by Aleah Raynes
“Their wings,” I whispered.
Caspian nodded. “They are bound. Unbinding them will give them the chance to stretch and realize we’re here to help, not hinder.”
“Or they’ll thank us for our kindness and leave us behind,” Jaden groused.
An unwinnable situation.
“The longer we stay here, the worse everything is getting. Already, the conditions are deteriorating. We should have snow. There is none. It should be freezing, yet we are warm.” Winter was becoming a milder form of fall each passing day. “I’ll go to her. I’ll explain two of their requests will be easy to accomplish, however, we’ll barter for the third and forth.”
“Excellent,” Caspian replied. “I believe I have figured out a weakness in the walls. I will need a few days to prepare. Let the sisters know when you speak with them.”
I nodded. “I will.” I grabbed the list and held it over the solitary candle illuminating our hovel. No one could know of our plans nor what the princesses were demanding of us. If the information fell into the wrong hands, we’d all pay the price for our treachery.
The next morning before the sun topped the horizon, casting the sky in muted shades of pink and purple, I cut a path across the encampment toward Ayla’s meager dwelling. They were awake when I arrived. The tension filling the space suffocated me. Ayla paced near the small fire used to keep them warm. Two of her sisters fidgeted. Their gazes darted from me to the window and back to me. Their anxious energy twisted my gut, making it hard to think, let alone speak.
“I believe we can come to an agreement, if you’re willing to continue to bargain with us.” Last night, Caspian had produced the spell needed to release the girls from their bindings to give them a modicum of freedom while still being stuck behind these walls of confinement. Where he’d kept his magic tools or how he’d been able to carry them past the walls and overseers confounded me. The guy had talents, especially with guards who were vicious and exacting in their searching skills.
“The bargain,” Ayla stated, straightening her shoulders, “is the list. Either you can or you cannot.”
I glanced at her sisters. None of them said a word, instead deferring to Ayla. The eldest, or who I suspected would be the eldest, pursed her lips. Her hands were fisted at her sides as though anything that happened today would be a detriment to them. I understood to a degree why they’d be so reserved when it came to my proposal, or reluctant to hear me out. Their lives had been turned upside down, and faith or trust wouldn’t be easily won.
“Yes, I understand,” I replied, “But you and I both know your list was a futile attempt to get us all killed. Two of your requests were part of the plan, the other two, well…” I shrugged, uncaring if they saw the gesture as being smug or uncaring. “You were trying to trap us.”
“Ayla…” Her eldest sister, Luna, stepped forward. Trepidation and a bit of fear crossed her porcelain features, widening her violet eyes.
“It’s fine, really.” I hurried to assuage her feelings. “When we decided to approach you all those weeks ago, we realized you’d have…issues. Ones we might never be able to lessen or heal.”
“Well, spit it out,” Ayla stated, growing impatient by the second. “What terms do you want to change?” A fierce determination swirled around her. Her cobalt eyes filled with resolve. Her bravery in the face of what I could only surmise would be death before she aged out of this slavery camp had all my protective instincts pinging to life.
“I know how to unbind your wings. If you’re willing to trust me enough to recite the incantation and release you from your imprisonment, will you accept our help to escape this prison?” I hoped they’d accept my proposal. However, standing there waiting for their answer had dread filling my gut.
Their expressions were blank, almost as if they silently communicated with one another while simultaneously not wanting to give away an inch of decision. Several times, I’d been tempted to scream, “Answer the question,” yet refrained, afraid I’d push them in the opposite direction of where they needed to be.
Finally, Ayla gave me her attention. The passiveness bled away her stoic features and I saw the frightened girl I’d glimpsed the day I arrived. We were all so young. Too young to deal with the complications of adulthood, nonetheless, thrust into the position by people who didn’t care about us or our families. “What would you have me do?” The simplicity of her question rocked me.
“Do you have a bit of twine and a white candle?” I didn’t ponder over why she affected me so. I’d think on it later, when I was alone and could think.
