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“The birth of a queen was supposed to be an exciting event. It started off that way, but soon fell into chaos when the Dragon queen showed up and placed a curse on the child. A curse that would plummet our kingdom into eternal darkness.” Marabel recounted the story of the dragon queen’s curse for the hundredth time. Her hands moved in broadly animated fashion and her gray hair bounced with each nod of her head.
I kept the smile plastered on my face and nodded from time to time, but my mind wasn’t on this old fairy tale that she kept telling me. My mind was preoccupied with what I had overheard the fae chattering about earlier that morning. Something about a celebration for the princess, and maybe, just maybe, I would see my green-eyed ghost at the party.
I had never been outside the enchanted woods and was itching to go to the castle. To dress up in something stunning and dance the night away with a real man, ideally my famous woodland stranger. The forest animals didn’t make good dance partners, despite their attempts at making me smile with their antics.
Felicity kneaded dough on the table and rolled her violet eyes at me before swiping a strand of her dark hair away from her face. I pressed my lips together at both the eye-roll and the track of flour that remained across her dark skin. She was just as tired as I was with this story.
“Are you listening?” Marabel stopped and stared at the two of us.
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered. “You just said the curse on the princess would plunge the entire kingdom into darkness if she were to prick her finger on a spinning wheel.”
“Yes, yes.” She launched into a tirade about how the darkness would spread to every nook and cranny of the kingdom.
I glanced out the window, wishing for some reprieve so I could go out in the woods, where I was most comfortable. As if she heard my silent wish, Autumn strolled into the house with a freshly plucked duck for cooking held in front of her. Her crooked smile of triumph didn’t deter Marabel from continuing to jabber.
Autumn flipped her auburn hair away from her face and leveled a cocked eyebrow at Marabel. “Give it a rest, sister.”
Marabel’s mouth dropped open at her sister’s brazen comment.
Autumn handed Felicity the duck. “You’re the only one who can make this taste like a feast,” she added and wiped her hands on a cloth as she winked at me.
“No truer words have been spoken,” Marabel said. “If I attempted to prepare it, we would get a much tastier meal by chewing on our leather shoes.” She wiped her hands on her apron and started tidying up the place as if her sister hadn’t just told her to be quiet.
I stifled a laugh and glanced at the fae folk. They were quite the trio, and life with them had been endless fun. Each one had taught me all their secrets, enough so that I could hunt for myself and prepare a feast, while spinning an entertaining tale. I knew how to mend socks, and sew, and even how to tend to our garden. I was ready to take on the world.
Unfortunately, none of them were ready for me to spread my wings, even after all these years.
The more I wandered, the more agitated they seemed to get. I was turning twenty in a couple of days and I had never seen the palace. Never mind exploring beyond our small cove carved in the woods; even on the hunting trips with Autumn, we stayed within the enchanted forest. I really wanted to experience what was out there. I wanted to explore our entire kingdom and not just this small crop of land.
As usual, they began to argue over how to prepare the duck. Even though Felicity was the only real cook, they all had to put in their ideas before the three of them could settle on a direction. I took the opportunity to quietly slip away. I grabbed my favorite bow and the quiver of arrows leaning next to the door. It was my turn to commune with nature and possibly bring in a bounty that would last us a few more days than the meal Autumn brought home.
I smiled as their continued bickering wafted out the window, filling the small clearing with their voices. As soon as I stepped into the woods, birds singing, chipmunks chattering, and owls hoo-hooing replaced the fae’s squabbling. The familiarity calmed me as well as tickled my wanderlust, and I knew the exact direction I wanted to go.
I paused and glanced over my shoulder, half expecting Autumn to step out from behind a tree and reprimand me for wandering from the worn hunting trail. When she didn’t, I chose to head in the direction that she always prevented me from going. She had never given me a true reason why we couldn’t go beyond the magical boundaries. It always set my exploration itch into overdrive. My entire body tingled with the need to break the barriers the faeries had laid for me.
With none of the fae in sight, I picked up my pace, trying to be as light on my feet as possible, but I couldn’t move silently the way Autumn did. Before I knew it, the forest thickened. I was farther beyond our normal hunting grounds, even farther than I had been when I met my green-eyed ghost. I even thought I felt a tingle of magic dance over my skin as I passed through an opening in a prickly thicket.
The ground became spongey under my feet, leaving a slick slime on the soles of my shoes. I slowed and studied my new surroundings as I tried to find more solid ground. The deep forest-green of the woods had transitioned to bright sunny flowers and brighter greens of swamp grass braided through the blossoms. It was almost as if the color popped much more here than it ever did in the enchanted forest. Not that the fae folk didn’t have colorful surroundings, but this seemed much richer in contrast.
The squishy ground seemed to drive me toward a solid line of bushes in my quest for a dry surface to walk on. But I couldn’t seem to break through the thick barrier. Just when I was about to give up, I spied a gap in the branches. I wiggled through and over the berm and nearly tumbled into a steaming body of water.
I straightened and scanned the oversized flowers of yellow, red, and blue that lined the pond. Their colorful reflections danced on the surface. Fluttering wings pulled my gaze to the tree limbs reaching out over the water, and my eyes widened at the size of the birds perched on the ancient wood. They were twice the size of the duck Autumn brought home earlier.
My heart jumped in my chest at the chance to shoot a prize that big. It would feed us for a week. I reached for an arrow, pulling it from my quiver with slow precision, and notched it in my bow. I climbed up on the rocks at the edge of a sheer drop to the water that was at least three times my height.
I took a deep breath and tore my gaze away from the drop, focusing on the birds again. I took aim and shifted to steady my hand.
