Since they weren’t moving, just staring dumbly at me, I continued singing, putting as much authority into my voice as possible.
“I command you. Stand up and follow me. I will lead the way. I will be your guardian.”
I grabbed the jar of magic and headed toward the door, confident they would follow. If I acted as a leader, they would listen to me.
I was right. They were moving, well, stumbling, to be exact. At their current speed, the sisters could easily ambush us even with their silly poofy gowns and high heels.
“Hurry up! You must hurry! Quickly now!”
The throng picked up the tempo while I stood by the door, ushering them out one by one. When they were all outside, I let the door fall closed and took my position at the head of the line. Knowing we couldn’t walk down the dirt road, I made the crowd follow me through the forest. We were far enough from the road that the sisters wouldn’t spot us, yet close enough that I could see the road and know we were on the right path.
After a while, my ankles started to hurt, and so did my lower back. My vocal cords too felt tired. As much as my body wanted to rest, I knew we needed to get away from the cottage as far as possible. Ideally, we would reach Arcadia’s outskirts before we rested. How much longer would that be? I guessed it took the horses about half an hour to get out here, so maybe seven miles, which at our speed translated into roughly two and a half hours.
My sluggish feet made me almost trip several times, and the words that came out of my mouth were croaky. I had to clear my throat several times.
Just as I was about to open my mouth again, trotting noises reached me. I whipped around. “Duck!” I sang and dropped to the ground myself. Thankfully, the fifty or so people in my group followed.
The horse hooves grew louder, and a whip rang out as it raced through the air, slashing against skin. The poor horses. And poor us if the Fontaines caught us. I tried not to think about what they would do to us. Being afraid wouldn’t help us.
As soon as I was certain the carriage was far enough away from us, I continued singing. “Walk, pick up speed, follow me, hurry!”
The adrenaline surge at seeing the carriage wiped away my pain, and I hurried through the forest, ducking underneath branches while my boots crunched on twigs and dried grass. Abruptly, the forest thinned, and a few lonesome farmhouses came into view. Happiness welled up within my body, but I didn’t allow it to take hold. Not yet. Yes, we were close, but this part of the path would also leave us the most exposed. There was nothing we could hide behind if the sisters came back now.
My leg muscles began to tremble, and faintness seized me. My body wanted rest, food, and water. But I couldn’t allow it. Not now. Not when we were so close. Still, I halted for a few seconds, inhaling deeply. Nobody moved behind me, and I instinctively knew that to get this group to run, I would have to push my magic to my limits. I wiped my palms on my pants and made sure I had a tight grip on the jar of magic before I sang loudly despite the ache in my throat, “Run, run like the wind! Run like a deer from a wolf!”
Tears of exhaustion shot into my eyes as I sprinted. My limbs felt about as strong as pudding, and yet, I pushed them again and again with every step. I only allowed myself a glance backward to confirm the others were following. Their faces were drawn, their breathing labored. Only my magic was compelling their battered bodies and souls forward.
“You can do this. You are strong,” I sang, needing to hear this myself.
We passed the first farmer, and then the second, and the third. Multi-storied houses were coming into view as were proper streets. We were close, so, so close.
Hooves clacked behind me, and a loud neighing tore through the air. No, no, it couldn’t be!
“Seize them!” Madam’s hateful voice filled my ringing ears.
No, she couldn’t get us. I wouldn’t’ let her. Not when we had come so far. Maybe I could compel her and her daughters. I opened my mouth and closed it again. I didn’t have the energy, and switching my focus to Madam would cost too much time. I needed to act quickly. I needed to throw her off in one move that wouldn’t drain me further.
I stopped and pivoted around. The crowd rushed past me, but already they were slowing, and some were tripping as the sisters were flinging stones at them out of the carriage’s window.
I put the jar of magic down and pulled out the glittering powder Lorenzo had given me earlier. Mimicking what he had done for me on stage, I threw the dust into the air and whispered, “Wall of stone!” Bricks appeared, invisible hands laid row after row, blocking us from our pursuers.
