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As the others slept obliviously beside her, the princess drifted in and out of restless sleep.
In one, she was back at castle the night of the anniversary feast. Lights twinkled above her, bonfires roared in the distance, children shrieked with laughter as they ran by. No one noticed the distressed princess racing desperately through the carnival tents, calling out at the top of her lungs, searching in vain for the mysterious witch who’d delivered that fateful prophecy.
Then all at once she was in Belaria, several years earlier. It was another grand feast day, but she and her friends were much younger than before. They were standing together in the ballroom, as they so often did, watching with vacant expressions as the doors flung open and the other young men and women of the court flooded inside to dance. In a flash both of the boys had partners, letting themselves be pulled onto the floor. The princess stared after them, trying to see over the heads of the men swarming around her, wishing so much to be paired with one of them instead.
Then the ballroom vanished and she was somewhere different, somewhere hot.
“Hello?” she called tentatively, spinning around.
There was no one for miles. Just flat horizon as far as the eye could see.
The ground shifted beneath her feet. She looked down to find that it was sand. Not sand like she was used to, the kind you’d find at the seashore. This was dense and compressed, the kind that clung to her shoes when she tried to lift them, sucking her back down to earth.
She tried again, feeling the sharp flickers of panic.
“Hello?! Is anyone there?!”
At this point, did she even want anyone to find her? What kind of creature could possibly reside in such a bleak and barren place?
But the earth itself was sinking, the sand swallowing her whole.
“Help!” she shrieked, her arms flying up as her legs vanished into the ground. “Please—”
But just then, there was a violent quaking. The ground rumbled, shaking the very horizon, as if something was trying desperately to get free. The princess let out a scream as a shadowy figure rose up beneath her, twisting and writhing as it tore itself from the sand.
She couldn’t tell what it was. She couldn’t pull free of its thrashing. It was coming up right beneath her, but it wasn’t until it opened a massive eye that she let out a gasp.
Is that a—
A deafening roar echoed over the plain.
DRAGON!
She’d seen her mother and uncle transform a hundred times, but this was unlike anything she’d ever seen. There was simply no end to it, no way to measure its strength. Each stroke of its wings could level a block of houses. Each smoldering breath could raze an entire city to the ground.
She tried to scramble out of the way, but it leapt straight up into the air—taking her right along with it. She let out another scream and gripped its back, but if the creature knew she was there it didn’t let on. It simply made a sharp turn mid-air, then shot like a bolt across the sky.
Right towards the High Kingdom.
How she knew it was headed towards her mother’s castle, she’d never know. That was the thing about dreams. They operated with an intuition and context all of their own. Her eyes filled with terror as they left the roiling sand behind and streaked through the sky, passing deserted outposts and clusters of trees, until at last they were over the open sea.
It was here that the creature curved its neck, twisting around to look into her eyes.
I know you’re there, child. I felt you coming.
Her fingers tightened on the rigid scales as its voice echoed in her mind.
What chance do you think you have...against something like me?
At that moment she was thinking the exact same thing. There might have been a way to fight the beast, there might have even been a way to win. But in all her wildest imaginings, she couldn’t fathom how such a thing would be possible. Let alone what it would have to do with her.
“Maybe my mother, maybe my father...”
She found herself speaking the words out loud, then clamped a hand over her mouth. The dragon cackled with laughter, scorching the crests of the distant waves.
Their time has passed, little princess. It’s up to you now. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret...
It leaned even closer, just inches from her face.
...you’re going to be too late.
With another wild roar of laughter the beast thrashed back and forth, breaking her grip and shaking her into the sky. She let out one final scream as she plummeted towards the ocean. There were voices, distant voices, calling to her. Telling her it was all right. Telling her they were going to help. But she couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. There was nothing but the water.
Her hair was flying up around her. The end was just seconds away—
Then she woke up with a gasp.
“Did we have a nightmare, little princess?”
She gasped again, trying to recover her senses, only to see that everything was exactly as it had been before. The fire was still crackling, the boys were still sleeping, and Therias was watching her curiously from the other side of the cage.
She lifted a tentative hand to her head, still rattled by all that had happened. Even more rattled that she could remember—it wasn’t fading like all the rest.
“That’s quite understandable,” he said kindly, opening the door and stepping inside. “I’d be very surprised if your friends weren’t having nightmares themselves.”
He glanced down at their sleeping shadows before offering out a hand.
“Right this way, dear.”
She stared at his open palm, confused as to what she was supposed to do. Then all at once, it came rushing back to her and she let out a pitiable cry.
