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His breath tickled the hairs on the back of my neck, and the heat of his body against my back was oppressive, but I didn’t dare move, nor did I argue or beg. I was terrified of making one wrong move, terrified of losing my chance at this cure.
After five long, shaky breaths as I fought to rein in my terror, I squared my shoulders and met Haelo’s eyes straight on. “You swear this will work?”
He smiled. A feral smile that wasn’t at all kind. “I swear it. A faerie’s word is his bond. If you do as I’ve instructed, your precious human brother will live and your life will be forfeit.” Delight danced in his eyes as he spelled out my fate, as if he could hardly hold in his glee. Before I could respond, he tugged on my still burning hand and dragged me close until we were nose to nose, my feet practically hovering off the cave floor. “We’ll seal the bargain with a kiss.”
Blinking at him, my mouth opened and closed without words, stunned at the request. His white eyes glowed brightly as he slowly ran his tongue over his lips…his forked tongue. Fear iced my veins, and my palm burned hotter than ever. I could hear the faeries around us, chuckling, murmuring, and taunting. I was a spectacle to them.
For Drystan, I would do this. For him, I would lay down my life and make the bargain. For him, I would do anything. I would stare Death in the face and laugh when it told me to kneel. I would face a thousand armies, kill a million queens. I would become the very thing I feared, if it meant he would come back to me. For Drystan, I kissed the faerie.
Fire like I’d never known ripped through my entire body as our lips met. His forked tongue swept between my lips, entering my mouth with force and grace that had me falling limp into his arms. Between us, my palm was on fire, and behind my closed eyelids I could see a bright glow, by which I knew that the cave was lit up like the sun from the force of our binding magic.
When I thought the magic would burn me to ashes on this very spot, I found myself screaming into Haelo’s mouth as laughter and ominous howls echoed around me. Heart thundering, palms slick, and body burning impossibly hot, I screamed and I screamed, all the while, he kissed me with abandon. His kiss was all-consuming, invading every single one of my senses down to the soles of my feet. I felt weightless and heavy at the same time.
Then all at once…it stopped. The noise, the fire, the magic, the kiss. It all just stopped.
I felt their absence immediately. I didn’t even have to open my eyes to know that I was once again utterly alone in the faerie cave. My eyes opened slowly, and I blinked against the sudden darkness. Only one torch remained lit, and a cold wind swept through the cave, ruffling my hair.
They were gone.
I brought my closed fist up toward my face as tears spilled out over my cheeks. I held the vial of blue petals as tightly as I could without breaking the glass, and then staring at the petals that would save my brother’s life, I laughed. Through my tears, I laughed aloud, my hiccuping voice bouncing off of the empty walls.
Through the glass of the vial, on the center of my palm, was a bright glowing light that swirled right under the surface of my skin. It was hot to the touch, and it moved as if it were a pool of molten gold.
A brand. A bargain. A promise…
Kyre
One Year Later
Iran and ran as fast as I could, but I was running out of places to hide or alleyways to slip through. The slums of Karn were only so large and I’d covered just about every inch of it on foot this morning. I crashed into a cart of bread and cakes, sending the shopkeeper flying backwards, cursing me the entire time.
Everyone was staring at me as I picked myself up and continued sprinting, pulling sticky berry cake from my long hair and tossing a halfhearted apology over my shoulder. The markets were teeming with customers today as I dove and dodged around them, sometimes even shoving them out of the way forcefully or twisting and turning to avoid them. It was rude, but it was either that, or allow the three riders on horseback to catch up to me.
My booted feet crunched over crumbling leaves and muddy puddles from last night’s rain. It was biting cold out, and all I wanted to do was get back home and curl up next to the fire. Running for my life was exhausting, but the fear that iced my veins kept me awake.
I’d woken this morning to an ungodly ringing in my ears. Then tiny voices began to chitter and giggle, echoing in my head incessantly. The brand on my palm was glowing bright, burning everything it touched. Everywhere I went I felt little tugs on my hair and cloak. I’d spy flashing pairs of eyes through the crowded city streets. Even the trees seemed to move oddly today, fighting against the swift wind that blew in from the mountains.
I was the only one who could see the little creatures that toyed with passing children, pick pocketing the wealthier customers who ambled through the markets without a care in the world. The fae were everywhere, invisible to the human eye, ready to cause chaos and mayhem wherever they could.
I never let them know I could see them. I couldn’t take the chance that they might expose me for what I really was. My pointed ears remained perpetually covered with hoods, scarves or the thick curls of my copper hair. To everyone around me, I was nothing more than an average human woman living in the slums of Karn, just trying to make it to the next day without starving.
No one could see the riders that chased me, telling me they were fae. Of course, they were fae. My time was up as of dawn this morning. One year to the day I’d struck my bargain. A part of me wanted to believe the faeries had forgotten about me. Maybe they’d let me be and move onto much more important matters. I wasn’t that lucky unfortunately. Like clockwork, they were here to collect, and I decided I wasn’t ready.
I ran as fast as I could force my feet to move. The sun was high in the sky now, melting the ice off of the thatched roofs overhead. My hood blew back as I leaped over a pile of broken crates, barely catching my balance as I rounded a corner. The ground shook with the force of the hooves slamming into it, bringing the riders closer with every breath I painstakingly took.
I could see the edge of the city up ahead, just down a small hillside that led to the temple. It was an ancient, stone building that housed theliving flame. It was a silly human ritual for a silly human king that lived centuries before my time. The perpetual flame was kept safe by the temple’s priestesses, promising to keep the humans of Karn protected from the faeries that lurked beyond the Veil. It was all just superstition. Little did these priestesses know that the fae were already among them.
I ran for the temple, hoping that maybe, just maybe, there was some spark of real magic left in that living flame to keep me safe from the riders. It was a foolish hope, but right now it was the only option I had short of falling to my knees and letting them take me away.
The entrance to the temple was made of glittering glass etched with protective symbols that meant nothing to me. The sun winked off its surface, nearly blinding me. In its reflection I could see the riders getting closer. I braced myself for shattering glass as I vaulted up the stone steps, cutting between two startled priestesses and dove through the double doors. They shouted and gasped, one of them dropping a pitcher of water down the steps, spilling it everywhere. Somehow, I managed to make it completely inside without breaking anything.
Sliding across the marble floor painted in golds and creams, I came to an ungraceful stop and laid on my back staring at the high ceiling as I tried to catch my breath. The altar room fell silent around me, and I could feel the eyes of dozens of priestesses glaring right at me. I ignored them.
I looked to my right where the wall of windows faced the path I’d just taken. The riders approached slowly now, no longer charging at full speed. My heart hammered as I got a good look at them. One I’d met before, and two that I couldn't exactly identify, but assumed they were male given their immense size.
The middle one wore a hood and mask, leaving only glowing, blue eyes visible through the small slit. The rider next to him was massive beyond words. His arms alone were the width of my torso, and even sitting atop the horse it was clear he was over seven feet tall, and that was being modest. He wore a strange kind of helmet that covered his whole head with curling onyx horns on either side.
They were all dressed in black leather and boots with weapons strapped onto every limb and across their backs. The one in the center with the hood and mask, had a longbow at his back, intricately carved with symbols I recognized as fae. The symbols glowed much like the blue of their eyes.
