I had to get out of here. I had to warn Darrius and Malcolm. They didn’t deserve to have my doppelgänger killing them.
And with her bone weapon, they didn’t stand a chance.
Each breath I took felt like glass shards were stuck in my chest. I paced in front of the tree opening. If there was a way in here, then there had to be a way out.
A groan sounded behind me. My entire body tensed, ready for battle. I crept forward. Sweat trickled down my back.
Near the shadows, someone moved.
“You’ve got to do a blood sacrifice,” the female voice was raspy.
I moved closer, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. “Mrs. Browning?”
“Yes, my lady.” Her livery was torn, and she was covered in blood. A purple bruise sat across her cheek.
I knelt in front of her. “Do you know how to get out of here? I have to get to Darrius and Malcolm.”
She nodded, then winced. “I’m so glad I got to meet you, your highness.”
“Wait, no,” I shook my head, “I’m not.” Even if I was partially Fae, my mom was human. Their line of succession went through the females, not males.
“You have to claim your full heritage to save them.” She gave me a smile that only lifted one side of her face. “Your court is incomplete with only two lovers…you need three.”
Simeon. “Tell me how I can get out of here, I can get you help.” After I stabbed my doppelgänger with her own bone knife.
“First, seek out Simeon.” She grasped my hand, squeezing it. “Promise me. You can’t leave him in their midst. He won’t survive and then you’ll never reach your full potential.”
“I promise,” I lied. First, I had to save Darrius and Malcolm.
“Then take my life-force, lay it at the barrier and cross through.”
I blanched. She hadn’t done anything to deserve this, and she wanted me to take her life? “I-I can’t.”
“Yes, you can, your highness. I freely give it to you.” When she tried to press both her hands into mine, I pulled away.
“Wh-Why are you doing this? I’m nobody…” My voice cracked. “I’m a killer. I’ve killed hundreds of Fae.”
“No one can fix the past.” Her cough rattled in her chest. “I made a mistake long ago. One that I’ve regretted for over twenty years. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I was wrong…tricked. The Gwyllion pretended to be one of the queen’s husbands. He told me to help her, and you escape the castle…and get to the human world where you’d both be safe. Said that your true father was a dark Fae and would murder you both and had already slaughtered the queen after she gave birth to you,” her voice caught on a sob.
I clasped her hands to comfort her because I didn’t have the heart to tell her she was mistaken. That I wasn’t the princess rushed out of the castle. It had to be someone else. “You couldn’t have known.”
Booms vibrated through the ground.
“Wha-What is that?” I dashed to the tree opening and peered out.
Dozens of dark Fae stormed across the land, headed straight for the castle.
Shit! If the Gwyllion didn’t kill my men, these creatures would. I had to get to them. I had to help them.
I rushed back to Mrs. Browning. “Please, anything else and I’ll do it. But I can’t hurt you, I can’t take your life.”
“No?” She patted my hand. “But you’ve taken many lives: mostly evil. Though some were innocent.”
I bowed, touching my forehead to her hand. Tears clogged my throat. Desperation to get out of here and fight hurtled through every fiber of my being. I was running out of time.
If I didn’t get free now, I’d find carnage.
Just like I had when Mom died.
Yet, I found that I couldn’t do what she asked me. I couldn’t harm her, even though she was Fae, when I knew that she was innocent.
“I’m so sorry. I-I can’t do this.”
“When the time comes, believe in yourself and your heritage.”
A light glowed from her, and I sat back, gasping as it seeped into my hands. I pulled back, yet it kept flowing like I was tethered to it somehow. It wasn’t until Mrs. Browning slumped over, that I was able to move away.
My hands pulsed with a whitish-yellow light. She’d given her life to help me. A Fae. My enemy.
I had two choices. I could go across the barrier to the human side. Forget Darrius and Malcolm and let the Fae fight amongst themselves. Or I could go back and help.
Mrs. Browning hadn’t done anything to deserve this. And Malcolm had said he was trying to find out about the missing women from his bar and life.
What if he told the truth and I had almost killed an innocent? Mrs. Browning had said I had done so in the past.
Now I was questioning everything. Every kill that I didn’t have rock-hard evidence of their guilt. How many had there been? Twenty? Thirty or more?
I shook my head, marching toward the opening. It didn’t matter. What mattered was getting this coward who had hurt Mrs. Browning and taken my form.
For the first time in my life, I felt unsure. My insides hollowed out. No, afraid. I was scared of what was going to happen. That I wouldn’t be able to stop the massacre. Just like with Mom.
I hiccupped out a cry and placed my hand on the invisible wall. The barrier shook. Tentatively, I inched forward. When I passed out of the tree into the outside, I didn’t hesitate, I didn’t stop. I bolted straight for the castle and prayed that I wasn’t too late.
At the juncture, I paused and removed the two small iron rods I had hidden in my bra. I’d have to be fucking close to use them effectively, but it was better than nothing.
I zigzagged through the forest. With luck, I could get to the castle before some of these lumbering Fae. I had to get to Darrius and Malcolm. Please let Darrius be the hard-headed ass like before.
Two goblin Fae leapt from one of the trees overhead. Their jagged teeth snapped at me. I kicked one in the kneecap and he went down with a cry. His friend growled, pouncing at me.
I whipped up the iron rod. The metal grazed his arm and he bellowed in pain but kept coming after me. I dodged his swings.
Another creature, this one a banshee, dashed ahead. Her wailing song keened through the night.
“No!” I didn’t have time for this, and no bitch was going to herald Darrius’ or Malcolm’s death unless I said so. With all my strength, I slammed my fist into the goblin’s solar plexus, then chased after the ghost-woman.
She wore a long, white dress and her black hair hung down to her waist. Her song grew in intensity. If I didn’t stop her, I’d be crumpled on the ground covering my ears from the shrieking sound.
“Hey,” I yelled at her to get her attention, but she kept drifting to the castle.
I leapt over a bush; its thorns scratched my shins.
The second she turned to face me I didn’t hesitate. I throat punched her as hard as I could.
Her eyes bulged and she grabbed her throat, choking and sputtering. Behind me the two goblins I’d fought tore through the forest after me.
I raced ahead, clutching my two iron rods. Must save these for the Gwyllion. Even then, these three-inch pieces of metal would do little against her species, but it was all I had. And I’d be damned if I was going to let her win.
A group of pixies descended on me like a cloud of hornets. Their tiny swords pierced my flesh. I swatted at them, not breaking my stride. My back seized and I cursed.
Stupid Fae allergies.