4. Chapter 4

Isighed heavily as the dark wooden door appeared in front of me. Couldn't I just have a dreamless sleep? This was the last thing I wanted to do right now. I sat down on the floor facing the door and crossed my legs. No noises or lights came from the door, and I thanked the stars above for that. Hopefully, this would be a peaceful escape.

"Sleeping again so soon?" His deep voice reverberated in the space.

"Wonderful. You're here," I muttered and turned so my back was against the wooden door and I could face him. His soft chuckle floated from the shadows, but his laughter cut off when he saw me.

"What happened to you?" He hissed while moving closer to inspect my wounds. For someone of his stature, he moved silently. He knelt directly in front of me as his tattooed hands came up to hold my jaw. He twisted my face gently to the side so he could inspect the bruises and cuts. My eyes closed as his fingers traced over my wounds before he skimmed them across the scar that started from my left eyebrow and ran over my eye to my cheek.

His movements stopped when he realized he was touching me way more than necessary. Why did he care what happened?

"Some asshole broke into my house."

When he didn't say anything, I opened my eyes to watch what he was doing. I couldn't see his golden eyes anymore. His hood was back slightly, and pieces of his dark hair poked out by his forehead. This was the most I had ever seen of him.

"Is he going to be a problem again?" His voice was deep and angry.

"Not unless he comes back from the dead." My brow raised at the man in front of me. His body stiffened at my words.

"You killed him then?"

Would he leave if he knew I killed others? "Yes." I nodded and leaned my head back against the wooden door behind me. Part of me expected him to move away from me or say something like Sybil always did, but he spoke one simple word to me.

"Good."

That one word validated me more than years with Sybil or the twins ever did. I was used to others saying how I should feel bad or disgusted with hurting others, but this stranger seemed to not only understand but also support my actions.

The man moved to sit next to me, his back resting on the wall. All of his clothing was black, including the cloak he always wore. The clothing gave me no insight into who the hell he was. He lifted his knees up and rested his long arms over them. My eyes studied the dark tattoos to determine if there was anything about them that would give me any sort of clue about who he was. They didn't, but my eyes traced the small designs, mesmerized by how big his hands were. He shifted slightly and I inhaled his scent of forest and rain.

"Do you stare at everyone, or should I be flattered?" he teased.

Rolling my eyes, I turned away from him, embarrassed that I had been caught admiring him.

"I can't see anything about you, so don't flatter yourself."

He paused for a long moment as if trying to decide where to take this conversation.

"No trying to break in the door this time?"

"I just wanted to rest for a little bit in peace and quiet. I was tired after that guy broke in. The past few days have been… odd."

"Did I ruin your peace and quiet?"

His eyes were on me, but I didn't look. My hands tangled in my lap under his intense stare. His presence had never been worrisome for me and I wondered if it was because I knew this was a dream. He couldn't hurt me here. Or maybe he wasn't real at all but made up in my lonely mind.

"It's kind of nice having company," I whispered truthfully. "Although I didn't think you'd be asleep right now, too."

"I'm not," he confessed as his head turned from me to rest back against the door. "You call into my mind whenever you fall asleep, and my mind follows you. Most of the time I am sleeping, but I was in a very important meeting this time."

My head whipped towards him.

"Why didn't you just not follow me? And what are you doing in the meeting? Taking a nap?"

"Trust me I would prefer to be here with you. You saved me from a dreadfully boring day. As far as what happens to me, I just kind of blackout."

I couldn't see it, but I knew he was smiling. I smiled at him, wishing he would show me his face. We both sat in silence. Normally I hate silence, but with him, it wasn't so bad. Dread filled me when I remembered I would be going through the boundary tonight, but Sybil would need her medicine sooner rather than later.

"I should go." I started to stand up, but his hand gripped my shoulder softly.

"Just sit with me for one more minute."

His voice was just above a whispering plea, and I sat back down without question. One more minute sounded nice.

I turned to look at him and was surprised when his golden eyes were looking at me. Something about his gaze made me feel exposed. I shifted with uncertainty.

"Do you stare at everybody, or should I be flattered?" I mocked his words from earlier.

"You should most definitely be flattered." His eyes crinkled like he was smiling. Something in his body tensed as he watched me, though. "Are you lonely?"

His question caught me off guard, but before I answered he kept talking. "Sometimes I think the only place I"m not completely alone is here, with you, in your dreams."

The way he barely whispered his loneliness like a confession had me speaking before I could filter my words.

"I only feel loneliness. Nothing makes it go away. Sometimes I wonder if my existence in the realm matters to anyone."

"It matters to me." He gripped my hand tightly in his. We stayed there in silence for a long time. "Let's go, Little Viper."

He stood up still holding my hand tightly in his, but before I told him that nickname was ridiculous, he was gone, and I was sitting up in my bed.

I smiled as I glanced around my room, then stopped when I remembered what I was going to be doing. Facing Sybil and the twins was the last thing I wanted to do, but I needed to get it over with. My eyes burned with exhaustion. My mind drifted to the man from my dream sitting in his boring meeting and chuckled. I wondered who he was. Was he from another kingdom? Did he think I was real or just a figment of his imagination? What if he hated elite magic holders?

I took a long calming breath before stepping into the hallway. When I walked out of the room, they all stared at me with worried looks. Kai caught sight of the bow and arrows I held.

