Solitary Fae (Humans vs Fae Book 2)

  Solitary Fae

  Charlotte Royalin

  Copyright © 2018 by Charlotte Royalin

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictiously.

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  Cover designed by Duong Covers

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Mailing List

  About the Author

  1

  Sunlight shone through my closed lids, rousing me from my unconscious state. My head was swimming as I groggily managed to sit up from the cold surface I was lying upon. Instantly, I gritted my teeth at my pounding headache. My fingers wove through my hair, catching in the matted tresses. My scalp was sore, and I was almost certain there were bruises littered around my body.

  As my sight adjusted to the sun, I finally began to look around and take in my surroundings. I’d apparently been sleeping upon dewy grass, cool to the touch. Wherever I was, it was akin to a cavern, as my surroundings were rather dark, and a large hole in front of me had allowed the sunlight to peek through in the first place. Just outside of the gaping hole, the branches and leaves of a willow gently rustled in the breeze.

  Despite how chilly it was feeling this morning, I could feel heat coming from my side. I hadn't noticed it at first. I gazed to the left and covered my mouth to keep a shriek from escaping my lips. The white and pale brown fur mingled with traces of snowy feathers, which turned into the flat face of an owl. Its eyes were closed, its beak tucked into the crook of what would be its forearms. The beast took slow, steady breaths as it remained in its slumber. Never had I seen anything like it.

  Unlike the troll, hideous even as a fae creature, this beast was extremely beautiful. The size of its claws, however, led me to believe that it would be far more dangerous than sweet and cuddly.

  I inhaled deeply, holding my breath at the surprising sight as I began to back away. Pushing with my legs to help me crawl backward from the beast before my back ran into the solid bark that surrounded me. Though rough, it too was a bit damp. The dew that clung to the blades of grass I slept upon also hung upon the moss that covered the inside of the trees. I paused, making sure I didn't wake the beast with the abrasive sounds of grass scraping against my knees before crawling forward. I got out of the gap of the willow, and slowly rose to my feet.

  "She's awake!" a female voice called out from a distance. I could spy what seemed to be a humanoid frame in the large expanse of rolling meadows wherever I was now. I had no idea who she was, whether she was human, or fae. I wasn't going to take the chance either, as I believed it weighed heavier toward the fae category.

  I looked left. I looked right. Both seemed clear, and no one was near enough to stop me if I decided to flee.

  So, I ran.

  Unsure of the direction I was headed, I simply took off. I could only hope for some semblance of an escape route. Perhaps I could recognize any monuments or statues that littered the outsides of our human society. They were remnants of our ancient ancestors who lived out in the open and unprotected from the faeries that preyed upon them. Supposedly.

  I continued running though, and I could hear the female voice shouting, but I didn't care, nor did I pay any attention to it.

  In front of me, I could see what seemed like dense woods. If I could lose whoever that woman was, and the beast that had been lying beside me, it would be there. I was approaching fast as I sprinted with all my might, which was still slowly in my long dress. I had to hold the train up next to my knees as I ran, but still it slowed me down.

  There were dense brushes of low-hanging trees that drooped inward. A massive forest of what looked like willows. Though at the base, as I got even closer, I noticed a small mud path that had been pressed into the leaf-covered floor of the forest. Once I hit it, I noticed it was made from many other foot prints. It was well traveled, so I followed it.

  "Please take me home, please take me home," I repeated to myself as I ran, beginning to pant as I grew more tired. For some reason or another, it was only once my feet met the dirt floor I realized that the shoes that I had been sporting previously had been removed. The bare soles of my feet slapping painfully against the hardened path. Small stones managing to find their way between my toes and soft parts of my sole, slowing my pace. I winced in pain but continued. The dried stickers from various weeds clinging to my heels and ankles.

  I couldn't stop, no matter the pain. I had to keep going.

  No sounds behind of a chase coming after me. Another peculiar thing that struck me as I tried to focus on anything beside the pain that bit into my feet, was the strange stillness within the trees themselves. No wind. No breeze. No sounds echoing forth from songbirds, or chirping of insects. Nothing but my panting and the steady thrum of each footstep that propelled me forward. It was extremely unnatural. Even surreal.

  Suddenly, I could see a bright light piercing the exit of the thicket. The slight, dappling sunlight through the thick cover of the trees was extremely sparse, so I had to be near an exit soon. It led to what looked like another expanse of hills on the other side. I didn't dare to slow until I finally bolted out of the dense foliage. In doing so, I fell to my knees, gasping for air to fill my constricted lungs. Never, ever, in my entire twenty years of life had I been so active.

  So, I continued to huff, my fingers grasping the long tendrils of grass that now poked through where the dirt path came to an abrupt halt. I managed to turn to get a glance behind me, having to check to make sure there were no pursuers. My eyes widened as my chest rose and fell rapidly from exhaustion.

