Page 107 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
It’s the kind of yearning that has long been buried, like we’re two wandering souls finally finding our way to each other again. I have a feeling that things between us will never be the same again.
Part II
The Hunter in the Dark
Chapter 15 Rhianelle
Svenn’s revelation regarding the amount of Asterdust was met with mixed reaction from the court. It’s a silent and heavy imputation. Because that would mean the Aeonians are still creating the drug.
Be as it may, the war is inevitable now. The council decided the violence the rebels incited must be answered and the threat of Asterdust has given us enough cause to storm into the fortress.
In two days, I will meet the rebel orcs of Tavan in battle. The prospect fills my mind with fear and sorrow.
I look to the sky and wonder what Aerin would have done in my place.My mind slips back through the years. To the time I ended up in the forbidden forest.
Day2 in Astefar
Sunlight filters through the forest canopy, shimmering on the metallic blade of the pocketknife Oscar had given me. I’ve tied the weapon to my walking stick with a vine. This spear andthe helm on my head are the only protection I have to survive in this wilderness.
Grief overwhelms me when I think of the fate of the young knight who gave me these gifts along with Loren and the twelfth.
I lay on the forest floor in a daze, staring blankly as I clutch my stomach. I have no shoes and there are glass shards in my feet. The last proper meal I had was two days ago. I’ll starve to death if I don’t die from this infection first. I tried eating the tree bark, but it only made my tummy ache.
I miss Aerin. I miss Mother and Father. I miss Rainer. I curl into myself and cry all over again because I feel so lonely.
Something tackles my head, clutching the helm tightly.
“Ouch…” I mutter in pain, rising to my feet.
What is going on? This creature will not let me go. And by the gods… it’s heavy. The sudden attack multiplies my fear by the seconds. I hear a scratching sound, like a blade grating on metal. Whatever this thing is, it’s trying to gnaw my head off.
I shake it away from me fiercely. “Get off me, you stupid thing!”
It won’t come off. I charge towards a tree and ram my head towards the hard trunk. The creature on my head tumbles to the ground, curling in pain.
Terror storms into my heart at the sight of the spider with its razor-sharp teeth. If it weren’t for this helm Oscar had placed on my head, I would have been punctured by those fangs and died from her venom.
The beast is about the size of the seafood platter we use for the royal dinners in Völundr. Not that big. I can take it down. I just have to watch out for those jutting teeth.
“Go away!” I spread my arms apart.
The creature backs several steps with its many legs, intimidated by my threatening pose.
Rainer once told me to make myself look bigger if I ever encounter a mountain lion in the Kashran range. “Leave, now! You already lost, weakling.”
“I’m not weak—I just have a conscience,” the spider stutters. “I don’t eat little girls.”
“Liar. You’re a terrible hunter, aren’t you, huntsman?” I cross my arms, narrowing my eyes to the spider.
“Shut—shut up,” she mumbles, backing away. “I’m a salticidae, not a huntsman.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “A weak, salty spider…”
“I wouldn’t be so weak if my name wasn’t stolen,” she bites back.
“Your name was stolen?” I quirk an eyebrow.
The spider nods, jumping to a nearby tree trunk.
