CHAPTER 30

The sun burned through the final smudges of ominous cloud. I looked up, and all I saw was endless blue.

There was no relief from the heat that warmed the Hunter’s leathers I wore. I felt my skin prickle beneath, itching for the promise of fresh air. My entire body seemed to exude sweat. It took great effort not to run a hand through the ginger curls plastered to my sticky forehead.

My foot thumped the ground as we waited for Rafaela to return with the human teleporter. Our one ticket into Elmdew rested on the shoulders of the boy we’d kept prisoner for hours. And the longer we waited, the thinner my patience grew. I couldn’t help but dwell on the time that we had wasted. It was mid-afternoon, hours after the teleporter had returned to Aurelia, and still we had not left for the spring court and the retribution that awaited there.

Perhaps I was frustrated because, with each passing moment, my confidence in my plan dwindled. If I waited long enough, I feared I’d give in to the niggling thought that it was better to give up.

I chewed on the insides of my cheeks, trying not to dwell on what was to come. Lucari chirped on my shoulder, iron claws digging into the padded leather. What I would have given to knock her away from me just to feel my power return, freeze her small body and break her just as Duncan had with Kayne.

I flinched every time she moved, expecting that she’d discover that I wasn’t her loyal Tracker, but a sheep dressed in wolf fur. Lucari’s lack of distrust gave me some hope. If I could trick the hawk, then Aldrick should never be the wiser. And with the Mariflora’s sharp nectar currently threading itself through my body, and another vial of it hidden within the inner pocket of my jacket, Aldrick wouldn’t have the chance to invade my mind and discover the truth behind this illusion before it was too late.

“I can feel your heartbeat in your hand,” Duncan said, voice muffled by the helmet he wore. Across the front of it, a white-chalked handprint had been dried across the metal. The symbol of Aldrick, the Hand.

A symbol he once wore with pride, but now he could barely look at without grimacing.

My breath lodged in my throat as I looked at him. Even with his face mostly obscured by the Hunter’s helmet, seeing him dressed in the dark brown leathers with a multitude of blades threaded among the straps that enhanced his broad structure reminded me of when I first met him.

“Just don’t let go of me,” I replied. It must have been strange for Duncan to hear my voice falling from Kayne’s lips. He did well to hide his discomfort, but there was still a wariness to his glance. Since Eroan had altered my face into this image, Duncan hadn’t got close enough to kiss me. Nor did I try, even though that’s all I wanted. With what we were about to face, I longed to feel his reassuring mouth on mine. But in the same breath, I couldn’t face the thought of him laying his lips on this face.

My lower stomach flipped as Duncan winked at me. If it wasn’t for the helmet, I would have seen the scar upon his face tighten. “Never,” he said, lowering his face slightly toward mine. “I’m here to stay.”

I glanced back over at the group, searching, hoping the person I looked for had suddenly appeared.

Duncan read my mind, exposing my unspoken worry aloud. “Erix will come. He made a vow to you, and I trust him on it.”

Excuses flooded to my mind. They all were conjured to throw Duncan off my trail of thought. I didn’t like to imagine how Duncan might leave, knowing Erix occupied my mind. And it was pointless to lie. To tell him I was not looking for Erix would have been an unfaithful act.

“Will he, though?” I asked. I hadn’t seen Erix since before the glamour was put on my face. It was as if he was evading me for reasons I wasn’t brave enough to contemplate.

“I spoke with him, Robin. He has assured me he will come. Erix desires nothing more than to help. But there is something he must do first.”

“And that would be?”

Duncan’s thumb continued its circular dance across the back of my hand. It may not have been the affection I desired from him, but I willingly accepted the calming effect he offered.

“We need numbers. Erix believes he can add to them but needs time to–”

“Places!” Althea silenced Duncan as she called across our small band of fey. Like me, each one of them was dressed as a Hunter. It was our turn to dress as our enemies and trick the unexpecting. “Rafaela has the human boy.”

I looked out toward the pathway that led back to Aurelia. Sure enough, Rafaela was there, walking side by side with the powered human.

The sun glowed across her skin, light catching in the pale hue of her wings. Rafaela’s wings weren’t folded away but were wide and proud at her back. The larger, grey-toned feathers trailed across the ground behind her. At her side limped the human. He was young and thin, no more a child than a man. His pockmarked skin and hairless face revealed his naivety. That, and the way his posture screamed with his lack of confidence.

I almost felt guilt for needing to use him. He was the enemy, and yet he was far from a threat the closer he got.

The human’s eyes were trained on the ground as he strode in line with Rafaela toward us. He gripped his arm as though it were broken, rubbing it up and down to soothe himself. Fear wore off him in undulating waves.

