Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

The ground seemed to buck beneath my feet as I turned to stare at my sister in horror, wanting to scream at her to run or fight or do anything at all other than move to the emperor’s command.

I had a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach that wouldn’t shift. This deep and unending knowledge that with that one single action, Emperor Farish had shifted her fate beyond control.

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how I could help her, but I could sense the power I had been born with manifesting inside of me like a roiling storm cloud, ready to unleash hell on the world as we knew it.

I took a single step, uncertain what I even intended, but before I could make that decision, Calvari had me in his arms, my back to his chest as he locked me against him and growled a low warning in my ear.

I began to struggle, willing to kick him in his manhood if that was what it took to make him release me, but before I could do any such thing, my sister spoke.

“May I ask why you are summoning me, Your Highness?” Aalia asked, her voice outwardly calm, though I still detected that faint note of fear in it as Aren squeezed her hand tightly in his.

The room took a collective breath, every Fae in attendance stiffening as if in anticipation of a blow. I wasn’t sure I had even heard of anyone questioning the motives of the emperor before that moment, and I honestly had no idea how he might respond.

I looked to Farish, my entire body tensed as if expecting a blow to land.

Farish blinked slowly, almost as though he were uncertain of what had just happened, perhaps so unused to anyone doing anything other than following his commands without protest that he wasn’t even sure how to react.

Kalir stepped forward before he had to though, his white robes swirling around him as he pushed his hood back and revealed the shaved head beneath and harsh features, his eyes glowing with that stolen power, and the air itself crackling in reply to the anger in his expression.

“You have been selected to service the gods’ chosen ruler of our kingdom,” Kalir snarled. “Would you question the word of the divine beings themselves so casually?”

“She has a husband,” I called out, forcing the sorcerer’s attention onto me even as Calvari continued to restrain me. “She pledged her life and body to him in the temples of each and every one of them when their union was decided. Would you have her go back on her word to them? Though I suppose to a man who steals from the magic of the gods themselves and twists the natural power of this earth to his unholy methods, a broken oath is of little consequence.”

“For the love of Saresh, hold your tongue,” Calvari hissed in my ear as I struggled to free myself of his hold. “Do you want to find your head struck from your body in the middle of this ballroom?”

I ignored his warning as I continued to try and break free of his grip, Kalir looking like I had just slapped his face and told the entire kingdom his cock had fallen off for good measure.

“How dare you question a member of the royal court in the heart of the palace itself-” Kalir began in outrage, but before he could go on with his tirade and act on those murderous thoughts I could see swirling in his unnaturally bright eyes, the emperor spoke.

“Enough,” he said firmly, his eyes moving from me to Aalia, then to Aren, nothing at all in his expression to say what he might do or command next, but that terror was still eating into my gut, a scream sounding at the edge of my comprehension which warned me to run and run and run. “If the lady wishes to keep the vows she made before the gods to her husband, then so be it. I grow weary of this debate. Tell me, Aalia, is it your intention to deny my request for your company and return home with your husband this night?”

I fell still in Calvari’s grasp, my heart thundering so loudly that I was sure the entire court could hear it even as all eyes turned to my sister in search of her answer.

Aalia was deathly pale as she clung to Aren’s hand, her husband taking half a step forward, as if wishing to place himself between her and the wrath the emperor might impose upon her for this public insult.

“Yes,” she breathed eventually, her voice so low I barely caught the word, but the gasps of shock and outrage that fluttered through the crowd like wind through stalks of wheat made it all too clear.

Emperor Farish let his gaze trail down her body so slowly that even I squirmed from the intensity of his assessment, before a smile tugged his lips into what seemed like a mockery of amusement, and he simply waved a hand at them.

“Then go.”

I didn’t even feel Calvari release me, I just ran for my sister, my high heels clacking loudly against the hard floor and the Fae of the court parting for me like they didn’t want to so much as touch me in case they were tarred with the same brush as our family had just been.

Aren was already turning away, tugging Aalia after him, but she kept her eyes on me as I raced to them, ignoring the stern look I was giving her and resisting Aren’s grip until I reached her.

I grabbed her other arm and we hurried from the ballroom, picking up a fast pace as we headed down the dimly lit stone corridors towards the exit without a word passing between us.

I expected to hear the sound of soldiers taking chase, or even a simple command for us to stop, but none came, and we hurried out of the palace, past the now-empty guard post.

Unease rolled through me as the sense of pursuit failed to ease, and we wordlessly broke into a run between the two still pools of water before the palace, needing to escape as fast as we could.

I prayed to every god I could think of for their protection, glancing back over my shoulder expectantly while my mind scoured my knowledge of the gods as I tried to think up a bargain any of them might enter into for our safety. The gods were fickle creatures, their attention shifting from place to place without warning, few of them ever answering the desperate pleas of their followers. But there was one who was rumoured to offer up deals readily, one who was willing to trade with anyone desperate enough to risk his price.

And I was desperate. Because despite the unnatural silence and apparent disinterest in our departure, I knew better. We were running out of time, and something was fast coming our way.

“Carioth, I’ll give you anything you ask if you can help us escape this place,” I hissed to the god of tricksters and cunning as the water in the pools either side of us began to stir. Something huge shifted within their depths, drawing closer with every moment, and I could only hope the god was listening and would take the bargain I offered.

Aalia gasped in fear as the water continued to churn, the beasts rumoured to slumber in under the surface waking to hunt us down while we ran past their watery domains like all-too-easy prey.