“Not again, please—”
“No, none of that.” He strode forward determinedly, sweeping her legs right out from under her. It was the one thing he could be counted upon for—to be gentle. Right as he was draining the life right out of them. “Just a few moments, then I’ll have you back with your friends.”
“No—” she gasped again.
But before she could lift her hands to fight him, something slammed into them from behind.
This time it was Therias who let out a sharp gasp, stumbling forward as the princess slipped from his arms. She fell noiselessly to the floor, blinking up in a daze, only to see not one but both of her friends standing behind them. Like a pair of silent, vengeful ghosts.
Therias caught his balance, then lifted his eyebrows with an unexpected smile.
“Well, look who’s finally awake.” He directed that smile in full force to Ellanden, though it was Asher who’d knocked the princess free. “I wasn’t sure that was going to happen again.”
The fae stared back in silence, sparks of firelight dancing in his eyes.
“Let her go,” Asher said quietly.
The vampire may have launched a desperate attack for her freedom, but it had clearly taken all of his strength to do so. Even now he was struggling just to keep his balance, one pale hand reaching tentatively for the bars of the cage.
Therias smiled fondly, like some part of him was strangely proud.
“If I let her go—then it’s you, dear one. Or it’s him.”
The vampire shivered involuntarily, glancing down at the sorcerer’s hands. The cloying influence of the tea clouded the edges of his vision. And Ellanden was in a world all of his own.
“Then it’s me,” he murmured, stumbling a step closer.
The sorcerer rewarded this with his biggest smile yet, reaching out to steady him. But the princess threw herself in between them, scrambling weakly to her feet.
“Ash—no.”
Their eyes found each other, resting there for a suspended moment in time. Then, in a burst of speed that took her breath away, Asher threw her to safety and launched himself once again at the sorcerer, tumbling through the open door as he tackled the man to the ground.
Gone were the smiles. The sorcerer let out a vicious shout as they thrashed around on the stone. For a moment it looked like he was actually struggling, like the vampire might actually win.
Then Therias lifted his hands and Asher let out a tortured cry, flying backwards before crashing into the bars of the cage.
“Asher!” the princess screamed.
Ellanden just stood there, blinking in a daze.
The vampire was clearly defeated, but the sorcerer was incensed. He stalked forward in quiet fury, hands still lifted, watching the teenager struggle and writhe in pain.
“What did I tell you about those things?” he hissed, opening the vampire’s mouth with a flick of his fingers. “What did I tell you would happen?”
The princess screamed again as Asher tried to retract his fangs, twisting his head desperately to the side as the old man came closer. It was as if time itself was against them. The others could only watch as Therias stepped in front of him, wrapping an inescapable hand around his jaw.
“It makes little difference,” he murmured, pressing his finger to the tip of one of Asher’s sharpened teeth. “You won’t be needing them soon anyway.”
Asher’s eyes watered as he cringed into the cage, feeling the princess’ arms wrap around him from the other side. She was sobbing, Ellanden was frozen in a trance—and the vampire could do nothing but stand there in silent horror as Therias opened his mouth further, preparing to extract his fangs. But then, suddenly—
There was a loud banging on the entrance to the cave.
The sorcerer looked up in surprise as Asher slipped from his hands, shaking uncontrollably as he slumped to the ground. For a few seconds, all was quiet. The only thing they could hear was the crackling of the fire and the distant howl of the forest storm.
“Perhaps an animal of some sort,” Therias murmured. “Perhaps the wind—”
The banging started up again, even louder this time. Each impact seemed to shake the very walls of the cave, freezing everyone inside. Then all at once there was a resounding crash, as whoever or whatever was trying to gain entrance finally made their way through.
“Quick—inside.” Therias lifted Asher by the back of the shirt and threw him back into the cage with the others. “And quiet.” He glanced back with a dark promise. “We’ll finish this later.”
For good measure he lifted one of the large blankets off the floor and draped it over the metal bars, hiding the three friends from view.
They stood for a moment in the darkness, hardly daring to breathe. Then, one by one, they wrapped their hands arounds the bars, peering through the tiny holes in the cloth.
Therias was rushing around the little kitchen, stuffing bundles of questionable herbs back into the cupboard before shoving the empty mugs of tea out of sight. It looked like he wanted to do a lot more, but someone was coming—quiet footsteps were already echoing inside the walls of the cave. Instead, he put on a cloak and rushed out to meet them, remembering only at the last moment to slow his pace, to grab a walking stick and bend over feebly, a victim of advanced age.
