Autumn Rebel

by Juliana Haygert

  I lowered the sword and pulled the blankets covering Blair’s legs up to her shoulders. She stirred, but didn’t wake up.

  “What is it?” I asked, disentangling myself from Blair and sitting up. I knew that if Lennox was in here, it was because something that needed my immediate attention happened.

  “Can you just get dressed and come to the main tent?” he asked, still staring to the tent’s wall. “It’s better than facing this lovely orange fabric.”

  I almost chuckled. “I’ll be right there.”

  Lennox ducked under the tent’s entrance flap and left.

  And I glanced at the beautiful fae sleeping beside me. A whirlwind of emotions swirled in my chest.

  Blair was my mate.

  I should have known that from the moment I set eyes on her when we were little kids. Since then, I had been entranced by her. How could anyone else be my mate?

  She was not only my soulmate. She was my soul, my heart, my entire life.

  I had been a fool by tricking myself into thinking anything else.

  But this fact only complicated things further. I didn’t want to be crown prince, Blair didn’t have an official place in the royal life anymore, and we were practically fighting a war at the moment.

  Whatever was happening between Blair and I would have to wait and go slow—if that was possible—because other matters were more urgent and needed my focus right now.

  I reached to her and pushed a strand of her hair to the side so I could see her beautiful face before I left. Blair stirred again and peeked at me from under her lashes.

  “Sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  She scooted closer and hooked her arm on my leg. “Are you running away?”

  A faint smile spread over my lips. “I’m done running from you.”

  “Good.”

  “But Lennox came in. There's a meeting.”

  Her eyes opened some more. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know.” I leaned over her, placed a kiss on her temple, and stood from the mattress. “But you should rest. I promise that if I need your help, I’ll let you know.”

  “Liar,” she said, rolling on the mattress and watching me as I grabbed my clothes and started getting dressed. “If you had your way, you’d lock me in a tower in the middle of a desert island so no one could hurt me.”

  I nodded. She knew me too well. “Rusting right.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “I know.” I buckled the last of my vest buckles and leaned over her again. “And I gotta say, watching you with a sword is kind of hot.”

  I kissed her lips, then left the tent before I ended up on the mattress with her again.

  The few soldiers around were far from Blair’s tent, and Lennox stood halfway to the main tent, waiting for me.

  “Where are the other soldiers?”

  “Waiting,” he said, his voice tight. “We’ll get into that.“ He fell into step with me and smiled. “So, let me guess, you’re mates.”

  I stared at him, dumbfounded. “How did you know?”

  He snorted. “You’ve been in love with her since you were a little kid. That’s fate.”

  I noticed some soldiers glancing from me to Blair’s tent. “So, I’m guessing everyone here knows too?”

  “Well, not about the mating bond, but they do know you spent the night with Blair. But don’t worry, once I saw you going to her, I ordered everyone to step way back. So nobody heard anything.”

  I scoffed. That was rather thoughtful of my friend. I didn’t want anyone else listening to Blair’s moans but me.

  “Anyway, what’s the matter?”

  Lennox pressed his mouth tight. We then reached the main tent, he lifted the flap for me. “You’ll see.”

  Frowning, I stepped into the main tent.

  General Barric and a handful of soldiers stood around the wooden table, apparently waiting for me.

  “Good morning,” I muttered, feeling self-conscious—a new one for me.

  Lennox snapped his fingers at a scout’s face. “Tell him what you told me.”

  “The sea elves broke the barrier and are advancing toward Coch Caer,” the scout said in a rush.

  I stilled. “What? Why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

  “He arrived here fifteen minutes ago,” Lennox said. “The moment he told me, I ordered the soldiers to gather and called you.”

  I glanced around and saw everyone was practically battle ready. All we needed was to get on our horses and leave.

  “General Barric,” I said. “See to it that enough soldiers are left to defend the camp in case the sea elves decide to surprise us here. We leave in fifteen minutes.”

  The fae nodded once at me and exited the tent. Lennox turned to me. “You haven't eaten anything since last evening, have you? I’ll grab something for you. You eat on the way.”

  I thanked him as he left, and I turned to the table, where the map was spread out. I glanced at it, at Mor Caer to the north—where the sea elves killed Lugh—and Coch Caer to the south. By the time we got there, the fortress would have fallen, but that didn’t mean we wouldn’t fight for it. I would do everything I could to take it back.

  With a sigh, I walked from the main tent to my tent, where I retrieved my sword, checked if my dagger was secured to my belt, and tightened the buckles of my armor. When I stepped out of my tent, the sun had risen more, illuminating the camp and shining down on the red and orange trees around it, giving them a golden glow. It was the perfect autumn day—not too cold, not too hot, with a soft breeze, and the right amount of sunshine.

  All we were missing was some peace.

  As I walked toward the edge of the camp, where the soldiers were probably waiting for me, Blair walked out of her tent—in full armor.

  I skidded to a stop, then marched to her. She saw me approaching and smiled at me. My sudden anger and the words that were filling my mouth faded when facing her.

  She could disarm me with a simple smile.

  We stopped a respectable distance from one another, even though all I wanted was to wrap my arm around her waist and pull her to me.

