Page 151 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
“That’s all right,” I say, leaning on the bed.
She smiles and moves to the next bed to help the other soldiers from the support troop. Most only suffer minor cuts and bruises. Svenn spared them from a terrible fate, and I rewarded him with a dagger to the heart.
My chest is heavy with regret. The longing and urge to run to him grow stronger.
“You can’t go to the celebration square! I still need to rule out for internal bleeding!” Taryn is in argument with Lady Eilidh who refuses to stay in bed.
This is my chance.
I lift my cape up and sneak out from the tent silently. No one notices my departure, not even the sharp-eyed matron. I hurry along the walls and keep myself in the shadows to avoid attention.
Garrett is tending to his wound. Svenn will be all right.I repeat the same words over and over in my head to comfort my heart.
Bells ring over the city, signifying our win. I debate between using my hands to cover my ears from the sound or my face from the smell of innards sprawling the ground.
“Can’t believe the battle is over in less than a day,” a knight mutters to his peer.
I hide behind the craggy wall from the band of soldiers.
“I thought we’d have to siege the fortress for months and starve them like we did to the dwarves in the north,” his friend replies. “This is way better. I just want to go home.”
More footsteps follow and fade. I wait until the coast is clear before stepping out into the open again.
I hasten my pace on the cobbled gray path, riddled with craters and debris. The holes remind me of the hollowness in my heart and it grows bigger the longer I am apart from Svenn. I need to get to him fast. I’m not sure which path to take, but the guys from the tent earlier were discussing a holding cell at the east wing of the fortress.
“You lying piece of shit!” I recognize that familiar voice.
I peer from the stone walls to find Rainer kneeling on the ground. Fresh from battle, my uncle looks like a terrifying underworld conqueror. But his war is not done yet. The clankingof his shoulder plate accentuates every punch he delivers to his opponent. Sweat trickles down his temple over his harsh labor.
Uncle?
Dread stabs my heart like a dagger. He is beating a dwarf half to death. Blood splatters from the creature’s unrecognizable face.
I scramble towards my uncle to grab his hand. “Stop this!”
An icy wind greets me, hurtling my body to the wall. My ribs slam over the hard surface on impact and pain slices into my body in waves.
“Uncle, it’s me!” I manage with a strangled breath.
Rainer pushes a hand through his wayward silver hair, his piercing eyes flick towards me. His usual unperturbed calm is replaced by this unhinged look.
I back away nervously.
He’s staring at me like I’m a stranger. I was so caught up in the whirlwind of my own emotion that I didn’t notice those eyes. They’re hollow and unfocussed.
Rainer is possessed by the Asterdust.
A vein pulses in his jaw.
“Stop her.” The order from his lips is brief and quiet.
A blur of movement comes from behind me but I evade the strike quickly.
“Well, well. What do we have here?” A deep voice owns my attention.
It belongs to Catnip.
Strapped in his light black armor and a demonic mask like Shade, he looks more lethal than usual with the blood splattered on his face. Beside him are Rooster, Phantom, and two others whose names I don’t even know. They’re the best and the worst of my uncle’s Grimsbane.
