Page 17 of Wrath of the Fae

With a final look around, he takes my elbow and guides me back.

At the edge of the camp, I watch a little Fae girl sit in her father’s lap as he draws a line along a map he has beside him on the floor. Her pure white eyes stare straight ahead into nothing.

Della is a remarkable child. A truly gifted girl and so brave I can’t help but admire her. She whispers to her father as he draws the route she tells him to draw. Della’s mother shuffles as she stands at my side, chewing her fingernails as she watches. We all do. Lucca is to my left. Wolf and a few of his men are ahead, watching intently. And behind me, the camp is packed and ready to move. The sun is setting over the horizon. It’s dangerous to travel anytime. But the soldiers are wary of the lost lands between Kingdoms and are less likely to investigate strange noises or movements from inside these forests. Since the shift of power when the First Kingdom was stolen, the dark creatures of the Fae Realm have stirred. Many of the creatures thought extinct or very near it are returning. Not only that, but they're getting braver.

And hungry. They smell power. Sense it somehow.

But despite that, they won’t come to us in camp. We’ve seen what they leave behind when they do attack. And it’s not much. The odd traveller. A soldier or two. All torn to pieces and devoured.

I glance around, still feeling eyes on me.

But we agreed. Better death by beast than enslavement and torture by the First Kingdom.

I focus once more on the little girl. Della is a Hitcher. A very rare gift and one the First Kingdom would love to have. Her parents didn’t waste a second when the soldiers started taking children. They ran. They were living by the sea in cliff caves when Lucca found them. They’d been there for three years by then. Della can see through the eyes of another creature. One that she has a bond with. That bond is with an owl she named Spek, who appeared to her the day she awoke with her powers.

Strange, as she had not been triggered.

Spek has pale blue feathers, lilac eyes and a black beak. She flies ahead to the location we aim to reach before dawn, and Della sees through her eyes to check for danger. It’s dangerous, however. Because if Spek gets injured and Della can’t sever her connection in time, that injury passes to her. So, if the bird dies whilst she is connected, so does Della. She knows the risks but insists on doing it anyway. Her bravery has already saved countless of us.

Lucca leans in and whispers into my ear.

‘The path so far is clear,’ he tells me as he listens to Della’s thoughts. ‘She’s at the halfway point.’

‘Then we should get moving.’ I nod to Wolf, signalling that we’re ready. He gives a loud and sharp whistle. The camp gathers what little they have and starts walking towards him.

I look to Della’s mother.

‘You all stay in the middle of the group where it is safest for Della. Tell Lucca as soon as possible if she sees anything by shouting his name in your head.’

‘Yes, My Lady.’

I rest my hand on her shoulder before she joins her husband, who lifts Della in his arms as she continues to Hitch.

Lucca and I stand aside and let the others pass. Wolf and his men will lead. Lucca and I will take the rear. Same as usual. Fae pass in droves. Hundreds of them all nervous as they say goodbye to yet another campsite. But we can’t stay in one place long. It’s too dangerous.

Hopefully, that will change soon.

‘I know you don’t want to hear me ask again,’ Lucca starts.

‘Then don’t ask again,’ I reply.

‘Are you one hundred per cent sure about this?’ He steps closer so no one passing can hear. ‘Are you certain you can do what you need to do without… ya know…’ He gestures in my general direction.

‘Soldiers found us yesterday, Lucca. More will come when they don’t return with the girl they came after. We can’t be here when they do. We won’t be able to protect them all if they track us down, and every Fae they take makes them stronger. We have to move.’

‘Oh no. I get moving. I’m with you there. Trust me. I’m thrilled to leave the creepy forest with the sentient trees and growly beasts lurking in the shadows. But are you sure that we’re going to the right place? I mean… of all the places…thereis where you want to go?’

‘It’s the only place where we have a chance.’ I step back as two men carry a makeshift stretcher holding the still-sleeping Tessa. As she passes, a tear slides down her slumbering cheek as she suffers from the misery she took from me. I lose my train of thought as I watch her pass, and only when she is out of sight does Lucca give me a nudge to return me to the conversation.

‘Tessa will be okay in a day or two. She always is.’

‘I shouldn’t have done what I did to the soldiers yesterday. Tessa was right. It was pointless, and now she’s suffering because of my stupidity.’

‘You sticking up for Tessa? Now that’s something I never thought I would see,’ he chuckles.

‘She’s been a pain in the arse and made some stupid fucking choices. But who here hasn’t? No matter what she’s done, she doesn’t deserve to live through my pain.’

‘If you say so,’ he says, rather disbelieving. ‘I’ll tell you not to do stupid shit if you want me to. But I know if you want to do stupid shit, there ain’t no man alive that could stop you.’

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