Chapter 1

SHROUDED BY SHADOWS

A t first, Flora ran fast and hard. She knew she could outpace her uncle, and the last thing she wanted was for him to catch her. But as the distance between her and the village grew, she started to realize that no one was coming after her. The epiphany had her slowing her steps.

For hours, she put one foot in front of the other, reliving their argument and every other argument she had had with her aunt and uncle. For years, he had threatened to send her away, he had warned her against her rash behavior. For years, she had stayed silent, warring internally against his spinelessness. And for years she had heard him claim “there was nothing to be done”.

But today, seeing those guards drink themselves into a stupor while knowingly starving the village was too much for her. Mairi’s tears and her uncle’s reluctance to do anything was too much for her.

Some of her curls fell into her face and she angrily brushed them away, finding her cheeks wet.

As much as she hated to admit it, her uncle’s threats stung like rejection against her heart. She had always known she was a burden to him and his family, but to hear it put so blatantly, to be told that she was unwanted, hurt more than she cared to admit even to herself.

Not wanting to ruminate on her sorrow, she turned her focus back toward the anger she felt at the situation. Beyond her bitterness toward her uncle, even beyond her grief for her parents, Flora hated Campbell. He was little more than a tyrant who cared more about his power than his people. He ruled so ruthlessly that for years, no one had the courage to stand up to him. The entire clan seemed content to let the vile man take over and ruin all of their lives without so much as a whisper of complaint.

Her footsteps fell heavy on the fallen leaves, crushing them with every step. The anger and hurt that coursed through her veins didn’t dissipate but grew stronger the further away from the village she got.

Another hour in and she finally looked up long enough to pay attention to where she was. She had spent six years getting to know these woods, but she was further out than she had ever made it before. None of the oak trees, none of the moss-covered boulders, looked familiar to her. A rocky crag shot up to her left, forcing her to go right, trailing beside a small stream.

Part of her knew that she could turn around and go back to her uncle, beg his forgiveness, and promise obedience again. He might give a week or two of extra chores, but he would let her in. It was her own pride that pushed her forward. She didn’t want to live somewhere that she was not wanted. She didn’t want to be a burden.

The thinning branches above rustled in the wind, sending shivers down her spine. Somewhere not too far away, a pack of wolves started to howl, having found their dinner for the night. Her own stomach rumbled with hunger, but she ignored it. The sun was setting, and she had a precious few minutes of light left.

Survival instincts kicked in and Flora started to search for a place to sleep. Her body ached with exhaustion and hunger that came from having walked for hours. She had hardly managed to eat anything for breakfast that morning, and now she was regretting her choice. Not to mention, her tattered clothes were nowhere near warm enough for her to survive in the forest for long.

Fueled by only her determination, Flora turned to the crag and started to scale the wall. Several feet off the ground, high enough to deter any of the beasts that prowled through the woods at night, there was an opening. She pulled herself into it, grateful to find it empty and mostly dry.

Her chest heaved with the effort it had taken, and her muscles burned. But she was safe and out of the wind for now.

It didn’t take long for her to truly begin to feel the effects of her exhaustion. Her eyes grew heavy, as did the rest of her body. Curling into herself to ward off the cold that clutched at her bones, Flora finally let go of all the anger she had so desperately been clinging to. Without the distraction of that rage, she was left with only her pain.

Tears streamed down her face, wetting her sweat-damp neck and pooling into her hair. She didn’t bother trying to stop it. Nor did she try to fight sleep when it came to claim her.

Stiffness invaded her entire body, making it hard to stretch when the morning came. The dawn danced across her face, rousing her still tired and puffy eyes. It wasn’t the worst night of sleep she had ever had, but maybe the second worst.

Birds chirped loudly, unaware of her presence in their home. She would have given anything at that moment to have awoken in her own bed, but she had made a choice, and it was one she wouldn’t go back on. Her uncle had made it clear when he threatened to take her to the convent that she wasn’t welcome, and had only reiterated his point when he didn’t go after her. She was on her own, and that meant figuring out where to go next.

For starters, she climbed down from the small cave, lowering herself against the rocky face of the crag. The stone was cool and covered in dew. It was a welcome feeling against her aching, tired hands.

