Page 6 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
“This procession the High Chancellor has designed will get very uncomfortable forall of usif the prisoner doesn’t relieve herself in privacy, outside of this cage,” Jasper bites out.
Torin wrinkles his nose. “You’re right. The Queen of Nothing stinks already.” He stomps off.
Jasper flicks his head at me. “Come. I will take you to wash up.”
Somewhere no one else will see us. Where he can do whatever he wants to me and no one will be the wiser. I remain frozen to the spot, tiny tremors overtaking my body.
Jasper lets out a long-suffering breath. “Am I not the only one who has shown you kindness so far? Who has risked their neck to help you?”
You can trust him.Aldrin’s voice fills my head. He sounds so incredibly tired, still slipping in and out of inky blackness.Jasper will never hurt you. I trust him as much as I trust Silvan.
I follow Jasper, each step unsteady behind him. I flinch as his magic flares up, but he simply douses my cage in a heavy spring rain, washing it clean. A shuddering breath of relief escapes me.
As we push through the bodies of guards drinking and talking around the fire, Rainier materializes and I rear away from him with panic. I expect him to sneer at me, to pepper me with insults and find an excuse to manhandle me, but I am ignored completely. He bumps into Jasper and thrusts a bundlewrapped in paper into his hands. Jasper quickly hides it within his cloak.
We break through the clearing and into the thicker woods, where I can no longer hear the roar of voices or smell the woodsmoke.
Jasper turns on me sharply as we reach a gurgling creek. “I know you have magic. A decent amount of it. I will wait in the woods with my back turned, close enough in case you need me, and I will let you know if anyone is coming. You can wash yourself and your clothes in the stream and combine your fire and air magic to dry them.”
He disappears into the trees, moving with surprisingly quiet steps for such a big man. I wait a number of heartbeats to ensure he is true to his word, then slowly peel off my clothes. My stockings are stiff from dried sugars, which flake off the fabric. Part of my skirt is torn and the laces of my bodice have broken in multiple places.
I pull my dress over my head, wincing with the motion, then gingerly touch my ribs. A couple are surely cracked. There is a motley patchwork of red, purple and black all over my body.
How many days of this am I to endure?
I step into the freezing, ankle-deep water, trying not to hiss at the shock. The scab on my lip splits open again and the iron tang of blood creeps into my mouth. I cup my hands and drink as much of the pure water as I can tolerate, quenching my desperate thirst. The tiniest sprites, mere specks of brilliant blue and green light, dance on top of the water that gurgles over smooth rocks.
“You won’t mind if I heat the water a little, will you?” I ask them, threading just enough fire magic into it to make it lukewarm as it washes over me. Another downstream weave pulls the heat back out, so as not to disturb the ecosystem here.The last thing I want to do is hurt the wildlife. I squat, splashing water up onto my flesh, rigorously scrubbing myself.
A sprite lands in my palm, weighing next to nothing. Within the orb of bright light there is a tiny silhouette. These creatures are different from the tall, intelligent fire sprites who fought in my realm for Aldrin. Simple. Almost like fireflies. I guess there are many species of sprites.
More of their glowing orbs dart up from the water’s surface, floating around me and bouncing off my bare flesh. They bring torrents of water up with them, splashing and spraying me. I jolt and stand abruptly, my heart skipping a beat. More attack me—except they aren’t hurting me. A gentle whirlpool of water dances around me at their command, engulfing my body in its embrace.
They are helping me wash.
A dozen tiny hands thread through my hair and more scrub at my arms and legs. I do my best to wash without knocking them, using my magic of decay to remove the rancid fruit from my skin. It is an ability of Autumn magic I didn’t know I had until I turned Finan into a pile of ash and dirt. I cringe at the horrendous memory, tucking it deep within me.
There is a lightness in my soul by the time my skin, hair and clothes are clean and dry again.
“Jasper?” I call out.
He materializes in moments, scanning me from head to toe. “It is not much, but this is all I can get for you.” He holds out the paper package from Rainier and I eye it warily. “I’m not going to poison you, Keira. Not after taking the risk to get you to the creek to clean up.”
My stomach growls loudly. Its hollowness is painful. I take the bundle from him and open it up. The scent of fresh, buttery flatbread hits my nostrils and I groan with appreciation, tearingoff a flaky chunk and thrusting it into my mouth. It is the perfect balance of crispy and soft, flavored with earthy herbs.
“I would have preferred to offer you a proper meal, considering we are two days’ march from the city and Titania is unlikely to feed you, but here we are.” Jasper shrugs apologetically.
“Thank you.” I almost choke on the lump forming in my throat. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I did.” He pauses a long moment. “You are Aldrin’s mate, are you not?” He doesn’t wait for me to reply. “You will find you both have allies in the palace. People who know your joint rule is this court’s only hope for survival.”
My stomach flips. I need to find those people. To recruit them to our cause. “How…where I can I?—”
Branches crunch in the brush nearby and voices carry to us, along with the splashes of other fae stepping into the creek upstream.
“Now is not the time to speak. Eat. Hurry. We have already been gone for too long.” He gives me a sidelong look. “I cannot do much for the bruises on your face, but I can heal any concealed wounds.”
I hesitate before allowing him to mend my fractured ribs. My mind is whirling with all the possibilities as Jasper leads me back through the camp by the elbow. Soldiers sit around drinking wine and playing cards or rolling strange-looking dice. I consider each one, wondering who is a potential ally and who would take joy in cutting me down.
