by Alexia Purdy
“Please,” I pleaded. Any further words failed me.
It began to cackle, its throaty laugh reverberating through the air and shaking my insides. Almost as quickly, he stopped, inhaling my scent near my neck before he stepped back, a smug look on his fierce face.
“Consort.” He grabbed my arm and began dragging me the way he’d come. He was strong, and no matter how hard I pulled, his grip dug deeper into my arm. I felt his claws pierce my skin and whimpered at the pain, knowing there would be a large bruise in the shape of his hand there for a while.
“Jarvin!” I called out as I stumbled to keep up with the Rogue.
Suddenly, we went tumbling forward, and I banged my hip on a rock jutting out of the side of the tunnel. I cried out in pain and struggled to move, but my leg was shocked and numb. I must have hit it right on a nerve. I swallowed hard, grabbing dirt under my fingertips and pushing myself back against the wall of the tunnel once more.
We’d moved away from the crystals in the tunnel wall, and I could barely see anything, but I could hear a vicious fight going on right in front of me. Assuming it was Jarvin who’d taken down the Rogue, I pressed my body flat to the wall, afraid the struggle would bring their bodies crashing down on me. I was a tiny thing compared to these faeries. If one landed on me, I’d be a pancake.
Grunting and sounds like a body slamming against rock filled the tunnel, along with snarls and snapping jaws. Feeling more orientated, I grabbed my pack and rummaged through it for a flashlight. My fingers curled around the cast metal casing of it, and I flicked it on, sweeping it across the tunnel.
My eyes widened as I found Jarvin breathing hard, his shirt torn and deep crimson blood seeping from claw marks surely from the Rogue. I moved the light down to find a crumpled body lying far stiller than it should have.
“Jarvin!” I called out, struggling to get to my feet. My hip shocked me with a jolt of agony, and I gasped, leaning on the wall to recover. “Is it dead?”
Jarvin’s eyes found me, reflecting the light like an animal. The look on his face was primal, and his sharp teeth were bared and dripping with ichor and gore. I ripped my eyes away, bile threatening to rise from my stomach as it clenched. He looked just as terrifying as the Dark One, who was missing a chunk of flesh from his arm. At least now I knew those teeth were weapons, and they weren’t afraid to use them.
I swallowed the hard lump sitting in my throat. I blinked his way and found him wiping his mouth with his shirt. He then flicked his eyes toward me, looking more like himself as he recovered from the battle.
“The Rogue is extinguished,” he answered, his voice unfeeling and low, as though he were fighting to subdue a monster lingering beneath his skin. No wonder humans were afraid of these people. They were the terrible things roaming the dark, ruthless creatures who stole humans for their own nefarious reasons. Even with the bargain I had struck, I wasn’t exempt from the same fate if I failed.
“Do they kill the upper-class fae?” I asked. Jarvin looked like he’d almost been beaten by this one Rogue. There had to be many others roaming the underground. If he struggled with just one, I hoped they didn’t attack in groups.
“They usually avoid us, but since you’re with me, they will risk it all for a mate.”
I shuddered at the thought of being captured by a Dark One. I imagined that it was a fate worse than death, probably far worse than being trapped as Jarvin’s consort. I limped forward and glanced ahead, my head pounding from landing hard on the ground.
“I hear water.” My heart jumped. “The river!”
Chapter Thirty-eight
Gideon
I stared up into a sky made of brilliant white stalactite chandeliers in the company of a field of stalagmites jutting up all around me. Every bit of me was numb as I fought the never-ending desire to close my eyes forever, praying for death as I mentally assessed my injuries. Ignoring the roll of agony growing stronger as I came to, I blinked hard, pulling a face into my mind’s eye, commanding me to get up.
Star. Where are you?
I groaned, rolling over and grimacing. Beneath me were the shattered remains of the limestone stalagmites I’d landed on when, at an estuary of the river, I’d been hurtled into this cave. Water dripped all around me, coloring my skin and clothes with white residue and silt. There was no telling how far the river had carried me. Luckily, I’d managed to release my cuff and press it to my mouth, activating the underwater breathing apparatus. Without it, I would have surely drowned.
