae says. “If anyone can break a curse like this, it’s him.”
“Do you have enough magic to keep her alive until then?”
He shakes his head. “Maybe. I’ll have to recover some at some point. Or she might be able to use it, if it’s combined.”
Verys snorts. “That ought to go over well with Kent.”
Looking over at Kari again, she looks even more pale. The life is being leeched from her before our eyes, and only the thin barrier of Brae’s magic is stopping it. “He’ll like what keeps her alive. You can have whatever magic you need from me,” I say.
“Mine too,” Verys says.
He’s staring at her too. She’s leaned back, her arm fallen out of Kent’s embrace. It looks like she’s reaching towards the fire. Towards warmth and light and life. Everything about her speaks to me. I want to know her. I want to touch her. I want to do everything to her and with her.
Shit.
Brae is right, I don’t need to get to the border to know.
I push that thought aside, because I can’t think about it. All I can think about is making sure that Kari stays alive. Everything else has to wait.
“Let’s get some rest,” I say. “We should move as soon as day breaks.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
________
KARI
I wake with a start and the sensation that I’m falling, but I’m not. Just moving. But this motion is different, and the world is coming to me in pieces.
The pain today is an ache that’s attached to my bones. I want to scratch at it, rip it out of my limbs and gut, but when I move my fingers they barely flicker. I’m cold too, but I’m pressed against warmth and it feels good.
“Welcome back to the world.” The voice vibrates through me. That piece hadn’t hit me yet. There’s an arm around my waist and I’m sitting upright, pulled close to his body.
As I open my eyes, there’s green everywhere—sun shining through the trees and mist, lighting up the space around us like an emerald and reflecting against Aeric’s already green hair and skin.
“Hi,” I say. It’s quiet. My throat is dry and it’s all I can manage, but I see the side of his mouth turn up into a small smile and I know that he doesn’t mind.
It’s a strange angle to look at someone’s face, leaning against his shoulder the way I am. But he has a beautiful profile, and I get a gorgeous look at his jaw. I used to laugh when people used the expression that a jaw could ‘cut glass.’
Now I know what they meant.
Aeric is the source of the warmth I feel, and right now I don’t ever want to move away. It feels like he’s a fire and that I’ve just come in from the cold. I would blush—if my body were c
apable of it right now—because all I want to do is snuggle closer to him. He’s Fae and gorgeous and so far out of my league that it’s silly. Not to mention that the fact that I’m even thinking about that right now feels wrong.
As if he’s reading my thoughts, Aeric looks down at me. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen eyes this color green. It’s a true and pure green. Vivid. Darker than his skin, but lighter and brighter than his hair. They’re captivating. But right now they’re assessing me. “Are you all right?”
“I think so.”
“The pain?”
I sigh, relaxing my body further against his, because just the reminder of it makes me tired. “That’s always there.”
It occurs to me that the thing that woke me was the sensation of movement, but Aeric isn’t carrying me. We’re riding. With an effort, I sit up, and Aeric’s arm on my back supports me. Amazingly, I feel solid in the motion, like he’s lending me magical strength. I suppose it’s possible that he is.
My legs are slung across his, and we’re both on…a horse? But it doesn’t look like any horse that I’ve ever seen. If not for the familiar shape, it would seem like we’re riding a tree or a bush. In front of us, Kent rides a similar creature, and I can get a better look.
The tail I see is formed of hanging vines, its body from moss, bark, leaves, and what looks like jasmine flowers.
“What is it?”
Aeric props me up more in his arms, my back leaning against his chest, and his lips are close to my ear. He doesn’t speak loudly. “A fae beast. Humans might call them elementals. These will take the shape you need if they’re in a good mood and you make a good bargain with them.”
“I had kind of hoped that fae horses were like this,” I say. “It seems more magical that way.”
I slip a little, and his hand grows tighter around my waist. “Fae horses are beautiful too,” he says. “Born in every color that you can imagine, but they are horses. We’ll have to make sure you see some.”
Sadness wells in my chest like a wave, and I fight the rise of tears. I turn my head slowly, looking at our surroundings. It’s beautiful. Otherworldly, because this is a jungle, and yet it’s not. Not in a way that I’ve ever seen. The air is richer here, the mist swirling through the trees spilling rainbows over everything as the sun refracts through it. Vines cover the trees and hang from the branches, holding flowers that are bigger than I’ve ever seen in shades of color so bright that I’m pretty sure I’m hallucinating.
Sounds float through the air too, songs from birds that I can’t see. Melodies that could be in a symphony, other birds harmonizing with them. Everything feels so very alive. Except for me. I’m the only thing in Allwyn that’s dying. It’s stunning, and I won’t be able to enjoy it. The world blurs through my tears, and I duck my head. “I always wanted to come here,” I say. “I’ve wanted to see Allwyn forever. I never thought it would be like this.”
I feel Aeric’s body go incredibly still next to mine. “What do you mean?”
It takes a moment to find the right words, and I swallow. “I wanted to come here and explore, but I never thought it would be the last thing I saw before I died.”
Aeric turns my body towards him, still holding me close, and then his hand is under my chin, raising my gaze so it’s locked with his. “We are not bringing you all the way across the Kingdoms just to put you in a grave.” His fingers tighten on my hip, and I’m very aware of how close we are together, how I can feel his body under mine while he has me pinned with that emerald gaze. I can’t look away. “I’m not going to let you die. Do you understand?”
