A Court of Death and Retribution

chapter 4

My ankle rolled as I winnowed back underneath the bridge. I hissed and winced at the shooting pain and ripped my stupid heels off.

I grumbled various curse words and slammed my fist into the wall—which hurt much more than I thought it would. I cradled my aching hand with the other and held in a scream until my face turned red.

I blew out one big breath of air and leaned against the wall, letting my body slide down and sit on the floor.

"Fucking Cauldron." I whispered as emotion started to swell inside me. No, I'm not going to cry.

I let out a frustrated groan and prodded my swelling ankle with my pinky on the hand that I didn't stupidly ram into the wall. My ankle hurt, but it would heal quickly.

My first friend, Shadow male, kidnapped me and was going to clip me. My second friend, Callan, led me straight back to the shadow male and shrugged it off. Callan told me he didn't want to clip my wings. Maybe he just meant he'd bring me to someone who would.

Fucking bastard.

I hate myself for making friends. I should've just stayed lonely. Then, I wouldn't be crying under a bridge.

I'd just be under a bridge.

I guess it's more exciting. Maybe it was my wake up call that I need to stop getting too comfortable. I need to get out of the Night Court.

I'll put that on my list for tomorrow.

Tonight, I'm going to wallow in self pity and think about all of the stupid decisions I made in order to end up under a bridge. Then, I'll sleep.

—

My trek through the Day Court was worse than I thought it would be. Eventually, I found a nice bridge to hide under, so I stayed there for the night.

In the morning, I decided to go sight seeing. I tied my hair up in a ponytail and got ready for the day. I wore a cream colored sweater and black leggings. My ankle was fully healed, so I slid on my leather boots easily and threw my pack over my shoulder.

The Day Court was beautiful and everyone here seemed to radiate the same positive energy. I felt myself smile absentmindedly while biting into an apple I stole from the market.

I almost stopped in my tracks at the sight in front of me. A beautiful male stood in the town square, listening to the music. He had brown skin and dark hair that fell to his shoulders. He wore a cunning smirk that the females and males surrounding him swooned for.

I let out a bewildered laugh and strode towards the male. When he saw me, his amber eyes lit with a playfulness that I was drawn to.

"You're new." The male purred as I approached.

I matched his smile and raised a brow. "How do you know that for certain?"

"I would remember your face anywhere. I've already committed it to memory." The male glanced over my body, lingering a moment on my wings, making me blush. "Did Azriel send you? I'm assuming you have news for me?"

My wings. The male must have suspected I was here in behalf of the Night Court. I almost laughed at the thought. "I'm not sure who Azriel is or what news I would have for you."

The male tilted his head in curiosity, then smiled devilishly. "My apologies, I was mistaken."

I shrugged off the misunderstanding. "That's okay. I usually confuse people when I enter other Courts. My name's Mara, what's yours?"

The male gave me an incredulous look, keeping his smile there for me. His amber eyes roamed over me once again before speaking. "High Lord Helion Spell-Cleaver. Do you not know the High Lords and Ladies of this land?"