My darn slippers still had swamp muck on them, and I lost my balance. A yelp ripped out of my mouth as I fell. I dropped the bow and grabbed for the rock, catching a small outcrop. The liquid sizzled when my bow and arrow hit the surface of the swamp. I stared in stunned silence as the wood burst into flames.
What I thought had been water was actually an acid pool. My heart thundered as my grip slipped from the small outcrop. I slid down the facing until I caught another small outcrop. I cried out and I kicked the wall to find enough purchase on the rocks to get back to safety, but my shoes were too slippery.
I was too close to the surface and my fingers ached. The quiver on my back slipped off and when it hit the surface, a splash of acid doused my ankle. I screamed as pain nearly paralyzed me.
“Help!” I cried. Tears blurred my vision. I couldn’t hold on much longer. As if fate was laughing at me, the grip I held tight to crumbled and I slid further toward certain doom. I scrambled for purchase and luck was with me this time. I caught a crevice and although it bit into my skin, I screamed my triumph until acid engulfed my foot, and then my scream turned into a wail of agony.
Panic turned my breathing into harsh panting as I tried desperately to climb back up the rock high enough not to feel the burn again. If I perished in this acid bath, no one would know what happened to me. Marabel, Felicity, and Autumn would search forever and never find my body.
“Please help me,” I whispered through a fresh set of tears as my fingers, now slick with blood, started to slip on the small fissure. My life flashed before my eyes. All the hunting trips with Autumn. All the delectable treats I baked with Felicity, and all the stories Marabel and I created. Memories of my green-eyed ghost swarmed, along with every dream of our future. All gone in a pouf of pain and fire.
The moment I lost my grip, something grabbed me around the waist and lifted me from my pending death. My foot still throbbed, and from what I could see, it was a bloody, charred mess. But the pain faded with the sudden thrill of flying over the forest. I had a moment to wonder whether I died and then the flap of wings stirred the air around me, making my foot feel as if I had dipped it straight into the fires of hell.
Strong leathery talons held me, and when I glanced to the side, the edges of bright red, orange, and yellow wings filled my vision. The wings reminded me of bonfire flames. Stunning and dangerous all wrapped into a single image and my breath labored in my chest.
We descended into a field of white flowers and moss, and before I knew it, I was face down on the soft ground. The sweet scent of lilies swept over me, and I rolled, looking up at what had saved me.
My eyes widened and I tried to scramble away, but my foot was too damaged from the swamp. I gasped and fell on my back, grabbing my leg as tears marred my vision. The dragon dipped his magnificent fire-orange head and sniffed me. His sharp green eyes shimmered with golden flecks, giving me such a strong sense of déjà vu. His snout traveled over my bloodied hands and my injured foot.
I couldn’t tell whether he was going to finish what the swamp started or not.
When his gaze moved to mine, I think I stopped breathing. He lifted his head and then brought his talon-like claw to his mouth. His sharp teeth ripped his own flesh. I didn’t have time to register shock before a drop of his blood the size of one of Felicity’s pies splashed down over my injured foot and a second bathed my hands.
I cried out as paralyzing pain gripped my foot. It was far worse than the acid’s burn had been. My breath caught in my throat and then I started panting because I couldn’t draw in enough air. All the while, the dragon watched, as if amused by my pain. I wanted to shoot an arrow right through one of his golden-flecked eyes.
Rolling onto my belly, I curled up with my forehead to the soft ground so the dragon could not witness the tears that bathed my face with warmth. I clasped my hands to my chest and silently prayed the beast would give me a quick death.
The agony faded into a tingle and I glanced at my hands. My fingers were no longer shredded from the rocks. There wasn’t even a trace of my blood. I pushed back on my knees in case the tears in my eyes were showing me a trick. I turned them palms up and then palms down to make sure. But even with the sunlight shining down, my hands were pristine.
I uncurled my legs from beneath me, expecting the pain of my ruined foot to flare, but nothing happened. Sunlight warmed the unmarred skin of both feet. What had been a bloody, burned mess when we landed was now fully healed. I reached down and ran my fingers over the skin to validate what my eyes were seeing. The flutter of my fingers tickled, and I let out a surprised laugh.
A huff behind me stiffened my back, and I slowly turned toward the dragon. He still stared down at me, but this time he actually looked as if he smiled.
My gaze jumped to the talon he tore to bathe my wounds in his blood. His bloodstained talon. The gash he created had mended as surely as my hands and foot had.
Awe filled me and I met his gaze. “Did you just...” I waved at my foot.
He dipped his snout and sniffed me again, but this time he seemed to rub the side of his nose against my cheek. I reached up and cupped his chin, pushing him away with a laugh. This encounter was nothing like the nightmarish stories Marabel had described.
I climbed to my feet and made my way around him, studying his stunningly vibrant colors. The entire time, his magical green eyes followed me.
When I settled back in the spot in front of him, I smiled. “Thank you.”
Glancing at my surroundings, I had no idea how far off the path I was. I didn’t even know which way home was, and my heart sank. I bit my lip and looked up at the dragon.
“You wouldn’t happen to know the way to the fae village?” If I could get to the village, I could find my way back to our cottage.
He pointed his chin behind me, and I turned in the opposite direction of where we had flown from. I glanced back at his unique green eyes. A part of me wanted to stay with this beast, but I knew I had to get home before the three fae sent out a search party.
“Thank you again.” I backed away.
Sadness filled his eyes as I moved away from him. I finally turned in the direction of my destination once I had crossed most of the flower field, but turning away from the dragon had yanked at my chest.
I sighed and kept going, ignoring the pull of the beast.