  Her smile turned upside down. “Sage came in after you left and told me what was going on.”

  I eyed her up and down. “And it seems you want to go too.”

  She frowned. “Don’t tell me we have to discuss this again.”

  I wanted to. I really wanted to, but I knew why she had to do this, why she had to be active and help everyone as much as she could. I admired that about her, and it made me even more proud of her.

  This was my rusting mate and she was perfect.

  I blew out a long breath. “No, we don't. Just … stay close to me.”

  She nodded. “That’s even better.”

  16

  Blair

  We rode to Coch Caer in silence. I tried not to think that everyone around us probably knew by now that Red and I had spent the night together. I wanted to hide every time I did. Not because I was embarrassed by my feelings for Red, of being his mate—though I doubted they knew about that—but because until a few days ago, I had been promised to his brother.

  That didn’t sound good at all.

  But I did like the sound of Red being my mate.

  I glanced at him, riding by my side, his focus on the road ahead of us. Deep down, I always knew he was the one for me. I had been sure of it when we were younger. We had been best friends, then something else.

  When our parents decided on the betrothal, I was ready to join forces with Red and fight for us, but he disappeared. One day he was there, upset about what happened, and the next he was gone. No goodbyes, no notes, no explanations.

  Afterward, word reached me that Red, along with Lennox, had joined the army and gone to one of the military training centers, the one farthest from the capital.

  I sent a letter to him, one short letter asking him if he was taking the coward's way out, or if he was going to come back and fight fo
r me.

  I never received a reply.

  I felt angry, betrayed, disappointed, and sad. I held on to those feelings for so long.

  At first, it had been hard for me to accept that Lugh, a close friend, would be my husband. I knew he would never be my mate, but I knew that, with time, I might end up loving him as a partner. Together, we would make a good team to lead the kingdom.

  Everything had shattered when Lugh died and Red came back.

  I couldn’t deny that I was glad Red was here. He still made my heart race. He could set me on fire with one touch.

  I didn’t know what the future held for us, but this time, I hoped he fought for me. I planned to fight for him.

  Red raised his hand up high and we slowed down as we turned the last curve in the road and approached the fortress. The gates were open, and a wall of twenty sea elves stood before it. More sea elves hid within the confines of the fortress, probably with bows and arrows ready to lose.

  A good distance from the fortress, Red closed his fist and we stopped.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked as I handed my horse to a lower ranked soldier.

  “Brute force,” Red said. “We force our way through, kill them all, and take the fortress back.”

  Red’s eyes scanned the walls. I knew he was searching for Ta’hun. I was too. I would give almost anything to exact my revenge against him. But if Ta’hun was here, he was hiding inside Coch Caer.

  Our soldiers assembled in groups—the shifters, the ones with magic, the sword fighters, and the archers. Red went with the shifters, and I stayed with the magic group, and even though Sage was a sword fighter, he stayed with me. When Red gave us his signal, he and the others shifted and ran toward the open gates, while the archers struck the sea elves in front and on top of the gates, trying to clear a path for the shifters. The sea elves used shields and walls to protect themselves from the volley, but some weren’t as fortunate and were taken down by either arrow or a fox’s bite.

  The sword fighters followed the foxes in, then it was my group’s turn. We advanced, and when we entered the fortress, I was taken aback by how this battle was going. I glanced around—most of the foxes were back in their fae form and fighting along with the sword and magic groups. The bodies of sea elves littered the ground. I thought taking the fortress would be harder.

  I didn’t have time to dwell on it as a sea elf jumped on me. I wrapped him with wind and sent him back, slamming him a stone wall. He stayed down. I fought a couple more sea elves, then one of them yelled something in their language and the sea elves ran. Like cowards, they ran from the fortress, retreating.

  “Captain Runt, take the foxes, go after them,” Red ordered. He was a few feet from me, his armor splashed with blood, his sword’s blade red.

  Captain Runt dipped his chin, shifted, and pursued the sea elves with the other shifters.

  “We should search for surviving fae,” I said.

  “Right.” Red nodded. “Just … let’s be careful. There might be sea elves hiding inside the buildings, and the fae might be ill by now.”

  General Barric, Captain Omri, and a handful of soldiers turned to check the buildings to our left, while Red, Lennox, Sage, and I entered the administrative building to the right. We cleared halls, offices, and meeting rooms. We found a reinforced door at the end of a corridor a narrow stairwell descended into blackness.

  “A prison,” Lennox said with a frown. “Does Mor Caer have a prison too?”

  Red nodded. “Just a couple of cells, but every fortress and town is required to have somewhere to hold criminals.”

  Sage grabbed a torch from the wall, Lennox grabbed another, and we went down the dark stairs. The stairs led to a short corridor with eight closed doors. Careful, we opened one by one.

  I had opened two and found nothing when I heard a curse word coming from Red in the next cell.

  I rushed to him.

  And stopped dead on my tracks as soon as I reached the open door.

  Beyond it, Red stood frozen in the center of the small, damp cell.

  And Lugh sat in the corner.

