When Aremin didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t be found but of everybody in the world, Freya knew him best. She drank beer silently in the depths of the pub and she listened to the conversation around the room. Opposite her, Adrian watched her with a permanent frown on his lips. He thought she was neglecting herself since she started chasing after Aremin two weeks ago and he was not wrong but she didn’t care. Without him, she would have hunted Aremin all day without food or sleep but he managed to force food into her mouth at least once a day. Her mind was burning with questions and anger and she would not rest until Aremin gave her answers. A group of men were whispering at the other end of the room. “The collector will show up tonight aye?” One of them asked, so hairy she could barely see his face through it. “I have it on very good authority that he will. Relax, there’s hours yet.” A second man said, his eyes so tiny it looked like he was peering into your soul. “What use h
This used to be one of the drills in her training, trying to catch Aremin. The bastard was quick on his feet, always leading her to traps which she had to act fast to evade. She cursed as she pumped her fist to ran faster. For a human, Aremin was impossibly quick on his feet. Even with her immortal speed, there was never a time during her drills that she did catch him and it always led her to wonder if he was actually human at all. But this was not one of her training moments, she was no longer the girl that Aremin had wrapped around his little finger. When she got to the next diversion, she paused and listened. There, a footprint heading in one direction glared at her. Her trained assassin senses wanted to follow the evidence of his retreat but she would have done that those times when she never used her wolf senses. She sniffed the air instead, closing her eyes until she got a clear picture of his trail which she followed till.. right above her. She dove to the ground and rolled
“The Fae realm?!” Adrian asked, his voice rising and Freya frowned. “Yes. Why?” He started to pace. “It’s just.. the Fae are an entire entity on their own and no one would voluntarily be entangled with them. Those creatures are full of deceit, they are notorious for luring people into binding deals that practically sell your soul to them. I don’t want you to have anything to do with them.”Freya folded her arms. “Well it’s not like I have a choice.” She snapped, her voice getting testy. He stopped pacing and glanced at her and she was rigid with dread at the argument brewing between them because her mind would not be swayed. He sighed, knowing this and came to her, drawing her into his arms. “I’m sure we have nothing to worry about.” He said into her hair. “I’m coming with you.”“You are?” She asked, her heart soaring with hope and he tapped her nose. “Why? You didn’t think I would let you to go alone and have all the fun did you?”Her lips curved in a smile she couldn’t contain
He would follow her of course, and she knew only one way he couldn’t. Her wolf was pushing at her to come out and she didn’t resist. She shifted and tore into the forest, her feet flying over the familiar tangles and sprouts. Adrian lied to her. Exactly how many times did he look into her eyes and tell her no when she asked him if he could portal them out? She suffered in that realm because of their damn queen, the thought that he might have been able to prevent all of it and instead left her to go through it was painful. She howled, long and loud and she ran faster, like she could outrun all her pain and confusion. What was the love he confessed then? Did he love her when he left her to her fate with the queen? Was the love he had to offer just selfishness? A part of her mind knew she was being very irrational, she knew that Adrian was no villain but those parts were silenced by the other parts of her that was just in pain at his deception. She trusted him and he deceive her, it w
Adrian was waiting for her when she finally headed back. His gaze snagged on the jacket she had clutched around her shoulder but he didn’t say anything as she padded to the freezer and drank three bottles of water. Running always made her ravenous but they needed to talk and couldn’t postpone it any longer. “I didn’t tell you once I had the power to portal us back here again and I’m sorry.” He said. “Since when? Since before the queen tortured me?” She asked. “No, a day after.” He replied. “I wanted us to have more time together, away from all these demons that chased you into my arms in the first place. I was selfish and I wanted you all to myself even if for a few days more.”She still didn’t find his deceit amusing but she nodded and went to him anyway. He eagerly opened his arms and she crawled into it and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m not asking for much from you Adrian, but I want to trust you and I cannot do that if you’re keeping secrets from me.”“I know.” He rep
With nothing else but her bag of clothes, Freya took off. The faster she got to the royal castle and got her business taken care of, the faster she could get out of this realm, somehow. She left the sleeping tree, taking an already carved path in the direction she was pointed. She had no idea what kept Adrian back but he would surely know she was headed to the castle when he eventually got here and she could not afford to wait. As she walked, she couldn’t help but admire the realm. So different from home where magic and wonders barely existed anymore but it was also different from the realm Adrian portaled her to before. Faerie land embodied the fanciful aspect of magic, with grass so green it looked like it was stained that colour, the green mountains sloped gently in the horizon, eliciting the childish urge to go running over them and down the other side. Colourful butterflies cascaded from flower to flower, gently stirring her hair, resting on her shoulders and tiny creatures wit