Madam and her daughters gawked as the wall grew until Madam pulled the reins of the horses. “Stop, stop!” she yelled.
I smiled, even as I knew the illusion wouldn’t hold long. I grabbed the jar of magic, making a split-second decision. “Serves you right that what you tried to steal will hold you back.” I inhaled deeply, praying this would work.
“Reinforce the wall, reinforce the wall, make it last long!” I sang and threw the magic forward. It splattered alongside the wall, a drop attaching itself to each brick. Tears of relief filled my eyes. My gamble had paid off. I had compelled the magic in the jar with my voice to act on my behalf.
Even though every fiber in my body was ready to collapse, I faced my people.
“Continue, hurry, we’re almost there.”
I guided the crowd toward Arcadia’s heart, toward freedom and safety.
Lorenzo joined us at the beginning of the market square. His presence helped, but I didn’t dare to stop singing. To my surprise, he didn’t guide the people toward Daydream, but the police station.
“It’s not safe for them at the bar, and it will put a huge target on our backs,” he explained.
I was too tired to argue but promised myself to give him a piece of my mind about abandoning me with all these people without even suggesting what I should do.
Thomas must’ve seen our strange procession because he met us outside the police station.
“Halia, what is the meaning of this?”
“Chief,” I addressed him formally, and given the spark in his eyes, he wasn’t yet used to his title and did appreciate me keeping it professional in public. “These people have been kidnapped. We freed them from their human traffickers.” I dropped my voice. “I’ll explain the rest inside.” No need for anyone to overhear that life energy and magic was being drained out of people. Arcadia didn’t need more gossip and for its citizens to go crazy with worry.
Thomas waved us inside. “There won’t be enough room in my office for all of them,” he said. “I’ll have to put them into the interrogation room while we talk.”
I wasn’t sure that was the best idea given everything the captives had been through, but fortunately, the interrogation room was just a blank space and didn’t look menacing.
As soon as Thomas closed the door behind the crowd, he crossed his arms. “Explain.”
Even though I was bone tired and wanted nothing more than to collapse, I knew it was best if I took the lead on this. “Remember when you got the note about strange things happening in the asylum?”
He nodded. “It was from you. And now, you’ve somehow found more people that were trafficked.”
I sighed. We’d have to start from the beginning. “Does the name Rumpelstiltskin mean anything to you?”
Thomas surprised me with a slow nod. “He’s from the Vale. We had word that he kidnapped the young princess there a couple of months back. He shouldn’t be here.”
“He’s milking people for their life energy, and he has employed the fae to milk them of their magic.” I summarized how every person had a drop of magic and how the humans were kept in the cottage, hooked up to tubes that drained their magic.
Thomas glanced from me to Lorenzo to finally the people inside the interrogation room. Without my voice, they had gone back to their vegetative state. Some were curled up on the floor while others leaned on each other.
In a whisper, Thomas as
ked, “What are you, Halia?” I opened my mouth, but he must’ve seen the lie coming because he shook his head. “I’m not going to hold it against you. If Rumpelstiltskin and the fae are working to bring down Arcadia, we need someone with magic on our side.”
I glanced at Lorenzo, who nodded. Well, if my mistrusting demon trusted Thomas, so could I.
“I don’t know what I am, but my voice can make others do things. Only good things. I have white magic,” I said hurriedly.
Thomas rubbed his eyes. “Good, so I wasn’t going insane.”
I felt my forehead wrinkle. “What do you mean?”
“Several times, after talking to you, I felt a bit funny, like I couldn’t remember parts of the conversation. Things were fuzzy.”
I bit my lip. “I’m sorry. I can assure you that since I discovered my ability, my intention has always been to help Arcadia and bring our queen back.”
Thomas nodded. “Do you know where she is?”
Tears stung my eyes. “I thought she’d be in the cottage, but she and Tia have been taken somewhere else.”
