Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

S taring out the large window at the small garden below, I lean against the windowpane, wishing I could be out there instead of trapped here. Although the room I stand in is spacious and lushly furnished, there is a nervous energy confined within me. With no way to let it out, the ominous feeling continues to grow, making me increasingly uncomfortable.

“I need to discuss something with the landlord, stay here,” Alaric orders, his eyes heavy on me as he waits for a response.

Not bothering to speak or look away, I simply nod in response. I would shrug my shoulders, but I know the movement will cause me pain. Once we arrived at the inn, Alaric tended to my injury while Blaise sorted out rooms and accommodation for the horses. A concoction of herbal tea and black powder was given to me as a tonic to help relieve my discomfort, and Alaric fashioned me a sling from his jacket.

Keeping that arm close to me now, I try to ignore the fact that I can smell the prince’s warm, cinnamon scent on the fabric. I noticed how good he smelled on the journey here when we were riding together, but my focus was on keeping my seat and not falling again. The scent is oddly homely, making me feel safe, which is not true. I am not safe here, and I no longer have a home.

Alaric doesn’t comment on my lack of response, yet as he leaves, his disappointment perfumes the room like a bad aura, leaving me alone to wallow in it in our rented chamber.

We arrived at the inn about an hour ago. It is nice, at least on the inside. Situated in the middle of the forest, the inn is built on the main road in a large clearing, surrounded by a high wall. It looks imposing and unwelcoming, especially with the armed guards perched atop it. They have had their fair share of dealings with the fae, judging by the battle scars on both the building and the guards. Alaric and Blaise keep their hoods up, covering their ears which clearly reveal them for what they are. Several of the guards greet them with shallow nods, though, making me think that they are known here. How often do they travel here and why do they feel the need to stay somewhere that is obviously targeted when they are clearly able to defend themselves?

After the prince’s startling announcement on the road that he was taking me to his king, I was so dumbstruck that I simply climbed up onto his horse and settled between his legs as he led us into a canter. When we arrived, I was quickly hurried inside the property and the only available room. Built into the roof, we have the entire floor to ourselves, and the room is spacious. The large window built into one end of the ceiling allows light into the space. The walls are painted a dark sage green, and the upholstery is a dark grey, so the window and many lanterns are needed. It is the bed that takes up most of the room, a grand four-poster bed with so many cushions that I have no idea what to do with them.

This is the only room available in the entire inn, and there is only one bed for three of us. As soon as he saw the situation, Blaise immediately volunteered for overnight guard duty, meaning that Alaric and I will have to share.

I cannot even look at the bed behind me right now, not with everything that’s happened. Honestly, I think I would rather sleep on the floor. My family will be home, wondering where I am and what happened to me. I am sure the stories of me being taken by two fae have spread around the village by now. My sister won’t miss me. In fact, she will probably enjoy all the attention that my absence generates. My father is so rarely home that I cannot actually remember what he looks like. No, it is my mother that I pine for the most. She might not understand me, but she loves me despite my differences.

The window before me begins to fog up, and I realise that I am almost completely pressed against it, my breath misting the glass, only highlighting the barrier between myself and the outside world.

Very soon, I shall be somewhere that I never thought I would see—the land of Seelie fae. Will it look different to what I know here? Until yesterday, I hadn’t known about the different classifications of fae, just that they were dangerous. Now, the Seelie will try to protect me to stop the Unseelie from getting hold of me and breaking the curse. It all sounds like something from a fairy tale, but Alaric and Blaise are very real.

Apparently, we must travel through the forest to reach their land, which seems dangerous. Won’t this only make it easy for the Unseelie to track me down? I did ask Blaise, but he simply scoffed and said I was safe here. I am not sure if I believe him or not.

That wild, restless part of me is awake and churning in my gut, my anxiety and grief only making it worse. It feels as though it is going to burst from my skin, which feels tight and itchy. The warm air in the room is only making things worse, and no matter how much I try, I cannot get the window open. I feel trapped, alone, and desperate.

I need to go outside, only for a short while, and I won’t leave the protection of the wall. If I stay in this room much longer, I fear I shall go mad. Turning from the widow and ignoring the huge bed, I stalk over to the table where some fresh clothes have been left for me. There was no mention of whom they belonged to, but beggars can’t be choosers. Grabbing a soft white shawl, I wrap it around my shoulders and makeshift sling, wincing slightly at the ache. My cloak hangs by the door, so I hurry over and throw it on, only struggling a little with the ties thanks to my arm.

Knowing I need to be quick if I want to get outside before the fae find me, I grab the door handle and hustle from the room. The temptation to run is fierce, yet I know that will only make me appear guilty, like I am hiding something. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I look from left to right, trying to remember which corridor I should take.

