Chapter 22

22

K yrie

“Stand right where you are,” someone shouts from the darkness behind us.

I gasp and turn, letting go of my horse, and it runs away into the night. Xander, Thesha, and Damon react instantly by drawing their swords. They stand almost back-to-back, with me between them in the middle. Although the other two horses react by snorting and stomping, they don’t run.

My heart pounds and my hands feel clammy. This can’t be happening. I only just found Damon again. Now, I might lose him all over again. It’s one thing after another.

Kakara help us.

I know it’s probably useless, but I pull my dagger anyway, clasping it tightly in my hand.

“You may as well give up now,” Egan says. “We have you surrounded.” I recognize his voice. I’d remember it anywhere. Several horses nicker and snort around us.

“Sneaking off in the middle of the night, are we? Queen Snow will not be happy with the snub,” a bald male fae says as he suddenly appears through the darkness. He is holding up his hand; a soft glow penetrates through the darkness, lighting his path. He is wearing breeches and a crumpled tunic. Despite his disheveled appearance, I get the distinct impression that he is someone of importance. “The queen will be hurt, Damon, but I’m sure that if you give up now, she will forgive you and still accept you as her husband.”

“What?” I frown. “Is he serious?” I whisper. How do they know each other?

“I’m very serious, young human.” He speaks with authority. He’s definitely the leader.

“So that’s why there is a bounty on his head? The queen wants to marry Damon. Why? I mean, does she know you?” I ask Damon and then quickly turn my head back to the bloodfae leader. I realize that I’m talking too much. The situation doesn’t exactly warrant it, but I can’t help it. I have a whole lot of questions rolling around in my head. Queen Snow wants to marry Damon. A nobody who used to have power.

What kind of power?

One thing is for sure: Damon used to be somebody important, and if the queen wants him so badly, he must still be someone of significant importance.

“Why, indeed?” the leader says. “Why do we love who we love? It is an age-old question.”

“Her interest is sick, Cassius. She wants this for all the wrong reasons, and you know it.”

“You sound like a petulant child, Damon. Perhaps I was wrong in my assessment of you. You need to do your duty. To do the right thing.” His tone is clipped.

Duty? What does that mean?

“I could say the same thing to you,” Damon says, his eyes haunted.

“I’m afraid that you leave me no choice, son,” Cassius says, his eyes hazy. “We will be compelled to take you by force.”

“So be it,” Damon says.

At first, there is silence. No one moves a muscle. We all just stand there. Cassius and Damon have a stare-off. Then, moments later, chaos erupts as the fae come at us.

From the sound of the horse’s hooves, they aren’t quite as close as I thought they were. I don’t have time to dwell on it because Damon hooks an arm around me. I’m not sure how he does it, but when he mounts, I am in front of him. My stomach lurches as it is left behind by the sudden movement.

It lurches again when Damon kicks the horse forward. It springs straight into an all-out gallop.

“Stick to the fallback plan,” Xander yells. I realize that he and Thesha are right next to us and pulling ahead. “Can’t outrun them,” he yells.

“What plan?” Damon growls in my ear. He’s guiding the horse around obstacles. Our smaller animals are far more agile than the big fae steeds. We are making ground, at least for now.

“Hold on!” he yells, and we jump over something. A fallen branch or a rock, perhaps. I hold back a scream.

I hear the fae in the dark behind us giving chase. They’re close…far too close.

“The plan!” Damon rasps.

“Mines. The old mines,” I squeak out.

Damon throws out a curse. Then he sits forward in the saddle and urges our horse to go faster. It’s terrifying. I can’t see anything. Trees and dead branches whip past us. I crouch low, feeling shielded by Damon’s big body. He’s warm at my back. He brings me comfort even in the midst of all of this.

Although many things have changed, that hasn’t. Although I am feeling less and less like I know him as well as I thought, Damon still feels like my rock.

We’re pulling ahead of the pursuing fae but not quickly enough to be able to lose them completely. Our horse is already starting to blow since it is carrying extra weight. We can’t go on like this for too much longer.

Instead of stopping, we continue to pull away, riding on for a while before skidding to an abrupt halt. Xander and Thesha are already there.

“Grab supplies and send the horses on their way,” Thesha says in an urgent voice. “We need to hurry.”

I am lifted from the saddle. I can’t see much of anything.

“Done. Let’s go,” Damon says.

There is a slap followed by a whinny, and the first horse gallops away, with the second horse close on its heels.

