Page 29 of He Who Ignites The Flame
He swallowed, eyes darting around as if searching for something. “It’s…it’s nothing you need to worry about.”
“You’re going to the Godsrealm. Damien is going to the Godsrealm, something he rarely does. I feel that itissomething I need to worry about.” I paused for a moment and pinned Micah with a look. “Is Lucia going as well?”
He couldn’t hide the confirming look in his eyes.
“What is the mission for, Micah?”
His shoulders sagged, and he let out a sigh. “Someone’s reorganizing The Pits.”
10
THE GIRL WITH STORMY EYES
60 YEARS PRIOR
The forest had darkened by the time we stopped to make camp, a soft blue glow from the night sky slipping through the thick canopy of towering trees. As I looked skyward, I could almost make out the two massive moons amidst the stars through breaks in the branches high above us. They were magnificent. The trees here were gigantic compared to the ones in the Mortalrealm, so high that I wondered if the branches danced with the glittering constellations. Or perhaps I was just so small.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed as we trekked through the wood, and I tried my best to remember the direction the cave was in, clinging to the hope I could find my way home to Mama and Papa, to the boy whose coat was the only piece of home I had left. Rhyas was settled up against the trunk of a large tree as he surveyed the camp. A few other fae settled in around the fire, the other children they had carried still unconscious on the ground at their sides.
“Why won’t they wake up?” I asked.
“They’ve been put under a spell,” Rhyas said, his face unreadable as he pulled something from his pouch. “They won’t wake until we make it to Nastra.”
My brows furrowed. “Why didIwake up?”
“You’re unlike the other children,” he said. “The beast within you does not tame easily.”
I eyed him wearily. How did he know I was a shifter of House Thiríon?
“I can smell it on you, sense the beast slumbering,” Rhyas explained, as if seeing the unspoken question in my eyes, and held out a piece of dried meat. “Hungry?”
My stomach was hollowed out from the days of near starvation after the darkling attack, and my mouth watered at the sight of the meat. I took it without question, shoving it into my mouth, and groaned at the salty taste.
He chuckled and continued eating. “How old are you?”
I swallowed the last bite and was nearly ready to beg him for more. “Eight.”
Sadness flitted across his face. “I’m sorry.”
My body stiffened, and I lifted my gaze to him. Sorry?
“Try to get some sleep. We leave at first light,” he said as he settled against the trunk, tugging his hood over his eyes before folding his arms across his chest. “And don’t think of wandering off unless you want to get eaten.”
I swallowed and took in the forest surrounding us, the darkness too thick, the animals too quiet. What creatures lived in these woods? I leaned into the trunk next to him, pulling the boy’s coat tighter around me as I closed my eyes just enough to look like I was trying to sleep. It didn’t matter that there might be creatures out there; I only needed to sneak past them. I just needed to wait until Rhyas and the others fell asleep.
Then I could slip away.
It was a couple of hours before his breathing settled into a slow, even pace, and the rest of the camp had quieted. One of the fae had stayed awake, watching the camp. I pretended to sleep, lids cracked just enough to watch him. He would rise periodically to walk the campsite, and the next time he did so—his back turning to me—I glanced to Rhyas, whose eyes remained shut. My pulse thrummed in my ears as I quietly eased away from the trunk, gaze locked on the fae male as he stepped away from us. Then, I slipped into the dark of the forest.
I could barely see around me, the silence of the forest unnatural and unnerving. My feet were light as I stepped carefully through the darkness, my heart pounding as my ears narrowed in on every nearby sound. The moss cushioned each step as I wandered, returning in the direction we’d come, and I nearly tripped over countless roots and stones in the dark.
A branch snapped nearby, and I froze, my heart stuttering as a low growl rippled from the darkness.
Oh Gods... Oh Gods, oh Gods!
The instinct flitted across my thoughts, senses heightening as the beast bristled deep within me.
Run.