“Why would you draw your blade on me?” Adrian asked, looking confused and Freya faltered. Was the realm already fucking with her mind? She must have gone crazy...“It’s this place, it’s trying to turn us against each other but we’ll overcome it. Come, I found somewhere safe we can stay for a while.” Adrian said and extended his hand to her. She trusted him. Her legs moved to go to him but she glanced back at the path. “They told me not to wander from the path.” She said. And here was Adrian thinking of going even farther away. “We don’t need rest, let’s head back and finish the journey.”She turned to leave. “No.” Adrian’s adamant refusal startled her. “The ones that instructed you to follow the path; they are masters of mischief. That path leads nowhere, you must come with me now.”She glanced between the path she was supposed to take and the man she loved and her eyes narrowed on Adrian. “Where are our bags?” She asked him and he frowned. “What bags?”Her hackles rose and she w
“You try anything funny and I’ll kill you.” She growled and the merman laughed. “If I died every time someone made a threat on my life, I wouldn’t have any life left to live. Give me your hand.”She did, and he held it up and grinned up at her. “The Fae do not deal well with trespassers. Your life shall be mine to do with as I please, should I taste your blood and find you an impostor.”Her brow cocked curiously. No wonder the man was practically frothing at the mouth, he was already anticipating tearing into her flesh. Well, not if she killed him first. His claw opened her wrist and his tongue lashed out and lapped a drop of the blood. “Hmmm.” He hummed and closed his eyes.Her blood would only reveal her werewolf heritage and Adrian already informed her that her kind were not wanted in the realm. Her hand tightened on her dagger as his eyes flashed wide open but the attack she anticipated never came. The merman stared at her and the veins in his wide eyes thickened, started to g
“Your mother was the most beautiful female I ever came across, both inside and out. When I heard she died, I was thrown off balance for a while and my court suffered for it. She didn’t deserve to leave so soon.”“No, she didn’t.” Freya agreed. “Prince Zeldaurus mentioned in your letter that you don’t wish to stay in Faerie, probably because he knew I would try to convince you to stay in the Summer court.” He said and she scoffed. “If I wanted to stay anywhere at all, this would be the place. Believe it or not, I don’t exactly have a great relationship with my aunt.” She said and he laughed.“Who does? The Winter Queen is a perfectly complicated creature but she is not without her charms.”“What was their relationship like?” She asked and the king hummed.“It was an interesting dynamics. Your mother and the queen used to be close, much like ying and yang.”“No way...” She said and his eyes crinkled with laughter. “They were. Tiana adored her and worshipped the ground she walked on w
It wasn’t until after they had portaled into the Summer court that Freya could finally draw a breath and admit that they had finally escaped the wicked witch of the north afterall. The Summer court was just as beautiful as the winter court and she thought, maybe even more so. There was none of the harsh beauty of the winter court, everything here was natural and sublime. The sun cast a rosy glow on the horizon and butterflies flitted from flower to flower. It was a lot like where Adrian’s portal had taken her before but this close to the castle, the air was different. The castle stood huge and grand, ornately designed as if it had stood strong through several centuries. Flowers draped the sides of the castle aesthetically and all the Fae were dressed in brilliant and dazzling dresses, looking as light and carefree as the breeze that swayed their dresses. “Come.” Zeldaurus offered his hand she slipped her hand into his, unable to contain her smile. She liked this side of him. This fa
Freya had tried everything she could think of to break out of her room. The door didn’t give way no matter how much she pounded on it. Her claws left no dent on the surface and her claws didn’t graze the walls either. She stared into the white roof, looked at the white walls, the white floors and she thought that the colour white had the power to drive someone mad.When the door opened once again, she leaped into a sitting position but her excitement died down when she found that it was just the Princess. “Were you expecting someone else?” Princess Kastilla asked, a smirk on her lips. “Where is Zeldaurus? He is not still being punished is he?” She asked. “Perhaps, perhaps not.”Freya growled and Princess Kastilla raised her hands. “Easy, Wolfie.”“I never told you I’m a werewolf.” She replied and Princess Kastilla laughed. “Do you have to tell me it’s day?” She countered. “About your questions, the Queen has a soft spot for him. She will let him off the hook soon if she has not
