CHAPTER FOUR
ARABELLA
The sliced skin on my legs and thighs burned as I chased the blasted rabbit through thickets of thorns. How he managed to free himself was beyond me. Oryn promised me that the snares worked, that whenever game was caught up in them, there was no way for the animal to get out. He was wrong.
Then again, he was a man...and men had crazy ideas. Like going into the wilderness without an ounce of water, or placing all his trust in sprinkles of glittering dust that he placed around us at night—which apparently was the important “supply” he procured from the man in the purple waistcoat. Supposedly, it would keep the fae from seeing or smelling us. And there was the fact that he wanted me, someone who’d never set a proper snare in her life, to set over a hundred through the forest, but not before dousing me in the same glittery dust. Dust that was now tatty and sweated off. Fresh torrents of driving rain finished the job by pounding any remaining dust off my skin and clothes.
It started sprinkling when I was caught in the briars, but now the sky was bawling. I was heartbroken with the knowledge that this torrent wouldn’t end any time soon. Thunder rumbled across the sky in waves, making the earth beneath my feet tremble and the hair on my arms stand at attention. The sky was as aggravated as I was, and maybe just as starved.
I chased the rabbit, my meager belongings tied across my chest, through the seemingly endless woodland. Maybe it was infinite. But the rabbit would be worth the struggle if I could just reach him. It was fat enough to feed us for days if we were careful. The wily beast would hop a few feet to the left, and then when I almost had him, he’d hop ahead to the right, zig-zagging his way through the woods.
At times, he would act almost carefree, sniffing the ground, his tiny nostrils flaring. But then his beady red eyes would find me and his flight response sent him scurrying away again. Always barely out of reach.
I hoped he didn’t find his burrow and hide away in a hole too deep for me to pull him out of. Oryn would kill me if I lost him. He was the only animal we’d seen for days, and we were too far into the forest to turn back without food.
My brother had left me while he went on a mission to find water and told me to set snares along any animal trails I saw. That was easier said than done. The whole forest was composed of a labyrinth of trails, forking off in every direction. Close enough to touch his wintry fur, the rabbit suddenly leapt away again and paused to nibble on a leaf.
Now that I thought of it, it seemed more likely that Oryn had taken me into the woods and left me. How was he supposed to find me after he got water for us? Maybe the magic dust would beckon him.
And maybe this rabbit could fly...
Either way, I was on my own now. I had to catch this wretch and end it so I would have the strength to keep going. My mouth was drier than a desert and I was beginning to tire. If I could catch the damned thing, I’d let the rain pour into my mouth until it pooled and rivulets spilled out the corners.
I watched as it paused and nibbled on tender shoots of grass, keeping perfectly still. He was so close. I dove for him, but my boots caught in the soft earth and I fell hard onto my chest. Not surprisingly, the rabbit darted ahead, barely out of reach, nibbling on a tuft of grass at the edge of a clearing. Looking beyond his pale, damp fur, I noticed an enormous castle surrounded by a waist-high maze of hedges.
Lightning forked across the sky, quickly followed by a deafening thunder boom. I knew it wasn’t wise to be out in such a storm, but where was a safe place? I knew not to shelter beneath a tree or stand in an open field, and the bloody beast was hopping right into the hedge maze. I needed to catch the hare. Like my idiot brother, it was trying to shake me from its trail. Not happening. Not after I’d followed him this far and in this weather.
“Get back here, you bloody bastard!” I fumed.
I chased him through the maze, specks of mud kicking up from the bunny’s feet and mine, sticking to my soaked dress. Not once did he turn into a dead end. No, the blasted rabbit was smarter than most humans.
He could be fae.
Right as the thought flitted through my mind, a loud crack came from behind and the stench of smoke filled the air, just before the top half of a tree split away from its trunk and fell toward me. The white rabbit dove beneath the hedges, tucking himself among the roots. I leapt over the bushes away from the falling treetop, and when it crashed to the ground, I dove and covered my head, curling into a ball.
The treetop crushed the hedge maze with a sickening crunch. Leaves and twigs rained down on me, but I was okay. Panting, I uncurled and looked beside me to see how close I came to being crushed. The impact was so close, a leaf from the tree’s top brushed my cheek.
The sky wasn’t finished. The storm kicked up a notch and began to roar, rain pelting down in heavy sheets, obscuring the castle and everything around it. Belatedly, I realized the damned rabbit got away. I had no other choice but to approach the castle and beg for shelter until the storm passed.
