by M. J. Haag
“Yes. That is why we cannot eat the deer.” The look in his eyes softened, and his hand brushed over the length of my spine. “I’m sorry I could not give you that.”
I struggled not to shiver and to stay on topic.
“No way. Don’t be sorry. Had I seen that thing pop back up with glowing red eyes and an attitude that I was prey, I would have been mad you hadn’t warned me.”
“What else did you see?” he asked, tenderly trailing his knuckles over my cheek.
“When you first came to the caves, you had pale skin and eyes lighter than a blue daytime sky.” I reached up and ran my fingers over one of his braids. “You all wore your hair in braids like this. And your clothes blended with nature.” With his caresses distracting me too well, I let my hands smooth over the material covering his shoulders. His muscles twitched under my touch and a hint of desire flared to life inside me.
I stepped back from him, putting some much-needed space between us so we focused on more important things than how good it felt to be touched by him.
“Drav, your people trapped you down here. They disagreed with your use of the crystals, but that didn’t stop them from combining their power with that of the crystals they’d stolen. They used that power to curse the deer here, take your memories, and cause a cave-in. A very long time ago, you had a life before these caves. As much as what they did was a dick move, it also saved you.”
The words struck a chord in me. I’d had a life before these caves, too. Drav taking me down here was a dick move. But, what if he really had saved me by doing so? I immediately rejected the similarities between what his people had done to him and what he’d done to me.
“When the magic of their world died, so did they. Well, the original ones died. The kids they had with us humans continued to live on the surface just fine.”
He remained silent for a moment.
“Do you understand what that means? You aren’t meant to be down here, just like me. We’re meant to go back, Drav. To the surface.”
Before he could answer, someone spoke from behind him. I peeked around his side and saw the rest of the men standing on the path, bathed in the crystal’s light, their clothes bloodier than before. Despite the gore clinging to them, they all seemed unharmed.
“How long was I touching the crystal?” I asked Drav.
“Not long.” He turned to look at the other dark fey.
“The source did not give her a life crystal.”
They seemed troubled by the news.
“I don’t understand why that’s so important to you, Drav.”
“When we wear our crystal, we are safe. You need one.”
I didn’t see how he thought the crystals kept him safe. Maybe because of the weak light that those things cast? They sure hadn’t seemed to provide any extra protection from the hellhounds just now. I didn’t point any of that out, though.
“Maybe the source didn’t give me a life crystal because I’m not meant to connect with its power the way you guys do. You possessed magic to start with. Even though I’m some kind of descendant, I never have. So, maybe it wouldn’t have worked on me, anyway. Like I said, the magic of the world died out a long time ago. Well, everywhere but here.”
Kerr said something while Drav continued to study me. Finally, he grunted in agreement.
“We need to go to the city, Mya. We only have a short time before the hellhounds return.”
Because of the vision, I now had an idea of what that meant. Apparently, dead things didn’t like staying dead down here. A shiver of fear travelled my spine. Drav must have seen it. He cupped the back of my neck and drew me forward, pressing his forehead against mine.
“I will keep you safe.”
“But, why go to the city now? I just told you that you came from the surface, which happens to be the very same place I belong. The place you took me from against my will.”
I pulled back, but he didn’t look the least bit affected by my attempt at guilting him.
“We need to share what we’ve learned. Here and above,” he said.
“And after that?”
“We will decide together.”
The answer sounded reasonable, but I knew a covert“no” when I heard one. I didn’t throw a fit, though. I’d learned my lesson from the last one. Instead, I decided to play nice for the moment. Fighting didn’t work with Drav. I needed to figure out a way to convince him the surface was the best place for both of us. And fast.
“Ok. Thank you.”
He moved to pick me up, and I stopped him.
“I feel bad that you have to carry me all the time. Would it be easier if I hung onto your back or maybe if the others took turns carrying me?”
Several of the men said,“I carry Mya,” at the same time, which started a new thought. Maybe I could convince one of—
Drav growled and turned to face the rest of the men.
“No one carries Mya but me.”
I cocked my head at him, trying not to be annoyed.
“Drav, I only suggested it so you wouldn’t get tired. I’m not a bone to fight over.”
He turned back to me, a fierce light in his eyes.
“I swore to you I would not share you again. Ever.”
He had me there. I sighed and gave in, wrapping my arms around his neck when he bent to lift me. The other men made comments in their language, but Drav ignored them as he started forward.
“What are they saying?” I asked.
“They want to know if you have friends.”
I laughed. Species didn’t change some things. My humor quickly died as I thought of Kristin and wondered if she’d made it to Irving. I hoped not. It had been a wasteland.
“Why are you sad?” Drav asked, studying my face.
“I used to have friends. I don’t know if I still do. I need to find out, Drav. How long will it take to get me back home?” A desperate note crept into my voice despite my intention to play it cool.
“We will see what Molev has to say.”
He looked forward, following the three men who led the way from the cave.