For a second, even Freya was afraid of her power and what it would do. She just knew that she wanted this torture to end and so her power exploded from her fist to do her bidding. There was a flash and when it cleared, the Queen had a shield of ice up, pushing back against her thick tentacles of darkness. The two warriors behind shouted and ran for her and the whipper faltered, gaping with shock. Zeldaurus was up before she could blink, his bloody tattered body lunging between her and the other warriors. “Get out of the way, Zeldaurus.” One of them gritted out, his body shaking with the effort of restraining himself from ripping into her. “No.” Zeldaurus gritted out. In front of her, she saw his huge body ripple and shudder and she knew he was also fighting the urge to snap her neck. “She is not a threat to the queen.” He snarled. “Think! What can a clueless untrained female do to the Winter Queen?”They paused, looking between them and oh, Zeldaurus had never been more wrong. Her
“I did.” Zeldaurus replied. “While in the town, I found a female who seems to have lost her way. She is not registered; belonging to neither the Winter or the Summer court. I have brought her to you so you may chose her court.” He replied. “The woman?” The queen glanced at her again and she felt the heat of being under her withering stare. “Come closer so I may see you.” She ordered. Freya walked up the flight of stairs until she was at the foot of the dais. “On your knees.” Zeldaurus unexpected voice in her mind startled her and she obeyed. How did he do that? Amongst everything else, she had forgotten to ask about that. “Come closer, female. I want to look at you.” She cooed and Freya attempted to stand. “On your knees.” She added sharply and before she could stop herself, she raised her face with a dark glare. “Lower your eyes!” Zeldaurus commanded in her head and she did, but not before she saw the surprise and interest in the queen’s eyes at the action. Biting her tongue
The touch of his lips to hers rocked her like an explosion at her feet. Her hands fisted in his lapels and she pulled him closer. He was still for a moment and then as if she had opened a dam, he flipped their positions and pressed her into the mirror. He kissed her the same way he approached life, thoroughly, profusely, meticulously. She felt it all the way to her toes which curled and she felt her hands shift into claws which gripped him tighter.She wasn’t the only one that felt this, of that she was sure as he finally slowed down and released her. Her chest was rising and falling fast and her lips tingled from his kiss and she thought the perhaps she might finally find peace after this but it was like pouring fuel onto a burning fuse. Her body craved his touch back on her skin, his lips back on hers and she took an instinctive step forward. She finally got the sense knocked back into her when he took a corresponding step backward. She watched as his eyes shuttered entirely but not
Zeldaurus was below with their host, getting ready for their departure and Freya headed for the roof. She took in Faerie around her, a realm so terribly beautiful and perfect. Magic was definitely in perfect sync here. It was mind boggling that the same realm had birthed the terrible barren landscape that she had been stuck in for so long. Footsteps behind her came closer until their host came to stand beside her. “I heard you were in there for years.” Syrelia said.“Yes.” She replied and Syrelia shook her head. “The time contrast still amazes me till date. Prince Zeldaurus wanted to come to you immediately but there was a delay before the portaler could get here. I nearly had to restrain him from coming for you because if he had tried you both would have missed each other.”She scoffed. “Well I’m here now and he’s doing a pretty good job of ignoring me.““The truth is... I’ve known Prince Zeldaurus for a while now and I’ve not seen him interact with any female the way he interacts
After a long and refreshing bath, Freya finally felt human again. Being here now was reminding her of the reason she even came to Faerie in the first place, the reason why she held out for so long even when her trials nearly took her life. She was even more determined now to see it done. For the most part, Faerie had not been a gracious host to her, she had seen horrors here and been stuck in Vienna’s body for years. She couldn’t let all of that be in vain, she didn’t want to. Now more than ever, she wanted to finish what she started and she couldn’t wait to say goodbye to the damn realm. She went below stairs to find Zeldaurus but was met with guards that told her he was in an important meeting and had ordered not to be disturbed. “Snap their necks.” A voice said in her head, sounding nearly mad. She shook her head to clear it of the weird whispers and turned away. “Well I’m sure you can pass a message across to him then. Tell him to find me.”Their shocked faces said that obviou
Whatever this realm was, it was the most wretched place Freya ever came across. Every single day was a battle to remain alive, to stay on top of the numerous dangers that sought to ensnare her. She padded out of the home she had claimed for herself in the three decades that she had spent in the realm she called ‘Bare bones’. In Vienna’s form, she leaped to the ground and took off, flying over the terrain with a freedom she never had before. Not once in the thirty years that she had spent in here had she shifted back to her human form and she had no complaints. Her wolf was exactly what she needed here. Vienna kept the both of them alive and even though she longed day after day for her mates, Vienna understood that there was nothing she could do about that. Freya would not understand and they didn’t need Freya’s human emotions getting in the way. Her tongue lolled out as she hunted and several creatures watched her, none daring to approach. It had been a rough and tedious journey w