  "No." I panted, wincing as I stood on swollen feet. Pain shot through my ankles as I fought to stand on the sides of my feet rather than the soles. It was a haphazard attempt to keep the sticker weeds from piercing through my flesh. What I saw in front of me was what looked completely identical to what I saw only a few minutes ago when I first entered the woods.

  The same exactly placed willow trees, the same opening shape, the same small dotting of flowers that pathed the entrance on the side of the dirt trail.

  I couldn't believe it.

  Swinging around, I saw the female humanoid that I'd seen calling out to me earlier when I woke. She was definitely fae. The features upon the planes of her face were far too perfect, her ears coming to a slight point at the ends. Superhumanly beautiful. She paced toward me leisurely, while two others trailed behind her, though my focus was solely on her eyes.

  "Finding it difficult to leave, hm?" She laughed softly, her shoulders bouncing up with each breathy chuckle. She seemed dainty, but still dominating. The small lines of muscles on her arms led me to believe she was far fitter than I. It'd be almost impossible to try to outrun her or fight her off.


  "How is this possible?" I breathed, only then recognizing one of the two faces that were but a few yards away from us at this point. In an instant, the golden fae disappeared from beside the other male humanoid, vanishing from existence and appearing right in front of me, less than an arm’s length away.

  "How humorous. Humans always think they are smart enough to wander through our lands, through our trees." His laugh was callous, voice deep and husky as he found much amusement in my bewilderment. He seemed to gauge the questioning look and confusion upon my face as he lifted his chin, signaling to the flora that was just behind me.

  "The trees will only let you pass through if you ask nicely, Penelope."

  I made a face at him, "You speak to the trees?"

  "You obviously can't even begin to understand our connection to nature." He smirked, looking up and down at my now ruined dress. It was his fault I was here, and how I wanted to yell at him, but I had to think smarter than just running like a wild animal. I had little doubt they would kill me if I got too difficult to handle, and I, as the lowly human they looked at me as, could do nothing to escape. I couldn't risk just teleporting back to my home in the middle of the entrance. I'd have to wait.

  The other man behind him grunted. He was less handsome than Vethari, with many scars across his face and what was visible of his body, beneath patched together leathers. "No wonder her kind can easily tear our forests asunder. They can't hear its cries of pain. Disgusting." He spat at the ground, arms crossed over his chest. He looked especially fearsome.

  "Batik, now isn't the time to be rude to our guest," the female replied, eyeing me up and down as well and looking unimpressed with how I appeared. Batik rolled his eyes as he whistled loudly through two fingers. The loud squawk that followed was bone chilling. In a matter of seconds, I could see that owllike beast racing toward us. It must be their pet.

  I shook my head, instinctively stepping closer to Vethari. Despite him kidnapping me, and what he did to those guards, he was the only one I knew. I'd never forgive him for what he did, but as I thought before, I'd have to play this smart if I wanted to live.

  The beast was upon us quickly, and it skidded to a halt beside Batik. Instead of acting even more beastly, it instead began to nestle the crown of its head into Batik's arm.

  "What is it?" I managed to ask shakily. Even being in its massive presence was a bit intimidating. The creature's avian eyes shifted toward me as it ruffled its fur and feathers.

  "It's an ibisa," Vethari replied, "We’re going to the circle closest to here. It isn't too far to walk."

  He turned on his heel to face the other fae, and using two fingers, he slapped them onto his wrist and pointed to the right. She nodded and began to sprint off in the direction he pointed.

  He faced Batik, slapping his fore- and middle-finger against his shoulder, then made a roundabout action above his head. The male nodded and headed into the same forest that I had gotten lost in. In a matter of seconds, they both were gone, clearly moving faster than any human I'd ever seen.

  Once we were alone, Vethari reached down, snatching up a single blade of grass next to his bare feet. He seemed to examine it for just a moment before facing me again, a look of annoyance on his face as he growled a command.

  "Arms out."

  I threw my arms forward. He'd never spoken to me in such a manner before, when he was locked in the underground prison. It was frightening, and scared me.

  The blade of grass he plucked was then balanced on my right wrist, beginning to wriggle when it touched me. It began to warp, then shot outward from either side to wrap tightly around both of my wrists. I wanted to pull away from it, but it had me completely locked, wrists now only an inch apart.

  It tightened further, rather painfully, before it ceased its wriggling. The grass then lengthened, and Vethari grasped it in his open palm. He pulled it forward, jerking me along with him as he stepped up to the ibisa. At a snap of his fingers, the rope lengthened further, and he tied it around the beast's large neck, or what I assumed would be his neck.

  With that, the golden fae before me began to walk, and as soon as the creature walked behind in his step, it pulled me with them both.

  Fantastic.