  17

  Red

  I stared at Lugh. It couldn’t be.

  But it was.

  My heart squeezed as I rushed to him.

  “Lugh?” I called as I knelt beside him; he was seated on the cold stone floor, his back and head resting against the rough wall, his eyes closed, his mouth half open. He was filthy and hurt, with his hair looking a crazy mop on his head, and a short beard on his face. Chains wrapped around his wrists and connected to the wall. “Lugh, can you hear me?”

  His head lolled forward.

  I placed two fingers on his neck, checking for his pulse. It was weak, but it was there.

  Lennox burst into the cell and skidded to a stop, his eyes wide. “Red, get away from him! He could be infected!”

  I glared at Lennox. “This is my brother. I don’t care if he is infected. Find me the rusting keys to the chain before I break them with my bare hands. And send someone ahead to the camp to have the healer ready for him.”

  Lennox pressed his lips tight, and I knew he wanted to argue with me. I narrowed my eyes at him, daring him to do so. He knew me well enough to know now wasn’t the time to defy me.

  Without another word, Lennox whirled on his feet and left.

  My eyes shifted from the door to Blair, who was still as a statue inside the cell, her hands over her mouth, her eyes bulged.

  I knew what she was feeling. Relief that he was alive, but worry. What would become of us now that Lugh was back? I shook my head and focused on my brother. I would worry about that later. Now, I had to make sure he was well.

  Blair dropped to her knees. “I thought … I thought he had died.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I left him behind because I thought he had died. If I had known … I would have fought harder for him.”

  I frowned. Guilt—I knew that feeling well.

  “Don’t worry, Blair,” I said, turning my attention back to Lugh. “We’ll get him out of here and he’ll be all right.”

  At least, that was what I was praying for.

  It didn’t take long for Lennox to come back with the keys. We unchained Lugh and I picked him up in my arms—a lot lighter than I thought he would be. The sea elves starved him, and he was now skin and bones.

  Word spread among the soldiers and the fortress’s residents that Lugh was alive as I carried him out of the fortress and put him on my horse. We rode back slowly, because I didn’t want to jostle him and make him suffer more than he already had.

  The healer waited for us on the edge of the camp. I carried Lugh to my tent, with the healer right beside me, already checking Lugh’s vitals.

  Blair, Lennox, General Barric, and Sage entered the tent with us, but they kept to the back, away from the mattress where I laid Lugh’s frail body, in case the healer needed space to work.

  The healer's hands trembled as he examined Lugh.

  I sat beside them and waited patiently, but after a few minutes of tense silence, I finally said, “Talk to me.”

  “I’m just starting, my prince,” the healer said, his voice low. “But from the little I’m seeing, I can say the crown prince is definitely dehydrated, malnourished, and some of his wounds are infected.”

  “What about the sea plague?” Lennox asked from behind me. I whipped my head fast and shot him a glare. He ignored me.

  “I-I need a little longer to determine that,” the healer answered.

  The flap of the tent opened wide, and a woman with long black hair stepped in. “Back away from him,” Mahaeru said, her voice firm. The healer jumped several feet back and bowed low to the goddess. I didn’t move. She fixed her dark eyes on me. “Prince Redlen,” she said, her words a warning.

  Lennox clasped a hand around my shoulder and tugged hard. I wanted to defy a goddess, but I knew why she was here. I knew why she was asking us to stay away from Lugh.

  Without taking my eyes from Mahaeru, I let
Lennox pull me back. “He has the sea plague,” I said.

  Mahaeru nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

  “We still have to treat him,” Blair said, her first words since we found Lugh at the fortress. “He’s weak, in need of nourishment and care.”

  “True.” The goddess glanced at Blair. “That’s why you’ll take him to the capital and treat him there. Maehara will be there shortly and will warn Princess Maize. She’ll ready Prince Lugh’s chambers to receive him, along with a healer who has more knowledge about the plague.”

  “True, my goddess,” the healer said. “I don’t know much about the sea plague.” The healer lifted his eyes to me, apologetically. “I’m a battle healer, my prince. I stop bleedings and close wounds. Nothing more.”

  I glared at him, ready to take someone’s head off. But the poor healer wasn’t to blame. No one was. I let out a long breath. I had a battle to fight, enemies to defeat. I couldn’t be coming and going from Masarn all the time.

  But this was Lugh … my brother, the true crown prince. He deserved my attention, more than anyone.

  “All right, we leave for the capital in thirty minutes.”

  18

  Blair

  Being back at the Oren Palace should have been a moment of celebration. It should have meant we defeated the sea elves and our beautiful kingdom was safe. It wasn’t supposed to be like this—locked in my usual guest bedroom like a prisoner.

  I paced, my boots clicking on the stone floors, my hands twisting on themselves, worry and tension creating knots inside of me.

  But I wasn’t the only one in isolation. Since Mahaeru first told us about Lugh having the sea plague, we all kept our distance, even when riding to Masarn. Upon arrival, the soldiers were sent to the barracks, where they were quarantined in their rooms, and Red was locked in his chambers. We were all under observation since we had been in close contact with not only Lugh, but also the sea elves and the fortress’s residents.