I settled in his arms, idly brushing my fingers against the back of his neck as I considered what waited for me at the city. Drav turned his head to look down at me, and the fingers of his hand supporting my lower half started to tease the skin of my thigh. I quickly stilled my movements and looked back at the three men traveling behind us. Each of their gazes flicked to me before returning to their study of our surroundings. I no longer resented their interest or curiosity. I couldn’t begin to imagine what their lives had been like here.
* * * *
After hours of running, we took a small break. Half the men left to fish at a nearby spring while another one took my water bottle to refill. I’d only surrendered it after he promised to fill it upstream from everyone. I didn’t want to drink toilet water.
While the remaining two men and Drav lounged in the grass and conversed, I wandered through the protected grove. Even though I had Drav’s assurance we were safe because of the light from the glowing crystals above, I didn’t go far. I didn’t need or want to. I only wanted a little space so I could think about everything the source crystal had shown me. A world of colossal trees and magic. A world of fey and dwarves and who knew what else. Despite experiencing the hellhounds and seeing people become zombies with my own eyes, the idea of there being even more to this new, upside-down world dumbfounded me. How had we forgotten so much of our history?
More importantly, why hadn’t Drav seemed upset when I’d said his people had trapped him down here? I had no doubt he understood my words. However, I was beginning to doubt he understood the deeper meaning behind what I’d said.
His people had condemned all those who wanted to learn about the crystals to an eternity trapped in these dark caverns. For a people of earth and sky, that was essentially condemning them to living in hell. A hell that Drav was condemning me to, as well.
Yet, Drav and his friends had adapted. Maybe remo
ving the memory of their time before the caverns had been a mercy, but anger still boiled inside of me on Drav’s behalf. What if he’d had a family? The thought made my chest ache. I didn’t want to disappear from mine like he had.
I glanced at him and found his watchful gaze on me. He stood and came my way, leaving one of his friends shaking his head.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Why did you look so sad just now?”
“I was thinking about what happened to you. Why aren’t you upset by the fact you were trapped down here?”
“Because I didn’t feel trapped.”
“Ever?”
He looked out at the trees for a moment.
“Ever. My oldest memories are of walking these caverns, learning to navigate them. It’s a place of beauty. My home. I never wanted anything more until I met you.”
His words made my heart jump and my guilt rise.
“Don’t,” he said, moving closer. He reached up and set his palm along my face, burying his fingers in my hair.
“Don’t what?”
“Look at me with sorrow.”
“You’re right. I should be looking at you with annoyance. I haven’t forgotten how you slapped my butt. I think I still have a handprint there.”
He didn’t say anything to that, only brushed his thumb over the skin of my cheek. I could see his regard for me in his gaze, and I struggled with what I felt in return. Before he’d brought me down here against my will, I would have said that what I felt crossed the line of mild interest. Okay, fine, what I felt leapt over the mild interest line. But now, I didn’t know if it should.
Taking a breath, I decided to be honest. After all, Drav had no experience dealing with the opposite sex and likely no idea why what he’d done was wrong.
“I get that you forced me down here because you care and you want to keep me safe,” I said, holding his gaze. “But knowing that you tricked me, that you took the choice to return to my family from me, hurt. It’s like a lie, Drav. I need you to try to understand what you did. How would you feel if you were in my place? If I was your family and someone took me away and you didn’t know if I was alive or dead?”
His thumb stilled.
“You are my family, Mya. And no one is taking you away from me.”
The implied threat and his tone sent a shiver through me. He saw it and cupped my head in his hands, setting his forehead to mine. I rested my hands on his arms, taking comfort in his touch.
“You are safe here, with me. I will not allow anything to happen to you.”
“That’s a big promise in a world going to shit.”
He tipped his head and lightly brushed the tip of his nose against mine. His breath warmed my lips, and a tingle of awareness ran through me. My heart tripped. I swallowed hard and pulled back to meet his gaze, the move bringing our mouths closer. His fingers twitched in my hair, and his biceps tensed under my palms.
He wanted more. We both knew he did. And, the idea of using his affection to get my way again teased my mind. It would be so easy to tilt my head up just a bit further. What would it feel like to kiss him?
My lips parted. I wanted to try. And, not just to get my way. I tightened my grip on his arms. His breathing quickened as I started closing the gap.
Someone said something behind him, stopping me cold with the reminder that we had an audience.
Drav growled menacingly.
“You gotta stop growling in my face. I almost peed myself the last time you did.”
He exhaled heavily, searched my gaze, then turned away from me to say something harshly in his language. I peeked around him and saw the others had returned. One caught my gaze and held out a leaf stacked with gelatinous globs of fish.
“Oh, thank you, but I’m more thirsty than hungry right now.”
Drav turned on me.
“You need to eat.”
“Maybe next year.”
He frowned at me.
“Mya—”
“Drav, you spanked me and made me follow you into your scary-ass version of wonderland with rabid once-upon-a-time deer and face eating fish. If you make me eat when I’m telling you no, I’ll make you wish you’d never been born. Got it?”
I felt bad about what had happened to him, but not bad enough to let him bully me.