The rope had dragged me for a good while before I was able to untangle myself, but the wrath of the river wasn’t done with me yet. The current had grown as it split and dumped its cargo over a cliff and down another waterfall. There, I’d struggled to surface, tumbling through the white water, unable to tell which way was up or down.
I’d been too exhausted to fight the current for long. I’d eventually let it sweep me away, deep into the underground, for miles and miles. I’d had to concentrate on staying conscious, but the cold penetrating down into my very soul was hard to keep at bay. It had whispered in my head to let go, to close my eyes and succumb to a watery grave, tempting me with sweet relief.
I’d refused its advances, fighting to stay alive. The current had drug me along, dunking my head under and rolling me over boulders and rocks until I felt my ribs crunch on my right side and my ankle twist against another hard surface jutting out into the river’s path. It wasn’t until I smacked my head against one of these outcroppings that I lost my fight to stay awake, fading into unconsciousness. Its refuge had wrapped around me like a warm blanket, flashing my memories as though playing me a movie to keep me from the very real threat of death.
No. Do not go gentle into that good night.
I’d awoken violently, sputtering and desperately grasping at my face, where something had muffled my screaming, just before the last drop deposited me in the cavernous room of pillars. The stalagmites, made of fragile limestone, had shattered from my weight, crumbling with ease even though it didn’t make it hurt any less. Stunned, I couldn’t move for what felt like an eternity, my body frozen with exhaustion.
“Star,” I whispered, my voice gruff and dry. My ribs ached, and my lips were surely pale and blue. I probably looked like death reincarnate. I had to get moving immediately. I had to get warm again.
I pushed myself up slowly, grimacing at the sudden jolt of pain slamming into my side. I held my breath, afraid to move my diaphragm. It felt like I’d shattered at least four ribs from the impact against the boulders. I grunted as I struggled to get into a sitting position, pulling myself up to lean against a thick stalagmite. It held my weight due to its massive size. I heaved in and out, my lungs pressing painfully against my broken bones so much that my eyes watered and stung.
I realized I was sitting in a puddle of water. The entire cavern was damp and filled with small pools of water merely inches deep. Drip, drip, drip. Everywhere I looked, water leaked from above. I figured the river ran just over the cavern and leaked through the limestone, building the pillars and statuesque structures over thousands of years. Looking around, I was shocked to find I could see without a flashlight. I wondered where the illumination was coming from; it provided enough light for me to see the shapes of the rocks and pools of water reflecting it.
Crystals, large ones, lined the surroundings, stuck into the mud and limestone at even intervals. They obviously hadn’t grown there and were far too evenly spread to be natural in formation. I scanned the area, wondering if I’d fallen into someone’s domain. If I had, I wasn’t sure I could fight them off if they attacked me. Not in the state I was in.
I glanced down at my boots. My ankle was surely swollen underneath the straps. If I removed it, it would definitely balloon up even more. I frowned, knowing that if it was broken, I wouldn’t make it back to the surface. I dropped my head back as I bent my knee, bringing up my leg, moaning as my head spun. Gritting my teeth, I breathed through the vertigo. My head injury was another prob
lem. I was a mess. Unfortunately, it would more than likely cost me my life.
Snap out of it, Gideon. Get up.
Star’s voice broke through my despair. Flinging my eyes open, I madly wiped the tears on my jacket, breathing through my teeth. If I didn’t get dry soon, my injuries would be the least of my problems. I inhaled slowly and deeply then pushed off the ground with one agonizing breath.
My ribs rubbed against my chest, and my ankle burned like it was on fire. I yelled out, the pain nearly making me pass out. I held on to the pillar of limestone for dear life, for it was the only thing keeping me upright. Half a minute passed as I let the pain ebb away until it was a throbbing, dull ache as long as I didn’t move.
