Chasing Phoenix

Chapter 12

       Niji, the grey maine coon cat that belonged to Kace and Pierce, was curled up next to me on the couch. I stroked her fur gently, her gentle purs the only sound in the quiet cabin. Kace and Pierce had left the cabin a while ago. They said they were going to buy food.

I stood up gently, scratching Niji's chin and strolling over to the front door. Turning the knob, I bit my lip in frustration. Of course it's locked. There were definitely going to be locks around the house. Taking quick strides over to the little bathroom, I noticed a silver lock on the window. Scrambling around the bathroom, I pulled open all the drawers and sent things flying around the room. Then I found it; a small key buried in the back of a supply drawer.

"Yes!" I whispered excitedly, swooping up the key and racing over to the window. 

But when I touched the silver lock, unbearable pain swept throughout my hand and I stumbled backward. Eyes wide, I stared at my pulsing hand. A burn was stretched viciously across my palm, red and swollen. 

"Shit-" I ran my hand under cold water to try and soothe it. "Are you serious?"

Glancing at the lock again, I realized something. I had assumed it to only be a fairytale. That silver could hurt werewolves. But yet again, I had also thought that werewolves were a fairytale.

I was growing desperate by this time. Kace and Pierce were going to be home any second and by then I would be screwed.

Turning wildly around, I raced to the kitchen and grabbed a rock from a garden display on the window sill. Rushing back to the bathroom, I took a slow, deep breath; and raised my hand shakily.

I could see my eyes flash from hazel to piercing amber in the mirror as I used Harlequin's strength to throw the rock. The rock slammed into the window and it cracked slightly. "Dammit!" I hissed through clenched teeth, picking up the rock again and throwing once more.

Finally, the window shattered. Glass went flying everywhere and some of it dug into my skin, to which I yelled out in pain. Clenching my teeth together, I stepped onto the window sill and carefully avoided the sharp edges of broken glass. 

Leaping out the other end and agilely landing on soft grass, I breathed in the fresh, savory air. Pulling out the tiny pieces of glass from my skin, I observed my surroundings.

I was in the middle of a forest; and it was late evening. Walking towards the front of the cabin, I saw a long path leading off into the woods; which I assumed to be towards the village, and if I was correct then I knew the way back to the castle. But the walk from the village and castle would take a couple days.

It was easy for me to see in the dark, but I hadn't noticed the sound from up ahead, blinded by my rush of adrenaline. The crunching of the gravel path from a little ways away; and the hearty, deep voiced chatter of two men.

Spitting quiet curses under my breath, my feet instantly took off into the woods. I slid behind a tree and focused on listening in.

"I don't think we should have done that, Pierce..." Came Kace's shaky voice.

"It's our duty to tell her everything!" Pierce responded; unnerved.

They were getting closer to the house, I could see their silhouettes and the light of their lantern. 

"We haven't told her that we love each other!" Kace's voice was high-pitched and shrill. "But we told her that her daughter likes girls."

There was silence for a moment; all I could hear was the crunching of gravel beneath heavy boots.

"What if she's killed." Kace whispered, making me lean in to hear.

Silence.

"She won't be, she's the princess."

"But The Queen is a lunatic!"

"She's the princess, dammit!"

I blacked out a little there, falling limply to my knees and holding onto the tree for support. So they told the Queen. They told my mother that I wanted to marry a princess.

But of course she already knew this! This only showed that Kace and Pierce had failed at trying to 'fix' me, and that was bad. They were in a severe amount of trouble now.

I snapped back to reality as the front door to the cabin swung open, and the men called out my name.

It was only a few minutes until chaos struck. I could hear panicked yelling, glass breaking, doors slamming shut. Kace was the first to race out the front door, crossbow in hand. Pierce followed soon after with a long silver blade. 

"You go left, I'll go right!" Pierce shouted, squeezing Kace's hand before running in the opposite direction from me. Kace took a deep breath and began rushing straight towards me.

Fear took control of my body. I spun around and began running with incredible speed through the forest, my vision and physical strength a huge advantage from Kace. But he had a crossbow, and I'm pretty sure he could shoot it.

I could hear his speedy footsteps behind me as I swerved around trees and leapt over rotted logs. I dropped to all fours just as an arrow slashed through the air right next to me, piercing a tree and sending splinters flying everywhere.

Clenching my teeth together, I leapt with all my strength up a sturdy looking pine tree; swinging upward and hiding in the crook of the trunk. Yes, I'm admitting it now. Being a werewolf had extreme physical advantages.

Cobwebs plastered against my skin as I squatted deeper into the split in the tree, peering down below me.

Kace soon rushed into view, his breathing heavy and offset. He came swerving to a stop, sliding a bit on some wet leaves before pulling his arrow from the tree near me. Gasping for air, he put his hands on his knees, bending over slightly and looking around.

"I could hear you, princess!" His voice came in short gasps as he struggled for oxygen.

"I don't know how the hell you're so damn fast, but I know you're close now!" He wheezed, standing up and putting his hands on his head.

I pushed myself lower into the crook, heart beating aggressively.

"If you just come back now, you won't get hurt, okay?" Kace's voice was returning to normal now as he put an arrow on his bow, narrowing his eyes to see through the darkness.

I wasn't going back; not after how hard I worked to escape. They wouldn't keep their eyes off me if I went back.

Moving stealthily forward along a sturdy branch, I made my way towards Kace.

"Come along princess!" Kace called once more, a tinge of desperation lingering in his voice. "Last chance before I call the guards..." He half whispered that last bit.

I was very close to him now. The branch stretched just over his head. Moving forward, I stopped right above him and stared downwards hungrily. Something had snapped inside of me. I felt out of control; animalistic. The rush of exhilaration had sparked something inside of me.

 I grinned widely down at the desperate Kace. My muscles grew tense and ready to jump. What was I doing? It felt right. It felt natural. Kace was prey; I was the hunter. The roles had been switched now.

"Princess-"

I dropped.

Leaping agily off the tree, I growled viciously and landed flat on top of Kace, his bow sliding from his grip and flying into the dirt. Pinning him to the ground, my heart pounding, I licked my teeth and brushed my fingers across his chin. 

But he was already out before I could say anything. As if snapping out of my trance from realization, I jumped off of Kace and ran my hand through my hair, breath coming in short gasps.

Did Harlequin do that? What the hell? I needed to talk to her. I needed to control this; Quinn needed to trust me to be in control.

Taking a deep breath, I backed away from Kace, knocked out hard on the ground, and raced into the ink-black depths of the forest.