A Betrayal of Storms by Ben Alderson

Chapter 6

I'd passed through the Wychwood barrier a handful of times before - each was as strange as the one before. It was silly, my reasoning, but I felt that I could go searching for my mother alone. A foolish, childhood thought, that I could simply walk blindly into the realm of the fey and find her as though it was fate; or, at least, some instinctual family bond that would reunite us.

But I never got more than a few feet into the darkness amongst the forest before turning back. As though I lost all desires to find her the moment I inhaled the air that lingered beyond the Wychwood border.

For all those years there was nothing stopping her from coming back for me. Yet she had kept away for a reason. And it was her reasoning that frightened me, not the fear of what I would find. Would she embrace me as I so longed, just like the last time I had seen her as a small child? Or would she send me back? Turn her back on me, confirming that I was no more a stranger than her own flesh and blood?

I supposed it was that fear of such raw rejection that always made me return home, to Father.

Now I had no choice but to go. Erix guided us beneath the shadowed canopy of trees. Looking up, entrapped within the hold of his arms, I watched the thick foliage block out any sunlight. The dense green barely let small glitters of light through, but some stubborn beams exposed themselves like stars in a dark sea of green.

The chill of late autumn wind stopped as we passed through the trees. But the shiver across my arms did not cease. Mist danced in waves of silver across the wild bed of the forest. It twisted over giant roots and around moss-covered boulders we passed, fingers of smoke that reached no further than the belly of the stag we rode upon.

"You will be safer in Wychwood," he said plainly. Up until now he had kept quiet, stopping me from pulling free. There was not an ounce of frustration in his tone, but a dash of humour that was impossible to disregard.

"Coming from the man who has kidnapped me!" I gave up trying to fight free. There was something unmoving and hard about Erix's posture. I was not weak, but I also knew my limitations and Erix blew those out of the water. "And if you are suggesting that there is danger returning home, then that is all the more reason to go. I cannot just leave my father if that is a risk."

He did not respond, for it seemed he had long given up on arguing his point.

"I'm a prisoner," I stated, cautious of moving too much for I was pressed so close into Erix's chest. I would have leaned forward to put space between us, but his warmth was welcomed. The dirtied and ripped nightshirt was doing very little to keep away the chill. "That is what this is all about."

I spurred a barking laugh from Erix that echoed through the forest. The sound was jarring as it echoed through the ominous dark. "You are far from a prisoner. You are a guest."

"That suggests that you've presented me with an invitation. One that asks for me to come with you. One that I should have the right to decline. The only thing I want is to return home."

I had to swallow a sudden lump that filled my throat. Now was not the time to show weakness.

"Do you even know where your home is, little bird?"

I wanted to snap at him for calling me by that nickname, but I sensed some hint of knowing as he spoke. And I did not want to ruin my chances of finding out what information he clearly teased me with.

"I imagine the journey back to it would have been confusing, but yes, I do know where my home is. Grove. Which even a scentless hound would know that this is the wrong direction to it."

"You truly believe that?" Erix said, voice piquing with intrigue.

I crossed my arms over my chest, noticing the shift of his body as he closed both arms in at my sides to keep me from slipping off. "Enlighten me, captor. I can tell you want to argue my point."