Page 5 of Fated Unkindness
“They can’t just run us out, Trent. It's all those Demetrey bitches are doing! You know I’m right! I’m going to fucking rip Elenora Demetrey’s head off her bony ass shoulders one day. You mark my words!” Kait growls.
“Kait before you go off the deep end, there’s something you need to know.” I look at Rae to seek her approval. Kait needs to know that Raelle doesn’t have her memory, and we need to figure that out before we are able to get anywhere with getting the cure for Dax.
Kait picks up on the way I’m looking at Rae and looks back and forth between us with her eyes wide and eyebrows raised, waitingfor an explanation. “Well, what is it? Spit it out already. We don’t have time for this.”
“I lost my memory. I don’t know who either of you are or who Dax is or why we’re trying to find a cure for him or what the cure is.” Kait steps closer to Rae, her bottom lip pops open as a rebuttal tries to form at her mouth.
“No… you’re—you’re not serious.” Kait stumbles her words, looking at me and back to Rae, denial painted on her face.
“I’m sorry, Kait. I wish it wasn’t true.” Rae looks to the ground, but her eyebrows furrow as she purses her lips. She has anger and confusion in her eyes. Anger about what has happened to her, what’s missing from her, blooms in her eyes. When she lifts her head, there is determination in its place. “I’m going to help you. I will do whatever it takes to get whatever is needed for this cure and I will go with you back to wherever it is you— er, we came from. I don’t know much right now, but I have a buzzing sort of energy moving over my whole body with the two of you. My gut is telling me I need to help you and I need to get back to Ravendene,” Rae says to us.
I turn my gaze to Kait, whose face is showing every emotion she is feeling like words on the page of a tome. Her cheeks bloom with red blotches as the answer surfaces, and tears fill her eyes. Her fingers clench then open repeatedly, telling me she’s ready to kick some ass.
“For now, let’s get to the caves; they should be close now since we walked the dog so far…” I snort a laugh. “We’ll discuss a plan and wait out the night before we take any action. We need to be smart about this,” I say as I place a hand on Kait’s. She folds hersover mine, meeting my eye. Everyone agrees with a nod, and we continue our trek in silence.
When we reach some of the smaller caves at the foothills of the Soule Mountains, I tell Rae and Kait to wait near the entrance of one of the caves we’ve come to. While I head inside to ensure it's safe for us to make camp. I don’t like leaving them vulnerable, but I have confidence that they would be able to hold their own enough right now. I’m going to be quick so they will only be alone briefly. There is little light in the cave but luckily, I can still cast a small amount of fire to see by, thankful that the territory boundaries haven’t taken some of my most basic magic from me. I hover a half fist-sized ball of fire as high as the low cave ceiling will allow, so I can get a good view of the space. We’ve found the perfect cave for our needs. It’s small but has enough space for a fire for warmth and holds the three of us comfortably with only one way in and one way out.
“Come on in, it’s safe. Let’s try and get some rest, and we will head out at sunrise,” I tell them as they follow me into our shelter for the night.
Kait rolls her eyes at me. “Who decided you were in charge, buddy?” She strides past me into the cave and bumps her shoulder into mine playfully. I knock my head back as laughter escapes my throat. I’m so glad she’s feeling back to herself. I turn to Rae, including her in my jovial laughter, but she narrows her eyes at me, and a wry smile spreads across her face slowly.
Rae heads into the cave after Kait and I follow suit. “Are you guys like a couple or something?” she asks.
“No.” We both respond at the same time. I can feel heat running up my neck. Pressing my back against the cave wall, I slide down to sit, placing myself between the girls and the entrance.
“We have some things to, er, catch you up on...” I cast a small fire for warmth between the three of us, and we all get settled into the cave. We probably have at least six or so hours of rest before we are going to head out. While I know we all need to sleep while we can, I also know it’s important that we explain at least some things before we get back to Ravendene. Especially before she has to encounter Cano, that’s going to be interesting, to say the least. Cano is going to be so livid, the controlling bastard he is.
I think he means well, but sometimes he doesn’t know when to just let go and let people make their own choices. I guess that’s what happens when you become a Lord and General of a territory at twenty-six. I can’t blame him entirely. We have all lost family, but he and Raelle have it a little harder because they are the only ones left of their line. I at least have Dax and Mel, thankfully. Massaging my temples the ominous thought creeps in...At least for now.Dax being cursed is one thing. We are working on getting the cure and at least we know there is one out there. Mel on the other hand. Wiping my hand down my face I take a deep breath. Normally once someone goes missing, they aren’t found again.
I shift my gaze to Kait because I really don’t know where to start. I’m not the best with this emotional shit, and I’m sure there are going to be some tears shed depending on what she remembers.Fuck, this is going to suck.Kait shrugs at me and looks at Rae.