As I stood, pain jolted down my ankle. I could still walk on it; well, I could limp, so I picked my way through the maze, climbing over hedges and feeling my way past them when I couldn’t see through the rain. The castle can’t be far.
Somewhere in the deluge, the blanket I’d tied around me fell off and I lost it among the mud and bushes.
I was shivering by the time I finally found the steps and limped up to the door. Immense columns jutted into the sky while grotesque statues of unusual beasts stood guard over the castle’s façade. Twin creatures with wings like a bat, fangs like wolves, and wide bodies covered in fur, with stone tails that pointed toward the door knocker stared at me with a conscious awareness that sent a shiver up my spine.
Another clap of thunder shook the stones underfoot. I lifted the knocker, whose golden ring was positioned within the teeth of a matching gilded lion, and let the metal strike the plate beneath it. The sound echoed over the land, louder than the thunder above.
At once, the storm began to calm and an eerie mist flowed over the ground, shrouding the hedges like the desperate arms of a lover. With the last ring of the door knocker, not even an errant sprinkle fell from the sky. The clouds quickly thinned and then disappeared, revealing the familiar blue of the summer sky. Birds began to chirp noisily in the trees beyond the mazes.
It was over. If I’d known the storm would stop so soon, I wouldn’t have knocked. Maybe they didn’t hear the rapping at all. I made my way down the stairs. At the bottom, the cool fog licked at my ankles and curled around my calves as if it was pulling me toward it. A crow cawed loudly in the trees beyond. When the door swung open, I turned to apologize for disturbing them... but no one was there.
“Hello?”
I turned back toward the maze, but then behind me, I heard footsteps. I whirled around and couldn’t help the gasp that slid out when I saw the boy from the alley. His unruly dark hair fell across his unusual eyes, but what took my breath away was his smile. I hadn’t seen it before now… “What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I could ask you the same, but my guess is that you were seeking shelter. That was a terrible storm. Ruined some of the maze. The Queen will want the hedges replaced, and we’ll have to plant new roses. Red ones. The color is red, you know,” he chatted companionably as he walked up to me and offered his arm. He seemed awfully comfortable here, for having just arrived a few days ago.
Or was I in the forest longer than I thought?
“Well, are you coming inside?”
My brows pulled together. A tightness began to squeeze my chest and prickles ran up my spine, eliciting a shiver. This felt off.
“You’re freezing,” he observed. “You should dry off. I’ll make a fire for you and you can warm yourself by it.”
“Do you live here?” I questioned.
“I do the Queen’s bidding,” he replied simply.
“The Queen? Is this where the man in the purple coat took you?”
“I’m a hard worker,” he declared, proudly puffing out his chest.
Something was different about him. The genuineness I’d felt in the few minutes spent outside the tavern was nowhere to be found. It disappeared along with the ground fog. Was it all an act, or did I merely imagine, or hope, it was there all along?
“Come along,” he prompted. “The Queen loves guests.” He placed his hand at the base of my spine and propelled me forward. At his touch, the pain in my ankle completely faded away. Weak and worn out, I let him lead me up the steps and into the castle. He seemed hospitable enough. Getting dry, warm, and fed would certainly be nice. Once I rested up, I could leave this evening.
“So, you became comfortable here fast,” I remarked, trying to make small talk.
He didn’t even respond.
As soon as we crossed the threshold and the door closed behind us, the young man changed. His dark hair turned stark white, and his clothes transformed from the simple mud-stained ones he’d been wearing outside the tavern to much finer garments. The man standing before me now wore a vibrant waistcoat with tails in a color that would put the brightest ruby to shame. The tips of his ears shifted from curved human ears to sharp fae ones.
“Who are you?” I breathed.
He wiggled his nose like... a bloody rabbit. “Come, now. You’ve been trying to catch me for hours. Now that you have me, you want to turn and run back into the forest? How long will you last? Your lips are cracked and blistered, and I bet your tongue feels like a tuft of cotton. You need water and food. My queen wants to help you.”
“Why would she want to help me?”
“Because that is what good rulers do,” he explained, pulling a pocket watch from the vest inside his coat. The watch was bizarre, with white numerals against an ebony clock face and hands that spun so quickly, my eyes couldn’t keep up. “We mustn’t keep her waiting.” With that, he strode across the black and white checkered floor and turned a corner ahead.
“Wait!” I cried.
