Page 16 of The Dragon King's Curse
I hurried through the trees, intent on getting lost within them before Atlas and his companions came in search of us. I called for Miranda but received no response. There was no sign of my fellow prisoners anywhere. It was as if the forest had separated us.
Continuing on, I searched for something to use as a weapon. I didn’t know how I would survive this night. I only knew that I must.
CHAPTER NINE
FERYN
The colors of the fae forest were almost as brilliant in their beauty as my own homeland. Bright green trees. Flowers in every color of the rainbow. I sensed that if my magick hadn’t been shackled by the iron around my wrists, I would be able to speak to the forest. Of course, there was no way of knowing if it would speak back. An angry forest may have nothing good to say to me.
There was much unrest here. The earth beneath my feet seemed to vibrate with its discontent. The realm of shadows was not happy. My heart would have wept for it if I hadn’t been running for my life.
Along my way, I picked up a broken tree limb with a sharp end. It would have to do until I found something more deadly. The deep throated croak of frogs in a nearby pond greeted me as I approached. There was no sound other than that of my own footsteps crunching fallen tree limbs and dried out leaves.
Where was everyone else? Had we all gone in different directions? The forest was vast. One could easily get lost within it. I ceased calling for Miranda. Soon the fae would come looking for us. I didn’t want to lead them right to me.
I had no idea how much time had passed since my entry into the forest. Looking back behind me, all I saw was trees.Rather than moving straight ahead, I’d veered off in several different directions. Not only did the fae have weapons, they had magick. Some of them may be able to track us. They were a tricky bunch.
Rounding the pond, I left the call of the frogs behind, continuing on my way. What I needed was a place to hide. A place that wouldn’t seem so obvious to those who hunted me.
The trees opened into a small clearing up ahead. A circle of large pink and purple mushrooms called to me. I knew better than that. Since childhood I’d been warned about fae circles. They were traps.
Steering well away from the clearing, I moved instead toward a thick batch of trees. Vines dangled from them, reaching out for me as I passed. Ready for their attempt to trap me, I swung at them with my stick.
A large rock nestled among the trees seemed like a good place to hide but felt too obvious. The king and his friends would check a place like that. I would if I were them.
Even though I lacked full strength from my time in the prison eating scraps, I pushed on, refusing to slow my pace. I ducked beneath low hanging branches and climbed over fallen trees larger than me. I had to keep moving. Staying still would give them the chance to find me.
What I certainly did not expect was to round a wide tree trunk and come face to face with one of Atlas’s companions.
A tall man with dark hair dressed in a blue tunic and black pants. He held a bow and arrow, ready to fire. I reacted in time, using my stick to smack the arrow aside. Before he could nock another one, I stabbed at him with the sharp end of the stick, burying it between his ribs.
He let out a pained shout and hit me with a burst of shadow magick. A dark cloud that spun around me in a dizzying manner, fogging my mind as it made me disorientedand confused. As he lunged toward me, I brought the stick up, stabbing wildly.
My next blow nailed him in the throat. Blood gushed from the wound. His magick fell away as he grabbed at the gaping hole in his throat. Since that wasn’t good enough for me, I beat him over the head with the stick, knocking him to the ground. Again and again I hit him. I didn’t stop until he ceased moving.
I knelt down to check for a pulse. His chest stopped rising and falling with breath. Atlas may be pissed about this but he’d put me in this position. I was a warrior before I was anything else, and I would not walk away from a fight. Not if it meant life or death.
Since I had no way of knowing if this man had been travelling alone, I quickly left his body behind. Although not before helping myself to his bow and remaining arrows. Many of my people were fine archers. I was more of a swordswoman myself. Still, any weapon was a good thing out here.
I secured the bow and arrows to my back as I ran. The sound of rustling leaves reached me. Slowing my pace, I listened carefully. The huffing and puffing of breath told me that I’d come across a human before I caught sight of him.
He was on his knees, gasping for breath, as if he’d been running full tilt for a while now. His arms were scraped from tree branches, his face pale and gaunt. He let out a small yelp when I appeared.
“Fuck, I thought you were one of the fae. They’re all around us. We’re trapped. They’ll kill each of us in no time.” He struggled to his feet.
“With that attitude you’ll definitely not survive this night. Do you even want to live anymore?” I almost felt bad for him. Humans were rarely found in any of the magickal realms unless they were a friend or a slave.
“Of course I want to live. I just don’t know how. I was brought here to work for Atlas. I made the mistake of stealing a coin from his rare collection. He caught me, and I’ve been in the prison ever since. He has no plan to give me my freedom. If I survive tonight, I will die behind those bars.”
There was nothing I could say. He was probably right. His fate was not in my hands. Pity welled up inside me.
“Come on. Let’s keep moving.” Handing him my stick, I waved him along as I continued to push through the trees.
He hesitated a moment before hurrying after me. While I would rather have come across Miranda, it was nice not to be alone.
We continued on, weaving our way through the foliage. I sensed the animals of the forest watching us from various points. None of them revealed themselves. I hoped not to encounter any predatory types. Although I was happy to defend myself, I didn’t want to harm any creatures while I was a trespasser in their space.
The human struggled to keep up, even though I only walked at a brisk pace. Every now and then I paused to listen to our surroundings. His heavy breathing made it difficult to pick out anything or anyone that may be following us.
