Page 8 of Courting the Fae Captain
Nothing happened.
Gods, it worked! The creature couldn’t find me. I was no longer a breath of life to snuff out, but a mask of death it had already discarded. A blooming decay of a freshly caught meal. I felt its hot breath huff over my face, startling me with how close it was suddenly, and I clenched my nails together, forcing myself to become a living statue. I refused to die down here, shredded into a forgotten tapestry of death.
It felt like an age, but eventually the thing snuffled and returned to gorging on the female. I waited, still and silent, until even the creature grew tired of its catch and sauntered off in search of other prey.
I remained still for minutes until I was certain it was gone. When I was sure, a gasp shuddered out of me, then tears fell, hot and heavy. My chest heaved, and my body trembled with shock and disgust. My cheeks were too warm, too taut, as if a blanket was suffocating me, like I couldn’t breathe as I wore the female’s blood as a second skin. I didn’t know how long I stayed like that, too stricken to move.I was horrified at the thought that there might be more than one creature. Would this death paint work on another? I didn’t want to test it.
“Don’t give up. Not now,” a voice whispered in the darkness.
I flinched, raising my pins like little swords as I shifted into a crouch with my back against the wall. The shape of a body appeared, though I couldn’t make out her face. “Don’t come any closer,” I warned.
“If I wished to hurt you, I’d have done so already.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, if slightly amused. “I’m simply curious to hear how you survived that thing.”
“Morbidly,” I replied. “And I’m not sure 'simple’ applies to our current predicament, but you’re welcome to stick around and find out.”
She laughed a little awkwardly. “You’re feisty, for a lord’s daughter.”
I stiffened. “Says the female laughing after another was just brutally murdered.”
“You’re right, I’m so sorry. I, ah—I laugh when I get nervous. And say stupid things.” At my silence, the female cleared her throat and continued. “A terrible trait, I know. But I’d very much like to stay alive, if you can see where I’m going with this?”
The tension in my muscles eased. Socially awkward females, I could deal with. But placing my trust in others was not natural for me. I’d made the mistake before and been burned for it. Who’s to say she wouldn’t stab me in the back the moment it was turned? Or that she wasn’t pretending to play nice? I was her competition after all.
I realised she had been so light on her feet that I hadn’t sensed her approach. Quiet and calm … Perhaps she could be useful. But her scent gave her away. Jasmine and sandalwood, with something light and playful lacing the top. Blissful, and entirely too noticeable. I sighed. I wasn’t in a trusting mood, but I had already witnessed—in all bodily ways except for sight—someone else’s death. I wasn’t in the mood to be around for another.
“They’re blind. Stay quiet and keep still, and you’ll be fine. Also, your scent gives you away. You’ll need to, um, mask it.”
“Mask it? With what? There’s no mud or …Oh!” I heard her take a step and slip slightly on the stone … or rather, the blood coating it. Then it dawned on her. “Oh.”
I cringed. “I’m not a monster, I swear.”
“Better to become a monster than the meat,” she said after a pause. Somehow, that made the ice in my bones thaw a little. The survival instinct was oddly grounding. “I’m Sherai, by the way. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but here we are.”
“Aeris,” I offered. There was no harm in a name, and if we got out of here, she’d learn it soon enough anyway. I didn’t bother to wipe my tears as I shuffled to the blood. “Come. I’ll help you.” She squatted beside me, and the warmth radiating off her small frame was admittedly comforting. “I’m sorry for this.”
I dipped my fingers into the blood to smear it over her cheeks. This close, I could see the outline of her face and feel the angles and curves as my fingertips swept over her cheeks. She was beautiful. Bow lips, high cheekbones, arched brows. Her frame was delicate and feminine. But then, I’d expected most, if not all, of the females in this competition to be pretty. It would be an insult to our overbearing fathers to be anything less.
“It’s still warm,” she said softly.
“Try not to think about it. That female is gone now. We’re still standing.”
“Didn’t think my first friend here would be made while finger painting like some crazy blood ritual,” the female said, a little lighter.
Gods, her sense of humour was dry, which was kind of perfect for our current situation. I couldn’t help but grin. “Honestly? I didn’t think I’d meet anyone friendly at all. We’re all here for the same reason.” I added under my breath,“Mostly.” She didn’t say anything to that, so I finished up my work and sat back on my haunches. “You’re good to go. We should probably get out of here in case there are more of those things stalking these halls. They might come back to continue snacking.”
“You know, we now have the smell of their lunch on us, right? Are you sure this is the way to go?”
I shrugged. “It worked the first time. Besides, there’s a difference between something fresh and hot and blood that’s turning foul. Let’s get moving. I guess we’ll find out on the way.”
We stalked through the dark at a snail’s pace, me with a hand on the wall, her with a hesitant hand clasped over my arm. Surprisingly, her presence was a comfort. Her steady breathing kept me hyper-focused as my ears strained for any sound and my eyes blinked back at the unending dark for even a hint of light to guide us. The occasional scream or howl rang out somewhere distant, making Sherai hold on tighter. My heart would race again, but nothing ever came of it, so we pushed on.
We walked for some time until soft snarls broke out ahead of us. A squabble of some sort between not one but two or three of the creatures, from what we could tell. I grabbed Sherai’s hand and we flattened against the wall. They fought for a time, the occasional sound of flesh ripping the only time their growls and grunts halted.
“What do we do? They’re right in the middle of the path,” Sherai whispered in my ear.
Indeed. But we couldn’t go back. There was nothing to return to, and there was no knowing if anyone would come for us. I guessed that anyone who didn’t make it out would be eaten alive or left to rot. “We have to keep going. We’ll never leave this place if we don’t. If we can’t get through quietly, we just run, okay?” Her body shivered beside mine, so I squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Trust me.”
We advanced cautiously, padding along on tiptoes while the beasts ranted and raged, fighting over whatever trappings of ‘meat’ they’d landed on. Whomever they were fighting over hadn’t stood a chance. Hells, our odds of getting through were slim at best.