“Yes,” Luna hurried to the trunk of the willow tree in the back of their home. She removed a piece of wood and produced the candle and rope moments later. “What else?”
Prayers would do wonders right now. To the gods. To their parents who’d suffered as mine. “We’ll do this one at a time.” I licked my lips, growing more nervous as I stood there. This had to work. In order for the sisters to reclaim what was rightfully theirs, they had to trust us. If they didn’t, we were all doomed.
“Ayla should be first,” her sister Pyria remarked. “Then Luna, Ena, and me.”
I nodded. “Let’s begin.”
Luna lit the candle and placed it on the small table near the carved-out hole of a window while Ayla stood beside the chair positioned close by. I handed her the cord and instructed her to tie it in a knot. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing, but we’d work our way through the spell and figure it out.
“Repeat after me,” I stated, pulling the sheaf of paper out of my shirt.
“A ciorcal cruinn, bhí de cheangal air an téad agus anois is féidir liom a scaoileadh.
Seo unbind litrithe, na cumhachtaí a mhaolú agus mo spiorad a bheith ar son na síochána.
Tá mé ag faoi cheangal nach bhfuil níos mó, ag mbeidh daoine eile, agus negativities.
Mar a ghearradh mé an snáithe, an litrithe a bheith marbh agus an fhuinnimh a scaoiltear.”
Ayla repeated the incantation after me, her soft whisper filled with conviction and hope. The air around us snapped with magic and the moment she touched the knot to flame, a powerful gust of wind filled the room, knocking us back and blew out the candle. I darted to Ayla’s side as her eyes fluttered open.
“Do you feel any different?” If I could have crossed my fingers at the time, I would have. Instead, I helped her to her feet. That’s when I saw them. The translucent glimmer of gossamer wings peeked out over her shoulders.
They fluttered and shook as they slowly took form, shaping themselves to her body. Ayla’s eyes grew misty, her lip trembled and seconds later, her petite form filled my arms as she wrapped me in her embrace. I stood, shocked and a bit off kilter. The spell had worked. Caspian had given us the chance to right the kingdom.
“Thank you,” she whispered, taking a step back. Frosty slivers coated her lashes and I could see her breath as she stood, staring at me. The dull, listlessness of her hair evaporated, becoming bold, shocking colors of almost snow white and the deepest of blues I’d ever witnessed. She was truly an ice princess. “Shall we continue?”
I inclined my chin. “Yes.”
The Escape
Ayla
Freedom.
Well, not quite, but having my wings loose was amazing. Dain was amazing.
I watched him as, one by one, the magical bindings fell away from my sisters and their wings flowed out behind them. Of course, with the binding spell lifted, we could no longer hide our identity from others in the camp.
As if knowing my thoughts, Dain stepped closer to me, drawing my attention to his golden eyes. “Caspian has discovered a weakness in the walls surrounding the camp. He will need another day or two to prepare. Then we will meet at the north corner of camp behind the largest ash tree.”
I nodded, captivated by the hope lighting his eyes. This was it. We’d finally be able to escape and go after what was rightfully ours. “We’ll wait for word from you.”
A frown formed
on his lips and he hesitated. After a moment, he said, “Do be careful. I wish we could leave now. If the guards discover what we’ve done here—”
Placing a hand on his arm, I cut off his words. “We will be careful. You are right in wanting to be prepared. The breach in the walls will send the guards racing after us.”
Luna stepped forward. “With the binding spell lifted, we can use our glamour to mask the changes, but we still need to limit contact with others.”
Dain gave a short nod and moved to the door. “We’ll get a message to you when we’re ready.”
When he left, I turned to my sisters and smiled. Each one had the same gleam of hope. We still needed to be careful who we placed our trust in. The guys might have freed our wings, giving us a small amount of power, but our elemental magic was still locked deeply inside us, unreachable.
