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We slashed our way through the wilderness, cutting down brush as deftly as we cut down foe. There was no shortage of either. A full days' travel was ahead of us before we could cross over the River of the Dead.
A path, unseen by most, was marked by glowing luminescent foliage visible only to the Fey, and we followed it, sticking as close to the tall grasses as possible.
This was by far the deadliest part of the Wyldes. It harbored those who held allegiance to none. And while I fully supported staunch alliance to oneself, they were too easily bought by the higher bidder.
There were but three in this realm capable of placing rogue beasts in their pockets. The Elf's father, King of Mythlandria, my mother, Queen of Unseelie, and Lorelei's father, King of the Shadowlands. Being captured by any of the three would not bode well for my current mission of finding her and bringing her to safety. It was why we kept to the darkly swamped marshlands of the Wyldes. Though the disgusting stench from the putrefied flesh of thousands of rotting corpses made me wish for the ability to turn off my sense of smell, it was the safest route.
I might have felt the chill in the air were I not made of that same chill. I was brought up in the realm of Winter...and Winter runs through my blood still. Cold fury was baked into my emotions as an Unseelie. It explained why my hatred for Adrius had lingered as long as it had. Forgiveness was not something Unseelies gave to ourselves or another. My mother, of course, being the prime example of it. Never had such a being exacted her will with such cold, calculating vengeance. She was feared by all, except for me, her only son. I still believe this angered her more than anything. That the one being she felt she should be able to control like a marionette was the only being over whom she held no power. Without fear, she lost her control. It was a lesson I was taught early on and one I learned to use to my advantage.
In truth, the Elves were equally as untrustworthy. If I found out Adrius was somehow involved in anything that put her in harm’s way—
"You are doing that brooding, sulky, deeply withdrawn thing that you do when you've something massive on your mind. Care to share?"
I scowled. "No."
"Awe, come on, old friend. We've many more leagues to travel before we find your quarry. Speaking of which..." He went on despite my clear desire that he not. "What did happen between the two of you over the Witch? I mean, the redhead," he said, scratching the back of his neck with the tip of his knife.
Risky move.
He lowered his blade with a chuckle, but of course still pressed on. "All I know of the tale is that you were once good mates with the Elf and then the girl came along, bewitched you both.... then she ended up dead, the pair of you immortal enemies."
"Leave it be, Sylos."
I blinked at the memories...how powerfully they rose up even when I'd so much else to occupy my thoughts. The hatred I felt toward Adrius was not something I'd expected to resurface. And yet those moments, our last ones together when I sent Lorelei back into his arms, had been a powerful reminder. Side by side we'd fought, for the life of a girl.
What twisted irony that after a time not so long ago and yet forever away, we should find ourselves in the same battle, over a girl who was her sister. I didn't want to remember a time when we were friends, because it made it that much harder to know he was with her now. That he had won. Beyond our petty tug-o-war, I was bothered by the fact that I'd been championed by my bitter rival.
I'd never believed in love or matters of the heart, thinking these were for fools and poets. Yet there was a certain carefree abandon I'd never felt before meeting Venus. She awakened a quiet intrigue in me. With just one smile, she could wash away the tedium of living life as a Winter Prince. I did not have to put on airs, or be anything special around her. I could just...be.
Perhaps it was that sway she had that made Adrius fall for her, too. A magnetism that was too powerful to resist...and so strong it ripped apart everything in its gravitational pull. She was as destructive then as she was now, just in a different way. Back then she had very different intentions, well-meaning intentions....and yet the end results remained the same. Catastrophic.
No rest, too little food, and far too much ale made for the perfect environment for idle thoughts. The past could not be changed. It was a waste to continue to relive it.
"Now if I let it be, I'd not be me," Sylos prodded. "It might be a blessing to release whatever burden it is you're carrying about with you for all this time."
"I said—" whipping around with a sharp gust of cold, I faced him, so close I could see the frost begin to whiten his brows, "—Leave. It. Be."
It was not Sylos this anger was meant for. It was only ever meant for Adrius.
The darkness that rose inside me when the arrow meant for my heart pieced hers was what made the Necromancers agree to cast their spell on my behalf. But the blackness in the pit of my being never went away. It festered, and it festers still. Speaking of it with anyone would only resurrect it. Not the best plan when I was to face him in a short time. I had to remain focused on saving his life, not taking it.