He leaned close, intimidating me with his unblinking stare.
“Here we take threats as challenges. You will eat the next time we stop.”
He turned away and took his portion of the fish before laying back down in the grass. Making a face at his closed eyes, I went to the man who was holding my water bottle and thanked him for filling it. I drained over half of it in an effort to drown the gnawing hunger in my belly. It wouldn’t be too much longer before the raw fish started looking good. I put the water bottle away, and ignoring the knowing grins from the rest, I went and settled in next to Drav.
Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me close. I shut my eyes.
* * * *
A howl split the air, and I jolted upright. Drav squatted beside me, putting a calming hand on my shoulder. He lifted a finger to my lips, an unnecessary warning to be quiet, then scooped me up into his arms. Exhaling shakily, I clung to him and watched the other men move silently, gathering their supplies and my bag.
Together, we ran through the grass, away from the howls.
“They won’t come in here,” Drav said against my ear as he ran. “Not until after the crystals dim.”
“They dim?” My stomach dropped.
“Yes. Like your sun and moon, there is a night and day in most of the caverns. The crystals here will not dim for a while yet. We will have a lead.”
A lead? That meant the hellhounds would follow us. I shuddered at the idea of being chased from one cavern to the next.
“How long until we get to the city?”
“Two more resting periods.”
That didn’t help me. I had no idea how long resting periods were or the time we spent running in between them. A watch would have been helpful. Briefly, I thought of my phone, but I didn’t want to waste the battery. Without anything else to do, I settled into Drav’s secure hold and listened to the slowly fading baying.
The dark fey moved swiftly, and Drav’s steady pace carried us into the next, dimmer cavern. Knowing the hounds liked the dark and running into a space with less light after just hearing them didn’t sit well with me. The men seemed to have the same thought because they increased their already fast pace.
“After we leave this area, we will rest again.”
The greenery around us thinned and the ground slowly changed to dry, hard silt. Each of the men’s steps kicked up dust in the semi-desolate area, leaving prints behind. Theirs weren’t the only tracks I noted.
Huge paw prints covered the area. As I stared, the dull light seemed to fade even more. Maybe it was the dimming that Drav had spoken of earlier. I didn’t really start to worry until it grew too dark for me to see ahead of us. The barely audible sound of the men’s feet hitting the ground kept time with my racing heart.
How much of a lead did we have?
A distant howl echoed behind us, and I jerked my head to look over Drav’s shoulder.
“Mya,” he said, chiding me. “You are safe.”
Kerr, who ran ahead of the group, picked up his pace and the others followed suit. Not comforting. Drav held me tighter and kept up.
“We are approaching our next resting spot,” Drav said.
How could he even think of resting with the hounds somewhere behind us? And why didn’t he even sound winded? My worry about him carrying me for too long seemed crazy, now. With the shadow men’s ability to run, I wondered if they ever really needed to worry about the hellhounds. Even as I thought it, my mind flashed to our first encounter with the beasts, and I wondered what would have happened if one of them had caught us.
The thought sent a shiver down my spine.
“Are you cold, Mya
?” Drav asked.
“I’m fine.”
A lie I would keep telling myself until I believed it.
Eight
Drav’s version of not long and mine were two very different things. The back of my knees and shoulders ached by the time the men started to slow.
The next cavern proved to be well-lit and lush with thick trees and wildlife. A bird took flight as we startled it from its perch. Distracted by the noise, I wasn’t prepared when Drav suddenly leaned forward.
Startled, I gripped the back of his neck tightly and clung to him.
“We will stop soon, but I thought you would like to walk,” he said, turning his head to look at me.
The realization that he’d been attempting to put me down barely registered. Our faces were only inches apart. Drav’s exhale teased my mouth while his gaze held mine with an intensity and an awareness that robbed me of breath. Thoughts of home and caves fled with the slow heat that ignited in my stomach.
He inhaled slowly and whispered my name. His hands, set on my sides to steady me, smoothed up over my ribs, stilling just where his thumbs brushed the underside of my breasts. Nothing mattered more in that moment than discovering the feel of his lips against mine.
Unable to resist any longer, I set my hand against his jaw, my thumb stroking the tensed muscle there. He turned his head just enough to nip the pad of my thumb. The flickering fire in my belly grew.
Tilting my head up, I inched closer until our lips were barely an inch apart.
“Take me home, Drav,” I breathed before moving to close the distance.
Someone spoke from behind me before our lips met. Drav growled in annoyance. I wanted to do the same.
“It’s okay,” I said. “You’re right. I could use a break.”
With reluctance, Drav released his grip on me.
Bargain then kiss, I berated myself as I stepped away, stretching my legs.
It felt good to move around. Drav stayed close to my side, and the men once again spread out around us. This time, I determined the pace as we moved forward.
My bag, slung across Kerr’s back, caught my attention. My stomach, which had been emitting increasingly louder growls, needed something in it. Although I desperately wanted to get my hands on my bag and my water bottle, I didn’t want to call attention to my growling stomach.