“They’ll run home,” Thesha whispers. “Gods be willing.”

“We need to make haste,” Xander says under his breath.

Damon grabs my hand and pulls me into the cave. The ground below is rocky and uneven, so he picks me up and carries me in his arms. Then we’re going into the cave. This is it. It’s this or recapture since the fae are not far behind us. They’ll be here any second.

My heart thuds.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Damon reassures me in a soft whisper. He must have felt me tense or something. He keeps walking, and as he does, the temperature drops a little and the air turns musty. From the entrance, there are sounds of horse hooves and shouts from the fae soldiers.

The fae are right outside, so we pick up our pace. The sound of the assembled fae quickly fades. I don’t think they are following us. My mouth turns dry. They know better. From the sounds of things, these mines are extremely dangerous.

I wish there was another choice.

The only way for us is forward. The darkness is stifling; the only sound now is our ragged breathing echoing off the walls. I hold on to Damon, his heartbeat reverberating through me, a steady rhythm that helps settle me. We move deeper into the cave, my fingers curling into his tunic.

We’re moving fast one second and stopping the next. There is a buzz and a crackle, which is followed by light. I have to close my eyes for a second before blinking them a few times while they adjust. Xander is holding up a lantern.

He smiles. “Good thing we came prepared. We might just get out of this, after all.”

“Famous last words,” Damon says; he is smiling, too.

“Exactly. So let’s not waste time,” Thesha says in a curt voice.

“This is Thesha, Thesha meet Damon,” Xander says.

“Good to meet you. We need to keep going.”

Damon nods. “Agreed. This is no time for pleasantries.”

Xander and Damon are carrying saddlebags and waterskins. They exchange a look I can’t decipher.

Damon nods, setting me down since the lantern does such a good job of illuminating our immediate space. “You good?” he asks.

“I’m fine.” I hate feeling so useless.

Damon takes my hand. It’s to help steady me over the rough path, I’m sure. I note that Xander has Thesha’s hand, as well. We start walking. The tunnel is big enough for two people to walk side by side. No one follows us.

We walk, and we walk, and we walk some more. The tunnel has now narrowed so much that we have to walk in single file. Damon takes up the rear. He has also lit a lantern because one was no longer sufficient. We trudge along. The air smells and tastes stale, and the temperature steadily rises again. It feels oppressive and stifling. I try not to think about it too much, or I might just lose my sanity. Instead, I hold Damon’s hand a little tighter and concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

We stop and I realize that we have reached a split in the tunnel.

“Which way?” Xander asks Damon.

“The left tunnel will take us right through the mountain to the other side.”

“Far away from any scouting parties hoping to pick up on the bounty,” Thesha says.

“That’s right.” Damon nods. “But without horses, it will take us an age to get back. The right tunnel will take us to an exit not far up from where we entered. We will be at risk of being recaptured, but we can get out of these caves more quickly.”

“I would love to get out of the caves,” Thesha says.

“Me, too,” I tell them. I picture a whole pack of rats coming after us, and every hair on my body stands on end.

“The right tunnel it is, then,” Xander says. “The bloodfae don’t know where the tunnel leads, or do they?”

“No.” Damon shakes his head. “There are many tunnel systems under this mountain. The mine hasn’t operated in many years, so most icefae don’t even know how to navigate them. Let alone a foreign species.”

“So, it’s a safe bet that they won’t know where we exit,” Xander remarks.

“Pretty safe,” Damon agrees.

We start down the tunnel in question. After a short while, it narrows out even further, making it even more cramped. The men have to walk crouched over. The air feels thin, but that’s probably my imagination. For a while, I start to think that perhaps Damon had gotten it wrong, maybe he made a mistake, but then the air gets cooler. It feels easier to breathe, and the tunnel starts to open up. It feels less oppressive by the second.

By the time we make it to the mouth of the cave, the sky is a murky gray instead of black as darklifts and a new day begins. We walk out of the entrance, pulling in lungfuls of air. The breeze on my skin feels amazing.

“We can head east for a while before slowly doubling back,” Xander whispers.

“Or we could hole up in the cave and rest up before carrying on. Kyrie is tired,” Damon says.

Damon is right; I am tired, and my thighs ache, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to be responsible for holding us up and getting us captured. “I’m fine. Let’s keep going.”

“Are you sure?” Damon turns to face me. His bright blue eyes are filled with concern.

I nod. “Yes.”