With a final glance of warning at the others, he vanished entirely. Off to lure another helpless victim past the inescapable walls of the cave.
What should we do? Evie thought helplessly.
The correct question quickly became, what can we do?
A sorcerer didn’t give commands lightly. When he’d ordered them to be quiet, it was no idle threat. It was as if the very words had been lifted from their bodies. They were unable to speak, unable to move. In addition to that, they were still under the disorienting influence of the tea.
Is this a dream? Is someone really coming?
The sound of distant voices soon echoed down the hall. One was the familiar rasping voice of the sorcerer. The other was higher, lighter. Young.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then in walked the most beautiful girl the princess had ever seen.
It was an overwhelming kind of beauty. The kind that simply astonished, that took one’s breath away. Cloaked in starlight, awash in grace, shining with the unmistakable radiance of a fae.
The girl was a testament to their kind.
With porcelain skin, luminous dark eyes, and waist-length ivory hair, she reminded Evie of her Aunt Serafina—though she was having trouble remembering the woman’s face. At any rate, the girl was no princess. She may have looked like a doll, but there was nothing fragile about her.
Instead of a dress, she wore the fitted leather of a hunter—armored bands on both her wrists, soft-soled boots that came up to her knees. There were swirls of dirt and faint bruises on that porcelain skin, and those tumbles of ivory locks had been twisted back in a warrior’s braid.
She followed Therias at a safe distance, taking in the cave with a single sweep of her eyes.
“—not often I get any visitors,” he was saying, pretending to be delighted as he bustled about, tidying up. “I’m surprised you even found this place in the storm.”
The girl gave not the slightest reaction, continuing her silent assessment as the sorcerer hurried to fill in the gaps. “Yes, the storm came on very quickly...”
Ellanden’s fingers tightened at the sound of her voice, his face clouded with memory.
“Can I get you something to eat, dear one?” Therias continued generously, fighting back a rasping cough. “Or perhaps you’d just like to warm yourself by the fire?”
The girl looked at him then, those dark eyes fixing intently on his face. Then she gestured around the cave with an enchanting smile.
“You live here?”
Evie’s heart sank as the sorcerer smiled in return—gesturing to the benches by the fire. A moment later he was back in the kitchen, putting on water to make tea.
Run!
“Yes, for quite some time,” Therias answered conversationally, rummaging discreetly in the cupboards before pulling down the familiar brew. “I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve seen another person, let alone a young woman travelling all on her own...”
The girl ignored the subtle question, nodding to herself as her eyes continued travelling over the cave. They lingered briefly on the pinches of herbs littered around the fire, on the faded pieces of artwork mounted on the walls.
“There you are.” He pressed a mug of tea into her hand with a gracious smile. “That should heat you right up. It’s actually—”
“—Beligorne tea,” the girl finished, glancing up with a hint of surprise.
Therias hesitated, caught off-balance. “You know it?”
She nodded silently, taking a delicate sniff without lifting it to her lips. The sorcerer watched with a hungry sort of anticipation, another exquisite prize almost within his grasp.
“I’m surprised,” he murmured, “most people your age wouldn’t.”
RUN!
“I’m surprised, too,” she said quietly, setting the cup resoundingly on the bench before glancing up again to meet his questioning gaze. “Surprised you would waste something so rare on a prisoner.”
There was a moment where neither of them moved.
Then all hell broke loose.
Therias launched himself forward with a wild cry, alive with the same feral vengeance he’d used on Asher. But when he sprang towards the fae, she was no longer there. Evie blinked in astonishment, catching only a glimmer of ivory hair as she flipped straight over the top of the fire.
How did that just...?
Never had she seen such a thing. It was as if the girl had wings, flying around the cave with a grace that seemed effortless, fluidly spinning her body through the air. There was something almost hypnotic about it, a mesmerizing beauty to each movement. It was almost enough to distract from the true nature of what was happening. The deadly attack when the girl flew in for a sudden strike.
Therias let out a howl of pain and the princess’ heart leapt in her chest. It seemed almost impossible to her that the man could feel pain, that the man could actually bleed. But as he stumbled backwards, a spatter of blood rained down upon the floor.
The girl appeared on the other side of the bonfire, standing perfectly still.
It was so sudden, it was startling—as if she’d never even left. She watched in silence as the sorcerer shrieked and cursed her, clutching at his side as a crimson stain spread across his robes.
“Come now, wizard,” she said softly. “Surely you can do better than that.”
A wave of fire swept towards her, but she ducked it without missing a beat.
