Page 140 of Court of the Fae Princes

Then some unknown light source again comes at the edge of my vision, and gray shapes separate from one another in the darkness. I’m definitely underground given the fact that the walls, ceiling, and floor are made of dirt. “Where am I?” I whisper. My feet move me forward through the dim space, trying to make sense of it all.

Pain radiates through my body unexpectedly, and I gasp into the darkness. I want to reach for the pain, but it’s nowhere. Nothing on me hurts. It’s an intangible pain, yet sharp, aching, and throbbing all at the same time. It pulls on me, propelling me forward, deeper into the darkness… a tether to some unknown source.

I keep walking, letting the pain lead the way until I turn a corner and gasp at what I see. Everywhere I look, beneath the light of a lone torch, there are caskets open to reveal decaying bodies: men and women, young and old, fae and human alike. There’s no delineation between the caskets. They’re all equal in death.

My whole body trembles as I make my way past it all. The cold air stabs into my skin until I’m shivering so much that my teeth chatter. The pain presses me forward. There’s nothing in front of me except darkness, but I keep going.

The feeling inside of me intensifies as the corner of the room comes into view. There’s something in that corner that I need to get to. My body tells me that much, and I can’t ignore the feeling. I quicken my pace, my feet hitting the dusty ground faster and faster until I see him.

Big, strong Sulien lies curled up in a ball on the ground. His body doesn’t move. I don’t even detect the rise and fall of his chest. A heaviness weighs down on me and tears sting my eyes.

Keep going. You have to know. But I stop short of reaching him, scared of what I’ll discover when I get to him. I can’t lose him. Even though he pisses me off. Even though I don’t know where we stand.

There’s just something between us. Something more than a shared history, more than the secret we share. Something inside of me resonates with something inside of him. I don’t understand it. I haven’t wanted to admit it. But the feeling is there.

What if someone has killed him? What if he’s gone and I never got to tell him?

I take a shaky step forward. Suddenly, I can hear his raspy breathing. I can see the rise and fall of his body, and my chest aches, knowing that he’s alive, but in what condition? His breathing sounds like gravel crunching.

Which can’t be good, even though I’m no healer, I know that much.

I move closer to him, and now I see that he’s covered in blood. Not one inch of the skin I see is free from it. Shit. He’s been badly beaten. But by who?

Glancing around, feeling a shiver roll up my spine, I see nothing. Though logic says they couldn’t have gotten far since the wounds look fresh. Are they going to come back for more?

If they do, I’ll be ready for them.

“Prince Sulien?” I whisper.

There’s nothing. Just the horrible sound of his unnatural breathing.

“Prince Sulien?” I say louder. “I’m here.”

“No,” he mutters, but he doesn’t sound right.

My heart aches. “It’s Cassia.”

“Not here. In my head,” he says.

I drop to my knees and reach for his arm, but when my fingers touch his skin, he hisses in pain. Jerking my hand back, I try to think. I need to touch him. To check him over. I need… to know if he’s all right.

We’ll try this another way. “Everything is alright. I’m here now. I’m going to take care of you.” I run a finger along his cheek, and he cries out in pain again.

I jerk my hand away. The last thing I want to do is hurt him more.

He’s not all right.

So, what can I do? Even if I see his wounds, I won’t be able to heal him. He’s too heavy to carry out of here, even if I knew where to go.

Tears form in my eyes. No matter what, I have to do something. But first, I need to find a way to help him, to bring him back to me.

I try to hold my sobs back, but as I lay down next to him, they escape. My Sulien. He’s hurt. Someone hurt my prince.

“The barrier,” he mumbles.

Barrier? Does he even know what he’s saying? “The barrier is fine. You’re fine. You’re right here with me.”

“I can’t. Too weak,” he gasps, like it’s taking all he has inside of him to speak. Like each word is causing him pure agony.

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