For a moment, I thought the god was ignoring my pleas, but as we broke into an all-out sprint, a charge of powerful energy rushed through the air, something shifting before us as the shadows deepened beyond the end of the pools.

Aalia screamed, and I followed her gaze to our right where an enormous shape was taking form within the water, the flowers which had sat so prettily on its surface shifting away as the thing drew closer.

My Affinities swelled within me, magic coursing through my blood, but I seriously doubted a dose of powerful healing magic was going to do anything against the fucking monsters which were chasing us through the dark.

A faint note of laughter caught on the breeze, and I looked towards the thickening darkness again as I felt the presence of a god drawing closer, Carioth come to answer my prayers.

“One kiss from the lips that betrayed you, one smile for your time in the dark, a scream for the monsters which plague you, a debt paid to he with the mark.” The voice of the god tangled with the wind, teasing fingers through my hair and pouring starlight through my veins.

I gasped at the weight of his power, feeling his presence so keenly that I stumbled. The shadows ahead of us thickened further, but my gaze snapped straight to a spot in the heart of them where two bright green eyes watched us with amusement flickering in their depths.

“We have a bargain!” I cried, unable to take my time deciphering his price as the water to our right exploded with motion, a crocodile larger than I even could have imagined launching itself at us with its jaws wide and a bellow of murderous intent breaking from its mouth.

Aalia screamed again, and Aren tried to throw himself between her and the beast, but a collar of pure starlight lashed around its neck before the crocodile’s jaws could snap closed, and it was yanked to a jarring halt just out of reach of the three of us.

I stumbled aside, falling to the hard tiles as I stared at the dark green monster in horror. It thrashed against the leash while the laughter of the god of tricksters filled the air and made goosebumps rise all over my skin, his power containing the furious creature like it was little more than a naughty puppy tugging at its leash.

Aren’s hand locked around my arm and he yanked me to my feet, shoving me ahead of him towards the waiting darkness.

I didn’t look back as I chased after my sister, the orange gown she wore billowing around her as she sprinted for the promise of safety within those shadows ahead. My skin prickled with awareness as Aren shoved me in front of him, my pulse hammering wildly.

My mind shifted to the other pool, the other crocodile which was yet to appear and the fate which could leap out at us at any moment, terror threatening to consume me.

But as we ran for the darkness, it seemed to reach for us too, those bright green eyes watching with hungry amusement until the tendrils of shadow coiled around us and swallowed us whole.

I called Aalia’s name as she was consumed by the dark, reaching for her in the abyss and gasping as a rough hand met with mine, tugging me against an impossibly broad chest while wicked laughter filled the air.

“Run, run, little rabbit,”Carioth purred, the incredible energy which he was made of stealing the breath from my lungs.

I tipped my head back to look up at him, trying to make out the face of the god among the endless shadow. But all I could see of him were those bright green eyes, full of mirth and wicked cunning. Then he smiled, his teeth blazing white and razor sharp between lips I couldn’t perceive.

My instinct was to recoil, to scream or beg for mercy, but I had never been the cowering kind and our bargain had already been struck.

“You owe us an escape,” I demanded, my gaze fixing on his.

The power of that bargain hummed in the air around us and Carioth began to laugh in that cruel and taunting way of his again. The sound rattled through me, through the world itself, but even as I ached to cover my ears and hide from it, I felt his hands tighten around my arms as he pushed me back.

My knees hit with the edge of a seat and I was forced to sit, finding soft cushions beneath me as a warm hand gripped mine, and I recognised my sister with a cry of relief.

“Kyra?” Aren’s voice came from directly opposite us, and I confirmed that it was me while craning my head to look around us, fighting to see through the darkness.

A lurch of movement made me grip the edge of my seat, and the thunder of hooves met with the roiling movement of the carriage as we began to speed away from the palace.

The darkness lifted as we raced through the palace gates and into the city beyond, shadows peeling off of us and tumbling away on the wind. The carriage was made of some kind of obsidian stone, the four huge wheels creaking and thumping as they rotated along the ground at impossible speed, making my gut lurch with the movement.

I gripped Aalia’s hand tighter, offering her a reassuring smile as the world raced by incredibly fast around us.

Carioth’s laughter drew my attention to the god where he sat in the front of the carriage, driving us away from peril and cracking a long whip at the creatures which pulled it. My lips parted as I took in the four enormous hyenas, one of them swinging its head around to grin at me like it felt my attention and wanted me to look.

I knew I should have felt more fear then, but perhaps I had run out of terror following our escape, or perhaps I had lost my mind, because there was something in the gaze of that beastly animal which called to me. Its eyes were dark and full of secrets, bursting with the knowledge of a thousand lifetimes visiting every corner of the world. These were the steeds of a god, powerful, wonderous creatures who had tasted adventure every second of their being. And all it took was that single look to let me know they had loved each and every moment of it and promised me that I would too, if only I took the leap to find it for myself.

Everyone had heard the tales of the shadow chariot owned by the trickster god, pulled by four beasts of cunning and irreverence, but I had never in my life believed I might see it for myself, nor that I might find myself wishing for the life of a beast serving at the whims of a deity, but here I was. And it felt a whole lot like everything I’d been aching for my entire life.

We shot through the streets at breakneck speed, the three of us carried towards safety in the hands of a god. And despite the utter insanity we found ourselves in, and the possible repercussions which could be heading our way, I started laughing right along with Carioth.

Laughing and fucking laughing to the balmy night air as we stole through the dark in a chariot of shadows pulled by a pack of monsters. Because despite everything, we were free.