they, but they buzzed by without stopping. Pixies rushed by next, some flying, some riding birds, all with looks of terror on their tiny faces. Then sprites and even dryads ran past her.
She had only seen the lesser fae behave like that once before, when fleeing a forest fire. She smelled nothing burning, though, and saw no smoke. Instead of pausing, she ignored the worry at the back of her mind and hurried to catch up with the Tavaedies.
It was the cold that forced her to stop dead. It was winter, but the weather in Yellow Bear never turned cold enough to make snow, only occasional dreary rains. The water in the cisterns never even frosted over in the mornings. It was not real cold she felt now either, she realized, but something deeper, ethereal, which stung like stepping into snow with bare feet. The air itself hurt, and her throat felt raw, as if she couldn’t get enough of it, yet to breathe was like swallowing splinters.
She couldn’t ignore her fear anymore. Dread smothered her. She froze, unable to take another step, not even knowing what she feared.
That’s when she saw him.
A man all in black, with a mask of skulls, smeared black also, stood with arms crossed, watching her.
Deathsworn .
Did the Deathsworn know what she had done? Did they know she had broken the taboo and decided to claim her for themselves ?
All she could hear was her own heart pounding. The fae had fled and the forest was utterly silent. If he were to come for her, she knew she would not have the strength to fight or flee.
His head inclined ever so slightly. He knew she had seen him.
The Deathsworn turned around and disappeared beyond the trees.
Dindi’s legs buckled beneath her and she knelt in the pine needles littering the ground. She still felt weak with fear. Why was she doing this to herself? Why couldn’t she just be a good girl and follow the rules like everyone else? What would she do when they did come for her?
Footsteps shuffled in the pine needles on her left, behind a shield of bushes and a large rotted tree stump.
Lady Mercy . The Deathsworn had come back.
The cold felt less fierce, however, and she no longer felt that strange sense of paralysis. She jumped to her feet to face her adversary.
“I know you saw me,” she said in a low voice.
A handsome man, bare-chested above his legwals, stepped out from behind the bush. It was Zumo, Kavio’s cousin. She recognized him from the banquet. His pale bone-gray eyes unnerved her. He had a most intense stare. The young man could have been Kavio’s brother, of the same height, girth, muscle and rugged beauty, save for some indefinable lack. His features were like a rough draft of Kavio’s, coarser, cruder, crueler .
At the moment he looked both hostile and puzzled. “Who are you? Why are you out here alone?”
She wondered if she should lie. Had he seen her following the Tavaedies or not?
“Ah, yes, I know. ” Zumo’s examination grew insulting. “You’re the pretty little serving girl Kavio took back to his hut for the night.”
“I didn’t spend the night.” She crossed her arms.
He stepped closer to her. She tried to step back, but he gripped her arm.
“You saw something that night, didn’t you? A secret about me.”
“Let me go.”
“Tell me what you saw.”
“Please.” She tried to pull away, but he would not release her.
“It’s only fair that you tell me, since it’s my Vision you stole.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can prove it.” He held her firmly with one hand, and raised his other hand above her face. She feared he might hit her and squirmed to pull away, but his fingers traced her cheek in a caress.
The otherlight of a Vision shimmered all around her.
Vessia
In the morning, Vessia expected that Vio would send her back to the cage with the other prisoners. Instead, he ordered a morning meal of savory rabbit, herb-roasted vegetables and corn mash, which he shared with her. The sweet onion bulbs tasted
She had only seen the lesser fae behave like that once before, when fleeing a forest fire. She smelled nothing burning, though, and saw no smoke. Instead of pausing, she ignored the worry at the back of her mind and hurried to catch up with the Tavaedies.
It was the cold that forced her to stop dead. It was winter, but the weather in Yellow Bear never turned cold enough to make snow, only occasional dreary rains. The water in the cisterns never even frosted over in the mornings. It was not real cold she felt now either, she realized, but something deeper, ethereal, which stung like stepping into snow with bare feet. The air itself hurt, and her throat felt raw, as if she couldn’t get enough of it, yet to breathe was like swallowing splinters.
She couldn’t ignore her fear anymore. Dread smothered her. She froze, unable to take another step, not even knowing what she feared.
That’s when she saw him.
A man all in black, with a mask of skulls, smeared black also, stood with arms crossed, watching her.
Deathsworn .
Did the Deathsworn know what she had done? Did they know she had broken the taboo and decided to claim her for themselves ?
All she could hear was her own heart pounding. The fae had fled and the forest was utterly silent. If he were to come for her, she knew she would not have the strength to fight or flee.
His head inclined ever so slightly. He knew she had seen him.
The Deathsworn turned around and disappeared beyond the trees.
Dindi’s legs buckled beneath her and she knelt in the pine needles littering the ground. She still felt weak with fear. Why was she doing this to herself? Why couldn’t she just be a good girl and follow the rules like everyone else? What would she do when they did come for her?
Footsteps shuffled in the pine needles on her left, behind a shield of bushes and a large rotted tree stump.
Lady Mercy . The Deathsworn had come back.
The cold felt less fierce, however, and she no longer felt that strange sense of paralysis. She jumped to her feet to face her adversary.
“I know you saw me,” she said in a low voice.
A handsome man, bare-chested above his legwals, stepped out from behind the bush. It was Zumo, Kavio’s cousin. She recognized him from the banquet. His pale bone-gray eyes unnerved her. He had a most intense stare. The young man could have been Kavio’s brother, of the same height, girth, muscle and rugged beauty, save for some indefinable lack. His features were like a rough draft of Kavio’s, coarser, cruder, crueler .
At the moment he looked both hostile and puzzled. “Who are you? Why are you out here alone?”
She wondered if she should lie. Had he seen her following the Tavaedies or not?
“Ah, yes, I know. ” Zumo’s examination grew insulting. “You’re the pretty little serving girl Kavio took back to his hut for the night.”
“I didn’t spend the night.” She crossed her arms.
He stepped closer to her. She tried to step back, but he gripped her arm.
“You saw something that night, didn’t you? A secret about me.”
“Let me go.”
“Tell me what you saw.”
“Please.” She tried to pull away, but he would not release her.
“It’s only fair that you tell me, since it’s my Vision you stole.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can prove it.” He held her firmly with one hand, and raised his other hand above her face. She feared he might hit her and squirmed to pull away, but his fingers traced her cheek in a caress.
The otherlight of a Vision shimmered all around her.
Vessia
In the morning, Vessia expected that Vio would send her back to the cage with the other prisoners. Instead, he ordered a morning meal of savory rabbit, herb-roasted vegetables and corn mash, which he shared with her. The sweet onion bulbs tasted
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