The Consort's Fate

Chapter 11

Finn

Maggie clutches her shawl to her chest. The frayed fabric curls around her slender frame, doing little to fend off the chill of the night. She leans forward and silently mouths the words stay safe. Small tufts of silky mist leave her lips, and her eyes never leave Kelly as the four of us traipse down the cottage steps. He gives her a wave of acknowledgement, and she returns the gesture with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

Something instinctive stirs at the sight of Maggie, standing alone at the entryway, bidding us farewell. She has her own set of instructions to rid our smells from the cottage and to keep herself protected, yet it feels oddly unsettling leaving her behind. I glance to Douglas. His dark brows arch with curiosity at the exchange between Kelly and Maggie. As if sensing my thoughts, he meets my gaze and offers up a noncommittal shrug. It's not our issue, his eyes seem to say. They have a plan leaving her behind. The time for questioning has well passed.

My lips thin in resigned agreement. We reach the dewy grass and Bogdan gracefully turns towards us. He points to Douglas and then to me. Before we can ask his meaning, Bogdan holds out his arms to Kelly. This earns him a grumble of protest before Kelly gracelessly climbs into Bogdan's arms, allowing his vampire counterpart to cradle him.

Kelly lifts his head to us and expectantly points a finger in Douglas' direction. We're being asked to follow suit. Douglas mutters an ah of understanding. Douglas grabs both of our packs and moves behind me. I crouch down and wait until he's adjusted on my back before rising to my full height.

I steal a look at Bogdan only to find his focus is already fixed on me. His eyes are dark and searing. I take a steadying breath, hoping to smell a trace of whatever emotions are lurking beneath his unreadable gaze. It's like breathing into a blackhole. There's nothing. Whatever emotions he allowed to slip onto my radar are now tucked away in the safety of his own mind, locked behind a guarded vault.

Bogdan's eyes flicker back to Douglas. An expression I can't quite place registers across his face, but it's gone as quickly as it appears. He tears his eyes away and begins to run, leaving a cold trail of icy emptiness in his wake.

______

The four of us travel well into the night. Neither Bogdan nor Kelly offers intel on where we're going; we simply follow behind them, putting as much distance as possible between us and the village. Douglas clutches at my shoulders. If I'm jostling him too much, he doesn't complain. I've never had to run like this, let alone use any of my immortal abilities. Although I've been in this form for years, it feels as if I'm learning to walk for the first time.

I broached the subject with Reyo plenty of times while hidden within the confines of the fortress. I asked to have my abilities tested – tested and then trained. Each of my requests was met with a firm refusal. If all that Kelly and Maggie said was true, I now realize why. Reyo didn't want me to know my true strength. He didn't want me to know my true form.

As the minutes melt into hours, I anticipate the moment when my bones and muscles will ache in protest. It never happens. Instead of pain, I feel hunger. It starts as a twinge of annoyance, deep in my belly. As we travel further away from the village and deeper into the wooded forest, the twinge becomes a rumble of pain.

As if sensing my inner turmoil, Kelly juts his chin to the side, and his whisper dances with the wind. "Almost there."

Even in those two words, Kelly speaks to me with a warm familiarity, the kind reserved for relationships that are developed over a lifetime. His olive complexion nearly glows beneath the moon, and he squints into the night. The fingertips of the wind wiggle through his dark hair. Unlike Douglas, who emits only the occasional emotion of discomfort, Kelly's emotions are potent and constant - wavering from happiness to fear. I wait for a spark of recognition, just a single memory for me to cling to and slowly peel away the details.