Chapter 1

ZIYAH

Pain. Torment. Darkness.

Was it day or night? Did it really matter any longer? This had been my life for years, decades, or centuries. There was no way to measure time here in order to know how long it had been since I was captured.

Dark Fae were nasty creatures who took without compassion towards what they were taking. They despised Light Fae more than any other species out there. Thus, they hated me with a damn passion.

Electricity burned through me once again, ripping a scream from my throat. My body tried to curl into itself, but the chains held me in place.

“Where is the Power Keep for the Trelinin clan?” Toris, my main tormentor, demanded to know.

A Power Keep was the well that held the magic for Fae clans. My family was not just normal Light Fae. Trelinin Protectors provided protection of those with the strongest destinies from many supernatural species. As such, our Power Keep was filled with some of the strongest magic of our kind. I would rather die at the hands of these monsters than give up that information.

Another surge of electricity crashed through me since I did not respond.

I longed for death, but I knew they would not grant that to me. It would be too much of a kindness. Mercy was not a concept that Dark Fae understood.

A swift kick to my side felt like a flea bite compared to being electrocuted time and again. I listened as footsteps receded, and I was left on my own again.

A few tears fell from my eyes as I realized that I was yet again not granted death. How long would they keep this up? Fae lived for hundreds of years. My grandfather lived to be nine hundred and thirty-two years old. The last birthday I celebrated was my seventy-first, so I was not certain how old I was any longer. Time meant nothing down here in this hell of mine.

Warmth covered my body, soaking into my tired and weakened bones, providing me with something I had not felt in a very long time – peace.

‘It is time for you to go to your destiny, Ziyah,’ a musical voice filtered into my head.

Had I gone insane? I honestly expected that to have happened a long time ago. Better late than never. Was that not the saying?

‘No, my dear, you are not insane. You are a warrior, strong, and fierce. I have healed you as much as I can so that you can escape from this torment. I will cloak you, but you must be careful. There will be a light that only you can see. Follow it to your destiny. You are meant for great things. You must move now.’

I should have been more apprehensive about following a musical little voice in my head, but the term ‘escape’ was the only thing that I focused on.

I felt the cuffs and chains fall from me. I could not even remember a time that I was not chained like an animal. My eyes immediately opened, my heart beating faster when I saw the blasted chains laying on the ground.

Rays of moonlight came through the barred window from above me. My wrists were red, swollen, and scarred from how long those chains had been there. The iron in them kept my magic at bay and made me essentially human. The chains from my legs had also fallen away. It was the first time that I had not felt their weight, and it was liberating even though it was also a little unnerving at the same time.

‘You must hurry,’ the voice urged.

I struggled to get up just because it had been a while since I moved around. My legs felt weak, but they were strong enough to carry me away from here. My lungs took in a deep breath which filled me with conviction. I could do this.

There was a small white light floating in the air, just like the voice had said. I did not have time to ponder who owned the voice and began my trek behind the light. The door was not locked since I had been bound by chains. It was their mistake but my saving grace.

I listened closely but did not hear anything out there, so I slid out the door and gently closed it behind me. Stone walls were on either side of me that were reminiscent of an old castle. Chandelier lights hung from the ceiling. Their soft glow illuminated my path enough for me to see ahead.

My body leaned against the wall while I walked to give me enough support to keep moving. Each step I took filled me with another ounce of hope. I would leave here or die trying. Either way, I would be gone from this hellhole.

The light paused, so I stopped as well. Two females walked down the hall perpendicular to me. Thankfully, the light stopped me, or I would have collided with them. That definitely would not have been in my best interest.

My little guide turned the corner and moved in the direction that the females had come from. The scent of woods greeted my nose, and I had never smelled anything better than that. It was the first time that I smelled fresh air since they captured me. It reinvigorated me with purpose.

The light paused again. Toris was walking alongside his father. They both had the typical Dark Fae look. Grey skin, black eyes, and sharp features.

All Fae held light inside of them. It was their soul and lifeforce. It was the essence of our magic. We used to be just one – Fae. However, some of our people began to corrupt themselves as they attempted to gain power in any way that they could. They tainted their light which then tainted their soul. It created physical changes to take place so that all could see their corruption.

“The bitch still refuses to speak despite everything we do to her. Nothing has broken her,” Toris spat.

It made me giddy to know that I irked him so much. He hated me for not breaking apart at the seams. Trust me when I said that he was very creative in his torture techniques. It was surprising that my body had withstood everything that he threw at me. Honestly, I should have died long ago with how often they attempted to gain information from me.

“I don’t know what else to try, father. Thirty-seven years of pure torture hasn’t done anything to her,” Toris said, clenching his fists tightly at the thought alone.