"You can't go across the boundary. The intruder said he was here for you. You don't know if this was a trap to force you to cross the boundary, and they can catch you."

"Don't worry about me. At least you'll be safe from me for the night." I spit out so they were aware I heard them earlier.

"We care for you," Sybil pleaded.

"You're scared of me," I answered back. "You think I'm reckless and you will be caught in the crossfire because of my actions. So don't worry, I'll keep my distance when I return."

I stalked out of the house and towards the boundary before another word was muttered. It seemed like every time I helped someone they acted as if I was wrong to do so.

This time I didn't bother pausing before jumping through the boundary. Immediately I fell to my knees as the pain seared through my bones and muscles. Thankfully, the forest ground was softer than usual, probably as a result of a passing rain shower. With each clean, crisp lungful I inhaled, my strength returned to me. Standing on shaky legs I rested against the tree for only a moment. The smell of rain hit me, making me pause briefly to enjoy it. I didn't bother taking in the pleasant sounds or the moon and stars.

It was late into the night so everyone would likely be sleeping. My first task was to find Sybil her medicines and a lot. I had gone to a neighborhood west of the previous one I stole from. Hopefully, they had a fully stocked apothecary.

My chest tightened when I admired the dark black castle on the grassy hillside. It sat up there like it was watching every move I made. Why did it have to be so nice to look at?

The castle made thoughts swarm. How could I fix our situation? How could I free everyone in Exile? My shoulders sagged when no ideas immediately came to mind. Our freedom weighed heavily on me. I was the only fae that could cross. The castle brooded in the distance, practically mocking me. Maybe I should march right up there and kill the king. But would that shatter the border of Exile? There were too many unknowns to take a risk like that.

I lifted my face to the stars that twinkled brightly. "Please, Gods…or stars…whatever is in charge of our fates. Give me a chance to free us. Anything. I will risk anything to save us."

The wind blew a gust of frigid air against my skin, making a shiver run through me. Opening my eyes, I stared at the castle, hoping for a sign. When nothing jumped out at me, I tore my gaze from the castle and immediately spotted the apothecary sign. I sighed and headed towards it. I would think of a plan once I was safe in Exile.

This apothecary wasn't as tightly secured as others I had stolen from. It took little effort for me to break in the door. I raided it quickly, fortunate that the town was larger compared to the last one I visited, so the medicine had larger quantities to take. Once I was satisfied with how much medicine I had, I headed to the nearest house to find some more food.

A soft blue glow of flame stopped me. A Wisp was circling a hand cart next to the house. That would let me carry more supplies than I ever had before. I made quick but quiet work of gathering the rest of what I needed. This town was fancier compared to some of the others I had seen before. Houses lined the cobblestoned streets in perfect rows. All of them had more than one story and all with green grassy lawns. They would be able to afford new food and a new hand cart.

Once I cleaned out the first house, I moved on to the next and next and the next. I grabbed fresh milk and took vegetables and fruit from their gardens too. I started to head to the next house but realized how full and heavy the cart was already. This would be plenty to last us.

The blue glow of the Wisp caught my attention again before I headed back to the woods. It appeared in front of me but then slowly circled around me, making me turn back towards the house I had just walked past. Curiosity got the better of me when the Wisp drifted to the door. I walked up to it and stared at the red envelope with the words "You've been selected" scribbled in perfect penmanship on the front. It held the Crimson King's crest on it which intrigued me. None of the other houses had this, so why did this one? I grabbed it off the door it had been pinned to and slid it into my pocket before returning to my cart.

I glanced around for the Wisp, but it was gone. "Thanks," I whispered just in case it was still lingering by. The walk back to the shadow boundary took longer than it normally would because not only was the cart incredibly heavy, but I had to cover the tracks of the cart with shrubs and branches so it couldn't be followed.

I finally arrived at the shadow boundary and paused for a moment to admire the sheer beauty of the forest and sky on this side.

My mind flashed to the man I killed earlier. Who sent him after me? My eyes peered around to make sure I wasn't being followed. Did someone know my secret? I wasn't sure how they would know, but I would lay low for as long as possible. If someone was trying to find me, it meant they were living in Exile, too. Otherwise, how did they have that fae attack us?

My eyes fixated on the black castle looming far in the distance once more before I took a long breath and stepped through the shadow boundary and back into my prison. As always, I fell to my knees and waited for the pain to subside.

"Thea, are you alright?" Kaz was moving toward me quickly. He kneeled down next to me and patted my back in comfort.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in short puffs.

"I can't sleep when you cross. Even though we're fighting, I still care that you return safely." He squeezed my shoulder as I sat back on my knees. "You're my family and I know that we would all be dead without you. I'm sorry I made it seem as if I'm not grateful for you because I am."

His words made tears fill my eyes. I didn't want to just forgive him so easily, but he and Kai were like brothers. I didn't want to lose them either.

"Let's get this home." He stood, pulling me up with him like I weighed nothing. He grabbed the cart and began towards my home.

We walked swiftly on the outskirts of our town before sitting at the tree line with the cart of goods for a while to make sure no one was lurking. Once satisfied, we hurried to the front door. Sybil and Kai were in the shared living area waiting for us. I started shoving the supplies into the house with their help. As soon as that was done, I broke the cart into small pieces to burn in our stove.

They all stood around watching me. The tension was noticeable, and I"m sure they wanted to talk to me, but I didn't stick around to find out what they had to say.