Taking a guess, I turn left, following the corridor until it takes me to a door. Pushing through it, I am greeted by the bar. Fuck. Thankfully neither Alaric nor Blaise are here, so I just have to convince everyone else that I am supposed to be here. Across the room, opposite the main entrance and right at the back, I see a door. Ignoring the looks I receive from the men in the bar, I make my way over, praying my acting skills are good enough. I know this is risky behaviour and I am breaking Alaric’s order not to leave the room, but I need to feel the breeze on my face and stretch my limbs. I feel like a bird who has had her wings bound, and stepping outside is like a glimpse of freedom, my wings spreading wide.

Letting the door shut behind me, I walk out into the little garden at the back of the inn. It is not huge and has been a little neglected over the years, yet it’s a haven of nature. For some unknown reason, there is a decorative metal gate built into the surrounding wall, giving me a window out so I can see what is happening on the other side. It seems like a strange choice for an inn that has the same protections as a fortress.

I cross over the grassy area, the long strands tickling my ankles. The two flower beds that have been planted against each wall have been left to grow wild, with weeds and wildflowers alike mingling to create a symphony of colour. Putting distance between myself and the inn while still keeping away from the wall, I find a place to sit. Dropping down into the grass, I cross my legs and press my hands against the earth, needing to feel connected.

I let the tension inside me slowly unwind, gently pushing it from my body with my mind and calling forward the calm I always seem to find in nature. It is a slow process, but I can feel the warmth of the plants as they welcome me. My life may have turned upside down, but one thing hasn’t changed, and that is my connection to the world around me. I have never quite understood it and thought it was normal until my sister called me a witch when she saw me talking to my flowers.

Nature seems different here, more wary almost, and it makes me wonder what happened to cause this. Is it due to the proximity to the forest? My little garden at the cottage was right next to the treeline, and I never felt anything like this. Even so, I continue to open myself to the world around me, my eyes closed as I absorb everything that it is willing to give me.

Something lands on my arm, as light as a fallen leaf, and I do not bother to open my eyes just yet. The sensation continues as I sit in silence, letting my mind wander as it needs to, not thinking too hard on any one subject. A whisper soft touch brushes across my face. Slowly blinking my eyes open, I gasp in surprise, delighted as I spot the cause of the sensation.

There must be at least a dozen butterflies, all of which have landed on me, their wings pulsing slightly as they bask in the lazy stream of setting sunlight.

Why are they here, and why have they chosen to land on me? Animals have always been drawn to me, as I had proven earlier today with my horse, Daisy, and I have had similar interactions like this before, but never this many. I have always been able to brush off my previous animal encounters, but this one is a little harder to explain—just another sign that I am different from other humans. I cannot bring myself to shoo the creatures away, though, and peace spreads through me as I take in their gorgeous wing patterns.

“You are hurt.”

Jerking in surprise, I jump to my feet, the butterflies scattering in a flurry of movement. In a heartbeat, I realise exactly who is speaking to me and know there is no need to panic, although my heart continues to race for another reason.

“Forrest!”

I am moving before I have time to register what I’m doing, hurrying towards the gate. My heart soars at seeing him, especially when I thought I lost my chance to say goodbye. It had come as a surprise to me just how much I missed him in that short span of time, showing how much I had come to rely on his steady presence. Then he left, and I was forced to run, yet somehow, he found me.

That thought makes me pause, and I hover just in front of the gate, lowering the hand that was about to wrap around the painted metal. Now that I’m closer, I can see it is actually made of iron. The pattern has intricate swirls of roses and thorns. Iron is an odd choice of material to use seeing as it rusts. I can see the orange stains around the joins.

Why am I focusing on this when I should be asking how he found me? Even now, I am struggling to keep my mind on track, staring at his shadowy figure in the treeline just beyond the clearing. He leans against one of the trunks surrounding him, his hood hiding most of his face as usual. His posture is casual, but the tension in his voice is anything but.

“Forrest?” His head tilts to one side in question, oblivious to my mental dilemma.

“Oh.” His question throws me, and it takes me a moment to gather myself enough to reply. “It is what I named you in my head. I didn’t know what else to call you.” The explanation sounds lame, and from the slight twitch of his lips, I know he finds it amusing.

“You can call me Nyx.”

The hair on my arms stands on end, a chill passing through me at his words. After so long of trying to get him to reveal his name, he finally gives me one, passing it over so easily. I have no doubt in my mind that this is not his real name, yet it feels like an important moment.

“Nyx,” I repeat softly, the name feeling familiar. Even if I have never seen the full profile of his face, I decide that the name suits him. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I hover by the gate, wishing I could get closer. “How did you find me?”