But just like in the woods, right when I caught back up, he snickered and sped up his pace. Wisps of the man’s pale hair curled back toward me as he rushed ahead. I was in trouble. The fae were real. Oryn’s magic dust was entirely rinsed away, and he would never find me here. I wasn’t even sure where here was.
“Why are you running?” I struggled to keep up.
“We’re late!” he yelled. His spongy voice echoed over the arched ceilings and slithered down the walls. The worn-out soles of my boots squeaked with each step as I chased him, leaving a squishy trail of water in my wake.
He weaved his way back and forth down long hallways and past rooms whose doors were closed, and others that slammed shut just as I tried to peer inside, always turning left. We were going in a circle, or maybe a spiral, because the turns became tighter and the man more desperate. He kept glancing at his watch worriedly. Beads of sweat formed on his brow.
What will happen if we’re late?
When we had gone as far as we could go and there were no more turns to take, the harried man stopped. Here, no windows spilled light into the space. Instead, there were strange torches of blue-black fire that cast macabre light and shadows against the walls.
Two guards dressed in matching bright red suits stood guard at a set of intricately carved, golden double-doors. They stepped forward menacingly, aiming their spears at our throats. My heart leapt into mine, choking me from even whimpering as they stepped closer and closer until the metal spear tip bit into my tender flesh. I let out a whimper when my skin broke beneath the pressure. The coppery tang hit my nose just as I felt the warm trickle of blood slide down my wet skin. I fought the urge to swallow, my breaths coming out in shallow, shaky puffs.
In my periphery, the white-haired man was quivering. From his knees to his lips, he shook like an autumn leaf in a winter wind. “You are late,” the guard in front of him warned.
“There was an incident,” he explained in a thin, reedy voice. “You have to let me in. I’m bringing the girl the Queen wanted.”
The girl she wanted? What the hell is going on?
“You think she’s your saving grace? If you escape with your skin, I’ll be shocked,” the guard muttered before removing the spear from his throat. The other spear tip retreated from my flesh and I took a deep breath to try and calm myself. The guards looked like twins, from their rouge skin and the crimson sludge coating their hair, to the soles of their shoes, which were the same alarming shade of red as the rest of their attire.
Each put a hand on the door and pushed. With the warm welcome we’d received thus far, I didn’t have a chance to study the door. Now I chanced a look, seeing it was engraved with an enormous human heart, each chamber slowly pulsating in a rhythm all its own. The doors parted the organ, revealing a grand room where everything gleamed and sparkled. The cavernous space had vaulted, spider-webbed ceilings held up by a vast array of golden columns.
The rabbit man urged me to follow him, and when I couldn’t stop gawking at all the gold, a fraction of which could alter my family’s fate, he grabbed my wrist and tugged me hard toward the center of the room. From there, we jogged to the far end where a raised dais overlooked the checkerboard floor.
He deposited me on a large white tile, smeared with what looked like blood. The water still dripping from my dress pooled on the dried smears and the rust came alive, swirling within the droplets.
The rabbit man stood a few feet away on an equally large black square of tile. If we were late, so was everyone else, because we were the only two in the enormous room. I almost felt bad for him. He was quaking so hard beside me that unless I was imagining it, the floor trembled. The vibrations traveled through my boots and up my calves as if they were fleeing from him and hiding behind me.
The vast room was hollow and empty, unadorned by windows, only accented by gold ceilings and walls. The sole piece of furniture sat on the raised dais before me; an ornate, golden throne with a swooping, whimsical carved back. The sight of it certainly didn’t produce the tangible fear the man beside me felt, which terrified me. Could he see something I couldn’t? I was all too aware that things in the fae realm weren’t as they seemed.
“Is the Queen coming?” I whispered.
He wiped his brow and nodded quickly in response, fear shining in his beady eyes.
“Why are you so afraid of her?”
Without looking at me, he shushed me as a trio of horns began to play from somewhere behind us. When I turned around, I didn’t see any musicians.
The man’s shaking became worse.
As if conjured by magic, an impenetrable wall of soldiers appeared around us, each brandishing their own spear, spears I knew were sharp and deadly. One thrust, one well-placed jab, and I’d be dead.
My eyes flicked down to the blood on the floor that the water hadn’t absorbed, the smears that told a story that hadn’t been cleaned and buffed away. My heart thundered as I swallowed my fear. Maybe I was the one trembling.
The guards shifted, turning as one toward the throne and holding their spears so the tips pointed toward the ceiling.
Seated on the throne was the Queen.