Page 9 of Courting the Fae Captain
If only my powers had decided to show their face. I hadn’t mastered them. Hadn’t been able to flick that switch inside that allowed my true form to come to light. My mother used to tell me I’d be powerful—that my bloodline meant I was destined for great things, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. My magic had not awoken, and I failed to see it doing so now. Avadir, as much as I’d loved the old boy, was the only other person who’d come close to setting them free. But he was gone now, and the progress I’d made when attempting to wield with him had long receded into the dark depths of my mind and soul. My ribs were a cage, binding that essence in tight, keeping them trapped beneath the surface. Perhaps it was for the best. I’d only ever had my wits to rely on and that had been just fine … for the most part.
“I don’t suppose you can wield?” I asked Sherai in a low voice.
“Um … not well,” she admitted. “I’m from the Soul Court anyway. I don’t think reading fates or prophesying will be of much help here.”
“Unlikely. Onwards, then.”
My nose crinkled at the offending stench of blood and entrails as we crept forward. I held my breath, pressing up against the wall once more and sliding sideways. I almost gasped as something flicked against my leg—a tail, I realised. It whacked against my skirts, and I stood there, mortified, until the beast moved unbothered and I was free to continue. The creature in question must have made a bold claim on the body because theother two growled suddenly, followed by fresh chaos as the three clashed together again in violent delight.
It happened so fast. Claws scraped against stone, the smell of death and decay ripe in the air as fangs gnashed and giant bodies bounded around the space. It was instinct, perhaps some kind of sixth sense, that told me to duck as a mouth full of razor teeth sliced through the space I’d been standing. It didn’t stop the claw that sank into my shoulder, though. Blazing heat seared through me, like a lance of molten fire. And still I did not scream. Sherai grabbed me as I faltered. We stumbled out of the fray and into quiet solitude as we crept far enough away to take a breath. Only then did I let myself hiss in pain and slide to the ground. Nausea bubbled in my stomach, and the darkness spun a little, making it even more dizzying and disorienting.
“We can’t stop Aeris. We have to keep moving.”
The girl was a goddamn taskmaster. Couldn’t I have a second to heave in peace? “I just … need a … moment,” I wheezed.
I felt the movement as Sherai shook her head. “You don’t understand. Your blood is in the air now. They have your fresh scent!”
I froze. My scent … Godsdammit. One body between three creatures was little more than an appetiser, so the promise of another one would be driving them mad. The second they finished with their entrée, they’d be ready for the main meal … Which meant they’d be after us any?—
Howls and roars and bloodcurdling growls. The sounds of a twisted hound catching the scent. I jumped to my feet, ignoring the stabbing pain in my shoulder. “Run. Fucking run, Sherai!”
To her credit, she didn’t immediately sprint to safety and leave me behind. Instead, she pulled on my good arm and practically dragged me along as she hauled ass. Each step was agony as the wound in my shoulder jolted. A bolt of electricity,striking again and again until I was cradling my arm and biting my lip so hard I drew blood.
“I see light!” Sherai called breathlessly. “There, at the end of the tunnel!”
I’d never been happier to see anything in my life. Pain be damned, I was getting the hells out of this place. The thought of freedom egging us on, we increased our pace. I gritted my teeth as blood dribbled down my gown, spattering the lilac silk and chiffon with artful drops as we ran. Not long now and we’d be out of here. So close, so?—
A dash of movement, and I was knocked off my feet. I tumbled to the ground, my shoulder barking in pain as I hit the stone hard. My gown ripped, the delicate strap snapping, and the bodice tore halfway down.
Brown hair fell into my face, and I spat it out of my mouth in disgust, realising it was indeedhair, not fur. The light was bright enough now that I could vaguely make out a female’s features as she lifted her head and glared down at me. And oh, she was not happy. Perhaps not even sane, judging by the crazed look in her eyes.
She shrieked and raised something sharp and curved into the air. A blade? No, a bone. That was a fucking Fae bone she was about to impale me with. And by the looks of how pale and clean it was, it had been down here for some time. Gods, how many females had died in this place? I was wrong. We weren’t in a maze. We were in a fucking crypt.
The air whooshed out from between my teeth as I grabbed her hand and curled my fingers, clenching my nails deep into her skin. The bone lowered, the makeshift blade dropping dangerously close to my eye.
I couldn’t even call for help, not as I dared a split-second glance at Sherai, who was battling her own attacker.
Gods help us, we were not one day into the Rite and females were already turning murderous. Is this really what we were reduced to? A pack of starved dogs in a wild frenzy as they battled over the only prey? I knew what wild things did when cornered. Kick a dog enough, and eventually it loses itself to basic survival instincts. It bites, it mauls, and it tears its attacker apart.
The captain wouldn’t know what hit him. Or maybe he would revel in the brutality of this game. The basic instincts and the primal hunger that lived in all of us. And yet, the thing about the circle of life is that there’s always something stronger. Always a bigger fish. And today that fish was me.
I pushed all my energy into my core, twisting her hand just enough to slip out of harm’s way. The bone struck the stone where my head had been, and she hissed as I twisted and punched her in the throat. She uttered a strangled cry as she choked, her hands grasping at her windpipe. The creatures could be heard down the tunnel, no doubt curious about our tussle. I didn’t hesitate to grab the makeshift bone knife, but I did freeze as I looked down into her eyes. Wide and green and not full of anger or hate, but … fear. She was afraid, and fear made people do irrational things. I couldn’t bring myself to slide the knife home. It would have been so easy to slip it beneath her ribcage, to angle it just so. A mercy, even, compared to the beasts that prowled this place. Or I could be the bigger person. I could reach out my hand.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said softly. “We can leave this place together.”
Some of the feral glassiness in the female’s eyes left, a look of relief easing her features, but then she glanced over my shoulder, and that fear came right back.
“Aeris.”
The name was a garbled plea, and I looked to find Sherai in a rear chokehold from the female behind her. The look in that one’s eyes? That was altogether different. Determination and indifference.Shewas not someone to cross, but I took one look at the hopelessness in Sherai’s eyes and knew I’d stop at nothing to get her out of here.
“Let her go,” I said slowly. Authoritatively.
To my surprise, the female listened. She bared her teeth, her brows raising ever so slightly as she took in a second threat. “Aeris?” she asked. “Aeris Lockhart?”
Alarm bells rang inside my head as she cocked her head, her lips thinning as she seemed to look at me in a new light. Well, that was comforting. I didn’t let her see my concern. Not as I grinned and saluted her. “The one and only.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she shifted her stance. The female barely spared my weapon a second glance. No, this one was certainly no stranger to combat. I adjusted my own stance, lifting my weapon, ready to lunge if necessary.