“Why does he walk freely?” Gyah called, authority booming out toward Rafaela.

Panic surged through me as I took the boy in again. Gyah was right. He had no chains binding his wrists or tethering him to Rafaela. There was no evidence he wore iron to prevent him from using the powers that had been given to him. He could have teleported away already, warning Aldrick of what to expect.

“He is not our prisoner,” Rafaela replied calmly, one hand on the hilt of the great hammer that balanced feather-light upon her hip. “I trust Daveed will not flee. Believe it or not, but he wants to help.”

I had known that Rafaela had spent time with the Hunter. He was human, and she represented the physical form of the Creator. Never did I imagine she could sink her faith through his shield of disbelief. But, with the boy looking up at her with fiery awe, it was clear she had succeeded.

“I do,” his small voice said. “This is my choice to help, not something imposed on me by that madman.”

I actually believed him, felt his emotion in his reply.

Tension hummed throughout our group as they joined us. I realised quickly that Rafaela’s open wings were more of a warning to us that she protected the boy. Her knuckles tightened on the handle of her weapon, the squeak of flesh against leather piercing the silence.

“Then I thank you for your support,” I said, offering him a smile, trying everything to make it reach my eyes.

Daveed glanced timidly up at Rafaela, who was focused on Lucari perched on my shoulder. Her lips peeled back from the gleaming white of her teeth as she watched the murderous hawk with hungry intent. Rafaela had made it clear what she desired to do with the bird that tore Gabrial to shreds. She just hadn’t been given the opportunity – yet .

“Tell them what you’ve shared with me, Daveed,” Rafaela said sharply, speaking to Daveed all without taking her narrowed eyes from Lucari.

“I… I’m sorry. For all of it,” Daveed croaked, his high voice cracking like stone. “I never wanted this, a lot of us hadn’t.”

“Be more precise. Help them understand why we can trust you.”

Daveed took a deep breath in as his cheeks flared red. “The Hand is not giving us a choice. I never wanted this life, and I don’t want it even now. He… makes us do as he wishes. I can hear him in my head every time he is close. Whispering for me to do things I… I…”

“Take your time,” I said as Rafaela placed a hand on his shoulder. I watched the calming effect it had on him.

Daveed took another deep breath in and blinked to clear the haze of panic haunting his sky-blue eyes. A chill spread up my spine as I waited for the boy to continue. His bruised face was scrunched in turmoil as he faced unseen battles within his mind.

“How did he capture you in his web?” I asked, drawing his attention to me. “The promise of power, or the promise of a world in which you would thrive. Which one is the answer?”

Daveed grimaced as though my suggestive comment had physically struck him. “Neither. They took us from our homes. In the room of mirrors, he killed us with a blade of blood, but we did not die. He made me into this…” Monster. He didn’t say it, but I knew that was what was coming. “Aldrick turned me and used me. I just… I just want to go home.”

“You will go home as soon as this is over,” Duncan promised, oozing a fatherly calm. He strode forward with the confidence that made others stand back. “I understand what has been done to you, for the same has happened to me. You are pulled on both sides. But if you help us as we ask, I vow to get you home myself.”

“Daveed has a family,” Rafaela added, wide-eyed. Those four words had as much power as the ice that crackled in my blood. We all knew the importance of a family. Some more than others. “Aldrick has threatened them if Daveed does not comply. By aiding us, he is proving himself in a measure that we cannot begin to understand.”

Duncan nodded, lips pulled into a tight line as he regarded the Nephilim. “I will ensure that you return to your family, Daveed.”

“No,” Daveed barked. “The Hand promised… he said he would kill them if I ever went back.”

“That will not happen,” I added, feeling his panic slam into my chest. Rafaela wrapped her arm around the boy’s quaking shoulders and held him close.

“Together.” Duncan took my hand once again. “We will make sure Aldrick is never in a position to threaten anyone again, human or fey.”

The young boy hardened his expression. He held Duncan’s stare, searching for any reason he couldn’t believe him. Then he bowed, satisfied there was nothing sinister to uncover. We all witnessed as Duncan’s words fuelled Daveed with a confidence that was previously lacking.

Daveed squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest. “Make it hurt,” he said. “When Aldrick faces his judgement, I want him to know how it feels to die.”

“Aldrick will know pain unlike anything he could imagine,” Althea added, sympathy hidden beneath her mask of fury. I saw it through a crack of emotion that lasted only a moment. “That is a promise.”

We all felt the scolding heat in her words.

“How many of us can you take at one time?” Althea walked through the parted crowd, a helmet carried in the crook of her arm. A long blade tickled the ground at her side. Garbed in the leathers that fitted her slender, hard body, she looked all the warrior with a whip of red hair twisted into a braid across her shoulder.