The night sky sparked with several bolts of lightning, illuminating the dark in a green glow. Thunder rolled in a low rumble, as if a giant had just cleared his throat.
With a calming breath, I backed up, still hold Sylos’ gaze, unwilling to turn my back on another friend. "Some things are better left unexamined." I understood too well how even good friends could quickly become the opposite.
It was upon the third flash of lightning that I spotted the gleam of silver against the tree. Another note was fixed to the trunk with an Elvish blade driven deep into the wood. It hung there, waving lightly in the still air. I scanned the forest unnecessarily. It was empty. I sensed it. With measured steps I moved closer.
In a place that once was not,
At a time rebirth was sought,
In a life death was her lot,
On a day you let her rot.
One last clue your blood has bought.
I stared at the parchment. The globs of red ink again reeked of dried blood. Reading and rereading the words as the riddle spun in my head, for a moment I wondered if these notes were being left by someone I knew. Fey have a wickedly dark sense of humor.
As I stared at the words, I knew it was not a joke, or a ploy meant to distract or unbalance me. It was something much more. While I was not certain who'd left it, I knew it was about Lorelei. The purpose of it was one of two things: either it was meant to help me find her, or it was informing me where and when she would die.
"We mustn't overlook the obvious here. It's hanging from an Elvish blade, mate. I think that brings to mind several suspects...or perhaps one in particular," Sylos said.
I studied the blade. It had the skill and detail of a master craftsman, one richly skilled with blade work. Someone like Adrius. I shook my head. "Why would he leave such a cryptic message? Were he trying to reach out, why not just tell me where they were?"
He shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe he's secretly working with someone else. Like the Shades. I mean, think about it. They could offer him something no one else could...his life in exchange for hers."
"Impossible," I muttered, though the grain of possibility stayed in my mind.
"Or, perhaps," he ranted, "it's written in code because only all of the bloody Mythlandrian and Faery guard are after them, and they don't want to get caught leaving a note that says, "Here We Are!"
I chewed on that for a while. Maybe he'd shown up to leave me a note, meant to help me find them? No, too great a risk. But...perhaps he'd sent someone in his stead, to leave it.
I paced a few steps and stopped to massage the back of my neck. Then I ripped the parchment from its mount, the blade slitting the page in two. My fingers crushed around it as I considered its meaning. In a place that once was not. A place that did not exist. I recalled such a place. A hole in a hill that led to a village. It only existed when the seeker had desperate need for it, it could not be found or seen otherwise. We had been there. Just once. A time when I'd run from my mother's knights, and Adrius had helped hide me from the hunters. As we'd approached the lush, green hilltop, a door appeared. We'd entered, and I remembered racing down the tunnel and looking behind to find nothing there. The door we'd entered moments ago had vanished, and in its place, a solid wall of emerald foliage, glimmering in the torchlight.
Was this the place the note referred to?
Those days were the beginning of the end for us. It was just before things went sideways. Before Venus had died. Before Adrius and I prepared to fight to the death. Yes, I didn't kill him, and had not despite the many opportunities, and reasons, to do so.
I mulled it over in my mind as Sylos and I continued on. There were too many players in this game to rule out anyone or anything. We still did not yet know the motives or intentions of those involved.
We crept through the brush in an attempt to be as silent as the fog and not raise attention from the wild things. A simple raven could be a winged foe taking news of our travels to our hunters.
A twig snapped underfoot. I paused, looking back at Sylos. He winced, mouthing sorry, and pressed onward.
My thoughts wandered. Memories continued to flash back with uncontrollable intensity. Her smile. Her touch. Her kiss. The painful knowledge that Adrius had shared all of those first experiences with her, too.
I'd gifted her with music, and it tore her apart. My most important Faerie bargain had become my worst. Lorelei sang once. Froze under the pressure. Collapsed, was violently ill, and didn't sing again for years. Until she sang with him. It was my only failed bargain. She must see it the same way. A failure. A broken promise.
I vowed to myself to spend my last breath convincing her otherwise. Proving to her that I would always keep my word to her. I let Adrius live because it was what she would want. Soon enough Adrius and I would face one another once more. Older...and wiser, perhaps...for fighting to the death over a girl no longer seemed a useful expenditure of energy. Yet I knew if Lorelei came to me willingly and asked it of me, I would fight for her.
The truth solidified in that moment as my fingers tightened around the hilt of my sword—a sword forged by my former friend. If it came down to it, I would kill him.