Once her feet hit the forest floor, she knew she would have to get moving again. Taking a moment to orient herself, Flora wandered over to the stream, drinking greedily before splashing the cold water on her face. It did nothing to quell the hunger in her belly, but it soothed her dry throat, and that would have to do for now.

Not wanting to go back, Flora decided she wouldn’t stray from the stream’s edge. At the very least, having access to water would sustain her for the day, maybe a second if she didn’t manage to find any food before then.

Her walk was slower and less aggressive than it had been the day before. Her anger had mellowed into stubborn determination. She was more focused on surviving than making a point to her uncle.

She had lost all sense of direction until she came to the end of the stream. It pooled into the side of a hill, unable to go any further. But it was the trees that made her recognize the place. They thinned out, creating an odd circular border around the top of the hill, as if they had all refused to grow in the center. Rocks and boulders were stacked on top of each other in the clearing, though with the morning fog, it was almost impossible to see the entire layout.

“Fairies,” she whispered in awe.

Little white lights danced in the misty morning, the sunlight streaming through the bald branches making everything look that much more ethereal.

She had heard stories of this hill. Several of the Aberfeldy villagers believed that this was the home of fairies and changelings. They nestled in the rocks, protecting their homes with their magic. That was why the trees encircled the hill in such an odd way. That was why no one from the village ever dared to venture out so far away.

Flora stumbled around, amazed that she had managed to find such a place. She struggled to believe that such magical creatures could be real, but her eyes were convinced that this was indeed their home.

Filled with excitement, Flora forgot all about her hunger, anger, and tiredness and began exploring the hill in earnest. She jumped from one rock to the next, peering under each of them for any proof that a fairy had been there. Throwing her arms above her head, Flora leaped across the opening to land in front of the next rock. But her feet landed on a pile of red and orange leaves, wet and slick from the morning dew.

As quickly as she had landed, her feet fell out from under her again. With a thud, her back slammed against the grass of the hill, and she went careening down the front. Covering her head with her hands, Flora was at the mercy of gravity as it pulled her down the hill and away from the fairies. It felt like a lifetime before she rolled to a stop.

Checking herself for any injuries, Flora pushed herself off the ground and wiped the mud from her face. It only served to smear the dirt across her cheek further. Giving up on the effort, she looked up, wanting to know just how far she had fallen. Her eyes found not only that the hill was indeed taller than she had suspected, but that the view from the side was even more beautiful than the other side.

She was standing in the middle of an opening, this time not of trees, but of rocks. The oaks were all a thing of the past, having been replaced by a swarm of gray and brown moss-covered boulders. To her right sat a shallow lake with crystal blue waters, the likes of which she had never seen before. It was being fed by the steady fall of water that burst from the hill, out from in between several other rocks. How she had managed to avoid a perilous end to her fall, she didn’t know. She smiled to herself as she wondered if the fairies had protected her.

Mesmerized by it all, Flora gingerly explored the rest of the area. Despite it being late autumn, there were still colorful blooms of white, purple, and pink peeking out around the edges of the lake. Here, the chill of the breeze vanished, turning into something warmer, that felt more like a mother’s touch.

Perhaps the most confounding part of all, was that she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been there before. Everything seemed so familiar to her, like something out of a dream. Though, she argued with herself, that if she had seen such a place like this before, even in her dreams, she was not likely to forget about it.

What she had forgotten, however, was that she was very much alone and unequipped to be in the forest for much longer. Any recollection of the day before or what had driven her so deep into the woods had flown out of her mind the second she first saw the hill. It wasn’t until the rumblings of two male voices drifted in over the sound of the waterfall that she came to her senses.

Suddenly, the beauty of the waterfall and the lake weren’t as enticing as they offered nowhere for her to hide. Her eyes darted from one place to the next, hoping she could find somewhere to go. She had no idea who these men were or what they wanted. There was little chance of her getting a good ending out of the encounter.

“Hey! Ye there!” One of the men shouted.

She didn’t wait another minute to find out how armed they were or what they wanted. She turned and started to run, leaping over rocks and splashing in the water. Driven by adrenaline, she pumped her arms, willing her legs to carry her far away fast enough that the men couldn’t keep up with her. For the second time in as many days, a strong hand clamped down around her neck, yanking her back.

A yelp escaped her, but she refused to go down without a fight. Wildly, she swung her arms and legs, doing anything and everything she could to get away.