However, we didn’t know anything about the boys. What kingdom were they from? Who sent them to break us out?
“We will give them the chance to prove themselves and work with them to get out.” Luna spoke softly as she paced the small space we stayed in. “I don’t sense a lie, but we will learn more of their intensions once we’re out of this camp.”
I agreed and so did the others from their nods.
Don’t disappointment me, Dain.
The next two days went without many incidents. On occasion, I caught some of the other teens staring as if they noticed something different, but they never said anything. It made me nervous that our glamour wasn’t as strong as it needed to be. Someone dropped Luna a note that simply said, “Win back the crown.”
The note gave us hope there were people who still supported the Vaskell Empire. We clung to that hope while growing impatient waiting on the boys’ signal.
The sun was out today and it was unusually warm. The seasons seemed to be on a fast cycle. I remembered Mom once saying that my sisters and I controlled the balance of the seasons for we were the elemental fairy princesses.
With our powers locked away, there was nothing to balance the realm. That worried us. The more unbalanced the seasons became, the more viscous the weather would be.
“You there!”
The deep growl form the guard froze me in place. I swallowed and focused on my glamour, ensuring it was in place before turning. Slowly, I faced him. “Yes, sir?”
He narrowed his heartless gaze on me, searching. “Where is your sister?”
The guards knew who we were. They made it a point to remind us daily. Princess Scum was among the nicer names. “Which one, sir?”
I really wasn’t trying to be a smart ass, but they really needed to be more specific. If I gave him a run down on each of my sisters, it’d pissed him off still. It was always a lose/lose situation when dealing with the guards.
Without warning, the back of his hand cracked across my face, knocking me to the ground. Tears blurred my vision, but I choked back the sobs. “Luna is helping in the kitchens today.”
I started with Luna because it was the obvious choice since she was the oldest. It must had been the right answer because he marched off. After waiting until I could no longer hear his boots pounding on the ground, I scrambled to my feet and stumbled into someone. Warm hands gripped my arms. I stiffened as fear caused my heart to jump in my chest, hoping it wasn’t another guard.
“It’s only me.”
I sagged in relief at the sound of Dain’s voice. Grabbing his hand in mine, I ran behind a nearby tree, tugging him with me. Once hidden behind the oak, I pressed my back to the trunk and stared into his eyes. Anger lines formed on his forehead as he scanned my face. He lifted his hand as to touch my face, but stopped. “You’re bleeding. I should kill him for hurting you.”
The words were spoken so low I wasn’t sure if he meant me to hear them. Wanting to comfort him, I took his hand in both of mine. “I’ll heal. Why are you here? I mean, if we are caught talking…”
“I came to tell you we are ready. You and your sisters are to meet us at the ash tree at midnight.” He cupped my now swollen cheek, drew his brows together, and then left me dazed against the oak tree.
My sisters and I arrived at the north corner of the camp perimeter a few minutes before midnight. The guys were already there. The four of them had their heads together discussing something.
Upon our approach, they lifted their heads to watch us. Dain advanced to us, nodding in greeting. “Did you have any problems?”
I knew what he meant. He was talking about the guards. Shaking my head, I stepped closer to him. The odd feeling of needing to be near him filled me. “No one saw us sneak out.”
“Good,” he said and lifted a hand to my cheek.
Before he could touch me, Luna stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. “You don’t touch her.”
What the hell? I pushed Luna’s arm and broke her hold on him. “He’s trying to be nice.”
Luna had been on edge ever since I returned with the huge bruise on my cheek. I so didn’t need her over-protectiveness right then. With a narrowed gaze, Luna stared at me for a few moments before releasing a sigh. “We need to hurry. I think I killed a guard earlier.”
All of us gasped and stared wide-eyed at her. A mixture of fear, concern, and pride swirled in my mind. “How? Why?”
She shook her head and I saw the hint of tears in her eyes. “I’ll tell you when we are somewhere safe.”
