Page 39 of Fae Unleashed
16
CERRI
Rhoan and Tal fought over my decision. And, now that I was here, I kind of agreed with them. My feet tingled with overwhelming nervous energy. I felt like a rabbit waiting for the predator to leap out of the bushes. If I didn’t run soon, then I would lose the chance to do so altogether.
We wanted to turn the tables on Faust. The pookah thought that he was in control. I came here to tell him that he was very wrong.
I played the role of bait in this plan, of course. We all knew that Faust wanted to use me against Rhoan. This time, I was prepared. I knew that Faust would come for me any second now. When I reached into my pocket, I touched the slick glass of potions I’d brewed in the alchemy tower.
Sure, I had my own arcana, but it’d been corrupted by Beryl’s curse. Every time I thought I’d gotten more familiar with my power, it changed on me. The potions were reliable. I could trust them because I knew my craft like a science. There was no way that I would mess it up.
I perused the park garden and paused to sniff the flowers still trying to hold onto life at the end of summer. The cool breeze tried to sneak past my sweater and send a shiver down my spine. I shrugged off the shudder but straightened and looked up to see if Faust had found me anyway.
The air wasn’t rancid yet. I was starting to think that he’d caught on to our ploy and was avoiding us now. Faust wouldn’t want us in control. He wanted to keep us off kilter. That was how his nightmares festered. If we were unsure, then he could worm his way into our minds and feed upon our fears.
Once we were free of him, then we would have time to deal with Beryl. She benefitted from Faust’s obsessive hunt. If he kept us busy, then we had no time to deal with her. If I didn’t defeat her soon, her curse would consume me.
That’s all Beryl wanted. She dug her greedy claws into everything so she could make it hers. She tried to take my domain, my arcana, and my title.
Truthfully, I wanted none of them. I would have happily moved on without any of the three. However, I couldn’t leave them inherhands. When I closed my eyes, I promised myself that I would defeat her and move on. I would find my own way in the world after I gave Rhoan my title and my domain.
“Hello, pretty little princess.” Cold fingers snaked along my throat.
Man, he really liked grabbing me by the neck. It was like he considered it threatening or something. Unlucky for him, I was growing used to this. I’d escaped enough to know that he couldn’t do much more than cause a little bit of pain.
“Your heartrate isn’t going up. Are you not scared?” Faust whispered in my ear.
My heart thumped in response. I cursed the little traitor and tamed it once again.
Faust tightened his grip and growled, perhaps out of frustration. Fear tried to slide in and turn my blood cold, but I shoved it back. We’d worked on this the night before.
“You cannot show fear,” Tal had said.
I’d scowled at him, but Rhoan had cut in before I could open my mouth.
“He’s right. The moment you show fear in front of him, he owns you.”
This time, I’d laughed in their faces. “I’m getting too used to this. I’m forgetting how to fear for my life. Do you really think he can scare me now?”
Of course, I’d been a fool at the time. I’d been over-confident while sparring with the two men. They’d taught me to move faster and think smarter, which only made my cockiness worse in the long run.
“After I kill you,” Faust whispered, “I’m going to take your lover and turn him into my pet. He will join my menagerie of spurned lovers, cursed for all time to be my weapon, my tool for fear.”
This time, cold sliced through me. I bucked and tried to twist, but Faust yanked me into his chest and tightened his grasp on my throat until I couldn’t breathe.
There were other ways to breathe. I had to remind myself as Faust crushed my esophagus. When I pulled on my arcana, I inhaled through my skin like a plant. Sunshine and oxygen hit my system and warmed the fear that’d tried to take ahold of me.
However, a small sliver of ice remained. This was what Rhoan had been hiding from me. Something in their deal would turn Rhoan into Faust’s servant.
I didn’t know how or why it involved me, but I wasn’t going to let it happen. The men were waiting for my cue, but if I could kill Faust on my own, then Rhoan wouldn’t have to do a thing. He could stay far away from the man who held his contract.
“I will not be your tool,” I told Faust.
I struck from behind with a sharpened tree root. It glanced off Faust’s back, but the impact sent us stumbling. While I gaped at my own failure, Faust laughed. He yanked me upright again.
Before I could figure out how I’d failed, Rhoan leapt from his hiding spot. Faust flung out a hand and a portal appeared. Rhoan dodged the shadowed portal, but the radiating magic from it brought elements of his beast out of him. Black fur and feathers appeared along his left arm and cheek.
Rhoan landed on three points and spun to snarl at Faust. The pookah man dug his claws into me as if to prove a point. Rhoan’s gaze dropped to the pinpricks of blood blooming on my skin. I was tired of my blood being outside my body; that was for sure.