  We kept moving, though the horizon never seemed to show even the slightest gain in distance as we traversed the meadow. To make everything worse, it was obnoxiously humid and hot. Even though the landscape appeared bright and sunny, it felt like we were stomping through a swamp.

  The grass was just shy of knee length as we progressed, making the terrain difficult to pass through. I nearly tripped every other step on some hidden stone or stick that managed to get om the way of my pained feet. Watching Vethari, I noticed he managed to step over every obstacle in his own path without so much as a forethought. His focus remaining straight ahead, never downward. He must have known these lands well.

  From this perspective, never having seen him in lighting that wasn't blue or dim, I got a much better look at him. His back was bare, a large dark-brown bandolier strapped diagonally across his torso. As my view trailed down his well-muscled back, I saw the fur of his makeshift trousers. Exquisitely sewn together from what I assumed to be either fox or wolf hide. They only covered the top half of his thighs, which were also just as tanned and muscled as the rest of his form.

  His body, though lean, seemed bulky up top. He had to be a fast runner and would catch me if I had the opportunity to escape.

  He must have felt my gaze on him, as he furrowed his brows once he glanced behind himself at me. He gave me a disapproving look, upper lip curling back to reveal his individually pointed teeth. It sent a shiver down my spine, this time of fright rather than pleasure.

  "Why are you staring at me?" he barked, maintaining his quick pace.

  I wanted to retort something rude, but I found myself merely shaking my head rapidly back and forth. Eyes widened that he could feel my gaze penetrating him for only a few moments. He snorted, turning ahead once more concentrating on something else, and led us on.

  2

  After hours of constant walking, the sun was setting low at this point. I was thankful for the lack of heat, but my stomach began to continually growl in hunger. I couldn't remember the last time I ate; it'd been over a day I'm sure. With such hunger, came fatigue. It was beginning to become difficult to sustain the pace I was forced to maintain. As such, I began to lag behind, my arms straining as they were held aloft by the ever-tightening rope.

  And I was so thirsty.

  So, so, thirsty.

  "Oof!"

  The ties strained as I stumbled into the side of the ibisa that dragged me along. I leaned into its feathery hide to try to at least maintain balance. I could hear it began to make a sound that resembled growling, which jolted me back to attention. I pushed off the creature as Vethari stopped mid-stride, giving me a hard look. He didn't say anything, only wanting an answer for the pause in our marching.

  "I'm exhausted, Vethari. Can we not have a rest?" I begged, unsure of what exactly I was begging for. I doubted he would let us set up camp so suddenly.

  His silvery eyes squinted at me, and I kept my own gaze low in submission. Without uttering a response, he unlaced a leather waterskin that was at his side. I hadn't noticed it before. Vethari brought it forward, close enough that I could see him holding it out to me even while I stared at the ground.

  I looked up and reached forward with my tied hands, but he pulled it back. Was he taunting me?

  He nodded his chin upward, "Open." He was so demanding.

  I hesitated but did as was requested reluctantly. He uncorked the spout of the waterskin with his calloused fingers and allowed the water to drizzle out just inches above my mouth.

  I guzzled down every ounce I could manage, trying not to choke on the water as I gulped loudly. He pulled it away just as quickly as he poured the water past my lips, stuffing the cork back in it and retying it to the side of his furs. "We can rest later," he muttered, marching once mo
re, "Once we cross over."

  "Cross over?"

  He didn't reply.

  "I don't know how much longer I can go." I wanted to cry and complain to try to get my way, but he was so hard now. I didn't know what happened to the funny, quick witted, and gentle faerie I had originally met. He huffed.

  With a quick swish of motion I couldn't even follow, he placed his hands firmly around my waist. He squeezed me tight as he picked me up, placing me side-saddle upon the ibisa, the only way I could ait because of the ragged dress I was still wearing. The beast squawked in what I could only assume to be displeasure. I went rigid as its feathers began to stand up in distress, but all Vethari had to do was bare his teeth, and the ibisa calmed down.

  The golden fae nodded at the owllike fae, approving of its submissive attitude and began to trek on once more, wanting to gain as much ground as possible toward wherever it was that we were to cross over.

  I noticed the grass becoming shorter and shorter, until it was barely an inch long. The trees, on the other hand, became much more prevalent as they started to form a massive canopy above us, the field turning into a wide forest.

  "There." Vethari pointed ahead to a small patch of nothing ahead of us. I leaned forward, clutching the feather and fur mixture on the ibisa gently to try to get a better look. The ibisa began to hoot, lumbering quickly as Vethari jogged forward. I gripped even tighter to try to keep myself from falling off. Vethari didn't seem to even break a sweat as he jogged ahead. Only after a minute did we come to a stop. I squeaked as I tumbled forward from the rapid halt, tumbling forward and off the beast as my arms swung overhead, my wrists still tied to the ibisa. Even so, I managed to land hard on my rear end.