She examined her hand. “I figure every time I’m almost healed, I’m gonna break a few fingers to prolong the process until I can escape.” She passively wiggled her digits, considering which would be the first sacrifice. “You should do the same.”
“Is that what you did last time?” I tucked my hands between my thighs, subconsciously protecting them.
“Last time they didn’t get me in a cage,” she said dully. “Any more questions? I try to sleep post-injection to keep myself on some sort of schedule.”
“Right.” I offered a half smile in the name of decency. “You go ahead.”
She made her way to the corner farthest from the acrylic cutouts and reclined against the solid wall. “If you need me, you know where to find me.” Her curls fell over her eyes as she tucked her chin to her chest.
There was no way in hell I could sleep at that moment. Maybe that was for the best? I wasn’t sure there was much purpose to someone taking watch, but it couldn’t hurt.
Dia was evidently a hardened survivor. She’d breached security once and freed me and an unknown number of my half-siblings. Somehow, she'd weathered the predatory forest, possibly for as long as I had been forming a life in Virylan. She was fully prepared to break herself physically in the name of remaining independent. I could never match her in bad-assery, but I felt in the depths of my soul that I would do whatever was necessary to get back to Graysen.
Graysen
I waited impatiently on the edge of town, checking my watch obsessively. 28:47. What was taking Mykie solong?
Once I’d notified Mykie of Faeryn’s disappearance, we were on the move. I checked the pub while she checked the school. They were the only two places we thought might feel familiar and safe for my Little Fae to run to. When we met up at the town fountain, Mykie informed me there were tire tracks left in the grass behind the school, disappearing onto the road that led North. We had to assume the worst; that Faeryn had been abducted again. Ragen was stationed at my home in case Faeryn turned up, and Mykie and I were going to invade Tesilvis Forest on a gut suspicion that she had been carted back to the closest factory. Once I had Faeryn safely out, I would burn the facility to the ground so there was no chance she would ever find herself there again.
Mykie had convinced me that bringing my Silvates was a bad idea, we would likely have to leave them in the forest while we tried to locate Faeryn and break her out. Not only did the idea of my beloved pets being eaten by beasts make my stomach uneasy, but it would leave us stranded in enemy territory. Mykie assured me she could get a vehicle from her company resources,but the later she was, the more I worriedthatidea hadn’t gone over well with the higher-ups. This was a personal rescue mission, and it had high odds of ending poorly.
I pulled at the fabric that clung to my body uncomfortably. The black-matte patterned uniform of her organization was designed to be thick, protective, and snag-resistant. As a result, it was suffocatingly tight and hugged every crease of my body. I felt nearly indecent when I looked down at the bulge between my hips, but I knew they’d serve me well in the gnarled, dense woods.
The wide hood of a dark van appeared over the horizon. I tensed for a moment; a vehicle was never a good sign. I reminded myself it was just Mykie. The van slowed to a stop in front of me, and a tinted window rolled down.
“They actually gave you one?” I asked, stepping to the passenger side.
“That would imply I made a formal request.” We jolted forward the moment I was seated and the door slammed shut. “No time to deal with the bureaucracy.”
“If you lose your job over this, I’ll find a way to help.” I pulled on the security belt,mostlycertain I was using it correctly. “You can have the house when I get Faeryn safely away from the Western Continent. I’m sure between you and me, we can pay it off.”
She laughed. “If I lose my job it’ll probably be a blessing. I’m getting old, anyway.” I knew that was her way of telling me to stop worrying about her. Mykie was in her prime.
There was a strange square in the middle of the car’s driving mechanisms. It housed an illuminated map on it, with a tiny depiction of the vehicle moving along a representation of the road. It was a degree of technology I hadn’t known waspossible, and it only made my stomach turn. Scientists had developed so much that remained unknown and inaccessible to the general population. I could only imagine what would be possible for our society with these tools available to the masses.
“Have you driven before?” I asked, noticing the ease with which she rounded sharp curves. Had we been in a carriage, the wheels would have certainly lifted on one side.
“It’s part of our initial training and maintaining licensure annually,” she said matter-of-factly.
I always thought that the inside of a car would be like that of a carriage. Not so, apparently. There were so manybuttons. I couldn’t imagine knowing what each one did and how to use it in the correct situation on a moment’s notice. Many of the symbols were standard, but their purpose unknown to me: +, - , , H, C. I was relieved Mykie was willing to go on this death mission with me, I wouldn’t trust myself to operate the machine, especially with Faeryn inside of it.
The vehiclewasslower than my Silvates. It took us about twenty-five hours to get to Faeryn before, from midday to near star rise. At this rate, we wouldn’t make it to Tesilvis for more than a full day. It was either beating the clock or having a reliable escape route. I just hoped we were making the right call.
“Do you have a plan?” I watched the stars rise over the horizon and sat back into the seat that conformed to the shape of my torso. I didn’t like the padding behind my neck, it didn’t fit the curve of my spine.
“I have some tools that can measure the magnetic force of an area.” She jutted her thumb to the seats behind us, where two bags sat. “I guess that’s the unintended benefit of building their factories on the fields of the goddesses they steal. They’re easy to track down once you know where to look.”
I scowled. Those fields were sacred ground. They were intended to provide for those who needed them, not be leeched upon by corporations serving the wealthy. Was there a goddess who’d been born of that Tesilvis Forest field? Did she know what had become of her homeland? I couldn’t fathom somebody defiling Faeryn’s honeysuckle field. Even with amnesia, she was so intimately connected to it that I knew she’d feel that pain in her core. She had once told me she saw that field as her true mother, and that her life didn’t truly start until she stepped within its boundaries.
“You alright, Gray?” Mykie peered at me from the corner of her eye, head still trained forward on the road.
“No,” I replied honestly. “But I will be.” As soon as I held Faeryn again in her field of rebirth. We would go immediately. This time, we’d establish a home there, just on the border, so I could still provide fire nearby during the cool autumns. The thought of it soothed my frantic heart, I felt my shoulders relax slightly. My love and I, in her field. Safe.
The day I met Faeryn had been the most surreal of my life. I was taking a vacation on the island, indulging in my culture and the marvel of nature. That means I spent a glorious amount of time exploring the land on dragonback. On this particular morning, I found myself unusually far inland. My stomach was growling, so I’d stopped to forage for berries and bask in the peace of the untouched wilderness.
I thought I’d lost my mind when I saw the curved figure of a nude woman bounding towards me, waving enthusiastically. My world tilted onto a new axis. The fruits in my hands fell to the grass. I averted my eyes from her ample breasts that bounced as she trotted to my dropped berries and apologized for startling me. Respectfully, my eyes remained trained on the sky when she bent over to pick up my bounty.
She was young. We both were. I had never seen golden hair like hers, she told me it was called “blonde”. I wasn’t sure she was in her right mind—running around isolated woods naked and all—but found myself enthusiastic to join her madness.
