I take another look out the window, and my stomach drops to the floor. More buildings are ablaze, and the increasing glow allows me to glimpse additional highborn fae in the skies. I watch as a huge fae male swoops down, picks up a human by hisankle, then bolts skyward only to release the man seconds later. I cover my mouth as the man plummets to his death. How cruel. How horrid.
Escape. It’s my only option.
I can’t remain in Glenville. I don’t want to find myself at the mercy of the fae. Not again. Plus, I didn’t survive Lord Nevel only to become a captive again.
I just want to be free.
I just want to live somewhere in peace.
Surely that’s not too much to ask of the gods.
The boarding house shakes again, and I spin around and remove my nightdress and don a sensible outfit that will allow for rapid travel. I’d stolen some of Lord Nevel’s clothes and dressed as a man when I escaped, and that’s the outfit I select now. After I’m dressed, I pack my things. It doesn’t take long. I don’t have much to my name.
I tie my hair back and tuck it beneath a hat, then face the door as I try to summon courage. I survived the fae attack on Sorsston, and I survived that monster of a husband that my father arranged for me to marry. Surely I can rush into the streets and slip into the forest. I can find another remote town where I might seek refuge, and I can start over again. I have a decent bit of money left—ironically, the silver given to me by the highborn fae whose face I can’t quite remember—and I can find another mountain town, one even more secluded than Glenville where I might make a life for myself.
As I exit my room, a pale-faced man runs toward me. I step out of his path and he hurries down the staircase. I say a quick prayer to the gods, pleading for a safe escape, and I follow the man.
The main floor of the boarding house is deserted. Chairs are toppled over in the large dining room, and dishes and randomitems are scattered on the floor. There’s no sign of the elderly couple who own the establishment.
I rush to the door and peek outside only to wish I hadn’t. Oh gods. There are so many broken, lifeless bodies on the ground. But I don’t glimpse any fae soldiers on the street directly outside the boarding house, so I emerge and immediately head around the side of the building.
The forest isn’t far, and it’s easy to see the outline of the trees in the dark because of the multicolored, ussha-blessed glow that covers the plant life. Ussha is the lifeforce of the fae that powers their magic, and it recently started spreading from their four main courts into human and orc lands. It’s beautiful, seductively so, but it’s also a reminder of the danger that’s encroaching on human and orc territories.
The fae recently began migrating beyond the Summer, Spring, Autumn, and Winter courts, following the spread of ussha across the realm. They’ve already established numerous settlements in human and orc territories, and they’ve been quick to conquer plenty of human and orc towns and cities. Usually they don’t strike unless provoked, however, and I can’t help but wonder why they’re bothering to attack a town as small as Glenville.
Does Glenville even have a militia that could’ve threatened one of the nearby fae settlements? Or are the fae truly attacking us without cause this time?
Perhaps I should’ve inquired more about the recent happenings in the town before I boarded here for the night. But I’d been so exhausted and tired of sleeping on the forest floor that I was unable to resist the promise of a hot meal, a bath, and a soft bed.
I continue heading for the forest, thankful this area of town isn’t under heavy attack at present. The bodies in the street all appear to have been dropped from high above, and I avert myeyes from the gruesome sight as I continue my escape.Please let me make it.
Where will I go?
I try not to think about how difficult it will be to navigate the mountainous terrain without a map. I’d found myself in Glenville by sheer luck, having come across the town after several days of travel through the forest. Only once did I venture on the main road, when I’d had no choice but to use a sky bridge for quicker travel between two great, towering mountains.
Somehow, I’d managed not to encounter any dangerous fae creatures during my journey to Glenville, but the ussha glow appears brighter than ever, making me worry that the horrible beasts from the four fae courts might reach this area of the human lands soon, if they haven’t already—creatures I’ve only heard stories about, like venomous, six-legged manggas, two-headed vemma birds, and dire wolves, just to name a few.
Of course, the most dangerous creatures of all are the fae themselves.
Just as I’m about to reach the tree line, I glance over my shoulder at the town. So many buildings are ablaze, and with each breath, my lungs burn. The screams are louder than ever, and the massive highborn fae keep swooping down to grab townsfolk before flying high and dropping them to their deaths.
A group of people rush into the forest, and I press myself against the nearest building as multiple fae soldiers give chase. Blood-curdling screams ring out seconds later.
The forest is so close. I just need to bolt across the small clearing and find a place to hide in the semi-darkness.
Though I find the ussha glow beautiful, I know it’ll make hiding in the forest difficult. I’ll have to find a hollow tree trunk or perhaps some thick shrubbery where I can hunker down until the battle is over. Then once the coast is clear, I’ll run.
I’ll run and I won’t look back.
A massive highborn fae soldier exits a building to my right while dragging a flailing human male behind him.
Disbelief swirls through me. I know this fae soldier. He’s one of the highborn fae who occupied the castle in Sorsston for a while. He’s also the largest of his kind I’ve ever seen. He has enormous, bat-like wings, and long, dark hair. Like all the other soldiers, he’s wearing a black, form-fitting leather-like ensemble that accentuates the muscles beneath his clothing. I know from the attack on Sorsston that the material of his clothing is impervious to human weapons.
His name… what’s his name? I rack my brain for the answer. I’d spent weeks serving him and his comrades meals in the castle. During that time, I’d overheard them talking about their conquests in the human and orc lands, and I’d learned quite a few of their names and titles.
At last, the identity of the huge, highborn fae soldier hits me, and the realization is like a blow to the chest.
General Dalgaard.