“Och, stop that,” the man with his hand on her commanded.

Blind with panic, she couldn’t even see his face. She had no idea if her throws were hitting their mark or doing any damage. She did, however, know when a second set of hands wrapped around her, trapping her arms to her sides.

“That is enough.”

She sucked in an unsteady breath, unable to move a single muscle under the tight grasp. Finally, her eyes cleared enough for her to make out the figure in front of her.

He was an older man, around her uncle’s age, no older than forty, with black hair that had streaks of gray running through it. His eyes were dark and hooded, making it impossible for her to make out their color, though the lines around them made her think he smiled often. But he was not smiling now; his mouth was drawn into a thin, tight line as he took her in.

“What are ye doing here, lass?” he asked, his hand casually resting atop his sword.

“I ran away.”

She spat the words out like they had soured in her mouth. She was too afraid to lie, too scattered to even try to come up with a good lie to tell.

“Ye ran away?” he echoed, clearly not believing her.

“Aye. My uncle threatened to take me to a convent for trying to steal a dagger from one of the Campbell guards. I did nae want to go to the convent, so I ran into the forest. I thought he would come after me, but it has been more than a day, and he has nae. I am on my own. I did nae even stop to collect my things or any food.”

Her eyes welled up with tears as she recalled the previous day’s events. To her surprise, the memory of it all still stung. Telling strangers that her own family, the only family she had left in the world, didn't want her filled her with a shame she had never imagined.

“Ye are completely alone?” the man who held her asked.

She nodded, her throat too thick with emotion to be able to answer him any other way.

“Check.”

The salt and pepper-haired man pulled his sword from its sheath and left her with his partner to survey the area around them. For the few minutes that he was gone, neither she nor the man holding her said another word. She didn’t know what he was doing, but she used the silence to collect her thoughts and settle herself again.

This was not the first time Flora’s rash and stubborn nature had gotten her into trouble. She would manage to find a way out of this mess, just as she had all the others.

“There is nay one else,” the man announced as he walked back toward them.

He left his sword, hanging casually at his side. Flora had enough sense to know that even though he looked relaxed, she would never stand a chance against his skill.

“If I let go of ye, are ye going to run?” the man behind her questioned, his hold still just as tight on her.

“Nay.”

She wasn’t sure if that was the truth or not, but she knew it was the answer that would get her out of his vice grip. Several heartbeats passed as she waited for the man to let her go. She guessed that he was weighing the risks. Ultimately, his arms unwound from her sides and he took a fraction of a step back from her.

Not entirely comfortable having him at her back, she pivoted to where she could see both men’s faces. As if they operated as one, the two men shifted their own stance until they had her cornered in. Even if she tried to run, she doubted she would get farther than two steps before one of them had her in their arms again.

For the first time, she was able to study the second man in detail. Unlike his counterpart, he had no hair on the top of his head, but his full, bushy beard more than made up for it. It was nothing but gray, giving him the same distinguished look that the other man had but in a different way. His nose was thin and straight, leading to a deep line that rested between his thick gray eyebrows. It made her think that he spent a lot of time deep in thought or frustrated. With the way his brows were furrowed at her now, she could see clearly how he had managed to create such a line in his skin.

“What are we going to do with her, Errik? We cannae leave her here.”

“Aye, ye are right. She looks cunning enough to try to follow us nay matter where we take her and leave her.”

Her eyes darted between Errik, the dark-haired man, and his bald counterpart. It was not the first time a man tried to make a decision for her, about her life, without considering what she wanted. And she hated it just as much now as she had when her uncle had done so.

“So we take her with us.”

“Donna be daft, Liam,” Errik chided. “Rolland would likely have our heads for bringing in a lass like her.”

She folded her arms defiantly and opened her mouth to ask just what he meant by that, but Liam, the bald man, spoke before she could.

“I dinnae see how we have any other choice. We cannae trust that she will nae follow us or speak to her villagers unless we bring her with us.”

“And then we will have an entire village searching these woods for the missing lass, which is undoubtedly what we dinnae need.”

“Nay one will come looking for me,” she told them quietly.

They stopped their bickering long enough to look at her. At first, the weight of their stares was too heavy for her to keep her head held high. She was ashamed of what had brought her to this point. But she refused to be seen as weak or spineless; she refused to take after her uncle. So she picked her head up and straightened her shoulders, meeting the eyes of both men.

