Slowly and completely unstable, I moved through the air, away from the castle the Fae called home. With instinct as my best option, I went in the direction that felt right, needing to get closer to my mates once again.
A small part of me ached at leaving the place that seemed to have all the answers, but the rest of me felt relieved, excited to be back with my dragons.
8
The castle ended up being a lot bigger than I thought, and not long after flying from the window, I realized how naïve my plans had been. I lasted not even a minute before I had to make the decision to get my feet back on the ground, and I swore it wasn’t just because flying like that scared the crap out of me, making my focus even more impossible to keep. But also, I didn’t have that much strength.
Flying out of here would have been too easy. Biting back my frustration, I tried to piece together the little bit I knew about the castle. They never gave me the grand tour, so I didn’t know where anything was except my room, the cafeteria, and the training grounds. I wasn’t even sure where the throne room was because, at that time, I’d been too stressed to memorize its location.
Focus. I needed to stay focused.
My ears practically burned with how hard I was straining to hear every sound in existence. It was the only way I knew to hide and that alarms hadn’t been raised about my escape.
I never thought I’d be sneaking around like this. I almost felt like I was a thief, and it probably would have been more interesting if it weren’t for my stress levels being through the roof.
Thundering feet echoed down the long hallway, and I swallowed a panicked yelp, as I looked around. There weren’t many places to hide here, not even a door so I could duck into a room. Just down a little further was a small alcove with a large statue tucked into it. The statue looked like a Fae woman with long, pointed ears and long hair, except she had wings on her back too. In her hands was something that looked like vines traveling down her dress and eventually pooling at her feet. If I had time, I’d probably marvel at it, but I had seconds.
I made a run for it, my heart hammering as the sounds of the footsteps got louder. They’d turn the corner any moment now. I practically dove into the space behind the statue, barely fitting into the tight spot and hoping it was enough to stay hidden.
The footsteps got louder, and a group of armored Fae passed by at a light jog, looking like they were ready for war. I held my hand over my mouth, hoping they wouldn’t even hear me breathe, even though my respiration sounded loud in my own ears. Even my heart was loud. The rush of my blood too.
They were going to know.
The group got to the statue, and I held still, expecting them to turn and call me out. But they kept going, not even pausing. I squeezed my eyes shut, listening hard until I could no longer hear their footsteps, and then I slipped out from behind the statue, double checking no one was in the hallway or near me. Then, I started sneaking back out again, my heart still hammering in my chest as adrenaline and fear made my muscles ache.
I felt completely sick to my stomach. Who knew what was going to happen if I got caught? They wanted me on their side, but where was the line drawn between trying to get me on their side and deciding I wasn’t worth it and locking me in the dungeon to rot instead?
I didn’t want to know.
The only thing I had to help me through the castle was my guts. I followed them without question, hiding when I needed to and trying to find a way out. For a castle that felt like there were no walls in it, it definitely had a lot of walls and dead ends, rendering it a massive maze. But the more I did what felt right, the closer I felt like I was getting to the guys, even if our bond was still muted.
I finally found a set of doors leading outside, not the illusion pretending to be the so-called outside but the actual forest beyond the castle. I blew out a breath, taking in the fresh air, as I heard more of the wildlife around me. Everything really did feel so alive here. I was close.
I could do this.
I ducked behind a tree, not wanting to be spotted, and took the moment to reorient myself. Luckily, it seemed I’d exited the castle in the right direction because everything told me I needed to keep going this way.
The problem was, just past this small tree line I was in, lay an open field and on the other side of that lay another brick wall. Most likely, these walls went all the way around the property to protect against intruders and roving beasts.
I bit my tongue to sharpen my focus, drew in a breath, and then followed the tree line all while trying to find the best way to get to the gates. The open field also seemed to wrap around the castle.
It was touch and go as guards patted around, but at least I heard them in enough time to hide, and it didn’t seem like any of them were on alert.
I had that going for me at least.
The stress of the escape was beginning to wear me out, but I needed to just get a bit further. I could wait until night, but by then, they’d definitely know I was no longer in my room. How long would it take them to realize I wasn’t even in the castle at all? Not long, most likely.
Waiting until nightfall would be a bad idea.
I had a feeling the moment I stepped out there, guards would spot me. No one would leave their walls completely unattended, and I’d stick out as I crossed the field.
The field itself wasn’t in the best shape; nature was doing its best to take over. I crouched down and noted how high the overgrown grass was. Could I get away with crawling across the field?
“That could work, Rayna, but it would take you a long time to crawl through the field. And the Fae have very good eyesight.”
A chill ran through me as I turned to see Neyil standing elegantly before me. His hair had been gathered into a soft, loose braid that went over his shoulder and down his chest. He wore robes matching the light green fabric that I wore, but his clothing had swirly, golden-yellow designs along the hem. He was smiling nicely enough, but I wasn’t a fool to believe all was good at the moment.
“I can show you a better way out of here if you’d like,” he said, humor lacing his words. I wanted to believe that he’d found this whole situation amusing, but there was a hardness in his eyes that set me on edge.