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."
"Captor... that is not a name or title given to me before," he replied, voice thick with mockery.
"What would you prefer?" I scoffed. "Dic-"
"I cannot believe it," a softer voice sounded from behind us. I did not need to turn to find the speaker as the trotting of hooves picked up and a body suddenly rode beside us.
Poppy-red hair flowed in the breeze, revealing skin covered in marks of black and blue. I imagined the green of her eyes would rival that of any natural gem or stone. I had last seen her at a distance, body broken and still, but now she rode, chin held high, as she side-eyed me from her mount. "Returning this one is going to smooth the edge of Father's displeasure when I get home looking like this."
"Althea," I said, taking in her green eyes which swirled with specks of honey. Her face was dusted with dirt amongst the bruising. A cut had already begun to heal across her lower lip, but the red curves of her mouth still seemed swollen. I expected far worse after what I had witnessed.
She raised a brow as she regarded me. "How is it fair that you know my name, but I know nothing of you?"
It was as impossible that I was speaking with a fey, within the boundaries of their realm, as it was that she was royalty. Daughter of Cedarfall, the fey realm of autumn. Beside the light and elegant tone of her voice, there was nothing regal about her. No crown, or neck covered in elaborate jewels. If anything, in her plain brown tunic and formfitting black leggings, she looked much like those I had grown up with in the farming district of Grove.
"Robin, my lady... no, sorry, your highness." I felt heat rise up in my cheeks.
Althea raised a hand and I found myself silenced. Then she laughed, silky and smooth like melted caramel that the vendors would serve poured over sliced apple. "Gods, Erix, tell me this is a joke!"
"Far from it," he replied. "He is a fish out of water, quite literally."
"Clearly." Althea clicked her tongue, urging her stag ahead of us slightly. Unlike the one we rode upon, hers matched the auburn tones of her red hair. "Robin, how did you get so far without the need of a collar?" She raised the tips of her nails to her neck and pressed it there for a moment. It dragged a memory of the iron shackle she wore across her neck during her scrap with the Hunters, and that of the other fey, those being carted away from camp throughout the day. "They test for those with power, it is what is most valuable to them. Except they were willing to murder someone so precious to them. That is what I cannot wrap my head around most. That and the fact I am actually looking at... well, you."
"They said they tested me. But I was not conscious during it." Likely happened once I was knocked out cold before they carted me to the makeshift camp. "I do not have power, at least not any I had been aware of before."
"That much was clear," she replied quickly, lips upturned into a grin that stretched the cut across them. "I have never seen such reckless and uncontrolled use of power before. It did the job I suppose, but if you did not stop when you did, it would have destroyed the entire camp. Those in the cages... and out."
"It was not my intention." I had to keep my tone in check, but I felt the bubbling need to snap. "Nor is it my intention to go where he is taking me. But I fear I had no control in both aspects."
Althea pouted, brows furrowing. "Do not blame Erix, he is only doing what is required." Then her expression changed, softened enough that it almost seemed empathetic. "Unfortunately, it is not possible for you to return to... well, wherever you came from. But if it makes you feel more at ease, we will collect what you require."
Collect what I require? The offer was genuine, but only spurred me into a warmer sense of annoyance, solidifying the feeling that I was not going to return home anytime soon.
To my shock it was Erix who butted in, silencing me before I could throw the prisoner word around again. "It would seem that Robin holds concern for his... father's wellbeing."
"The human?" Althea laughed but caught my narrowed gaze and swallowed what she was going to say next. Pausing with an exhale, I could almost see the turning of wheels in her brain as she worded her response better. "Robin, you likely have worked out that humans are not welcome beyond Wychwood. It has not stopped them from entering before, but the Mists of Deyalnar are sure to keep any wandering mortal from getting far. As soon as a human enters, they will find themselves turning back around without question or thought."
"Unless invited," Erix added, coughing into a closed fist.
Althea rolled her eyes at his comment, telling me that she would not have revealed the option if he had not brought it up. "You should try staying silent like the other loyal guards to my family, Erix. You may find that it gets you further in your career."
"If I did, how would you be kept entertained?" he muttered back.
"Then invite him," I said, interrupting them sharply. "If that is all it takes, then do that. I will go with you-"
"I hate to be the one to remind you, truly. But you will be coming with us either way," Althea retorted.
Heat flooded my cheeks, but for the sake of Father I kept my composure. Instead I forced out a word that did not come naturally to me. "Please."
"As much as I would like to accept your request, it is not my decision. We will present the proposal at court for my mother and father to decide," Althea murmured.
A small shuddering spark of hope lit in my chest, mixing among the cold of the closed chest that I now sensed as though it had always been there.
"Tell me, Robin, how was it you came to be captured by the Hunters? I am not complaining that they found you, Gods no. They accomplished something our people have long believed impossible. But I have infiltrated camps for months and not once have they bothered with a... well, they usually search for full-blooded fey."
I almost choked on her question as I tried to discern if she meant offence or not. During the hours caged with the others I had pondered what had driven James and his accomplice into selling me, and I could only link it to one thing.
Desperation.
"The people who turned me in needed the coin, and I was no different to a piece of meat sold at the market. Winter is fast approaching, and coin will be what keeps something alive during the long months, or not."
Althea mulled over what I said for a brief moment, before diving further into her questioning. "And you said the Hunters tested you?"
I nodded. "I was not aware of when or how. But that is what they said when they brought me into camp."
She was contemplating, gaze lifting to the thick, foliage above us as her mind whirled. "You possess an undiluted bloodline of pure power, Robin. I do not believe for a moment that their test simply skimmed over it. Luckily for us it did, I suppose, otherwise you would have been shipped off before we arrived. But what I cannot explain is how..."