Errik sighed as Liam shot him a look, the only level of communication the two men needed, apparently.

“Ye’re coming wit’ us then,” Errik told her at last.

She hardly had time to process what she had been told before Liam moved to grab her arm once more. His grip was less firm, but still just as demanding that she moved with them as the trio started to turn back toward the hill.

“Wait. Nay!” she cried out, suddenly filled with fear. “I dinnae ken what secret ye are talking about. I will nae follow ye. I will nae tell anyone about ye.”

Her arguments turned to pleading as it settled in on her that these two men intended to bring her with them. Panic rose through her body until she was thrashing and flailing about in Liam’s grasp, just as she had done minutes before.

Her small frame was no match for his and when he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder like she was little more than a sack of potatoes, she felt even more helpless.

“Please, dinnae take me. I will return to my family. I will flee the area entirely. I will even go to the convent if that is what ye want.”

Neither man deigned to answer her. In fact, neither of them said another word.

They climbed a few of the rocks, their boots splashing in the water. It wasn’t until they were at the edge that she got anything out of either of them, and then it was only three little words.

“Hold yer breath.”

Flora didn’t have time to question what Liam meant as he stepped under the rushing waterfall. In a matter of seconds, her hair was drenched and hanging down around her face, making it impossible to breathe. Suddenly, Liam’s order made sense to her.

Just as quickly as they stepped under the waterfall, they stepped out of it. Errik was right behind, all three of them dripping wet. The sound of the water falling off their clothes and onto the rock beneath them was drowned out by the sound of the rushing water now behind them.

Unceremoniously, Liam dropped Flora off his shoulder and onto the ground. She flung her hair back and gasped. Her stomach ached from being pressed against the man’s shoulder and the hunger that still clawed at her bones. She swayed on her feet, exhausted from all the adrenaline that had soared through her countless times already today.

“Here,” Errik said gruffly, holding out an oatcake to her.

She was amazed that it had managed to avoid getting soaked, but she didn’t bother to ask how. She was too hungry to do anything but stuff the oatcake into her face as quickly as she could manage.

“Let’s go,” Liam barked as soon as she was finished.

He reached out to grab her again, and she stumbled back, not wanting to be tossed up on his shoulder once more.

“I can walk,” she insisted.

They all knew that she was stuck with them now. There was no way she could manage to make it back through the waterfall and through the forest without them catching her again. Frankly, she was too tired to even try. Liam must have seen it on her face, as he only nodded and dropped his hand.

To her right, Errik twisted and reached for something on the wall. They all stepped further into the cave until it was almost too dark for her to see anything. The waterfall behind her blocked out most of the sunlight.

“Where are ye taking me?” she asked.

Errik’s only reply was to light the torch he had in his hand. He motioned for her to follow him, and Liam nudged her back to get her moving. In a single file line, they walked through the tunnel, with Errik and his torch leading the way and Liam sandwiching her between them.

Every once in a while, she could hear one of the men start to grumble to themselves, clearly put out by the fact that she interrupted their plans. She had grumblings of her own; not only was she tired and still hungry, but her shoes squelched with every step. She began to shiver as the warmth from the sun grew fainter the deeper into the tunnel they went. Her wet clothes stuck to her body, as did her hair. The only passage of time that she could gather was the fact that about halfway through their trek, her hair was beginning to dry.

Her legs ached and her feet, pruned and soft, grew tender with every step. But she would not let these men see that she was weak. She would not complain or ask to slow down or stop.

Instead, she focused her thoughts on trying to memorize the route they were taking. She had never been in such an elaborate labyrinth before. Every few feet there was an option to turn one of three ways and after the dozenth turn, she was fully lost.

An hour passed, and her nerves were worn thin. Tears bubbled up, reaching the edge of her eyes. Just as she was about to break, Errik lowered the torch to the ground. He stamped it out on the hard floor, throwing her into blindness once more.

She had no idea where to go until she felt Liam’s hand on her shoulder, pushing her forward, guiding her steps. Two minutes of that, and she felt the sun shining on her face once more.

The light was just as blinding as the darkness had been, but when her eyes cleared, she gasped.

“What is this place?”