“The humans in the Gauntlet have forgotten much about us, but the land remembers. There are old fae roads that are still open to us. We’ll take those.”
I almost snorted. Evasive much? Still, I picked up the scraps he’d given me and turned them over in my mind. When I’d gleaned what I could, I went to ask another question. “You say we’ve forgotten things about you, but the legends got some things right, didn’t they? Like the fact you’re stronger than us.”
His lip twitched up expectantly. “What else do the tales say?”
“That you can hear a pin drop in the next room, and see in the dark, as well as any beast. Your teeth … your teeth can tear the throats from your victims.”
“Fascinating,” he said, his voice quivering with suppressed laughter.
“I want to know what else you can do.”
“Maybe another time.”
I tested how far I could push him by asking, “Why not now?”
“Because we’re close to camp.”
Hunter slowed, and a makeshift base appeared. Kesha had vanished, but there were three sleeping humans curled up next to a campfire. Two appeared to be young boys, and the third, a woman, looked to be in her late twenties. Two chestnut horses grazed nearby.
Hunter gently lowered me to the ground.
I rounded on him. Struggling to keep my voice even, I said, “I’m guessing you didn’t find them locked up in the woods by villagers.”
A muscle tweaked in his cheek. “No.”
That line between needing an ally and wanting to kill him blurred. “You seem … nice. Why would you steal children from the people who love them most?”
He frowned and pointed to the smaller of the two boys. “An orphan.”
I looked down at the sandy-blond hair peeking through the blankets and felt a stab of pity.
“Runaway.” Hunter motioned to the larger boy on my left. “Judging by the bruises on him, he had good reason to flee.”
The runaway had brown hair and a dirty face. Pity found me again.
“And what about her?” I asked, looking to the black haired, honey skinned woman sleeping across from me.
“She was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death.”
I considered Hunter’s words. As far as I knew, the children taken from Tunnock hadn’t been abused. But who knew what went on behind closed doors? No one had ever seen through Elain’s loving fa?ade.
“You said you only took outcasts. Are there other fae kidnapping humans?”
“Yes … And there aren’t many of us who try to only take the unwanted.”
My breath caught. “What about Kesha?” I asked, guarded.
Hunter’s wings stirred at his back. “She goes along with it because it’s less dangerous to take outcasts. Fewer people come looking.” He tilted his head, considering. “And since human mobs wielding pitchforks and kitchen knives pose little threat to us, it’s better all-round if we try to avoid a slaughter.”
I winced. “How thoughtful.”
The sarcasm in my voice wasn’t lost on him. He looked confused, almost sad, but before he could form the words, Kesha interrupted us.
“Hunter!” She appeared carrying more wood. Dumping it next to the fire, she glared in our direction. “Enough chatter.”
A flicker of something ghosted into Hunter’s eyes. I thought it might’ve been hesitation, but then he dragged out a small vial of liquid from within his brown overcoat.
“Drink it,” he said, passing me the crystal vial.
Eyeing it with suspicion, I asked, “What is it?”
“It’ll send you to sleep—like them,” he said, nodding to the slumped bodies around the fire.
“I don’t want—”
“And we don’t care what you want,” Kesha barked.
Hunter scowled at Kesha. “Just drink it, Serena,” he added quietly.
“Take it, or we’ll force it down your throat,” Kesha snapped. “Is that what you want?” She came to stand in front of me, hands on her hips.
“It’s for the best,” Hunter breathed.
I peered down at the clear liquid, hesitating long enough for Kesha to lose patience. Before I could lift a hand to defend myself, she’d lurched forward to force my mouth open and pinch my nose. Caught in a grip like steel, pain streamed out of my eyes in the form of tears. Liquid coated my tongue, and Kesha clamped my jaw shut, ensuring I didn’t spit it out. I choked and retched, but it was too late.
I slipped into a nightmare: trapped in a winged cage with the bloodied mess that had been Gus, and outside was Elain, rattling at the bars, laughing at me.
The dream shifted, and the trial was happening all over again, except this time Elain and Gus were gloating about having murdered my father. Instead of punishing them, the council laughed and laughed.
Then there were ravens everywhere, surrounding me, never touching; forming a protective circle.
Chapter 6
The Crossing
The smell of bergamot, peppermint, and salt clawed up my nose. Jerking awake, my eyes fluttered open to find night had become day. I was flat on my back, covered by a wolf pelt.
Hunter was by my side. He tucked a small bag into an inner pocket of his overcoat, saying, “Sorry, you weren’t waking up. I had to use smelling salts.”
My mind, still fuzzy from the sleeping potion, grappled for a sense of time and space. “Have we crossed over?”
My tongue felt thick and heavy in my mouth.
“No.”
A whoosh of relief.
“You need sustenance,” Hunter said, placing a flask against my lips.
Parched and unable to refuse, I opened my cracked lips and managed a few mouthfuls. The rest of the water dribbled down my chin. I started to choke; Hunter rolled me over onto my side.
“Easy,” he murmured, patting my back.
I coughed in to the dirt and reached back to snatch the flask from Hunter’s hands. I took more sips, hoping it would ease the retching. When the convulsions subsided, I peered up at Hunter. “Please don’t tell me you’re putting me under again?”
He slipped his hand to the back of my head, cradling it, and then pulled me up to sitting. Letting his hand drop, kneeling in front of me, he replied, “I have to do it again. We haven’t reached the divide yet. I woke you because we can’t let you get dehydrated, and I thought you might need to relieve yourself.”
I fidgeted. “Oh.”
“Kesha will take you somewhere you can have privacy. We know these things are important to humans.”
I hadn’t noticed where the female was before now, but at the mention of her name I peered around for signs of her presence. She was to my left, tending a black pot in the middle of a lit fire. The other prisoners were sleeping, and the horses still grazed.
After a quick scan of the area, I realized we’d moved on since last night. The trees were now abloom in bud and stem, and the frost underfoot had given way to spring grass.
I frowned, perplexed. If my schooling had been right, the climate should be colder, more inhospitable the farther north we went. Tunnock still slumbered in winter’s grip. Yet wherever we were, the bitter snap in the air had melted into mildness. Did this anomaly have something to do with the old fae roads Hunter had mentioned? Had we somehow bypassed the northern wastes?
The tantalizing smells drifting from the pot that Kesha stirred reached me, driving all thoughts of this mystery from my mind. When had my last full meal been? Not the bag of nuts or the pie.
Sniffing hopefully, my stomach groaned in protest.
“Kesha—” Hunter began.
“Yes, all right,” she grumbled and let the ladle drop. “Come on then. I don’t want to be clearing up your piss.”
Kesha stalked over and pulled me to my feet. I wobbled dangerously, like a newborn finding its footing, and only managed a few steps before she lost patience. She dragged me a short distance, and as soon as we were out of Hunter’s sight, she shoved me into the dirt.
“Be quick about it.”