Half-Faye

Chapter 23

I couldn’t look at him. I knew he had been forced to hurt me because of the stone but it still upset me. My cheek stung with pain and I couldn’t hold back the tears that were rolling down my face. My whole world seemed to be collapsing.

Ridel had tried to warn me and this was my punishment for not leaving him. Even if I hadn’t handed over the stone willingly it would have been forcibly removed. Only now did I see that it would have been better to go down fighting.

The cheering of the circle and the metallic smashing of swords made me look up to see Ridel in heavy combat with one of Verrann’s faeries.

I cringed as I watched him fall to the ground and eyes made contact. I could see his pain and some of my anger melted away.

When at last he fought the faery to the ground I watched, horrified as Verrann commanded him to kill the King and Queen, my grandparents. There was nothing I could do to stop him sheathing the sword and walking out of the clearing the way I had come.  

There was no way that he would be able to stop himself and it scared me. He was a skilled warrior but more likely than not he would be captured or killed. I bowed my head away, feeling ashamed and scared. I wasn’t able to watch him leave, it made me feel to guilty.

I then wondered what they were going to do with me. It was obvious that they weren’t going to let me go where I might be able to stop him. I rolled my shoulder uncomfortably and wished that she wasn’t holding onto my wrists so tightly. They were starting to hurt.

The circle dispatched and I was marched towards Verrann’s tent. Just in front of the flap, he turned to me, rolling the Zhyd stone between his fingers.

“You will stay on this campsite unless you wish to suffer much pain,” he commanded.

I nodded. I was not going to refute his direction. I felt a slight buzzing in my limbs which I assumed must have been the effect of the stone’s magic acting on me.

Verrann swept away into his tent. Eterali let go of my wrists and I rubbed them slightly. She walked off leaving me alone.

I moved to a spot on the very edge of the clearing, as far away from the rogues as possible. I couldn’t think of anything to do but sleep. For now I knew I was somewhat safe and I would just have to see what time revealed. So I rested my head back on a trunk and closed my eyes. Finding a sliver of light to warm my cheeks I shifted until I was comfortable.

I drifted in and out of sleep until I found myself in a deep sleep. When I awoke it was stomach rumbling that pulled me out of my daze. I was no longer hungry however.

I opened my eyes and panicked a little as it was completely dark. I thought that perhaps I was dreaming, or that my eyes were still shut. Then I noticed the smouldering embers in the fire pit and I realised it was just night time.

I stood up and stretched my cramped muscles. I looked around and noticed that there was no one else up and about. The slight tingle in my bones reminded me that I was under the influence of the stone.

There was also a chill in the air which made me shiver faintly. I rubbed my arms and tried to stop my teeth chattering.

I looked around again and was completely sure that I was entirely alone. Little by little I backed out of the clearing and past my tree. I wasn’t sure why but I just had the gut feeling that was telling me that I should try and get away. Verrann’s threat was fresh in my mind but I was just trying to test the limits of the stone.

I kept backing away. I felt a slight tug back towards the camp but I was able to keep moving backwards. I stopped and froze when the fire was just a glowing spot in the distance.