“Three,” Daveed replied, doing his best to hold her gaze. “Four, at a push.”

“Three will be sufficient. I’d rather you did not burn out by trying to take too many. If that is what you can do without pushing yourself, then there is no good to come from depleting your energy.” One wave of Althea’s hand and the group of Cedarfall fey split into groups of that number. I recognised Lady Kelsey among them. There was no stopping her from joining our small army, she too thirsted for the same revenge as those she stood among.

“But Daveed, understand that if you betray us, it will not only be you that burns but the home Aldrick stole you from.”

Daveed flinched at Althea’s warning. Rafaela’s wings folded slightly around him.

“I know you have no reason to trust me,” Daveed said firmly. “But I promise… I promise you safe passage into Elmdew.”

Althea watched him for a moment, then stood back. “Then we are at an understanding. As soon as you deliver us safely into Elmdew’s borders, I want you to get out of there. Return here and my people will protect you. Aldrick will kill you first if he knows you are the one dropping enemies behind his lines.”

“You must take us directly to Aldrick,” I said, trying to cool my tone. “It is important that he doesn’t suspect anything.”

Daveed buzzed on the spot, wringing small hands before him.

“No harm will come to you,” Duncan reassured him. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the spare vial of Mariflora tonic. “Aldrick’s attention may be diverted when we deliver the false body to him. However, that is not to say he will not have the chance to invade your mind. Take this, it will keep him out.”

“Duncan, no.” I longed to reach out and snatch the vial from his hand. “There isn’t any more to replace this.”

“I cannot and will not allow Daveed to risk himself on our behalf. The tonic is for him.”

“But…” But what? I couldn’t tell Duncan he was wrong, because he wasn’t. Daveed was a child, and he needed the protection more than anything. But that didn’t stop my internal panic, however, I could control how I acted in the face of it. “There is no knowing how long the tonic you’ve taken will last. What if it fades, and you need another dose?”

“Aldrick will be dead long before the tonic I’ve taken fades,” Duncan replied. “Because you are going to finish this. Swift, just like we agreed. In and out.”

“In and out,” I repeated, trying to convince myself that it would be just that easy.

Daveed’s hand shook as he plucked the vial from Duncan’s thick fingers. He popped the cork, the sound vibrated through my bones. I watched the vial empty as Daveed knocked it back. The small, protruding lump within his throat bobbed as he downed it in one.

The glass smashed on the cobbled path at his feet. “I’m ready.”

“Then let us not waste any more time,” Althea clapped, commanding us all into action. “Daveed, the next part is up to you. Get us into the nest, so we can burn it from the inside out.”

His smile was sinister, matching the thoughts coiling within me. “With pleasure.”

It was hard to breathe as we waited for Daveed to return. Each length of time between his teleportation grew longer. When he finally would return, he looked more exhausted than when he left. His face had paled to a deathly white, while his eyes were ringed with a dark crimson.

There was no warning before the air crackled, split and popped into a bundle of unfurling light as the human boy revealed himself. Each time, although I burned holes into the ground he would materialise back to, the shock of his return didn’t dilute. Perhaps it was more relief that he returned rather than surprise at his sudden appearance.

Althea and Gyah had been among the first group Daveed took. I’d made one final plea to Althea and Gyah before they left. Don’t come for me until you find them . Save Jesibel and the other fey he has imprisoned. Leave Aldrick to me.

I hoped they listened.

Unlike my pending destination, Daveed delivered the small, disguised army to another place within Elmdew. From what Daveed had revealed, the capital city, Rinholm, had become the heart of Aldrick’s efforts. The dead king’s castle was being used as his base of attack, so that was where we would go.

I wasn’t stupid though. There was no knowing Daveed hadn’t delivered the rest of them to Aldrick. With the deception that I’d grown accustomed to, it was easier to distrust the boy. My conscience reacted naturally to that emotion. Each time the air split, and he stepped through the spindle of light, my concerns only grew.

But Duncan trusted him, so did Rafaela. I had to lay faith into that for now – until I was proven otherwise.

Rafaela was the last to be taken to Rinholm. A heavy, black, woollen cloak was draped over her shoulders, barely concealing her wings. Her presence demanded attention whether they were hidden or not. No garment would conceal her for long. One look from the wrong person, and they would see the tips of grey feathers or the awkward bulge of a golden hammer protruding from the cloak like a bone out of skin. Which was why Daveed would drop her off far from Rinholm Castle. She would wait for our agreed sign before revealing herself.

“It is my life’s purpose to worry about you,” Rafaela had said before she departed. Part of me wondered if she spoke so slowly to give Daveed time to recover from his last jump. It was a term he had used when describing how his newfound power worked. He could only travel to a place he had physically visited before. “Do not concern yourself with me, Robin. I shall be fine.”

