Page 40 of The Lost Princess

“Kaida …” a tortured whisper came from behind me, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the farmer. A frustrated warble escaped my throat, and the three humans froze. Their eyes glazed over for a moment, then they shook their heads and continued to advance. The wind picked up, blowing tendrils of my pale hair in front of my face.

The first man’s face twisted, deepening the wrinkles on his face. “You remind me of someone.”

I stood my ground, ignoring him. I wouldn’t leave Nasi. I’d fight them if I had to. Even if I didn’t know how.

“Kaida … sing.”

Nasi must be hallucinating. He must have lost too much blood. Nasi was going to die here, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Even if I did scare the farmers off, how in the hell was I supposed to get him back to the cave? He wouldn’t drink my blood.

He’d made that perfectly clear.

“Go awaaay,” I whined in desperation at the farmers, the inflection in my voice long and going up at the end. Again the humans stopped their progress, eyes going misty. They blinked, then continued moving toward us.

Wait. Was that what Nasi meant?

I started humming the song I’d last performed at father’s court, the one I’d been singing before Jarrett had interrupted my life. I kept the melody going, but changed the words.

“Go away.

Leave us be.

You have other things to do today.”

As if by magick, the three humans turned smartly and walked away, abandoning the sharp pikes on the ground. Adrenaline flooded my system, and I decided to push it further.

“In the house is where you belong,

For three hours after you hear this song.”

Inspiration struck, and I added one more line.

“Forget what you’ve seen here, it’s not what it seems.

Go to sleep soon, you all had silly dreams.”

To my astonishment, the farmers drifted away back toward the farmhouse, quickly disappearing inside. The moment the red, old wooden door slammed behind the woman, I spun around and dropped to Nasi’s side.

“What happened?” I fret, wringing my hands anxiously. There was so much blood. Nasi’s chest heaved with exertion, his leg muscles trembling as he tried to keep his back off the ground with his wings nailed into the dirt. It a cruel form of torture.

They had to be removed immediately.

I grabbed one pike in my hands, and didn’t hesitate. I couldn’t. This wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered and pulled straight up as hard as I could.

Nasi screamed and passed out. Or tried to. His eyes rolled in his head and his body went limp, only for another scream to rip itself from his throat as his other wing tore from the pressure of his body weight falling further down.

But the first pike was out. I threw it on the ground, as far as I could. I seized the second beneath my fingers, ignoring the splinters as the rough wood bit into my skin. I didn’t bother warning him. It wouldn’t help. I pulled.

The sound he made was nothing more than a guttural, animalistic moan of pain that tore at my heart. This time, he vomited everywhere and promptly passed out.

I tossed the second pike away, then hurriedly worked to roll him on his stomach. Tears welled in my eyes at the mess of his wings.

“Poor baby,” I whispered, gathering his head in my lap. I stroked my fingers through his scalp, combing the long hair away from his face. It was stained with blood. I didn’t care.

“Wake up. I can’t drag you back,” I pleaded.

The sun was rising high in the sky, beating down on both of us. My inner draken was tense and on edge, highly aware of how open and exposed we were.

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