Page 46 of Curse the Fae

And me, failing to hold on.

Consciousness shoves me back to the present. I could root myself to this spot and do nothing. I could watch the crocodiles end my captor. I could watch them finish what I had started so long ago.

Elixir’s head wrenches from left to right as he struggles to filter through the clash of overlapping sounds. The reptiles agitate the water. This produces enough turmoil to set the ruler’s the senses into disarray, which gives one of the animals the opening shot it needs.

The beast swings its armored tail and clubs Elixir’s right arm, the tail’s incrustations piercing his flesh. Blood spurts from the notches. The Fae groans but swipes his dagger and cleaves the reptile across the throat. Regardless, the plate of its skin is too thick to penetrate with only one lash.

They lunge into a fight. Elixir moves with the speed of a tidal wave, wielding his daggers with vigorous precision and momentum. Meanwhile, the second predator approaches from behind and opens its maw.

Terror be damned. I heft my spear and vault into the fight. Landing in front of the second croc, I spiral my weapon into a dizzying formation, then swing with all my might. The tip lances across the beast’s chest, and the creature tumbles.

In that span of seconds, Elixir and I wrench around to face one another. We pause, our weapons arrested. A thunderstruck expression sweeps across his features, but there’s no time to ponder it.

The reptiles unleash. We whirl, our spines slamming together.

It’s a pandemonium of limbs, tails, blades, and teeth. The iron scrolls are my saving grace, enabling me to deflect and thrust. I react, blocking where I must, jabbing where I must.

Against my shoulder blades, Elixir’s muscles contort and flex, and his bare body fits to my own. My calves align with his tail. The spear whirls in my grip, while his blade emits its own whizzing sound. We battle in sync, as if we’ve done this our whole existence. I would resent that, if it weren’t keeping us alive.

The world reduces to growls and clangs, to punches and stabs. And then, with a sudden jolt, it’s over. The lifeless crocodiles skim the water, their bodies pitted and oozing red.

I stumble in place, my thoughts hastening to catch up. Wheezes scrape from my mouth, whereas Elixir remains deadly silent. We pivot toward one another, our digits strapped around our weapons, which leak at the tips. Echoing drips of blood produce a wave of nausea in my gut.

I’d had no choice. The reptiles would have ended my life. Through me, Lark and Juniper would have lost their games. I’d been defending myself and my sisters.

The spear falls from my grasp and splashes into the water. Instantly, the surface catches the weapon and bolsters it, preventing the spear from plummeting.

Then I gasp as Elixir chucks his own weapons, snatches my wrists, and hauls me into him. His heart pounds madly against my breasts. My body goes rigid, and I open my mouth to say…I don’t know what to say…but the inclination ceases as his palms roam my hips, arms, and shoulders. The movements are quick and frenzied, his digits vaulting to my neck and jaw, taking care not to scrape my flesh with his fingercaps. The sensation of his hands on me, coupled with the reality of what just occurred, renders me speechless.

As swiftly as he’d begun, Elixir releases me. “You are unharmed.”

All the same, his eyes remain bright with alarm. I translate his actions for concern, then wisely remember the part I play in the survival of his kin. Elixir’s ministrations had nothing inherently to do with my wellbeing. He needs me alive, nothing more.

That I have room left inside me for disappointment—inexplicable disappointment—at this moment, is a mystery.

My caftan has been slashed in several places, including one shoulder. The garment’s fabric droops to my forearm, exposing the top swell of a single breast. My bones scream in pain, and lacerations enflame my right side, but yes, I’m in one piece.

My fingers jump to my necklace, the chain still mercifully draped around my throat, and the pendant tapping my back. “I-I’ll live.”

“You should have been safe,” he rationalizes. “Outsiders can pass through crocodile territory without incident, so long as they do not stall or linger. The threshold to your chamber should have been passable.”

“Why wasn’t it?”

“You heard me speak with my brothers.”

About the wild fading and the river draining. We’d previously acknowledged as much, but that’s not an answer.

Because I’m too worn out to pursue the matter, I cast a dazed glance at the dolphin. From beside me, I sense Elixir doing the same. The male emerges from its hiding spot and dashes toward us, circling me first and then Elixir. The ruler sets his palm on the animal’s back and murmurs in Faeish, the words raspy yet melodious. Usually, it’s my task to do the soothing, but all I do is stare at the pair of them.

Eventually, the dolphin butts its head against my hip, jostling me out of my stupor. I place a tentative hand on its cheek and whisper, “It’s all right. I was scared, too, but we’re safe now.”

As the creature nestles against me, I catch Elixir listening to us with an expression so transparent, it forces me to take a second look. His aspect slackens, the creases smoothing out, and the gold of his irises mellow.

Abruptly, he turns to inspect the drained tunnel where the dolphin had originally intended to pass. After running an investigative palm over the water, consternation warps his profile, though not for long.

It might be the current’s direction, the texture of the water, or the harrowing sound of the crocodiles drifting nearby. Either way, the Fae takes heed of the casualties and cuts his digits through the pool. The water vibrates, then gently wraps itself around the reptiles and tugs their bodies beneath the surface, along with the remnants of blood.

“Where do they go?” I croak.

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