Autumn Burn

Chapter 17

I didn't voice my concerns when we arrived in Velaris. They had much more important stuff to deal with and I wouldn't get them more worried about a stupid feeling of mine. But that feeling only got worse when they announced that I was to stay here this time, out of safety reasons. As far as the CIA knew so far, the Night Court had kidnapped me and if they saw me being involved in the threat that was sure to come, they feared my family would become a possible target. Better to leave me out of it all together.
I hated the waiting, hated that I was all alone now because all of them dressed up in war clothes and went to my world with the help of the Harp.
I sat in my room in the mirror house and fingered the pendant I had put around my neck the second they all left. I had tried to reach out for Eris but had received no reply. Which made my worry only grow. There had never been a moment before where I wished to be a High Fae as much as right now. I could have helped. Now I was useless.
I had changed into thick leggings and a pullover and was now sitting cross-legged on my bed, the book about the Autumn Court laying open before me. Even though I was reading the lines I didn't seem to comprehend them. I was basically just staring at the pages. And I was restless, constantly fidgeting with the pendant, biting and sucking on my lip until I tasted blood.
„Fuck." I said and stood up. I didn't have an idea where I was going but I couldn't just sit around and do nothing so I threw over a jacket and left the house. Taking a walk through Velaris always usually calmed me but today it did nothing to relax me. It was already getting dark and Velaris slowly came to life.
Nobody even looked at me anymore, the people were already used to me, so I was not disturbed while I walked and tried not to drown in my own thoughts. I didn't even pay real attention to where I was going, so it wasn't a surprise when I accidentally bumped into someone.
"I'm sorry." I said and when I looked up at the face of the men I flinched. I didn't know the face but the resemblance was clear.
"Hello, little human." One of Eris' brother's.

—————
He had gripped me by the arm and winnowed us away immediately. And even though I tried to fight him off, obviously it was no use. We were in the Autumn Court, no doubt, even though it was getting darker by the minute I could still detect the red leaves on the trees. The male gripping me pulled me behind him at an unnerving speed, not caring that I stumbled over tree branches, stones and my own feet. If he didn't hold me I would have fallen.
"What the fuck are you doing?" I snapped at him. Was he crazy, kidnapping the friend of the rulers of the Night Court? But of course he knew that they were away right now, leaving me helpless. But how did he break through the wards around the city?
"Quite, before I make you!" he hissed back at me, tightening the grip around my arm until the pain was almost unbearable.
"Let me go!" I demanded, grabbing the hand that held me and tried to loosen his fingers from my skin.
My human reflexes weren't fast enough to react but I saw the blow coming, which gave me a split second to brace myself. He spun around and let go of my arm, the sudden blood flow being almost painful, while his other arm swung around, the back of his hand hitting my cheekbone. My body recoiled and I fell down, scratching my hands open on the ground. The pain throbbed through from my face to my forehead and while I knew I needed a moment to recover, my whole world was spinning even though my eyes were closed, he didn't give me the time and grabbed my arm again to haul me up.
"And now shut up!" he spat at me, his spit hitting my cheek before he started to drag me again. I fell silent.
I knew we reached our target when I saw Beron waiting for us. I could feel my stomach drop and I felt like I needed to throw up. His face lit up with cruel delight once he saw me.
"Ah," he said, opening his arms as if he were to welcome me. "My daughter-in-law!" I only glared at him. Of course he knew.
His son pushed me forward, into his waiting arms. But instead of catching me, he stepped aside and let me fall to the ground once more. I gasped as my knee hit something hard and pain shot through my leg.
"Where is he?" I groaned, pushing me up again. Beron laughed.
"Of course that's the first thing that you ask. How predictable."
"And of course you kidnapped me. How predictable of you!" I spat back, wanting to punch him in the face. I knew it and I hadn't said anything when I had the chance. This was my own fault right now.
"You really have the nerve to talk to me like that? While you are at my mercy?" He sounded so relaxed and happy, as if he was a normal person having a normal conversation with me.
I scoffed at him.
"I am not at your mercy. I know that you will kill me." I wasn't so stupid to pretend I could come out of here alive. Eris was probably chained up somewhere. He would get the beating of his life but he would live. And his punishment would be my death, just like it had been with Lucien and Jesminda. And my friends weren't even in this world right now. Nobody could help me and I couldn't help myself. I would die. And I would never see Nyx again. And the last conversation I had with my mate had been a fight.
"Oh, but I won't kill you, child." Beron grinned like a maniac at me, opening his arms wide.
"I won't take the wrath of Rhysand and his brute of a son." He cocked his head. "But you are right, you will die tonight." Letting his arms drop he slowly came toward me.
"I will tell Rhysand that you went through a Door, wanting to seek out my son so badly. And in your stupidity, you ended up here, in the Burned Forest." Beron raised his hand to touch my cheek, but I slapped it away before he could touch me. He only grinned at that.
"You see," he continued. "The Burned Forest is ancient and the most lethal part of my court." Suddenly, he grabbed me by the arms, holding me in place as he leaned in, his nose touching my throat.
"You won't survive the night." He whispered and I flinched upon feeling his breath on my skin.
"And this," he laughed, grabbing the pendant around my neck and ripping it off, "won't save you either." I watched as he backed off slowly, my pendant in his hand. Eying me up and down, he sighed as he stepped next to his son, as if he was sad that he had to leave me here.
"What a shame," he said, cocking his head again, "you are rather pretty. If you only were High Fae. You would've given me beautiful grandchildren." Then they vanished and I was left alone. It took me a second to comprehend what just happened. But when it finally settled, I could feel it everywhere.
"No." My breathing was too hard and the pain from my wounds started throbbing through my whole body. I wanted to take a step but the second I put pressure on my right knee it gave away beneath me and I let out a pained scream. Falling to the ground I caught myself with my hands and felt a new wave of pain coming from my palms and I remembered that I scratched them open earlier.
"Fuck." I whispered. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
I needed to think. I wasn't totally unprepared, I knew about Fae and I also had heard about the Burned Forest before. The Forest itself wasn't the problem, the creatures in here were. But as soon as I left the woods, they wouldn't follow me, so I had to get out of here and I would be fine. But I could be in the middle of the forest, I couldn't know. Which direction should I go? Looking up, I barely saw anything anymore and as if the Autumn Court was taunting me, thick clouds filled the whole sky, swallowing the little light and comfort the moon and stars could have granted me.
"Okay," I whispered to myself, "you have to think." Standing up, I was careful to not put any pressure on my right leg and even though I didn't know which way to go I came to the conclusion that not moving at all would be worse. Beron had mentioned that in the story he would serve Rhys, I would've taken a Door. So there had to be one here somewhere. I just had to find it or find a way out of this forest.
I decided to walk in the opposite direction from where Eris' brother had dragged me from. Hating that I was so slow, I suppressed the pain in my face and head and used the trees to balance myself. I just hoped that I wouldn't walk in a circle and actually managed to walk straight.