Midnight End

22

I shook my head, unable to form a single word. I had no idea what was happening between us, but it felt like my world was shifting on its axis. Like that moment was in some way pivotal, but I didn’t have the proper perspective to understand its importance. When I thought I couldn’t stand the heated tension another moment, Lancelot spoke. “Come then, I’ll walk you back to the gates. It grows dark, and a young woman should not be alone outside the city wall.” Thankful for the escort and the escape from his bewitching thrall, I obediently grabbed my basket and scurried after the man who had captivated me for so long. Unbeknown to me, that day had been the first day of our love affair—one that was short-lived but burned brighter than any sun. Losing him had only added to the mountain of grief I had endured during my childhood. As I roused from the dream, my waking mind and active subconscious blurred together. The comforting weight of a heavy arm draped over me, and I snuggled into the warmth at my back. A part of me desperately wanted to return to the dream and the happy months I spent with Lancelot. Another vocal part of me blared annoying that the man behind me was not Lancelot. I was going to have to work on silencing my inner voices—some of them were salty bitches. I blinked my eyes open to the dense blackness of night. The prior twenty-four hours came rushing back to me in a flood of memories. Not only was the man behind me not my Lancelot, he was my jailor. He reported to a man who would see me fail if he knew my task. Knight was a decent man. I had no qualms with him, but I couldn’t allow our association to continue if there was a chance of escape. It was too risky. I squeezed myself out from beneath his arm, breathing a sigh of relief when he didn’t stir. Not wanting to make any noise, I picked up my pack and crept from our cavernous campsite. I had studied the stars extensively and was able to direct myself eastward. Once I was a sufficient distance from the cave not to be heard, I dug a jacket out of my backpack and took a swig of water from my canteen. Just before I moved to return the canteen, I heard a rustle of leaves not far from me. Every muscle in my body locked in anticipation. My ears scanned for any indication of what might be out there, and my eyes strained to see beyond the closest trees. For long minutes, I stood motionless, unsure if I was in danger or merely overreacting. I had never in my life been afraid of the dark; my powers always provided ample protection. Now, I started to wonder what I had been thinking, running headlong into the forest in the middle of the night without so much as a knife to protect me. The one I had brought with us was somewhere in the cave with Knight, discarded after he had disemboweled the Kaché. In my hurry to escape, I hadn’t remembered to look for it. There was no time to go back—I had to put as much distance between us as possible. One stealthy step at a time, I resumed walking. My imagination began to run wild, and even the slightest noise sounded like the most heinous creature. Soon, I picked up my pace to a steady jog, hoping to exhaust the fear from my system. I went for miles in the seemingly endless forest. The Faery suns crested over the horizon and gradually ascended into the sky. I took a minimal number of breaks, hoping I could get far enough ahead of Knight to lose him. I had no doubt he would come after me. The question was whether I was skilled enough to evade him. By afternoon, my energy levels had depleted dramatically. I had finished off the last of my water and hadn’t located a single stream from which I could refill my canteen. Knowing I needed to take a break, I found a fallen tree to sit against and rested my head on the moist wood. How did humans survive as a species? Life was infinitely more difficult without the use of magic. In theory, I had known magic vastly affected daily life, but it hadn’t been until my escape from Merlin’s house that I had truly begun to understand the effects. Not even the month I had spent at the house before Knight arrived had been enough to demonstrate how substantially I relied on magic as a Fae. Now that I was alone in a forest, without water and disturbingly low on energy, I finally grasped how advantageous magic was. Aside from Merlin’s enchantment, Knight had been without magic his entire time as a wolf. I had been amazed he was sane after his ordeal, but it was equally stunning he had survived at all. As capable as I thought myself, I was coming to realize my basic survival skills were abysmal. How did one find water without magic? How was I supposed to sleep without a protection spell around me? If the clouds obscured the stars, how would I know which direction to go at night? I glared down at the garish iron cuffs around both my wrists. Who would have thought the mighty Morgan Le Fay could be rendered helpless as a child so easily? I began to cackle a humorless laugh. The sound resonated in the stillness of the woods, making me laugh even harder. Before long, the sounds died in my throat as my eyes fell upon three tiny creatures watching me where I sat. Spriggans. Of all the bloody luck. Spriggans were known for being savagely territorial. I hoped it was a good sign I hadn’t been instantly attacked, but my exposure to this solitary caste of Fae had been limited, so I was not confident in my assessment of the situation. I inhaled deeply through my nose, hoping to oxygenate my blood in preparation for the fight that was inevitable. The creatures may have only been ten inches in height, but I knew better than to discount their threat. I held motionless, hoping to avoid a conflict. “Hello,” I offered with a cordial bow of my head. “Have I mistakenly intruded onto your territory? I’m more than happy to leave if that’s the case.” The creature in the middle stepped forward, lip lifting in a vicious snarl to reveal jagged, razor-sharp teeth. I was in terrible trouble. “Calm down,” I said soothingly, hands lifted in surrender. “I’ll leave right now.” Not knowing what else to do, I began to rise to my feet, never taking my eyes from the three angry men. The man in the middle made a clicking sound, and within seconds, the creatures expanded from ten inches in height to a towering ten feet. They were gargantuan beasts with brown, pock-marked skin and two holes where a nose should have been. I cried out and bolted for the trees. With an intense surge of adrenaline, my body pushed through its fatigue as I raced past shrubs and over fallen logs. From behind me, I could hear thunderous crashing and savage growls as the creatures closed the distance between us.