“I could never bring you here.” He said, turning back to her, his face hidden behind his cowls. “I don’t have the power to. You have found your way here once again.”“Why would I?” She asked. “Because there are questions that plague your mind.” He replied. “I did not have the pleasure of introducing myself before. I am Kuruk, your general, commander of the Wild Hunt, enslaved to your command.”“This is insane. My general? I am not associated to you in any way.”“And yet you have found me again.”He breezed closer and Freya stiffened. “Stop right there.” She said and he abruptly came to a halt. “Your wish is my command.” He said and she scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. The last time I made a mistake and broke you out of your prison you killed countless innocent humans. Did you think it was my wish?”His head bowed and he appeared... contrite. How does a dead man even learn contrition?“We got too excited, our instincts to hunt overrode your will because we had been locked up for so lo
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