“I can’t imagine you could remain here so long,” she continued, “ensnare so many victims, if you didn’t have something more impressive up your sleeve.”
Why is she taunting him?! Has she lost her mind?!
But the girl didn’t look crazy. She looked calm.
It was impossible to tell the age of a fae. This one looked to be no older than the friends were themselves. But there was something ageless about her nonetheless. A quiet perseverance that spoke to more bad years than good. A grim kind of courage that had come at a price.
Evie glanced quickly at the men on either side. Asher was staring in terror at the sorcerer, keenly aware of what the man was able to do. But Ellanden was glued to the bars of the cage, staring at the girl in utter amazement without daring to pull in a breath.
“You came here knowing what I was?” Therias panted, curious in spite of the anger, in spite of the blood. “You ventured into a sorcerer’s cave, knowing all the while what would happen?”
The girl shook her head calmly. “I came here searching for something else. But how could I pass up such an opportunity?” The ghost of a smile flitted across her face. “Who knows if I’ll get the chance to kill a sorcerer again?”
At this point, Evie was truly afraid. The fear had broken through the glassy-eyed trance and consumed her entirely. This lovely, dark-eyed creature must not be made to suffer as they had. She must not be trapped in the cursed cage until the end of time.
The only option was to escape. The only option was to run.
But the girl had no intention of running.
And the sorcerer had no intention of letting her escape.
“Like a little bird...” he mused, studying her with a tilt of his head. Remembering, no doubt, her fantastical antics—how he’d been unable to catch her. “We’ll have to clip those wings...”
It was over before the princess could make sense of it, before she could even see what had happened. One second, the sorcerer and the fae were facing off against one another. Then there was a burst of light, and the fae suddenly knelt to the ground. A tiny breath escaped her lips as she slowly raised a hand to the opposite shoulder. It came away tingling, streaked with blood.
“Oh dear,” Therias called mockingly, picking up the steaming mug, “I hope that wasn’t the side you favored. At any rate, I’d be glad to even it out.”
Another flash of light. This one, the fae dodged—rolling swiftly to the side before leaping to her feet. Turning around just as the sorcerer appeared in front of her.
“Be still.”
A wrinkled hand came up between them and the entire world seemed to stop.
NO!
The princess clenched the bars of the cage, still watching through the tiny holes ripped into the blanket. Whoever this girl was, she wanted to call out to her. She wanted to scream. But she couldn’t. All she could do was watch as the sorcerer pressed the mug of tea into her pale hands.
“Now drink.”
The girl’s dark eyes flitted down to the mug, dilating slightly as the air around her filled with steam. Her fingers trembled, but didn’t move. She stared back at the sorcerer instead.
He leaned closer, radiating an unholy power.
“Drink the tea,” he commanded, fixing his sights upon her. “And be quick about it. I truly can’t wait to get inside that pretty head...”
Her lips parted with a silent breath. Her fingers tightened upon the mug. She raised it silently to her mouth, gripping it tighter, and tighter, until suddenly—
HOLY CRAP!
A scream ripped through the cavern as the fae broke the mug and shoved the broken shards underneath the sorcerer’s chin. His mouth popped open as a spray of blood and teeth exploded out, hitting the girl in the face. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t even stick around to watch as he crumpled into a twitching pile behind her. She simply dropped what remained of the mug and wiped off her hands, continuing her slow examination of the room.
The sorcerer died as she examined his belongings, pausing every now and then to slip something into her pocket or hold it to the light, trying to determine its worth.
When at last she was finished, she swept gracefully back towards the hallway that led to the forest. Ready to leave the cave forever, never to think on its horrors again.
Until, all at once...she stopped.
The fae would never be able to explain what made her do it, just some abstract instinct that made her turn around. A faint shiver swept over her shoulders as she stared back into the cavern, her dark eyes coming to rest for the first time on the pile of blankets in the corner.
There was a moment when she hesitated. Then all at once she flew forward, grabbing the fabric by the corner and ripping it straight off the cage.
...only to find three people staring back at her.
The friends froze. The fae took a step back. Her lips parted in a burst of true astonishment, and for a split second it looked as though she might take off running from the cage.
Then Ellanden stepped closer, staring at her in shock.
“...Cosette?”
Seven. Hells.
It took a moment for the girl to collect herself. It took a moment for the others to follow along. Then in one swift movement, she pulled out a knife and sliced through the bars of the cage.
“Come on, cousin.” She threw Ellanden’s arm over her shoulder, echoing the same words he’d said to her so long ago. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