“By the fae?”
I sighed. “No, by the Fontaines. The mother and the sisters are also involved.”
After I explained that the Fontaines had been delivering humans to Rumpelstiltskin and were using magic to fake their way to the top of the competition, Thomas said, “Thank you for your trust. I’ll do my best. We don’t have any proof about the competition bit, but I’ll monitor their home.”
I doubted the Fontaines would kidnap more people after today, but I kept my mouth shut. I was grateful for Thomas protecting the humans I had rescued, but I also needed him to stay busy and out of our way. Because while having Thomas on our side was helpful, he was right, only another magic wielder could bring down the villains who had invaded our kingdom.
4
8th August
I awoke to the delicious smell of roasted coffee and soft lips against my cheek. The mattress underneath me felt like a cloud, and I stretched my body before my eyes fluttered open to be met with a gentle violet-green gaze that had a hint of hunger in it.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Lorenzo said, sitting on the edge of my bed, surprising me with breakfast in bed.
“Morning.” I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I did.” I sat up, realizing that the sun was high up in the sky. Taking in the tray on my bedside table, I went straight for the steaming coffee, not bothering to stifle my moan at its invigorating bitterness. “What time is it?”
“Noon.”
“What? You let me sleep for fifteen hours?”
Lorenzo shrugged. “You were completely drained. You used up all of your magical reserves.”
“I didn’t realize that was possible.” I sat up straighter as I remembered that it had been his fault. “You left me there. Alone.” I jabbed my finger into his chest.
He sighed. “I had no other choice. I needed to ensure we got Acacia, and I trusted you’d figure it out.”
I shook my head. “I did, and I don’t mind learning on the go, but if I’d failed, we could’ve jeopardized the lives of fifty people.”
Lorenzo’s face turned dark. “If you fail at the palace, all of Arcadia will fall.”
A shiver ran through me. “When I said this was my mission, I didn’t mean that I didn’t want help.”
He took my hand in his and rubbed reassuring circles on it. “I’ll do everything in my power, but you’re the one holding the key to Arcadia’s salvation.”
I nodded slowly, knowing he was right. “We better plan then. I doubt the Fontaines and Rumpelstiltskin will go down easy just because we took their energy supply.”
Lorenzo smiled. “That’s the spirit. See, all you needed was fifteen hours of sleep.”
I let out a chortle but stopped when something occurred to me. “Where is Acacia?”
Lorenzo’s lips thinned into a grim line. “In my office. Bound in iron. She didn’t want to talk to me. She seemed very interested in you being present.”
I jumped out of bed, only a little bit embarrassed at being in my short nightgown in front of Lorenzo. “Then let’s go and talk to her.” The buttery smell of croissant filled my nose, but I pushed the tray away. How could I enjoy breakfast when Tia was suffering through who only knew what?
“Be careful. Her powers might be subdued by the iron, but she’s still a conniving creature.” Lorenzo pushed the tray toward me. “And eat up. We have a long day ahead of us, and I need you at full energy.”
I couldn’t really argue with that. Also, if Acacia sensed that I had come running to her, desperate for information, she would use that against me. I needed to show the fae who was in charge. Thus, I finished my cup of coffee and my croissant, applied pink color to my lips and put on a nice silk dress. Appearances meant a lot to the fae, and if me being in better shape than her would nudge her to fold her cards, I would look like a goddess.
Done with breakfast and ready to go, I descended the staircase with Lorenzo.
“If Acacia won’t cooperate, we might have to rely on harsh tactics to get information out of her,” he said.
I shook my head. “No, she might not be able to lie, but the fae can omit, and they can make traps.”
Lorenzo stiffened. “All right. So what do you propose?”
“We wear her down.”
He sighed. “That might not work.”
I stared into his violet-green eyes. “It’s one thing to hurt her to subdue her, but we will not torture her for information. That’s not the kind of person I want to be.”
