Page 55 of Courting the Fae Captain
“If we’re successful in killing the Pentad, we can still have one,” Sherai said from her perch, her eyes glowing bright. “A real one, where we celebrate the things that matter.”
“A Yuletide with our family,”Raithe said to me, a soft smile on his face.“Once we’ve brought them home.”
Home. I was beginning to understand what that meant and who would make it so.
“One more thing,” I said, directing my attention to Raithe, Killian, and Jaren. “Where is the castle cellar and who is in charge of the stock?”
Jaren raised brow. “The cellar is accessed via the kitchen and through the storeroom. Most wait staff have access, but Harlan is your best bet. He’s easily won over, especially if you bring him a sweet treat.”
I nodded. “Perfect.”
Akira tilted her head. “I’m always up for a nice red, but I’m guessing that’s not why you’re asking. Why do you want to know?”
My grin was nothing short of devious. “Oh, you’ll see.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
‘Blackbell, a rare flower found along the coast, is known for its powerful properties in reversing spells and banishing evil. Treat with care and mix gently.’
An Alchemist’s Guide to Herbal Remedies
Iknew, as soon as I saw them, that the final test was upon us. Not on the third day, as Jaren had been informed, but tonight. They came in the night, once more ripping us from our beds like reapers come to claim their pound of flesh. I didn’t say a word as a key opened my locked door, nor as the guards stood wordlessly at the end of my bed and waited.Did the Pentad know there were spies among them? That they had guards—even their prized captain—working against them?
Fuck.
“You are headed for combat,” one of the soldiers said bluntly. “Dress accordingly.”
I rose, calmly shrugging off the blanket, and padded to my wardrobe where I gathered skin-tight pants, a long-sleeve top, a cloak, and some boots. All black, of course. I also strapped on a thigh halter with several individual sleeves that would fit vials of a little something I’d prepared earlier. It was Sherai’s answer to the veil theory, though yet untested. I had to hope she was right and that I hadn’t botched my alchemy. Unfortunately for us, my little concoctions weren’t in my room but back at the apothecary. A big problem, but one I couldn’t dwell on.
“They’re dragging us to the final test,”I said to Raithe, doing my best not to let my panic drip through...“The girls … What if it’s too late?”We hadn’t yet spoken to Portia or the other participants. It was a task I’d set aside for tomorrow, when we were all fresh and rested.
I braided my hair back, noting the way the soldiers shifted impatiently in the reflection of the mirror. I ignored them as I strapped the dagger Raithe had gifted me to my other thigh. That’s it. That’s the only weapon I had besides my magic. Of course, no armour was tucked away in the dresser. We had been givennothingto aid us other than what we’d killed for or been gifted—and it’s not like everyone had a captain at their back to assist.
“Nothing has changed,”Raithe remarked, the shadows of his mind stroking mine in a comforting gesture.“You fight. You kill, if you have to. But you do what you must to stay alive, you hear me? You do not hesitate. Try to get them on our side, but don’t let your guard down. We can’t fully trust their intentions, and they may think you’re just trying to sabotage them in the test.”
“People are going to die,”I whispered. My heart beat rapidly, and my stomach curdled as anxiety battled with adrenaline.“This is not what we had planned.”
“So we adapt. We survive. We all have our parts to play.”A brief pause, then I felt the conviction in his voice as he added,“I will not fail you.”
I nodded to myself as I looked at the girl in the mirror. It was only a few months ago that I first stepped in here intending to escape. I’d thought this place had clipped me of my wings and my future, but it had awoken a resilience in me I’d not realised was there. I was not a meek and mild plaything to be bent and abused. I would not join the bones in the bowels of this place. I was not the weaker sex. And I would burn them all down before I allowed them to take me.They would learn to respect the name Aeris Lockhart, or they would fear it.
“That’s my girl,”came Raithe’s distant whisper.“Show them who you really are.”
“I didn’t … I didn’t say that down the bond,”I replied, a little bewildered. Could he read my thoughts, too?
A chuckle hummed through my mind.“You didn’t need to. I love you, Aeris. I never said that before, but I love you. I see who you are, and I bow to you. I would die before I let those fuckers take you.”
My heart swelled at least four times in size.“I love you, too. Don’t die for me, Raithe. Live for me. Fight with me. And be safe.”
A final caress against the walls of my mind was the only response I received before the bond fell silent. With any luck, Raithe would find a way to help or get those females out of the cave and away from the island. If I failed … if I died today, I knew he would at least set them free.
The guards marched us all in single file down the corridors and stairwells. All 20 of us. My nerves jittered under my skin, my pulse beating in an erratic reminder that with every step, I might be walking to my death.
Through the passing windows, I saw snow blanketed the courtyards and crowned the castle turrets. The windows were frosted, and the air was sharp with a biting cold that burrowed beneath my skin and settled deep into my bones. It was a flurry now, but there must have been heavy snowfall in the last few hours, given its coverage. Not ideal for fighting in, though it did make for a picturesque battlefield. And they were sending us outside to die tonight, I just knew.I shivered, pulling my cloak tighter around me. That white sheet across the land would soon turn red, soaked with the blood of countless victims. From females failed by society, and the masked monsters parading as males. Regardless of what happened, I would make the Pentad bleed before my end. One way or another.
The soldiers shoved us out the great doors of the hall and into the bitter cold. My cheeks stung immediately. I flexed my hands and wished for gloves, but I was thankful to feel those fresh calluses against my fingertips. Raithe had helped create them, had helped to hone these hands into those of a warrior.They reminded me that I was stronger than when I’d arrived. That I’d already survived so much and would survive more still.
The snow crunched beneath my boots as we walked, and I held out a hand in fascination as a perfect snowflake landed on my palm. Its glistening edges shimmered briefly before melting into my skin. A beautiful anomaly in a world so rife with ruin. Just like Sherai and Akira … like Raithe.