“How could you forget a bitch like me?” She laughs, trying to lighten the mood. Rae doesn’t though. Sitting pressed against the wall of the cave she curls into herself and stares into the fire, herface scrunched in concentration. She’s going to have an aneurysm from just trying to will memories into place.
“Look we don’t have to do this right now; we can rest first… or we can just go over a few things. We have at least two days of travel. We can catch you up as much as possible before we reach the city.” There is a howl carried to us on the wind, and all of our gazes snap to the cave entrance. Pain laced and mourning, the wolf’s howl breaks, and multiple join in the call. They’ve found the male I killed. I only hope that we have done enough to cover our tracks to the cave so they don’t reach us before we can get out of here.
Raelle takes a deep breath and a long exhale while closing her eyes. It’s so much like what she always does before making a big decision, or talking to the group back home before all hell broke loose with Mel’s disappearance, that it’s hard to believe she’s not the same old Rae we remember. I know that this has to be taking a toll on her. She opens her eyes and nods slowly.
“I’m ready; let’s just get on with it. Tell me what you think I need to know first, and we can use the time we have getting back to Ravendene to fill me in on whatever else you can.”
Thinking of where to start, I realize I don’t know what she does or doesn’t remember. “I guess before I know where to start, I need you to tell me what you remember last.”
Chapter five
ONE YEAR AGO
I grind my teethas my gaze burns a hole into Cano’s fucking forehead. These meetings with him are pointless. Just ceaseless arguments, as we can’t agree on a godsdamn thing. This asshole always pisses on every plan I make to infiltrate the Demetrey territory. Damn coward, that’s what he is. I’m sick of sitting around while our people go missing, likely forced into becoming Demetrey brainwashed fools. Gods only know what they want them for. Elenora Demetrey is an evil twat, and needs to be knocked down a peg or two. I’m not afraid to go toe to toe with her, or any of the Fae she has at her beck and call. “Stop pussyfooting around. We both know the issue here, Cano. The real problem is that I devisedthis plan and not you or one of your men.” I shake my head; stalk to the bar, and fill my glass with whiskey.
He paces back and forth in front of the large, open, stained glass balcony doors of the library. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are. Talking to your general like that? You need to—” Before he can finish, I interrupt. “Don’t fuck with me, Cano. You were my friend a long time before you were my‘Lord and General’.One thing I’m never going to do is bow down to you, or anyone else, for that matter. Not now, or ever. I just want you to hear me out; this is a solid plan.” He turns to face me, seething and pinning me with his dark gaze. “We can infiltrate enemy territory from the inside. We have a Fae here in our own regime who has the power to shield like no one I have ever seen. If we train them, they can get in. All they have to do is put on a show to convince Demetrey they are one of their brainwashed twats and BAM! They get us in, and we take the whole thing down. I know it’s a long game, but this is what we need. If we do it any other way, they will-–” Cano comes to a stop and slams his hand down on the planning table, interrupting me. The wood damn near splitting from the force.
“Enough Dax!” He bellows. “I’m not entertaining this any longer. You are a commander. You will not demonstrate such insubordinate behavior, and trust me when I say, if you mention this again in front of the task force, I will make a spectacle of you.” He turns on his heel and leaves the library, slamming the heavy wood door behind him. The shelf-lined walls vibrate and protest. Unable to keep my anger contained, I throw my whiskey glass at the door he just exited, with a growl escaping through my teeth. Shattered glass and whiskey shower the door.
I end up drinking more than my share of whiskey over the next couple of hours. I stumble from the main square, heading out to the boat house. This is usually where I like to sit and clear my head from all the bullshit when the town alarm goes off. Typically, this leads to someone getting caught crossing the town border unannounced and through a restricted area. I trip over my own feet, trying to turn around and head back to the center of town, where the offender will be brought in for questioning.
When I bring myself back upright, Kait stands there, arms crossed with a huge grin on her face and eyebrows raised to her hairline. “The fuck happened to you?” she asks me, laughing under her breath. Before my Ma passed away, she used to hint at it all the time that Kait and I should try dating, but it never happened. Don’t get me wrong, the girl is beautiful. Dirty blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and curves for days, but it’s never gone anywhere with us other than friendship. She is like a sister to me. My best friend now, considering that Cano is such an asshole. He once filled that role.
“Whiskey happened to me, asshole. Let’s just get to the square so we can see the prick who tried to cross the border without permission.”
She smiles even wider. “That’s right; I guess you wouldn’t know in your drunken stupor.” She laughs, “There is no prick. It wasactuallyan unmarked female. She was running from Demetrey. She stumbled in bloody as shit, asking for asylum.” I look at her like she’s nuts, but shake my head, stray hair falling into my eyes.Didn’t the alarm just ring out? Did I pass out?
