Page 52 of The Dragon King's Curse
A songbird drifted down to perch on my shoulder. The nature of the fae forest had been nothing like this. Using a gentle finger, I carefully pet the little guy on his soft head. He chirped a few times before flying away.
Time continued to pass until darkness fell. Noxx should be back by now. He said he wouldn’t be long, but it had been hours. Something had happened.
Gathering up our things, I folded the sheet and tucked it back into the supply bag. I slung the bag onto my shoulder and headed off in the direction Noxx had gone. With every step, the uneasy feeling grew. I should’ve gone with him.
When I reached a perfect ring of mushrooms, I jerked to a stop. Noxx’s sword lay in the grass next to the fae circle. They’d been here. They’d taken him.
My breath hitched as I knelt to pick up his sword. Since I already had a sword strapped to my back and a dagger on my hip, I propped the sword against a tree. Needing some guidance, I reached out to the woodland all around me. To the birds, the insects, the trees. I asked them for assistance.
“Lead me to Noxx,” I pleaded. “Help me find him.”
I didn’t have to wait long before the songbird returned. He fluttered around in front of me, beckoning me to follow him. I didn’t waste any time.
As I walked, there were obvious signs of a struggle. The grass had been flattened in places. Footprints were evident in the dirt upon closer inspection. From what I could tell, many people had been here.
Panic made a great attempt to catch me up in its hold. Taking deep breaths, I told myself to remain calm. I would find him. He’d come for me when the vampires took me, and I would do the same for him now.
I tried not to give in to the worries. To the questions that raced through my mind. What if Noxx was already dead? What if the fae had used a portal to take him back to the Shadow Realm? I would never find him then.
Trusting the little bird, I followed him as he flew ahead, pausing on a tree branch to wait for me to catch up. I wanted very much to run but knew that would only alert the fae to my presence if they were nearby. Instead, I picked my way along with quiet steps, moving with stealth and silence.
Finally, the flicker of firelight caught my eye in the distance. I whispered my thanks to the little bird and continued on without him. I did my best to cling to the trees, allowing their protective cover to hide me as I ventured closer. When I drew near enough to see what was going on, I had to bite back a shriek.
A fire burned in the center of a small clearing. Several fae warriors stood around the fire. There had to be more than a dozen. More than twenty even. What drew my gaze was Noxx in the middle of them all. On his knees near the fire. Beaten and bloody.
Despite the injuries he bore, Noxx held his head high. I saw his lips move as he said something to the fae standing over him. One of them responded by pressing a hand filled with lightning to his chest. A pained shout filled the night as Noxx hit the ground, convulsing from the shock.
A few others held him down on the ground while one fae magickally produced water from his palms. He rained down a stream of water onto Noxx’s face, almost drowning him in the flood. Noxx coughed and gagged, gasping for breath.
I didn’t have a lot of options. All I knew was that I couldn’t stand there and watch him suffer. I had to do something.
Extending a hand toward the fae with the water magic, I spoke to the water, demanding that it change course. It took great concentration to connect with the magic of another. Since it was within my realm of ability, I was able to pull it off.
The stream of water suddenly shot upward, raining down on the fae. Noxx was able to fill his lungs with air. My act revealed my presence. The fae searched the night for me. Knowing they would soon find me, I took a chance. Taking the dagger from my hip, I whipped it through the air, watching it spin end over end until the blade buried in the neck of the fae who almost drowned Noxx.
Because I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay hidden, I brazenly stepped forward. With both hands held out before me, I called on the woodland for help.
The gentle breeze stirred into an aggressive wind. The trees began to undulate. Many of them swung their branches, lashing out at the fae. The fire in their makeshift pit roared. Iwasn’t quite at full strength after the vampire attack, but I would use everything I had in me to fight against Atlas’s warriors.
“There she is,” one of them cried out. “The elf princess. Don’t let her escape.”
Noxx’s head came up as he struggled back to his knees. Blood ran from a cut on his forehead down through one eye. He blinked it away furiously, like he couldn’t be sure what he saw was real.
“Feryn, no,” he shouted. “Get out of here. Now. Run.”
The vicious snarl of dragon in his voice rang with authority. I didn’t want to obey. I also didn’t want to let him down. He’d worked so hard to protect me. If we both died here tonight, everything we’d fought for would have been in vain.
As the fae quickly advanced on me, I turned to run. Maybe if I somehow made it to the Fire Realm on my own, I could rally Noxx’s people. They would come for him.
Desperation had me concocting wild schemes. The fae would never allow him to live long enough for any of that to happen. I didn’t get far before seven of them landed in front of me, wings stretched wide as they dropped from the sky.
“Surely you’re not leaving so soon, are you, princess? You only just arrived.”A fae with a sinister smile and a wicked dagger in one hand advanced on me.
I automatically backstepped. My back hit the hard chest of the fae who’d appeared behind me. I was surrounded on every side.
Together they grabbed hold of me, dragging me as I fought, back toward the fire. They threw me down on the ground in front of Noxx, keeping us far enough apart that we could not touch. One warrior grabbed my hair, forcing me to look at the Dragon King. To really see what they’d done to him.
His hair was matted to his head with blood. One eye nearly swollen shut. Bruises marking almost every inch of his face. Cutson his hands, as if he’d grabbed a blade in an effort to protect himself. It was almost too much to bear.