How am going to get out of here? I wondered. I’m surely dead.
I bit my lip, not feeling much of the cut, but the pressure focused me once more. I hated feeling helpless. I wasn’t the kind of man who needed help. Cursing under my breath, I looked around the cavern once more, searching for a nearby refuge to dry out. As I turned one way and then the other, I nearly fell over at the sight of a woman spontaneously appearing right next to me. My eyes widened in horror as I took in her profile, incredibly similar to the one person who’d left me to my own devices so long ago, defenseless in the cold, harsh world.
Mother.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Star
This journey had been nothing but sweet misery. Even as we approached the roar of the river, the dread inside me grew. What if this wasn’t the same river we’d fallen into before? I didn’t want to think about not finding Gideon and Clyde, even though Jarvin had sworn to help me find them. Something inside me told me I was going to regret our bargain with every bone in my body.
We exited the tunnels into a huge maw where the river rushed by. The current wasn’t nearly as strong as it was near the propeller pipes, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t suck a person under. I swept my flashlight across the water and down into the edges. The water was blacker than Jarvin’s eyes, and I couldn’t see the bottom. It looked cold enough to freeze anyone who dared submerge themselves into it. I shuddered, remembering its frigid embrace. I didn’t want to cross it again.
“Are we swimming across?” I asked softly, fearing the answer.
Jarvin shook his head without looking my way. He pointed to our left, where a creaky-looking wooden bridge hung above the water. We’d have to climb to get to it, but it wasn’t that far off the ground.
It was held together by long lengths of moss-covered rope, deep green in color and swaying in the slight breeze created by the motion of the water. My lips quivered, already feeling the bite of the cold emanating from the river.
“This is where we part,” Jarvin said, his voice flat and unfeeling.
I flicked my eyes toward him, my jaw going slack and my stomach dropping as though he’d just socked me in the abdomen.
“Excuse me?” I scoffed. “You promised you would help me find Gideon and Clyde. You can’t back out now. I won’t bring Andromeda if you break our deal. It’ll be null and void.”
Jarvin, who refused to look at me as I spoke, finally tilted his head my way, his expression as cold as frost. “I said I would help you find Gideon and Clyde. Gideon is lost. You will never find him, for he is in a place you cannot reach. Clyde is across this bridge, searching for you. You can go to him or stay with me, but I cannot cross this bridge. It is the end of my domain. The Crystal Court of which I am a lord, forbids us to cross the river.”
“What? Since when? You said you went to the surface when you found my sister. How did you do that when you can’t cross this?”
He smirked at this comment. “That part of the river was already in my territory. The bargain is still intact. You must bring me Andromeda on the day of the vernal equinox, or you will be forced to return to my domain forever.”
I shook my head. “You forfeit the deal. I need to find Gideon too.”
His anger radiated from his hard obsidian eyes, digging into my soul. I grasped my head, feeling the pain he’d set upon me once before.
“The bargain is unbreakable. I said I would help you. I never said I would find them for you. Gideon is unreachable, even to me. Even if I could tell you how to find him, you’d never survive the journey deep inside the realms where we fae can never venture. I led you to Clyde. Cross the bridge, Star, and forget about Gideon.”
“No!” I could never forget about Gideon. “Why is he unreachable?”
Jarvin’s frosty demeanor made me feel like I was truly alone. “He is between life and death, in a place where you cannot go. Trust me, Star, forget about him. There’s nothing you can do for him.”
I shook with anger as tears sprung from eyes, stinging as my rage boiled over. “You find me Gideon, or you’ll never see my sister again!”
Threatening a faerie lord wasn’t something I’d suggest to anyone, but I didn’t care anymore. That is, I didn’t care until I went flying backwards, slamming into a large boulder sitting on the banks of the river. It knocked the breath out of me, and I gasped for air, my entire body bursting in agony. I rolled to my side, coughing and wheezing.
