Page 2 of Fated Unkindness
Lost in my thoughts, I stumble when inching away from the window, causing a bucket and shovel to fall with a loud crash. I scrunch my face up at my mistake. My eyes immediately snap up tothe window, where the shadows of cloaked figures scramble to get a view of who made the ruckus. “Fuck.” I curse and spin from the window, my feet struggling to find purchase before I run as fast as I can manage into the night. I hope like hell these Fae aren’t shifters. At least then I’d have some chance at getting away.
I hear shouts coming from men back at the cottage, then in the trees, as the sentries are deployed. Shit. I hope that Kait or Trent can get the dagger and stay safe. We had a plan. If something like this were to happen, we knew where to meet… I have to trust that the plan was solid as I run in the direction we planned.
As I weave through the dense woods, a man drops from a tree, shifting mid-air. His large brown wolf form lands with a heavy thud, and he snaps his sharp teeth in my direction. Ducking low, I pull the knife from my boot. I tuck and roll, sliding under him. I plunge the blade into the soft spot just below his ribs and pull it through the soft flesh of his underbelly. The garbled, wet howl he lets out will echo through my nightmares.
There is a ripple of magic as his Fae form returns, and the dark-skinned male lies dead at my feet. Bowels spilled out in front of him, and his dark gaze fixed on my own.
I can’t think about what I just did, though I’m sure it will catch up to me if I survive this. I do the only thing I can and continue to run. A sense of dread and darkness washes over me, the scent of sulfur in the air, and I crane my neck, looking over my shoulder, just as the cloaked woman appears in a cloud of black and green smoke. She whips a hand out, and a black wolf blasts through the smoke, pummeling toward me. I pump my arms and legs as hard as I can, running for my life. Shifters are too fucking quick. I’m going to die.
The underbrush is thick, but I make my way through it, only to realize a beat too late that the ground I was running on has come to an end, and I have just launched myself off the cliff edge.Fuck. A cliff dive was not in the plan. None of this is going the way I hoped.
The fall is rough. I land on the right side of my body, my hip taking the initial impact, but my head hits a boulder with a sickening crack. Rolling to my stomach, I groan as the pain blooming across my body is almost too much to bear. I need to hide; if I’m not dead when they find me, I’m not sure what will happen.
I hear the rush of a nearby river and decide I can take to the water and hide my tracks, but just before reaching it, a white wolf tears through the trees, coming straight for me. I barely notice the hatch in the earth, partially covered in dirt and rocks. I recall my father telling me about the underground mines and tunnels in these mountains that were used back when the kingdom was thriving; that must be what this is.
I have no time to consider whether this is a bad idea or not. I know that this wasn't part of the plan to get to our meeting point, but I have no choice in the situation. Jumping off a fucking cliff wasn’t in the plan either. The hatch is hard to open, sealed shut from years of no use, and I grunt with the effort it takes. My aching body protests with every move, but I get it to open, and I jump in without a second thought. The ground is much farther down than I expected, and my body crumples as it hits the hard-packed dirt floor once again. My silver blonde hair is stained crimson from the blood that coats the side of my head and face, and I feel the stinging pain in my hip and leg from the cuts and bruising already painted on my skin. I’m not healing quickly yet. Which could only mean, I haven't crossed to Ravendene yet. The damn barriers prevent anyonewithout the mark from accessing their magic, and I surely don't have the mark of Demetrey.
The tunnel system is dark, and the air is stagnant. I can’t tell if my head is pounding from the pain or if my heart is beating so hard I feel every pulse of it in my ears. The rocky ground crunches under my boots as I limp forward. Heavy footfalls sound behind me—likely the wolf trailing me. I didn't think it possible, but my heart quickens its beat as the darkness makes it nearly impossible to see more than a couple of feet in front of me and the imminent threat at my back.
I press myself against the cold stone wall, closing my eyes as I try to steady my racing heart to prepare for a fight. I don’t even hear the wolf before it lunges. Its huge paws slam into my chest, sending my head back, and it ricochets off of the stone wall. Quickly, I bring my blade up and thrust it deep into the wolf’s throat, sinking into its flesh up to the hilt. With a cry of effort, the blade pierces the shifter's brain, killing it immediately. Pulling the blade free, a gush of blood coats my hand, but I hold the blade tight. The body slumps to the ground in front of me.
There is ripple of magic before the wolf shifts back to its Fae form, but thankfully, I am unable to see their face. I don't know if I could handle seeing the vacant eyes of another life taken by my hand.
Breathing heavily, I swallow the emotion and slide along the wall until I turn a corner and fall unexpectedly from a ledge, but to my surprise, someone catches me. A large hand covers my mouth as his deep voice whispers in my ear.
“I’m sorry,” as my consciousness slips away into nothing.
Chapter two
I wake up witha jolt. A whoosh like when water engulfs you as you jump into deep depths, the sound thrashes through my ears, and darkness surrounds me. My skin is cold and tingling, but also burning in areas where the pain radiates. Blinking rapidly, I try to dissipate the darkness, but I see nothing. My bones are aching, and the metallic, tangy scent of fresh blood and salt causes my stomach to roil. Clapping my hand over my swollen lips, I am able to hold back the wrenching I feel trying to grip me. Judging by the sticky feel of the wetness of my skin, it’s not water I’m coated with. The smell, the pain, it’s my blood and sweat that has me drenched. Beads of moisture gather and trickle down my forehead, and I swipe it away with the palm of my hand.
