The Faerie Curses

Chapter Thirteen: Blood in the Snow

The troll had killed itself because it was so scared.

My eyes widened as I gaped at Hall. I realized that I had been so distracted that I hadn't noticed who the shadows really were. My gaze whipped back to the trees just as they stepped into the moonlight.

My breath caught in my throat, and I did the only thing that I could think of. I screamed.

Back then, I had never seen sprites before. I had only heard tales of how they were possessed and evil and would slaughter the fae any chance that they had. I had caught wind of how they roamed the night, longing to recapture the magic that was stripped from them. I had always laughed away the stories or claimed that they sprites didn't seem frightening at all, but the rumors were nothing compared to gazing at their faces in real life. I had never seen such savagery, such blood thirst in a being before. There were six of them, dressed in black with fangs jutting from their lips. Their long fingers twitched with anticipation as they drew towards the bridge. They were like phantoms, gliding across the snow with pale white faces and souless eyes. My jaw fell in horror when I saw the sprites' bleeding stumps on their backs where their wings used to be. The sight just wasn't natural.

My entire family went utterly motionless at the sight of the sprites, and my parent's faces filled with fury. Hall looked like he was ready to run away.

One of the sprites, a male one with tatoos crossing his arms, chuckled darkly to a figure standing next to him. I hadn't noticed the seventh person, they were significantly smaller than the others.

"Well well," He said. "You were right, little boy. Create some danger and the whole family comes running."

The seventh, small figure stepped forward, his head bent in terrible guilt.

That was when I couldn't take it any longer. I dashed out from behind the trees into the open winter air.

I thought what I saw in front of me must have been a mistake. I was staring at my best friend, the boy I grew up with and lived with and shared everything with. Diandre. And he was standing across the bridge with the sprites. My heart plummeted and shattered into thousands of pieces all over the ground. It felt like my chest was filled with broken glass. Shocked, my family whirled around and gaped at me as I stood there, trembling behind them.

"Marissa," My father whispered to me desperately. "You shouldn't be here. You need to run."

I hadn't heard a word he said. Instead I was watching Diandre, whose face was streaked with tears. He wouldn't look up at me.

"Diandre!" I shouted over the ledge, forgetting about my fear of the sprites. "What is going on?"

The tattooed sprite smirked in response.

"It was all your friend's idea," He explained, licking his lips. "He led us here to the troll bridge and awakened the creature beneath it. Sure enough, every single one of you came right where we wanted you."

The words stung with betrayal. I glared at Dinadre, wetness gathering in my eyes.

"How could you?" I hissed at him.

Diandre finally looked up, and his eyes met mine.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

The sprites began to cackle wickedly, and one shoved Diandre to the ground. He slammed into the snow, his face filled with shame.

My mother morphed back into her faerie form, but she still looked just as menacing.

"How are you foul monsters even here?" She growled. "You were banished from the faerie kingdoms."