The certainty in his voice is a command, combined with a genuine certainty that I can feel down in my gut. His words make me feel safe. He’s not going to let it happen, and I believe him. “Yes.” The way we’re so close feels like we could close the gap—like he could lean down and kiss me at any second. Aeric’s eyes flicker to my lips, and for a moment I think that he’s going to do it. I hold my breath, because I’m not sure what will happen if he does. Do I want him to? My gut says yes and no and yes again, and then he’s pulling away and the spell is broken.
“Good,” He says, and I find myself able to breathe again.
Suddenly Kent is by our side. We’d been talking in whispers before, but Aeric abandoned that just now. Everyone knows that I’m awake.
Kent’s eyes roam over my body, filled with concern. “Kari?”
I can hear the question in his voice. Am I all right? Am I safe? There’s more there too, the way his eyes linger on me and my memory of the way he held me as I slept that makes me warm, and the fact that I was a breath away from kissing Aeric. I can feel my body trying to blush, I’m glad that it seems like I can’t. “I’m okay.” I give him a smile, hoping that it gives him some comfort.
He nods, and returns to his place in front of us. The look that he gives Aeric isn’t friendly. When he’s once again out of earshot, Aeric says, “You can ride with him if you like.” The tone he uses is carefully neutral, and my attention is drawn to his hand on my waist as he grips me a fraction tighter.
Riding with Kent would be wonderful. I’m probably never going to admit the number of times I’ve dreamt about being in his arms. But the thought of moving right now, when Aeric is so warm, is exhausting. I feel guilty for not wanting to go with Kent, but I’m enjoying this. “I don’t want to move,” I say softly.
“Very well.”
I must be imagining the tone of satisfaction in his voice.
“Where are we?”
He looks around, taking in the jungle that we’re passing. “We’re in the Kingdom of Flora, close to the Court of the Rainforest.”
Pain surges in my arms and my legs, and I gasp. No. I won’t do this. I’m not going to be a victim to this. Distraction. I need distraction, so I keep going even though I feel him watching me now. “I had no idea that that court existed.”
“Allwyn is much more complex than humans know. There are hundreds of courts, if not more. Some are as small as only one person. Some contain thousands. But we have Kingdoms too. Those courts with similarities are often close. Though it’s not always that way.”
“We will see the rainforest court?” I ask through gritted teeth. The pain is pulsing now, seeming to spread the intensity with each one of my heartbeats.
“No,” Aeric says, “I don’t think so. It’s out of the way, and we’re making better time with the mounts.”
I have to close my eyes. I listen to the sound of his heart under my ear, and the steady sound gives me focus. Feeling his breath calms me down. I can do this. “So where are we going?”
It takes me a second to realize that Aeric has stopped our mount, and a glance forward tells me Brae has stopped his too. Chills prickle across my skin like a warning. The trees around us have gone eerily silent. No more symphony. There’s not even any rustling leaves or branches. It’s like the entire jungle has taken a breath and held it.
“Aeric—”
He puts a finger to my lips to indicate silence.
Something is very wrong.
All at once Aeric has me in his arms and we’re off the mount and on the ground. Verys and Brae appear next to us, and the fae beasts are nowhere to be seen. Aeric places me on my feet, but my legs buckle, and Kent catches me before I hit the ground. I hate this. I hate being this helpless. Bright red anger washes through me and gives me enough strength to stand. But barely. The pain is pounding so hard now that I’m squinting through it. I will not fall. I will. Not. Fall.
“What’s going on?” Kent hisses, and Brae nods his head in the direction we came from.
I follow his gaze, and my stomach drops. Creeping through the trees in a different kind of mist—a thick fog that I can see rolling, crawling across the ground and over the underbrush. It shines with a sickly yellow light, barring any doubt that it’s not a natural phenomenon.
The three fae position themselves around us. “Keep her on her feet,” Aeric says. “We need to move.”
Before we can take a step, a shriek sounds through the trees. It’s not human. A bird, maybe. But like no bird I’ve ever heard. Another cry, this one a low and raucous caw. And another, a series of shrill tones rising one over the other.
“There.” Verys points to a branch where a bird sits.
It’s a massive raven, or might look like one if it weren’t the same sickly yellow as that fog. There’s another one in the tree beyond it, and I spy a third one too. The branches all around us are filled with birds, more appearing every second. The air is filled with nightmarish sound.
I jump at the heavy thud of impact, losing my balance, and turn far enough to see that one of the birds falling away from Aeric. Another one dives towards us and slams into an invisible wall in front of Verys. There’s a burst of light when the bird strikes that wall, and it strikes me. Magic. They’re holding magic around us, protecting us.
The forest goes silent again, and I shiver. I feel the weight of attention as all the birds look towards us in unison. We’re being hunted.
“Go,” Brae says. “Now.”
We start to move, as fast as we can, working through the underbrush and around the trees, trying to travel as a unit. I can’t move fast even with Kent supporting me. Every step I take is like walking on daggers.
The fog is faster, seeping up around us, catching at our heels. It burns, little drops of fire when the moisture meets my skin. Shit. Kent pulls me down and a blast of air rushes past me along with a shriek as one of the ravens falls on us from above. Slamming into the ground is like feeling all my bones break, but he has me up on my feet again, pulling me along.
Fevered: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (The Carnal Court Book 1) Page 4