He turned toward the tunnel we’d come from without a second’s thought of me. I hated him with every bit of my soul just then. Of course I couldn’t count on a fae lord. They were made of nothing but trickery and stone-cold hearts.
“Deceiver!” I managed to croak out. It was more like I’d barely mouthed the words as I fought for breath, my eyes bugging out as I struggled. He disappeared into the darkness, but his voice echoed back out of the tunnel.
“You have until the equinox to find her. Use the time wisely, consort.”
I don’t know how long I laid on the banks of the river. It was long enough my tears had dried in salty trails down my face. Gideon was lost to me. There was no way to find him in this massive labyrinth, no matter what I did. I could probably search for a lifetime through the underground and never find him again.
I closed my eyes, for they burned, puffy from the tears. I sat up slowly, feeling my back throbbing. There would be bruises all over me by the time this hell was over. If it ever ended.
Turning toward the rickety bridge, I sighed. The bridge was the boundary of the faerie’s domain. How had they escaped to the surface? Maybe the Dark Ones used to be like Jarvin but had ventured past the borders too many times. Was that why they were charred and crazed? Could some horrid magic linger around this place?
I groaned. I had more questions than answers. Searching for resolution left me tired. I wanted to close my eyes and fall into an eternal sleep. Maybe then the constant pain lingering in my soul would stop. I’d lost so much in this war. I’d lost pieces of me along the way as well. Life had slowly chipped away at me, without regard to how I would survive without those pieces.
I shook off the despair, knowing I had to move, no matter what. I’d find Gideon. I promised this to myself as I pushed off the ground to stand, feeling my legs wobble as I adjusted. I sucked in a breath as the pain of slamming against the rocks subsided enough for me to attempt to cross the bridge. I scooped up my fallen flashlight, grunting with effort. I was too young to feel this old.
Clyde was ahead. I hoped Jarvin hadn’t lied about that. If he had, I guessed I would be lost to the underworld forever. Faeries were the dredge of the earth. No wonder humans feared and hated them. I didn’t blame them at all.
I took a cautious step onto the old, rotted wood of the bridge, steadying myself on the equally disintegrating rope suspended above as a guide. I held my breath as the planks creaked and sighed beneath my weight. I made it nearly a third of the way across before I stepped on a fragile plank, snapping it beneath me and leaving my leg dangling down as I held on for dear life from the rope. It sighed and complained as I tugged myself back up, taking a wide step to the next stable plank. Halfway through, sweating with my heart hammering a mile a minute, I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps echoing in the tunnel ahead.
My eyes widened
as I held my breath, trying my best to hold on to the rope without falling off. Slippery algae and moss wove around every piece of the rope and wood; I could lose my grip with one false step. Listening, I failed to hear the footsteps anymore and hoped there were no Dark Ones on the other side of the bridge.
Listening to the dark, I swept my flashlight back and forth at the stone edges of the river. Seeing nothing, I continued, trying to keep a grip on my flashlight as I shimmied across more of the bridge.
The end crawled closer. I could have sworn my crossing took longer than it should have. Maybe the bridge had grown in size with some weird faerie trick. I shook my head thinking of the ridiculousness of it all. No, this was the border to the faerie underground. This thing looked archaic and ready to plunge into the water at any minute. There was no way it was held together by magic. More like crumbling from neglect.
There were only a few steps to go before I made it onto the plateau on the other side. Feeling more confident, I took another step, and the whole bridge disintegrated, collapsing in a violent splash into the river along with all the rope and planks. I screamed, holding on to the slick rope for dear life. My flashlight slipped from my fingers before spinning into the river water, disappearing into its depths and plunging me into darkness.
My hands were gripping the slippery rope while my feet dangled just above the currents. I gasped as the cold radiating from the water bit into my fingers and the skin on my face. My arms burned as I attempted to climb up the rope. I managed a few inches before grasping a slippery patch of moss and nearly losing my grip. I yelped, managing to wrap my leg around the rope to hold myself in place.
