Page 29 of Shadows of Air and Earth
Swirling down my arms, their darkness soothing and cooling, I felt the soft light fabric of a linen shirt drape over my naked skin.
"My lack of clothing isn't the issue here, my loves," I said through gritted teeth, clinging onto Riley again before he flopped right into the goddess forsaken ring. "Can you keep him protected?"
Instinctually, the shadows blanketed the seizing air elemental in a soft cocoon of black, curling around him protectively, and cooling his feverish state. Riley moaned again, his green hair damp on his brow, and his features pinched with pain.
Pulling away, I sat back on my heels with a grimace, swiping my sweaty, blood stained hair from my face.
"Can you remove the thorns?" I croaked out, a cross between a question and a command, emotion tightening my throat, watching the darkness soothe the dying air elemental
The shadows shimmered around his spasming body, consciously keeping him safe while they went about their work, parting their dark blanket to reveal his ragged skin, now thorn free but still bleeding too rapidly, unable to heal like it should. Drawing my knife, I grasped the hem of my shirt, tearing strip after strip of the soft white linen until my naval and stomach were revealed. It seemed I couldn't stay dressed long enough in this goddess forsaken jungle.
Gentle and with deft precision, the shadows assisted me in wrapping the cloth around Riley’s torso. Sweat dripped from my brow with each passing of the wrap, mixing with the blood that rapidly stained the white linen like spilled ink on a fresh page. “Fuck,” I screamed, wiping my bloodied hands onto my leathersjust enough to rip more of my shirt off, starting the process all over again. Mere minutes felt like hours as I worked, willing the blood flow to stop with just my glare alone, and when I finally tied off the last bandage, only a small spot of red revealed itself.
Sighing with relief, I dragged my gaze up to his face. Still flushed red with fever, beads of sweat bubbled on his brow, and his lips quivered with wheezing breaths. The ragged rise and fall of his chest told me he was still fighting—and so would I.
Leaning over him, I swiped his wavy, green locks from his face to kiss his sweaty temple, whispering words I prayed he could still hear. "I will get her back Ri," I said softly, "and then you both can save each other." Pointing at the shadows, I added, "Protect him… please."
Spinning on my knees towards the seemingly innocent looking flower ring, my brows drew together, I could not heal Riley Dragoon but Xi could. I knew from my research before even tracking the elementals down, that her secondary power was healing.
Breathing deep, I knelt and closed my eyes to focus on everything that was Xi Chin. A beautiful and powerful fae that had overcome abuse in a world of strict perfection and social egotism. Exhaling, I stretched my palm out, erasing any doubt. There was no room for it, Xi’s life depended on it.
I did not need to open my eyes to know the moment my hand crossed the foreboding barrier of the ring, my conscious mind lurching and dragged under until I was officially straddling the world of Faerie and the veiled realm of the anthousai.
Shivering, the mist curled around my body, returning me to its clammy embrace, and exposing me to its sinister aura.
A soft thrumming beat came next, the urge to step to the erotic rhythm strong enough that I felt every part of my body tense with resistance. The faint laughter through the dense mist soon joined the sounds of revelry and I bit the inside of mycheek to resist taking a step further. Currently, most of my body was still on the outside of the veil, just one goddess damn step would prove fatal for us all. Lost forever.
"I have come for Xi Lanora Chin!" I bellowed out into the beckoning mist.
Like a materializing spirit, glowing yellow eyes set upon a silver barked face appeared. The curiosity of the nymphs was always something a fae could count on if used properly. Swaying her lithe green hips, petals trailing with each passing stride, she smiled at me. “Remi darling, if you missed us so much you should have stayed the first time."
Refusing to give her any satisfaction, I held back my disgust at the memory of falling into a Faerie ring as a faeling. No more than twenty years of age, the nymphs had toyed with me endlessly and it was pure training and quite a bit of cunning that kept me free from the worst of their torture. Except it wasn’t just the anthousai that drained the life force from a fae, the mist was also lethal, weakening your strength, your ability to heal, your will to fight. I held on for two whole weeks before I finally succumbed. Luckily it had been enough, because shortly after, my mother was able to pull me from the ring. I’ll never forget the way she looked as she entered the ring to save me—a dark savior dressed in black lace, regal despite her bright feral eyes and the snarl on her face that foretold death.
I smiled menacingly back at the anthousai who now hovered just inches from my face. “It seems that you have missed me more Elaie. You did come when summoned, although without what I asked for.” I leaned towards her, my mouth barely a hair's breadth away from her smooth wooden lips. “It was foolish of you to attack me and my friends," I whispered darkly.
A thorn-tipped green hand smothered the giggle escaping her mouth, rearing back to do so, "Friends? You? You werenever meant to have anything of the like, Remi darling, no one will ever truly love you for who you are." She brushed her body up against me. "Not like my sisters and I can."
I raised my brows, "Your sisterly love is most devotional or shall we say sacrificial? How loving of you to offer up Genia’s life all for a new toy to add to your collection." My hand shot out and wrapped around her neck. Petals of purple and blue cascaded around us as I drew her back towards me, baring my teeth, and savoring the shocked fear in her yellow eyes. "Give me Xi Lanora Chin right now and I'll consider not sacrificing the rest of you to Sheol's gates to join your sister." Throwing her away from me, I watched her stumble with satisfaction.
The nymph steadied her footing, her sensuous green body vibrating with anger, her floral pheromones purging outward to swarm me. But instead of being enticed, the smell was bitter, rancid, just like the being beneath.
Seeing me so wholly unaffected, her thorny finger pointed sharply with rage, her face crinkling with fury. "You know the rules, shadow fae, you must be judged. If your heart does not align with saving your friend you both will be stuck here forever." Smiling, she tossed back the colorful array of her petaled hair before she started to skip gleefully, circling me like I was prey. "Something tells me the odds are more in my favor than last time." She giggled again, recovering quickly from her rage and shock. "Oh, what a treat, really quite a feat, my sisters will be so pleased, to finally have their little shadow back on her knees."
I didn't even bother tracking her while she danced around me singing her disturbing tunes, I just stared straight into the mist, finding what I needed inward. This was not a challenge of the physical self, it was one of the heart—a heart I was very good at icing over in my loneliness. "Let your judgment begin."
More eerie laughter ensued along with Elaie’s singsong voice, "Name the true reason you have come to Xi Chin’s aide?"
I breathed deeply, bringing forth the image of the determined resolve of Xi as she appeared year after year at the winter solstice in the City of Light. Her aura was like a guiding star shimmering in the sky. A quality I had never seen before from a fae. Knowing that whoever this fae was she was rare among our kind.
"Our world needs an example of what true beauty really is," I answered honestly and then gasped when I felt a swift powerful punch of judgement straight into my heart. Gritting my teeth, I braced against the onslaught, my stance holding strong.
The anthousai hissed when the force retreated and my lips twitched at the small win. Disappearing into the mist, she hummed, circling me until her breath was upon the shell of my ear.
"You speak of why the world needs her but why do you?"
Why did I need her?
My brows pulled together. I knew what Xi thought, that I only searched for her because of her ability to use the firestone, but that was not the only reason. I could have easily commanded her mother or father to join my search if that were the case and they would have had no choice but to complete the mission set forth by Deirdre—especially if they wanted to keep in the queen’s inner circle.