I was likely focusing on the wrong parts of her commentary, which was causing this conversation to flip from topic to topic. "My bloodline? You are talking about my half side... my mother?" My heart skipped a beat as Althea looked back to Erix, who stiffened around me.
"When we arrive at court you will be subject to a barrage of questioning. I should hold back my own intrigue and wait for it to begin. But I sense that you're genuine about your lack of knowledge regarding your power. I just do not know if that will fill my people with much confidence upon your arrival."
There was concern in her expression. It was so obvious I could almost taste it, like the sour bite of unripe berries. Erix's silence did not help the matter either. He, like Althea, were strangers, but even I could not deny the familiarity of their shared worry.
"Do you know who my mother is?" I asked, almost a whisper as though I could not believe I was asking it aloud. It had been a long while since Father answered one of my questions; there was a faint shadow of a forbidden nature surrounding my mother.
Althea bowed her head, so her hazel stare no longer held mine.
"Does she have anything to do with..." I drudged up the name of the court that Erix had mentioned not that long ago. "Icethorn. I do not know much of it, but that is what Erix said to me."
With a snap of her head, she stared at Erix with glowing eyes. Power gleamed in them, as though a blaze had been lit deep within. "That remark I said about your career and keeping quiet, I am contemplating changing it to keeping your life instead of career."
Erix released one hand off the reins and raised it to our side. "I thought he knew."
"Do not expect me to believe that."
"So it is true? My mother is from that court?"
Althea answered my question with one of her own. "How old are you, Robin?"
"Uh... twenty-four."
She sucked her tongue against her teeth. "Makes a lot of sense. It was around the time she..."
"She what?" I questioned when she trailed off, feeling as though answers were close but were slipping away from me by the second.
Althea raked a hand through her red hair, tugging it away from her face to expose the point of an ear and glistening skin. "There is no denying that your power is linked to that of the Icethorn Court. Only those within the bloodline can call upon frozen winds, conjure ice from the very moisture in the air. Some, the most powerful of those in the long lineage, could bring down dreadful storms that brought a time of eternal winter for all who were unlucky enough to cause anger for the family. I suppose you look like her too. Any fey, old or young, that would look into your eyes could not refuse the storm that brews within them... dark and cold like the night."
I zoned out, my mind and body numbing as Althea spoke. Years of wanting answers seemed to come all at once in the form of someone I did not know. Part of me expected this information from Father himself. But I had to question if he even knew her. Was that why he did not tell me details of Mother and his time with her? No. I could not believe that. Because his face scrunched beneath the phantom lingering pain of heartbreak whenever I had brought her up. One's eyes did not dull, nor did their body hunch at the mention of someone they did not care deeply about.
I looked down to my hands, wiggling my fingers slightly, as though they were freshly sharpened knives that required the handle of care. The red burn marks around my wrists had already faded, far greater than any cut or wound I had experienced before; only the faint pink band was left in place where Mother's bracelet should have been sitting.
Something clicked in my head, as my mind contemplated the missing piece of jewellery. I looked up to Althea who waited patiently, with peaked brows, for me to break the silence. "Why do the Hunters place a collar around your throat, when they left me and the others without?"
Althea had not been the only one wearing the uncaring collar.
"To nullify my abilities. It is fey blood which is potent with magic we have learned the Hunters are looking for. Iron is the only way they can keep us... unthreatening."
I cupped my empty, naked wrist. The bracelet had been iron - the one Mother had given me. And at some point it had gone missing, likely in the sticky hands of the reedy man that threatened to take it. Perhaps it had been removed after my testing? A sloppy mistake the Hunter had clearly made.
I could not wrap my head around it. Not entirely. The bracelet had not left my wrist for years, not since it was presented to me. And if I had taken it off, it had only been for short moments. Having it on made me feel close to her. To Mother. It was what kept it around my wrist all these years.
"Before I was taken, I wore something that my... my mother had left for me. It was a bracelet, made from iron. When I woke in the back of the caged cart I no longer had it. Could that have prevented me from passing whatever test the Hunters did on me?"
Althea's lips parted, but then they turned up into a brimming smile. One that raised more on one side than the other. The kind of smile I expected a cat to present after it scratched you for no reason.
"How devious," she cooed. "Keeping you smothered for all these years."
She had confirmed my suspicions with her somewhat vague reply. Before I could question her, she spoke again, this time to Erix; her face had cleared of all emotion. "I am going to ride ahead, warn them of our arrival. Keep him close and well watched until you get to us. If the other Courts catch word of his return, we will likely be put on the back foot."
"Consider him my most precious possession," Erix said, spreading a shiver down my spine.
There were few things I did not like more than being talked about as though I was not there. It irked me, irritating me beyond comprehension.
"Robin, you are in good hands. We will speak further on this matter soon, but I assure you I will petition for your father's invitation." With that she nodded, clicking her tongue in signal and digging her heels into the side of the stag.
Like wind she blurred forward, hair rushing behind her in waves of red, as she rode off into the distance. In her wake I was left with more questions than I had before, all of them filling my mouth and threatening my mind to burst wide open.
Then Erix leaned in, armoured chest pressing into my back. His lips dusted so close to my ear that I froze in one spot, just like the executioner had beneath my foreign power. "Where were we... little bird?"
Unable to hold my tongue anymore I bit back. "Call me that one more time and I will... I will push you off."
My threat was pathetic, I knew that. Erix seemed to think so as his smoky laugh sounded back. "If I go, you go. Did you not hear what I said to Althea? You are my most precious possessi-"
"Okay, I get it!" I rolled my eyes, huffing out a shuddering breath of annoyance. "And did you not hear what she said about staying silent? I suggest you give it a go, for both your life and career's sake."
Erix leaned back and I was suddenly aware of the lack of warmth. With the tug of the reins the stag beneath us jolted forward and all without him uttering another word.