“Anwen,” I shook her slowly, devastated that I could not provide more of the peace and rest she obviously needed. Her eyes forced open again, watching me with intensity. “They’re here,” I said gently, uttering the words to her to make her react.
My mate inhaled quickly and jumped awake, looking at the door and throwing herself from the sheets in search of something.
“The dagger,” she exhaled, wording the sentence with barely any sounds at all, showing me the weapon.
“We can’t take it with us, they’ll perform a search,” I quickly grabbed it from her, casting it into the fire. I threw some more logs on top of it, disguising it between the flames and hoping that once they burnt through, it would be covered enough.
As soon as I finished, the door screeched open, finding Anwen and I on either side of the bed, standing. I wanted to jump in front of her, wanted to be the first one they saw should there be an attack, but part of me calmed at the sight of Rhylan. I knew he would not hurt her. Hoped so, at least.
We must have been a sight to behold, I wore an old yellowed shirt and some pants that barely stayed over my hips, clothing I suspected came from Marreth’s old wardrobe. And Anwen had just woken from sleep, wearing another stained shirt and nothing more, her thighs on display along with her bare feet.
One look at her and Fear Gorta grimaced, then he theatrically waved a hand in the air while covering his nose with the other.
“It reeks of bad sex in here,” he said, eyes not leaving my mate.
“It reeks of your stupid face,” she immediately retorted, gaining a proud grin from him.
“I always liked sprouts that bite,” Rhylan replied, then turned his head towards the other side of the room, to find me in a regal movement. “Makes everything more interesting, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed,” I replied, piercing him with a sharp gaze, communicating that he better stayed away from her.
“So, did you two have fun?” he forced a smile and took a step closer to Anwen. “By the look of...all this,” he moved his wrist in an upwards, then downward motion to display her body, “one would assume so.” He then grabbed a lock of her hair and curled it around his pointer finger. “Very wild fun.”
I wanted nothing more than to twist that damned wrist that dared touch her, but I breathed in, filling my lungs with as much air as they could grasp, before I said, “I would appreciate it if you took your hand offmy mate,” accentuating the last words.
“And he’s back,” Rhylan pouted, redirecting his attention to me and quickly removing his hand from Anwen’s hair. “I hoped we’d have a little more fun, a duel even,” the fire fae inclined his head to the side in a playful motion, a cat playing with its food. “I can see earthlings still remain dominated by their females. Does mommy not let you play anymore?” he ridiculed me in a tantalising tone.
“If it is a duel you seek, Fear Gorta, I would be more than inclined to accept,” I replied but before he had a chance to show that stupid smirk of his, I added, “as long as my lady is escorted safely out of here.”
That seemed to bring a shudder through him, because his shoulders involuntarily relaxed, like he had received pleasing news and all the tension dissipated.
“Of course,” he replied drily, his playful tone evaporating into a formal one. Rhylan looked back to Anwen when he said, “Please follow me and I will escort you to your new lodgings.”
She did not move, even though Fear Gorta stepped away and waited for her to exit, so I inched towards her and grabbed her hand in mine, turning her to face me.
“It’s going to be alright,” I whispered and my mate nodded, grabbing my arm with her other hand and wrapping it around my biceps.
“Whenever you're ready,” Rhylan announced from the corridor, the door wide open to step through. I thought I read concern on his face at the sight of Anwen, terrified to leave this dreadful place from fear that the next one could be a worse version, but he regained his composure immediately.
“As the prince is ready to come peacefully, there should be no need for that,” he spoke to the guards, whom I just spotted in the corridor. They carried more sets of iron chains.
“Let’s go,” I kissed Anwen’s brow and stepped under the door frame, urging her to do the same. Reluctantly, she followed me out, not once letting go of my arm. I felt her shaking, hands gripping my skin with more desperation with each new step we took.
“Count the turns,” I whispered into her hair, low enough for no one else to hear. I didn't even know if she heard me herself, but after the second turn her fingernails stopped piercing my skin and I knew the distraction had worked.
We followed Rhylan wordlessly, stepping slowly through the narrow corridors, all of them ornate with chandeliers and carpets. I must have been right because the deeper we went into the halls, the more rooms and soldiers wandered around. At one turn, there were even court members who gasped at the sight of me and surrounded themselves with soldiers for protection, should I decide to listen to my urges once more.
Even the old fae pressed his steps, unsure of my reaction, but my attention was only on Anwen and focusing on gathering as many details as I could. I didn’t even pay attention to the court members, didn’t deign them with more than one look as we passed the hall and headed forwards.
Three left turns and we reached another hall with various doors, Rhylan stopping in front of the second one on the right. I exhaled in relief when I didn’t spot any iron covering the entrance.
“These will be your chambers during your stay,” he announced, and on cue, one of the guards opened the door.
Anwen loosened her grip on me, stepping closer to Rhylan and extending her hand, expecting him to draw blood again.
The fireling smiled. “There is no need for that,” he announced. “These are my private guest chambers, I will occupy the one opposite,” Rhylan gestured to an identical door, situated on the left side, mirroring the one they had opened for us. “The entire corridor is connected to my energy, so I will know when you leave.”
My face must have dropped ten inches because he gazed at me with satisfaction.“Please, enjoy,” he grinned at Anwen this time and left us there, heading out with the guards. “The king and queen expect you to be present at dinner tonight,” we heard the announcement just before he turned the corner, his robe forming an ebony curling wave as he moved.