Thirty-seven years. I spent thirty-seven years in this hellhole. It pained me to imagine what my family must have felt when I went missing. Were they still looking for me? I would not fault them at all if they had given up. They loved me deeply, just as I loved them, but I would not wish them to feel the deep misery that a fruitless search would gift them.

“We must continue. I have called for Blantay to return. Her magic will allow us inside of the girl’s mind even though the Trelinin magic blocks others from doing so. She should reach us in two days’ time. Until then, I need you to focus on something else. The newest shipment of the gifted wolves is set to arrive in an hour. Inspect them to ensure that they are of good quality and can withstand the removal,” his father said before walking away.

Toris raked his hand through his short black hair and stormed off, muttering obscenities about me under his breath. A smirk tipped my lips upward despite the seriousness of the situation at hand.

The light began moving again, so I eagerly followed behind it. I had no idea who cloaked me, but the cloak was strong enough to block everything out including my scent, heartbeat, and breathing. That should have been impossible to accomplish while in the presence of powerful Fae, but alas it was working.

The light hovered in front of a large door at the end of the hallway. This was clearly not the front door, which I appreciated because that would have been a dangerous risk to take. I was eternally indebted and thankful to this light and the voice.

I looked behind me but saw no one, so I opened the door just enough for me to slip through it before closing it behind me.

My eyes opened wide, and a genuine smile stretched across my face. It felt like a foreign action, but it was perfect for this moment. My eyes stung from the tears that were threatening to fall. I was outside for the first time in nearly four decades. A breeze blew around me, making me shiver, but I had never felt better in my entire life. It was nature’s way of greeting me.

I allowed myself a few more moments to soak in the wonderful view around me of the tall trees and full moon in the sky above. With a final deep breath, I walked down the stairs, being careful not to fall.

The light led me into the forest. The moonlight gave me just enough light to see where I was going for the most part. My feet got scratched and cut open since I did not have shoes on, but I gave each drop of blood willingly as long as I escaped this hell that had become my life.

I cleared my thoughts of the pain in my body that screamed with every step that I took. Instead, I thought about my family. There were fifteen children. I was the third youngest child and was the headstrong one that always pushed myself hard to master everything that I could.

My parents always said that I was destined for great things, but all I wanted was to make them proud of me. What would they think of me if they saw me now? I was stumbling through the forest at night after being too weak to escape that prison for thirty-seven fucking years. I did not feel strong at all because I felt weak and like I failed in my destiny of being a Trelinin Protector since I could not even protect myself.

It felt like I had been walking for hours, but I kept going because I needed as much distance away from them as I could.

‘Run, child. He will protect you when you make it to him. Run to your destiny,’ the voice urged.

I did not have time to ponder what in the world the voice meant or who the mystery person was that would protect me. I heard a wolf’s howl go up, and I realized that they must have finally realized that I was gone by now.

A thought that I would ponder later was trying to understand why the Dark Fae were working with the wolves.

The thought of them chasing me filled me with adrenaline and pushed me forward. My legs somehow broke out into a run despite how tired and weak they were. I refused to die here by their hands. I refused to let them capture me again because I had a gut feeling that there was more to it than just wanting my clan’s Power Keep.

There were three more howls that followed that first one. They were all different so that meant I had four wolves hunting me. The iron had entered my blood stream, so my magic was not at my disposal. How fucking lucky was that? It would take a while without the iron chains on me for it to be purged from my body, but it would happen.

The light took a sharp right, so I followed along like an obedient puppy. I snorted internally with the pun since I was being chased by wolves. Do not get me wrong. I had no problem with good wolves, but those associated with Dark Fae were not good at all. They were the kind that took what they wanted and spat on the broken bodies of those left behind.

The howls were gaining on me. No matter how fast I was, they would always be faster in their forms because I ran like a human would without my magic. Fucking hell. This was not good at all. Add in the fact that I was weakened from everything. Recipe for disaster.

A warm static passed through me as I crossed an invisible border. Why would there be a Light Fae boundary in this area, wherever we were at? It would keep out Dark Fae, but it would never keep the wolves out. Hopefully, whoever set the boundary would have access to it being crossed.

Something collided with me, throwing me harshly to the ground. Claws dug into me, causing me to scream out. It was apparent that the cloaking was no longer there. The wolf snarled at me as he used his sharp claws to flip my body over. He was a massive brown wolf with startling red eyes. His lips pulled back from his teeth as he snarled again.

No matter what happened, I would never show him fear even if I felt it weaving throughout my entire body. He dragged his canines over my face, digging deep gashes in my skin. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I forced myself to keep my cries internal. His claws ripped into my body once again.

A pained yelp rang out behind us, causing the wolf on top of me to look behind us. A ferocious snarl rang out. It should have frightened me, but that snarl made me feel safe. I had no idea why, but it did. It also caused the wolf to release me.

The last thing I saw was his hind paw crashing down against my face before I fell into dark oblivion.