I knew she was still displeased I’d not given her Altar’s key that lingered within me, but even she knew we’d need that power.

“Until we are all reunited, I’m afraid the worrying will persist,” I replied, taking her hand in mine. Our grip on one another was strong. We stepped in close, connected as one.

“This is only the beginning. The first hurdle of many more to come. Stopping Aldrick will not undo the damage he has inflicted on the realms. He is merely a wall through which we must travel to get to the next. Remember, he is only one weak old man. We only give evil strength if we hold on to the fear of it… so be strong.”

Rafaela’s words occupied me whilst Daveed split the air and beckoned her through. It left Duncan and me alone. Except we didn’t utter a word to one another. There was comfort in just having him by my side. Even if he said something, I don’t think I would have heard it over the roaring in my ears.

Not long after, Daveed returned. Duncan had to catch him as he stumbled out of his spindle of light.

“You’ve done well, Daveed, careful now. One last trip to go.” Duncan offered his praise as he righted the human boy before turning his attention to the sheet-bound body at his feet. Until now, it had lain across the ground, hardly more than an afterthought.

Kayne’s limp body collapsed over Duncan’s shoulder. If this was another time, under different circumstances, I might have admired his unearthly strength. But I couldn’t spare much attention to the dead body nor the visible pain that sliced across Duncan’s dark gaze.

“Once you take us to Rinholm, I want you to jump as far away as you can,” I said, focusing on the panting human who could hardly stand up without burdening his weight on his thighs.

Daveed blinked slowly, eyes heavy and mouth drawn thin with tiredness. “If I can manage it.”

“For your sake, I hope you can,” Duncan grunted as he balanced himself with the added weight of the dead he carried. “Let’s go.”

“Wait,” I snapped, and they both stopped to regard me.

“What is it?” Duncan drew his eyes up and down me.

“Erix isn’t coming, is he?” I asked, wishing I had the strength to not let his abandonment hurt me.

Duncan’s silence spoke volumes. If it wasn’t for the helmet covering his expression, I was confident I would’ve seen him wince. “No. Erix isn’t coming, Robin. I’m sorry.”

Shock lanced through me, a frigid wind of destructive power. I stared at his dark-green eyes through the slits of metal. “You knew all along?”

There was a pause. “I did.”

My nails bit into my palms, but I hardly registered the feeling. “Why didn’t you just tell me.”

Duncan swallowed, resolve masking his emotion. “Because you didn’t need the distraction.”

“Then Erix is no longer a man of his word,” I said, fighting the words out past the lump suddenly in my throat. “I should have known. You heard what Althea commanded of him. He should be here; he is meant to protect me. It’s his duty, and his pleasure and…”

Duncan wrapped his arms around me, drawing me close. His kiss worked into my crown, warming my body with a wave of pleasant shivers. “Erix hasn’t turned his back on you yet.”

A part of me wanted to cry into Duncan’s chest, but something stopped me. “It doesn’t matter. Daveed, take us.”

“Erix will–”

“I don’t wish to discuss him anymore. Enough of my energy has been wasted on trusting people who never deserved it in the first place. Erix, Kayne. They don’t differ from one another.”

Duncan reached out for me. I sensed his want to say something, but I pulled out of his reach.

“Daveed, do it,” I command. “We leave now.”

I saw the human boy hesitate out of the corner of my eye. I caught how he looked at Duncan as though searching for a command.

“Now!” I felt my power rise to the emotion I felt. Lucari chirped, digging her iron claws into me, my magic dispersed before it even had the chance to show itself. “ Please .”

I gathered the storm of dark emotions and took it in my hands. There would be a time soon enough when I would release it. Like a rabid beast chained and baited with bloodied meat, I dangled the promise of vengeance before me. It was Aldrick who hung on the hook.

As Daveed thrust his hand downward, peeling the air in two and drawing it apart like curtains with the arrival of dawn, I walked past Duncan. He watched me like the hawk perched on my shoulder.

“Enough men have lied to me, Duncan. Please think again before you consider joining the list of their names,” I warned.

“Please, Robin. I don’t want to go like this.”

I grimaced at the sad edge to his deep voice. It would have been easy to turn back to him and give in. Instead, I forced my feet forward, closing into the spindle of shimmering light. “I don’t wish to discuss this anymore, I need to focus, just as you said.”

“Robin!” Duncan tried a final time.

“My name is Kayne,” I barked, recoiling at my hateful tone.

Duncan didn’t respond.

I felt all the parts of the man I had to play slot into place. There was no time for remorse. No time to dwell as Duncan’s heavy steps sounded behind me. There was only Daveed and his power, and the man I was prepared to kill on the other side of it.