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This time, it took a superhuman effort to not gut him where he stood. But nothing would have been gained from losing my temper. Beth’s life hung by a thread if she was alone in the forest, hunted by the prince’s guards.
“Which way?” I growled, my voice more animal than Fae.
He pointed, his hand shaking.
“Stay here. The orders have changed. The prince wants her alive, after all. If she comes to harm, you will answer to him.”
He quaked so hard, his teeth chattered. Satisfied that my final salvo had found its target, I turned to the captain.
Ignoring his knowing smirk, I said, “Come on. Let’s see how quickly we can catch up with them.”
I was loath to turn my back to him, but I also knew that I was safe from his blade until we had caught up with Beth. Together, we followed the sounds of hounds baying and men shouting. I spared a glance at the human’s body on the ground, sending him a silent thank you for saving my mate in the dungeon.
“May the Goddess keep you in the next world,” I whispered.
Somehow, we had lost Beth’s track. I had no idea how, but one moment, we were following her into the forest, and the next, she had disappeared.
We had caught up with the hunting party. The hounds milled about, trying to find her scent, and their handlers parted before us. Maybe my grim expression scared them because nobody dared to challenge us as we left them behind.
We had been traveling for several hours more when the captain said quietly, “Prys ordered me to kill you when you find the girl.”
I stopped, shocked at how much my awareness of the man behind me had slipped. Before I could whirl around and take care of the threat, cold metal scraped against my neck. I had been foolish to forget the captain was no friend of mine. Sweat pearled on my hair line as I closed my eyes, waiting for the killing blow.
“I will not harm you. I know how you feel about the kingslayer. We all do. Will you yield if I remove the blade?”
I barely dared breathe, lest he slip and cut my throat by accident. But he took my croaked “yes” as confirmation and removed the blade. I dropped my shoulders and turned to the captain. He sheathed his weapon and faced me, pale but determined.
“Prys killed my parents. I did not find out until recently. I owe him no more allegiance than I would a shadow beast in the Vale.”
His words stunned me. I had always taken the man as an obedient soldier who followed the king’s orders without fail. But the king was dead, and it sounded like the oath of fealty did not carry over to his son.
“You know that Beth did not kill the king?” I asked.
His eyes widened, but he mulled my words over and then nodded. “There are rumors. Yet you yourself did not speak up when Prys imprisoned her.”
A deep sigh escaped me. “And that is the shame I will take to my grave.”
“He would have killed you if you had. At least now you can save her.”
The simple truth of his words hardened my resolve. “Will you help, Captain?”
He laughed. “Call me Mal. It seems I have resigned my position with the prince.”
Chuckling, we resumed our journey. It felt good to have a companion and no longer be alone in my quest.
Mal lifted his nose and sniffed. “Smoke. Something is burning.”
We entered a clearing and stopped, shocked at the sight. Scores of bodies lay between scorched tents. We trudged across the battlefield, marveling at the strength it would have taken to cause that much damage to the bodies.
It was hard to tell in death, but there seemed to be Fae from all territories. Was this the group of rebels the traitor had encountered?
Something moved, and a rattling breath reached our ears. We rushed to the source and found a survivor. He was a huge warrior with the white hair, albeit covered in blood, of the winter Fae.
“Stay still,” Mal said. “We will try to help you.”
The man wheezed, “No. I will join the Goddess soon.”
Mal brushed his hands over his body, then shook his head. I did not need to be a medic to see that the injuries were too severe. It was a miracle he was alive at all.
