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We eventually stop. This area of the woods looks like any other, but Daddy cups his hands and makes a strange sound, like a bird I’m sure I’ve never heard before. Then, the guys nod to each other, and move forward slowly, while looking all around. Tiny kneels down and gestures forward. I stare at him in confusion, and he lifts a brow, before sliding through the moss beneath the huge tree.
They end up leading me to an underground cave I would’ve never seen if not for them. But now that I know it’s there and where it’s--camouflaged in that moss between a thousand-year-old oak and a lush hill--it’s something I won’t likely forget, if I’m ever allowed to leave it.
The cave is dark and dank until Tiny manages to light a torch that’s secured to the wall. The flames dance, spreading light to chase away the dark shadows. The walls are smooth, clay-like and the air chills me, cooler and damper than outside. It’s an underground kind of dampness and I shiver, but I don’t try to leave. I wait because I don’t know why they’ve brought me here, and I know damn well if I try to run for it now, I’ll be caught quickly, and any kind of trust we’ve built will be gone.
I’m not willing to risk that. I sure as hell plan to run away, but I can wait. If there’s one thing Ann is known for, it’s her patience. My fathers told me that over and over again every time they visited my mom when I was young. They’d hug me tightly, lavish me with gifts, and tell me I was the gentlest, most patient child they’d ever met.
Which always confused me. Every time my stepfather beat the shit out of me, he said it was because I was a bad kid. So, was I awesome or bad? I never really knew.
I still don’t.
A shiver rolls through me again, and I wrap my arms around myself. My teeth start chattering, and I try to push away the image of my stepfather’s face. I have enough going on right now. The last thing I need to do is think about the only monster I’ve ever been soul-deep terrified of.
Trying my best to ignore my dark thoughts, I take it all in. Looking left and right, but it just seems to be like any other cave. Until we see light above and the temperature of the cave gets noticeably warmer. Our group moves a little faster, weaving around the path until we come out into a huge room.
My jaw drops open. There are at least a dozen shadow beasts prowling throughout the cave. In the center of the mountainous cavern, a waterfall tumbles down into a big pool where two shadow beasts are bathing naked. Steam rises up from the water and seems to hover in the room, warming an otherwise cold place.
I feel my cheeks heat and look away. My gaze catches with Tiny’s dark eyes, and I avoid his gaze.Did he see me staring at the naked men?Another shadow beast is weaving a basket near a huge fire. Two others are sharpening their blades, speaking to each other in low voices.
Suddenly, two shadow beasts separate from the walls beside us. Daddy speaks to them in a low voice, using the same strange language I don’t understand. The two new shadow beasts keep staring at me, and they don’t look happy, but they eventually hug Daddy, Fluffy, and Tiny.
Within minutes, at least two dozen shadow beasts have surrounded the three I know. There’s a lot of talking in their strange language, and a lot of gesturing with hands. My guys are hugged a bunch, and there's a general sense of celebration. But every time anyone looks in my direction, they don’t seem as welcoming. I can’t tell if they’re curious about me, annoyed, or angry. Either way, it isn’t a good response.
Do they think I want to be here?
“Nice to meet you too,” I grumble.
None of them react. They just continue staring at me with those gazes filled with unhappy emotions. In fact, if I try, I can feel the unhappy emotions coming off of them. I close my eyes and sense resentment, exhaustion, and anger. Then, I open my eyes and glare right back at them.
“I hope one day you get that stick out of your asses,” I grumble.
And then it hits me, the three who had taken me were prisoners of the light fae. Do these shadow beasts think I was involved with keeping their friends prisoner? That would be… bad.Reallybad. We can’t even understand each other well enough to explain that I had nothing to do with what happened to them.
Is that why they took me?The thought makes my stomach turn, so I push it away.
Most light fae are good at seeming happy and relaxed all the time. From a young age, we practice keeping smiles on our faces and meditating. It’s looked down upon for us to get angry, jealous, or any of the darker emotions connected with the dark fae.
I practiced more than most other light fae, to cover up my mom’s secret and seem normal, but it was never a natural thing to me. Sarcasm and anger came more easily. It wasn’t until Rayne that I realized that maybe I had to show one face to the world, but it was okay if I wasn’t that person deep down.
Now though, it feels like there’s no reason to pretend to be anything except myself, and it’s… oddly nice.
Daddy weaves through the crowd and grabs my arm, hauling me through the huge cavern. Little crystals glow on all the walls, illuminating a light that has the same softness as moonlight. It’s almost delicate, but somehow gives almost as much light as the huge fire in the center of the room.
As we go deeper into the cavern, I realize that along the walls steps have been carved into the stone. As I glance up, I see that nestled into the walls of glowing crystals are little caves. It almost looks like seeing the side of a beehive… well, for bees that can’t fly. There has to be twenty or thirty little caves, and based on the light radiating from them, and the curtains covering most of the entrances, I get a sense this is where the beasts live.
“Cool,” I whisper under my breath.
Fluffy lightly touches my arm and gestures with his head to keep going. Where he touches me, it feels strangely warm. I look down, blinking at his fingers so lightly pressed against me.
He draws his hand back in a rush, as if I was bothered by his touch.
The truth is, I’m not sure if I was. But Iamconfused.His touch was almost… nice.
I push the thought away with anger. Rayne was my mate. My only mate. And he’s dead. No other man will ever make me feel the way he did. I will die alone, clinging to the love I feel for him, just like most fae who lose their mates.
My shadow beasts move forward in the direction Fluffy had indicated. We walk around the shadow beasts near the fire, all gazes drifting to me as their strange language goes silent. My beasts take me to a tunnel lined with more of the crystals on the walls, this time they’re hurrying a bit ahead of me.
They probably know this is the last place I’m going to try to escape from. And they’re not wrong. I try to keep up with them until they lead us past a cave, and then I pause near the entrance and stare inside. There’s a man lying on the ground under a blanket woven from vines. He’s a warrior, big with long hair the color of honey and a body like the oak outside. Tall. Big. Broad. Unconscious. Not simply sleeping, but I don’t know why I’m so sure. His breaths come slow, not fatigued or labored, but not natural either. Maybe like he’s in a trance.