He nodded. “I respect that.”
We reached the door that led into his office, and I pushed it open.
Acacia was shackled to a chair. Despite the chains snaking around her arms, legs, and torso, the faerie’s glare was full of defiance.
“What took you so long? Did you run into someone?” She cackled hysterically, and I wondered if not having food or water was messing with her head.
“The humans have all been freed,” Lorenzo said in an arctic voice. “The Fontaines and Rumpelstiltskin will be brought down. If you cooperate now—”
“Save it!” Acacia cut him off. “You act like you’re in the position to negotiate, but you’re not. You want that girl back badly.”
I bit my tongue hard until I tasted blood to stop myself from saying that Tia wasn’t just any girl. She was my best friend. She had been kidnapped because of me, and I would do anything to get her back. Doing my best not to betray my weakness, I schooled my features into an impenetrable mask. “You’re the one in chains. If you want to get out of here and not starve to death, you’ll tell us what we want to know.”
Acacia threw her head back and laughed, making me more certain than ever that she was losing it. “Why don’t we test your theory and see if I’ll die first or your human friend?”
I gritted my teeth at the threat and the truthfulness in her words. She was fae. She could endure much more than Tia. No matter how strong my friend was, she was mortal.
Sensing that continuing down this trajectory wouldn’t get us anywhere, I decided to switch tactics. “Did you know that Rumpelstiltskin is searching for the golden-eyed girl?”
Acacia revealed her sharp, gleaming teeth. “Of course, princess.”
My heart clenched. So I was the princess. She had confirmed it. “How long have you known?”
She shrugged. “A while. A week maybe.”
“Why didn’t you tell Rumpelstilksin or Madam?”
Acacia’s grin turned full-on feral. “Weak hunters kill their enemy. Smart hunters convert them. You and I could do a lot of things together.”
“Never!”
Acacia tsked. “Always so hasty, my child. Don’t say something you might regret later.”
Lorenzo stepped forward until he was only a foot away from Acacia and glared down at her. Terror shone in her eyes for a second before it disappeared.
&nb
sp; “Are you going to stab me again?” she purred.
He gave her a feral smile. “No, I’ll leave you to rot here until you tell us everything we need to know.”
Acacia went pale. “Madam and Rumpelstiltskin didn’t share the details of their plan, but they’ll attack at the final concert.”
“We already know that,” I replied tersely. She shrugged as if it wasn’t her problem. “Where are Tia and the queen?” She kept her lips pressed together tightly.
“The sooner you answer us, the sooner we’ll let you go.”
She didn’t reply, even though her eyes flashed with emotion. She was considering the offer, but not with Lorenzo nearby. Because even if we freed her, he could recapture her easily. Perhaps she would be willing to negotiate with just me. While I pondered this, I asked, “Where are the other fae?”
Her eyes flashed with hatred. “The moonstone you gave Abigail allowed her to travel through the veil and into the faeland. The others chose to go with her.”
I inhaled sharply. So that’s what the stone I had procured for her did. “Why didn’t you go with them?”
“My transgressions were more severe than theirs. There is no place for me in the homeland.”
Interesting. Before I could ask another question, she added, “If you and I work together, I’ll spare your parents and even allow them to pretend to continue ruling. Together, we can stop Madam and Rumpelstiltskin from taking Arcadia.”
I blinked at her unexpected suggestion. Did Acacia really think that we could be allies after everything she had done? Or maybe she hoped I would accept so that she could double-cross me. She was a heartless creature, only interested in power, and most certainly, had an idea about how to screw me over.
I pointed with my head toward the door, and Lorenzo followed me outside. We stepped far away from the door so that Acacia couldn’t overhear us.
“What do you think?” I asked. “Should we pretend to play along?”
Lorenzo’s jaw tensed. “Absolutely not. She’s protecting you from Madam and Rumpelstiltskin, which means you’re valuable to her.”
Halia: Daughter of Cinderella Page 30