The constant shifting shadows that surround him seem to pause. “I will always find you, Iris.” His voice is filled with a dark promise, and it makes me certain that not even death himself would be able to keep Nyx away.

Chills break out on my entire body, the good type that makes me feel warm and energised inside. Some might find his comment creepy, but for me, it is a comfort. I was worried that when I was taken from my cottage, I would never see him again, yet here he is.

“You said you were leaving.” I mean this as a question, needing to know how he knew I left when he had already gone.

From what he told me, he knew something was about to happen, and he gave me a cryptic warning about staying out of the forest before leaving. I was alone and helpless, just as he knew I would be. If Alaric had not been there, the Unseelie would have taken me.

Perhaps I am more upset about him going than I first thought.

His head shifts in my direction, and although I cannot see his eyes, I know he is staring right at me. “I found that I was unable to stay away.”

My cheeks heat with a flush, and I quickly drop my gaze, breaking eye contact with him. Reaching up, I push several stray strands of hair back behind my ear, needing something to do with my hands. This is like something straight out of one of my favourite romance books, where the hero of the story does anything to get back to the heroine. Only, I am no heroine, and there has never been anything romantic between us, despite what my dreams might wish. There is most likely another reason for him being here, and I shouldn’t let my mind get carried away.

Suddenly, an icy thought causes my heart to drop to the pit of my stomach. What if Nyx was unable to keep away because he is one of the fae who are trying to capture me? My breath catches in my throat, and I have to force myself not to step back. In my heart, I don’t believe it, since he has never tried to harm me before. Plus, I’ve seen him when the sun has been out. However, so many hidden truths have been revealed that I am not sure what to believe anymore.

“Are you one of them?” I demand, ignoring the slight tremble in my voice. “The Unseelie?”

He chuckles, his cloaked head shaking from side to side. “No, I am much, much worse.”

A warning chill zips down my spine as some ancient part of me reacts to the threat in his voice. What does he mean by that? According to Alaric, the Unseelie are as bad as it gets. Somehow, he knew where I was and easily found me. Who is this male and what does he want from me? Everything he does is designed to cause mystery. Until now, I didn’t even know his name.

No. If he meant me harm, then he would have done it before now, there were plenty of opportunities. He is the one thing that has stayed the same since all of this went down, and I need the stability he offers me. There is a small part of me that whispers of the other feelings I have kept locked down, the ones that have been slowly growing over the last year, but I refuse to acknowledge them.

“I missed you.”

Okay, perhaps I acknowledged them. Just a crush, that is all it is. He is the only person who doesn’t treat me like I am strange or a social pariah, so it is only natural that I would develop warm feelings towards him. That is not going to cloud my judgement when it comes to him though. At least, that is what I keep telling myself.

Nyx freezes, clearly thrown by my comment. It is probably really stupid to admit this when he just told me he is worse than the fae tracking me down. Embarrassment adds to the blush on my cheeks as I realise just how stupid I sound. Tension fills the air as he moves away from the tree he was leaning against.

“You shouldn’t.” His words are solemn but firm. “You and I are from different worlds. There is no way anything could happen between us, not even friendship.” His self-deprecating loathing tells me that he is angry at himself for getting into this situation, but I am still hit with the rejection.

This is my fault. I shouldn’t have told him that I missed him, instead keeping those feelings locked away. Now he feels like he cannot be near me, not even as friends.

“It is dangerous to be around me, that is why I tried to leave,” he explains, scrubbing a hand across his face in frustration. He takes a step towards me, leaving the forest and standing in the realm of humans, only to freeze in place. “You will never be safe with me around, Iris. I had to check you were okay and to warn you that the fae will never have your best interests at heart.”

He turns and starts to leave. He came here to warn me about the fae, all of my notions of friendship blown out of the water in one short conversation. Although there was clearly nothing between us, and I have never asked for as much, I feel rejected. He is here out of obligation and nothing more, and now he is leaving.

My heart jumps, and I take a hurried step forward, stopping as I reach the iron gates. I cannot let him leave like this, he is important, I just know it.

“Nyx, wait!”

He begins to glance over his shoulder, his foot paused mid-air.

My name is practically shouted across the garden, stopping whatever was about to happen. “Iris!”

Startling, I turn to face the fae stalking my way. It’s Blaise, his brown eyes narrowed as he scans the empty garden. Without even needing to look, I know Nyx will no longer be in the treeline, using the distraction to escape. Should I go after him? I want to, yet I know that will cause a whole heap of trouble, not to mention putting myself in danger in the process.

Switching his gaze back to me, Blaise narrows his eyes. “Who were you talking to?”

“Oh, just myself.” Deep down, I know that if I told him about my friend, it would cause a whole ton of issues, not to mention the warning pulsing through my mind not to tell him. Listening to my instincts, I keep my mouth shut and simply smile up at him.

