Page 55 of A Dance With Fire
Julius
The mountains were clustered close together, forming a maze of pathways and trees and rocky caves. It was a place that would be easy to get lost in no matter how hard Shula tried to memorize their steps and surroundings. She knew there would be no chance of escape until they reached civilization.
The next two days of their journey, Shula spent them ignoring everyone. Her every movement was mechanical, like she was sleepwalking every step of the way. Orna tried to speak with her and make the load of emotions lighter, but Shula just wasn’t in the mood and eventually the blue-skinned Fae backed off.
Shula should have felt guilty for the way she was treating Orna, but she tried to tell herself it was for the Fae’s own good. Shula’s as well. She couldn’t afford to get attached to anyone when she was planning on escaping anyway.
She didn’t want to have a reason to stay.
Even though she knew she should have been making friends, getting them to trust her, her own stubbornness was holding her back from doing just that. It was hard to look past the fact that these Fae had kidnapped her and were keeping her here.
Regardless of what she was or what the Emperor of Illyk wanted with her, she refused to be used by either of them.
So she kept to herself as best as she could, moving when they told her to move and glaring all the while.
It was the middle of the day, and darkness was only a few hours away. Shula walked behind the cart as usual, Orna by her side and Clay and Ryker at her back. As the days passed, she was getting more annoyed with her bodyguards and the way their gazes followed her around everywhere.
Mainly Ryker’s.
He hadn’t spoken to her, though that was no shocker, even after what they’d witnessed together in the forest. She didn’t want to acknowledge what she’d felt in that moment, so she’d shoved it to the back of her mind. That didn’t stop Ryker from awakening those thoughts with a single, heated glance.
He still stared at her like he wanted to kill her.
It was easier to hate him than to feel that desire she’d felt in the forest. If she were going to sate her need, it would be with Clay, not with the big brute of a Fae. At least Clay pretended he liked her, and she almost tolerated him.
Captor or not, there was something likeable about Clay that she would deny until her last dying breath.
The front of their procession suddenly stopped, jerking Shula from her thoughts. Her feet skidded to a halt, and she leaned on the tips of her toes and looked to the front.
Valerio stood with his fist in the air. Uric’s body was tense, his hand on the hilt of his sword. His pointed ears twitched, silver hair grazing along the cutting tip of his chin as his gaze darted back and forth through the copse of trees.
Shula felt her heart pound in her chest like it meant to burst free. Something was wrong. Something was here. She tried to strain her ears to listen, but she could hear nothing beyond the rustle of leaves…
And then twigs began cracking.
A gasp rose and she nearly choked on it.
She couldn’t tell what it was, but by the defensive stance of Uric, her mind took a wild guess.
Humans.
No. No. No.
She took a fearful step back and rammed into a solid chest. Her eyes closed as she felt strong hands grip her elbows for a single second before dropping. She knew who was behind her without even having to turn around.
Ryker’s presence was even more frightening than the situation, and yet she felt the smallest bit of comfort by it. Clay stepped beside her, and she could already see the weapon he brandished in his fist.
Everyone shuffled nervously, and she could feel the tension in the air. No one dared breathe or speak.
Panic began to settle in her chest. What was going on? She tried to listen, tried to hear, but there were no more twigs snapping. There was nothing but the eerie echo of silence, too still to be natural.
Then Valerio stepped forward. He was a hard Fae to read, but he seemed confident in his stance. He turned in a slow circle, and his voice projected out loudly. “I know you are out there,” he said confidently. “Show yourself!”
There was silence.
Minutes passed and just when Shula’s body wanted to relax, just when her mind started to tell her that perhaps it hadn’t been anything at all…
An arrow shot out from between the trees.
