Frostbite

Chapter Twenty Five

Hey everyone!! I'm really sorry that this chapter wasn't up sooner, truthfully I had it written a few days ago but I kept forgetting to post it! I hope you enjoy this chapter, its short but the next one is longer, I had to kind of chop it in two because it was a bit too long so yeah. First look at the fey realms, tell me what you think! I love hearing all your guys' theories.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

It felt as though my ribs were a vice clenching tight around my lungs. I gasped for breath but each attempt proved futile. Red and blue spots popped across my vision in the darkness and I could feel myself becoming dizzy. I hadn't noticed my grip on Rhys' hand loosening until his fingers wrapped around my wrist in a steely grasp.

It had probably only been a minute but it felt like forever, being sucked into darkness that I didn't know I would be able to come out of. It was only when I thought for sure that I would die in that inky blackness that I noticed a slight lightening of my vision.

I would have asked Rhys about it except I could talk. Sudden pain exploded behind my eyes in a headache. It felt like all the blood in my body was rushing through my skull, beating against the bones like a flood trying to force its way out of my body.

His skin was cold but everything else was unbearably hot. I think I screamed. Blinding white flashed across my eyes for one scorching moment and then I felt nothing at all.

            "Wake up, scum."

There was a dull thump as something connected with my ribcage and I tasted blood in my mouth. I must have bitten my tongue. I forced my eyes open even as my head pounded.

There was a man crouching in front of me but he was so strange looking that I just stared at him in shock for a moment before I remembered where I was.

He had high arching brows and eyes that were far larger than normal and curved like a cat's. His head was shaved completely, except for one long braid that extended from the top of his head. Most strange though, were the inky black wings that extended from either side of his shoulder blades.

When he noticed I was awake he grinned, exposing a double row of sharp teeth. I shrunk back automatically, but he was already moving away from me.

            "The girl's awake, Hodrick."

A second person stepped into my view. Where the first man had been mostly humanoid, this one was most definitely not. His body was strangely misshapen, with thick legs and arms, and a muscled torso. His head was bald with two horns spiralling from just behind his ears. His grin as he neared me was unsettling, mostly due to the distinct lack of teeth.

            "What about the other one?" Hodrick asked. His voice was guttural and it scraped unfamiliarly in my ears.

There was the muffled sound of impact from behind me and I twisted around to see Rhys lying on the ground. For a moment I was frozen in shock as I took in my surroundings.

It was unmistakeably beautiful, I had seen castle ruins before but nothing like this. The stones were a shining silver-grey, the sheen visible even under the film of dirt. Beyond the rubble I could see the tops of trees, taller than I could have ever imagined, green and yellow and blue and red, their branches arching high into the clouds.