He stares at me with a raised brow as he tries to decide if he believes me or not, his gaze burrowing into me like he can see straight into my mind. When he tilts his head, I am convinced he’s seen through my lie, but he just shakes his head. “Humans are strange. Why are you out here anyway?”

I don’t bother to argue with his comment, as his discrimination works in my favour and changes the conversation.

“I needed to get some air.”

Chuffing, he gives me a strange look. “The air inside the room wasn’t good enough for you?” The barb strikes a nerve inside me, but before I can respond, he is already waving it away and turning me from the wall. “You know it is dangerous for you to be out here, right?”

Having had enough of his snarky comments, I dig my heels into the ground and spin to point a finger at him, jabbing him in the chest.

“My whole life has been flipped on its head. I have lost my stable life, there was never a chance for me to say goodbye to my family, and I was almost abducted by evil fae. Now I have been abducted by the good guys and am being dragged across the country by two fae whom I have no idea if I should trust or not,” I snap, baring my teeth in anger. “I think that a few moments alone in a guarded garden are acceptable.”

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wonder if I just made a huge mistake. Blaise might be one of the good guys, but he is still fae and capable of killing me in an instant. He could probably snap me as easily as a twig and still skip off into the sunset without a care. I must never forget that they are different to me, their rules and customs, not to mention physical strength, are all unusual to me.

There is a heavy silence as Blaise looks at me in surprise, and I prepare myself for the worst. His mouth turns up into an impressed smile, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

“Huh.” Taking a step back, he looks down like he is reassessing me. “You finally stood up for yourself. I wondered if that would happen. Well done, you have exceeded my expectations of you.”

I don’t know where it comes from, but I roll my eyes at his comment. Something I am learning about Blaise is that he always has a snarky comment at the ready, seeming to find it impossible to compliment me without tacking on a loose insult in the process.

His expression becomes serious as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Look, Alaric is one of the best, most trustworthy males I have ever met. If he says he is going to keep you safe, then he means it.”

For some reason, hearing this from Blaise actually helps reassure me. It could be because he so rarely gives compliments, but I have also seen how dedicated he is to his prince, and I do not think he would exaggerate or lie about this.

I watch him as I digest his words, and I cannot help but notice as he shifts his weight from foot to foot. “Do you need to go somewhere?” I ask with a raised brow, my tone heavily implying he looks as though he needs the bathroom.

It is his turn to roll his eyes before giving a dirty look at the gate beside us. “Please, can we move away from this awful gate now? My skin feels as though it is about to crawl off my body.”

Following his gaze, I frown at the object of his ire. It looks perfectly harmless to me.

“What is wrong with the gate?” A thought suddenly occurs to me, and I clutch my hands to my chest, imagining all sorts of terrible consequences from touching it. “Is it spelled?”

“It is made from iron.” He scowls, baring his teeth in a hiss. “While it wouldn’t kill fae as strong as myself or Alaric, it is still a repellent.”

“Wait, you can’t touch iron?”

As a villager from a place close to the forest, knowledge like this would have been exceedingly useful. It could have been built into our gates and houses to keep the fae away. Someone here obviously knew, otherwise the gate wouldn’t be here.

Blaise raises a brow when he sees my surprise. “You didn’t know this? It used to be common knowledge many years ago, but I suppose stories change and become obsolete over time.” Shrugging, he slowly moves towards the inn, putting distance between him and the gate. “Iron will kill weaker fae and burn someone like me. It used to be used in weapons and around human houses to keep us away.”

Why is this no longer common knowledge? I have heard many stories of the fae, but never anything about iron. What happened to wipe the story from the humans’ teachings?

This is not something I am going to get answers to tonight, but I am determined to discover more about this. If I can learn more about the fae while I am with the Seelie, then perhaps I can find out more answers and ways for my people to protect themselves.

Glancing towards the inn, I frown as something occurs to me, and I look up at Blaise. He is still wearing his hood, hiding his ears, yet it is pretty obvious just by looking at them that he and the prince are something other .

“Do they know you are fae here?”

“No. They suspect but look the other way. We have helped them fight off the Unseelie many times and have bought their reluctant acceptance.” Tilting his head back, he takes a deep inhale, as though savouring this quiet moment outside before returning to the hubbub of the inn. “Come, we should go inside. It shall be dark soon.”

Nodding, I turn to follow him into the inn despite my desire to stay out here. Just as I step into the building, I glance over my shoulder, hoping to catch sight of Nyx. I tell myself not to get my hopes up, that he will be gone. That doesn’t seem to prepare me for the disappointment I feel as I stare into the darkness.

No one is there.