“We’ll take a break soon enough.” Xander starts to walk. We hike through what’s left of the pine forest. There are patches where the trees are still clinging to life, but for the most part, they’re dead. Some have toppled over. Many more still stand, leafless, lifeless, and stark against a barren landscape. It’s desolate and dark and depressing.

By the time we stop, I’m shaking with fatigue. Damon puts a hand on my lower back, trying to offer support.

“Let’s make camp and take a break,” Xander declares.

Thesha yawns.

I can barely keep my eyes open despite the terrible cold, or maybe because of it. I pull my oilskin coat tighter.

There are two bedrolls, one from each saddlebag. Damon spreads one out.

“The ground is ice cold.” Xander’s breath mists from his mouth as he talks. “The humans are at risk of freezing to death.” He also lays out a bedroll.

“Good thing you’re going to keep me warm,” Thesha tells Xander.

“You’d better believe it.” He kisses her softly.

“You see, the caves were a good idea.” He speaks in a low voice. We all do.

“You are known for your great ideas, babe.” Thesha grins; she looks exhausted. Come to think of it, the men do, too.

“We’ll take first watch,” Xander says. “I can keep watch and keep you warm, my love.”

“Your multitasking is one of the many things I love about you,” Thesha tells Xander.

I’m listening to their conversation with half an ear because my heart is racing. We’re going to have to share a bedroll. There’s barely enough space inside a bedroll for one, let alone when adding a massive fae who’s looking at me in a strange way. It only serves to bring more heat to my cheeks.

Hopefully, Damon thinks it’s from the cold and not because I’m nervous and embarrassed and a touch excited at the prospect of sleeping with him.

It’s wrong, and yet it feels right. I know he’s keeping something big from me. I keep coming back to the same thought. The same idea of what it might be. I keep dismissing it. I want to ask him all the questions that have been swirling around in my mind for days now, but I don’t. It’s not the right time. I’m too exhausted.

Damon looks a little sheepish. “I know it wouldn’t be proper if—”

“I’m tired.” I try for calm, cool, and collected. I mostly get it right. “You must be, too. I don’t want to freeze. Let’s just be practical and share.”

There! I got it out.

Damon gives me a half-smile that does things to my insides.

“Before you get some rest,” Xander says. “We need to come up with a game plan. Where to from here?”

“There’s a small human settlement less than a day’s walk from here. We need horses and more supplies,” Damon says.

“That’s dangerous.” Thesha shakes her head. “Surely, they’ll be watching all major transport routes as well as the settlements?”

“There should be seven or eight villages at the foothills of the mountains. Two are larger settlements. I would imagine that they will be watching those. We’ll never cover any ground without steeds. It’s a necessity.” Damon shrugs.

“He’s right.” Thesha scrunches up her nose.

“If there’s no other choice, it is what we will need to do,” Xander says.

Thesha yawns. “I’m exhausted.”

“Me too.” I yawn as well.

“I’ll get in first,” Damon says in a way that leaves room for me to disagree. He raises his brows and cocks his head a little.

I nod.

It will probably be easier if he is already in. I can squeeze into whatever space is left.

A few seconds later, he is inside the bedroll. We are all fully clothed and ready in case we need to run again. Also, back to the part about it being freezing.

He holds it open. There is zero room inside next to him.

At this point, I’m so cold and so tired that I’m beyond caring. I’m going to be practical about this. That’s all there is to it.

I slide into the bedroll. My back is flush against his front. Once I am inside, he has to put an arm around me because there isn’t enough space for it to go anywhere else. His breath tickles the back of my neck. He’s plastered up against me.

Warm. It’s so toasty and warm. His scent envelops me.

I’m trying hard to breathe normally and failing. It’s too rapid. I can feel his heart beating against me. It’s racing. Does he feel it, too? There’s a tension between us. It’s charged like the air is filled with magic. Like something is about to happen or should happen. I’m not sure which.

I shift slightly, trying to get comfortable.

His hand tightens on my hip, holding me still. That’s when I feel it, something hard against my back.

Damon huffs out a breath. “Sorry,” he whispers softly into my ear…so softly that it’s only for me to hear.

He’s aroused. Holy smokes, he’s turned on by my close proximity. Damon is attracted to me. I should feel uncomfortable. I should hate every second of this, but I don’t. My body reacts right back. My nipples pebble, and a heartbeat starts up between my legs.

Despite everything going on around us, I smile. I feel wired. Like I’ll never be able to sleep, but I do. It doesn’t take long for the exhaustion to take me.