The older of the boys, Caspian, spoke up, getting everyone to move into place. “The wall is weakening due to the imbalance in the realm. I’ve watched them the past several months along with the guards. The enchantment needs to be strengthened every full moon, which makes tonight the perfect night to break them.”
“Would that alarm them to our escape?” Luna crossed her arms.
Caspian raised a brow at her. “I’ve created a spell to mask the break. There will be a slight ripple, but they should think it’s because the enchantment needs to be strengthened.”
“Caspian was the one who created the spell that unbound your wings,” Dain added.
We really didn’t have time for Luna’s suspicions. I moved forward to stand next to the guys. “Let’s do this. No matter what, we’ll be on the run until we reach a safe point.”
“Wait,” Pyria said. When everyone turned to her, she continued. “Where will we go?”
Vander broke his silence. “According to my calculations, we are the closest to Oighear. Maybe two to three days’ travel.”
“Then we go there,” I said and grabbed Luna’s hand.
Beside me, Dain linked his fingers with mind then grabbed Pyria’s hand. The others followed suit until we were linked in a line in front of the wall.
Caspian briefed us on what to do. “Once I say the incantation, we step across the barrier. We have to do it together, no hesitation from anyone.”
We nodded at the same time and he began.
“Deontas dúinn saoirse pasáiste agus slán ón siúd ar mian leo dúinn dochar a dhéanamh.”
The wall shimmered and as a unit we stepped forward, walking into the transparent wall like it wasn’t there. My heart pounded at being free from the slave camp. But we didn’t have time for insecurities or celebrations.
Once through the barrier, we took off toward the east in a dead run.
The Trials of Survival.
Dain
We stopped by a small grass-covered knoll to catch our breath. Sprigs of dying flowers and the sharp edge of rocks dotted the hill, making it hard to sit without pricking ourselves. I didn’t know how far we’d ran from the camps, but the yells had grown more distant the further we went. Ayla held her sisters’ hands, they were shivering as they stood together. Not, because they were cold, but out of fear. We had to settle them, then figure out where we’d go for the night. Then, we’d regroup in the morning and carry on.
“I’ll talk to them,” I said when I noticed Jaden staring at Pyria. “Don’t worry.”
“I’m not.” He shrugged. “Girls are soft.” Though he tried to sound det
ached, I’d seen glimpses of how he really felt about Pyria.
“Sure,” I answered. “Come on, we can’t stay out in the open too long.”
“You’re—”
The ground where we stood rumbled. Dirt clods and grass shook. Jaden looked to me. His eyes were wide. The shaking began again and the popping of roots and grass caught our attention.
Ayla screamed, taking a step back from where we’d stopped. Fear etched into her features as she continued to stare at the rocky knoll beside us as clumps of dirt fell from its sides. I grabbed hold of one of the rocks sticking up from its back, trying to keep my balance, but slipped as the hill reared back.
A godawful sound emanated from the thing rising to its full height. At least ten hands tall, with spindly arms and red, glowing eyes, it roared in outrage again. The beast dropped its front legs into the ground around us, missing Vander by inches. The ground trembled from the weight of the beast as it thrashed its head toward us. When it opened its mouth, several rows of razor sharp teeth made of obsidian glass greeted us. I shuddered. The thing was ugly to say the least.
“What do we do?” Ayla called out, clutching her sister. Fear had them frozen in place, looking to us for answers.
How should I know? I thought it’d been a hill to rest upon. Instead, we angered a beast I’d never had the pleasure, or should I say displeasure, of meeting. I took a step to the right and the thing’s gaze tracked me. It lunged, growling as it tried to catch me.
“Don’t move,” I yelled. “We have to take out its eyes.” Might piss it off even more, but at least we could get away.
I glanced at Caspian who stood at the ready, a dagger in his hand, waiting for the perfect moment. We had to distract it. No way Caspian would be able to just poke its eye out. He eased forward, taking the beast’s attention off me.
“Run!” Jaden hollered at the girls.