My breath comes in short spurts as panic tries to seize me. I squeeze my eyes shut. Behind them, a pounding pressure is building. Pain and weakness cause me to be disoriented, but I notice my vision is trying to bubble back to me. White dots flicker in and out of existence, but try as I might, I can't see through the darkness that surrounds me yet. Rubbing my eyes I take a deep, steadying breath.
Calm down, Raelle, no good comes from panic.
When I open them again, I notice a soft glow of light not far ahead, but I lay there for a moment longer. Trying to recall anything that led me to wake up here… wherever the hell here is.
Slowly, I regain some sense of self, but airing on the side of caution, I still don’t move. Afraid that if I’m in a situation I need to have the upper hand in, I need to be smart about things. I tilt my head as I listen intently for any sounds, but the ringing in my ears is making it utterly impossible. Though, it does seem to be beginning to ease. I reach an arm out to feel my surroundings, and the rough surface I’m lying on moves and crunches under the palm of my outstretched hand. My brow furrows as I consider how I could have gotten here and why? Slowly, I rise to my knees in the gravel, the bite of it causing a silent wince to form on my face, and I quickly grasp how unsteady and sore I am.
The deep breath I take to calm my racing heart does nothing as it pounds furiously in my chest. The need to get out of the dark racking me. I hold my breath, noticing a noise other than the pulsing in my ears. Multiple sets of boots are thundering at a quick pace toward me. Staying as quiet as I can manage, I press myself against the wall as I tilt my head, listening, and waiting for their approach.
“She was taken down. I’m sure she’s good as dead, it’s not the plan, but we can work with that outcome. Even with any abilities she may have, they are dampened here without the mark,” I look down at my body. He’s right; I wouldn't heal without the mark in Demetrey. But I am healed. In the areas where my skin is exposed from the ripped and tattered clothing, nothing is there but faint pink marks where the injuries once bled.Where the fuck am I?“You can have a crew come back in the morning to search for a body and clean up what remains. That is, if there is anything left when the creatures are done with her.” I hear a female voice remark.
In response, the deep male voice questions, “Would you like me to have a crew stay in the tunnels to be sure she doesn’t get out somehow? If she is alive?”
The woman snorts a laugh. “Like you said, with as much blood as we saw back there, she’s likely already dead. I don’t need to risk good Fae soldiers on something so pointless. I don’t think she’s who we thought, anyway. If she were, she would have fought harder, she didn't even use magic. You need to get back, or you will be missed. We don't want suspicions to rise.” Hearing boots shuffling once again I suspect she didn't wait for a response, but I suck in a breath as I notice her coming closer to where I am. Her shadow casts out, melting into the darkness I hide in. Leaning further back against the cold stone wall I brace myself. I’m in no condition for a fight. Whoever these people are, they either want me dead or don’t care that I die, and I’d rather find out why after I get the hell out of here alive.
I can’t make out any details of her face, the shadows shrouding it within the cloak. She whispers something I can’t hear, and as sheturns around, she swipes one hand out with a roll of her fingers, nails painted blood red; they gleam in the low light. There is a second of nothing, and then darkness eats her up entirely, and she vanishes. She is gone with nothing but a clap of magic, and only an eerie green-black smoke lingers where she stands.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, the putrid smell in the air clogging my throat, but still, I wait cautiously, making sure I am truly alone. I didn’t see the male, but I assume that he’s gone at the female's command. After a few silent minutes, I determine it’s clear. I slowly begin to creep towards the platform where she stood.
It’s still sharp in my mind that sheclearlythought that if I were to survive, it wouldn’t be long before somethingelsewould ensure my death. I’m not willing to wait too long to find out what that could be. As I reach the platform where the cloaked female was standing, I painfully pull myself over the ledge.
The magical glow coming from the caged light on the stone wall makes me pause. I run my fingertips over the rough stone archway. It appears that I’m in some sort of underground tunnel, possibly an old mining tunnel. A wrinkle forms between my eyes as I look around at the space I find myself in. My father used to tell me stories about these tunnels… My brows stitch tightly together in confusion and I shake my head, trying to clear the fog still lingering there. I need to find out wherever the hell I am and figure out why I can’t remember how I got here.
Limping along the dimly lit hallway, I tuck myself close to the wall, readying for an attack, just in case. I didn’t see the men leave. The tunnel is long but eventually takes me to a stairway leading to an upper level. Hopeful for an exit, I make the climb.
At the top of the stairs, a dark steel door lies just on the other side of the hallway. It's still quiet where I am, the ringing in my ears finally gone. I place my ear to the door before I try to open it. Afraid of what might be on the other side. I turn the handle when I don’t hear anything concerning coming from the other side. The door opens with a click, and I’m startled as there is an unconscious male now lying at my feet, his body pushing the door open fully.
