“How many have we lost?” a male’s voice barely echoed from inside the room, the faint sound of sobs growing stronger with each step.
“One,” another responded. “Two havesurvived so far.”
“Arden will be pleased to hear that. We need some fresh meat to replace the losses we suffered last season,” the male said, and the near-pleasure in his voice launched the beast within me into an uproar, as if it could already feel their sickening intentions closing in on us.
Quiet whimpers caught my attention, and I turned to find a number of children huddled in a cell at the far side of the cavern, their clothes and faces dusted with dirt. Some looked like me, but some were unlike anything I’d seen, with skin various shades of the softest tans, grays, blues, greens, and purples. Some looked as if they were wrapped in bark, like the aspen trees in the meadows back home. Delicately pointed ears pierced through their tangled hair, the tips a deeper shade of the color of their skin, while some had tails, some tufts of fur or feathers decorating parts of their bodies. They were fae.
Oh, Gods.
The guards guided me toward the barred gate at the far end of the chambers, and fear skittered over my skin like chips of ice. I couldn’t see what lingered past them for the darkness beyond. One of the guards grabbed the handle and jerked it open, the old metal groaning as it swung wide, and he shoved me inside.
I cried out as I hit the stone, rocks scraping my palms and bruising my knees. My heart lurched as the bars groaned once more, and I shot up, running back as they closed me in.
“Please! Let me out!” I reached my arms through the bars, my body barely big enough to leave me trapped.
A growl echoed from the darkness behind me, and I spun around, my chest heaving as I pressed my back against the icy bars. I searched the void-like cavern, my eyes adjusting before I felt the blood drain from my face at the faintest sight of movement in its depths.
“Good luck,” one of the guards whispered, and I looked to see his violet eyes turn cruel—his lips curving into a wicked smile. “She’s hungry.”
Arden’s words flitted across my thoughts.
Let’s see if you can make it through the night. Prove your worth.
How exactly did he want me to prove my worth?
“What do I do?” I muttered, my hands trembling, my knees quivering beneath me as the sound of padded steps reached my ears. A veritable pat...pat...pat...
Another growl rippled in the darkness, and the beast within me bristled, teeth bared.
Torchlight reflected in silver orbs, and I sucked in a breath as it emerged from the dark depths of the cavern. Its body was cloaked in feathers and fur, its features like that of the panther shifter who served under the king. Its gray, feather-tipped tail flicked as it prowled closer, and I could faintly see the feathers fanning out from the base of its legs. My back pressed tighter against the bars. A snarl slipped from its throat as its bloodied lipspeeled back to reveal rows of sharp teeth that dripped with the same crimson liquid.
Rhyas’ words echoed through my thoughts.
Don’t die on me, little beasty.
It launched at me with a roar, talon-tipped paws stretching out toward me. I dove out of the way, and it crashed into the bars, the guards cursing as they stumbled back before laughing.
Stone cut into my feet as I scrambled to get away, the cavern coming into view despite the shadows cloaking them as I ran. I dared a second to look around, searching for any means of escaping. The cave was large, with tunnels carved into the surrounding stone, but I saw no signs of an exit. A whimper reached my ears, and I twisted around to see the creature stumble away from the bars before running its paw over its face repeatedly, as if to wipe the pain away.
The guards laughed on the other side as it shook its head and continued to rub its eyes.
There was no time to worry about the poor creature, who was likely as much a prisoner as I was. I had to get away, had to find a way to outsmart it and survive. The creature cried out, the sound rattling me to the bones, and I didn’t waste time looking back before I ran, eyes darting to each tunnel. Would they be dead ends? Or would they lead me to safety? Perhaps I could get out of its reach if I climbed.
The pads of the creature’s paws slammed into the stone floor behind me, and I gasped. I ran for the stone wall and leaped to grab hold of a rock jutting from the wall.
Faster!
I cried out as I pulled myself up, my heart racing as I climbed higher and higher. My eyes dropped to the creature as it leaped and swatted at me. Its strike connected with my ankle, and I screamed as my foot slipped from the stone ledge.
The beast within me roared as I hit the ground.
Get up!
The creature stumbled back as if startled, and I shot to my feet to run. I didn’t get far, my feet slamming into something hard on the ground, and I crashed onto the floor. Air flooded my lungs in short bursts as I twisted around before it left me entirely, the distant torchlight reflecting in the unseeing eyes of a child staring back at me. I recognized him. He had been one of the children who’d been taken, had been carried in the arms of one of Rhyas’ companions, Santor.
Fates spare me.
Was this what my fate would be? Would I die here?
