I learned a lot about the Fae through hands-on experience tonight. The Fae were a very sensual crowd, always touching each other, whether on the shoulder, the hand, or somewhere I’d rather pretend I didn’t see. A few who didn’t realize I wasn’t Fae touched the tendrils of my messy curls that had popped out from the bun on my head or caressed my hand as I poured them a drink. Usually once they saw I didn’t have pointed ears and slight canines in my mouth, they moved on. There were a few Fae who I could tell were troublemakers or pot stirrers as we liked to call them back home. I made sure to give them a wide berth in case they wanted to play a prank or cause harm in some way.
The queen was dressed in a glittering dark-blue ball gown. She looked like a gem herself, shining in the light, with her brown hair in waves to her lower back. She smiled and looked at people who talked to her sometimes. Everyone humored her, and it didn’t sit well with me.
Rune was a no-show at the party, although I doubted he would enjoy something like this. A bubble of laughter escaped past my lips at the thought of grouchy Rune crowded by drunk females looking for attention or a dance with him. No doubt there would be blood.
Even with the unmentionables I’d seen at this ball, I still couldn’t take my eyes away from everything. The music was entrancing, having never heard such instruments before. Men twirled women around, while the ladies smiled and moved like they’d been dancing together for centuries. The dresses were so many colors, and at a first glance looked like flowers floating over the floor, whirling in the wind. Some were scandalous, showing almost everything on both set of sexes. There were even couples off in the darker parts of the throne room making noises I’d rather not have heard, but no one seemed to care.
When Moriah, the head servant for the night, told me my services were done for the night, I almost told her I wanted to stay. However, I knew Rune would work me hard tomorrow. I needed to rest to have energy for training.
I walked down the halls, still hearing the echoes of the violin trailing after me. Looking to make sure no one watched, I swayed as I walked, moving my hands like I felt every note of the song against my fingers.
With my door in sight, I lifted my hands and twirled, pretending Tor led me. I bet he could dance like all the Fae at the ball with ease. He would know how to move, be cordial, and protect me from those who wanted to stir up trouble.
That was the Tor I knew, not the Prince Torin everyone else admired. As I reached my wooden door, I bowed, spun on one foot, and my servants’ clothes spun with me. Once inside, I wiped myself down with a wet rag and soap and fell into bed with a smile on my face. Today had been a good day. Learning about the world I was now in helped me feel a little more secure in it, like this place wasn’t going to pop like a bubble and I’d be lost. Doubts still lingered and thoughts wanted to barge into my happiness. For now, I pushed them back, and fell into the arms of sleep.
His face was damp, coated in dirt and days-old blood. They threw him inside an animal-skinned tent against the hard desert ground. He grunted and curled into a ball as the tall one kicked him in the gut with his hard-black boots.
“Don’t hurt the man too much. He’s got a pretty face. The queen might want him for herself.” Another man with black paint and cruel eyes gazed upon the figure lying helplessly on the ground.
Tor.
He looked like he’d been dragged for miles, beaten, and starving.
“Oh, Tor,” I called to him. I ran as fast as I could, then fell to my knees before him.
“I’m so sorry, Tor.” Tears flowed down my cheeks as I reached out to push his brown hair back behind his ear, to see his face.
He groaned, his hands trying to get free from the confining rope. His eyes opened, and with barely any strength, he rose. He was trying to fight, even now when all seemed lost to him.
I told him to just stay down, to wait, I was going to come for him, except he couldn’t hear me, couldn’t see me.
He made it to his feet, swaying a little like he was having trouble balancing, then peeked through the tent flaps toward the sounds of men drinking and eating their fill by a fire.
“No, Tor. Don’t. I’m coming. I promise, I’m going to save you.” I sobbed, still on my knees, scrambling to get to him just as he moved like the wind out of the tent and ran.
He didn’t make it far.
A Dramen with a gun hit him with its wooden handle on the head and Tor collapsed to the ground.
“Nooo!”
I woke up covered in sweat and the blankets thrown off the bed. My shoulders shook from the pain in my heart as I cried. My whimpers echoed around the stone walls. I was filled with the sense of being truly alone. Whether it was a nightmare or something else, it didn’t matter. I knew Tor was with the Dramens and he suffered while I was here, serving wine and admiring pretty dresses while sipping tea with the queen.
My tears turned to anger. I was hurt by his omissions about who he was and that he was engaged. I was angry because he gave himself up so I could run here.
A scream of rage filled my lungs, as the tears kept coming. I wanted to thrash, to throw something, to punch something. Then it hit me. I remembered I was not completely alone. I could fight someone. I threw on some clothes I’d attempted to clean yesterday in the bathtub that were hanging dry on my wardrobe.
Rune might not even be up at this hour with the moon still shining through my window, but I needed to get out. I needed to make myself useful . . . do something . . . anything. I couldn’t sit around while Tor suffered.
The halls were quiet. I grabbed a play wooden sword that had been set out for me to train with and stomped to the waterfall to practice.
Chapter Seventeen
I’d been outside for about an hour, practicing the sword positions Rune had shown me. Then I did the exercises Tor taught me to strengthen my body. I still lacked muscle tone. My physique was beginning to fill out since I ate real food consistently, but it wasn’t enough.
Every tissue I built on was sore. I’d done everything to push each muscle group to the limit, pouring my anger and hopelessness into the movements. Just when I wanted to stop, I pictured Tor’s battered body in the nightmare.
When the sun rose over the mountains to the east, I finally took my break on the bank of the river. Collapsing on my backside, I pooled water in my hands to drink. The chilled water was fresh, and my body needed it.
Once satisfied with being hydrated, I pulled off my shoes and stuck my sore feet in the cool water. My breathing was heavy, and I knew once Rune found me, it was only going to get worse. I welcomed that thought today. I wanted to train, I wanted to learn, and I wanted to pass out so deeply tonight that I wouldn’t have another nightmare of Tor.
While listening to the water falling into the river, I missed what suddenly made rocks fall from the middle of the stone wall next to the falls. Jumping up quickly, I looked around for anything that had caused the stone to break in the one area. Nothing in sight. All the creatures Dris told me were in this land flashed through my mind. What if it was a werewolf, a dragon, or something dangerous?
I slowly backed away, realizing I shouldn’t have come here alone at this hour. There was nothing here, and the rocks that had fallen were somewhere below the surface, too deep for me to examine. Not that I wanted to.
I saw movement behind the waterfall—something black. It looked like stones, but what if it wasn’t? My stomach turned queasy, and my muscles tensed with adrenaline in case I needed to run or fight.