Bonds that Burn and Bind

Chapter 9 Part 2

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-Sam
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"Causing a war between me and mortals was your final goal? Wasn't it!?" he hissed, glaring down at me as I inhaled his scent, forest cleansed by rain.

"I caused nothing," I said, resisting the urge to press up against him, both confused and disgusted by this sudden impulse. Instead, I stepped back, craning my neck to return his glare. "You brought this on yourself by abducting and killing all those mortal girls! Would none of the other Folk marry you? They will be far more adept at surviving your tests!"

He scoffed, raising his hand toward the chapel,
two fingers angled towards Orin, and muttered an incantation under his breath. The tip of my nose and ears tingled as blue light gathered on his fingertips and shot towards Orin. Before I could see the results, he grabbed the door that looked to be made entirely out of twigs dipped in gold, and slammed it, turning a key as long as my finger in its keyhole with a click. The sounds of the chapel disappeared, along with the key in his pocket.

"This is not my choice and you know it!" he grumbled, letting go of me as he stormed towards the table.

Despite seeing him lock it, I went for the doorknob, surprised to find it was unlocked as I twisted it.

Our bargain didn't mention anything about me having to stay. That's how bargains worked in fairy tales. One just needed to find little loopholes to get out of them.

I swung it open and was greeted by a petite Fae female with nothing but blue skies, the tops of purple trees, and a wraparound balcony behind her. She held a painting in a gold frame facing her. I vaguely recognized her from yesterday when I had been dragged into the Fae's land. Mother Earth, how had that only been yesterday?
From where I stood, I could see the shoulders of two-armed guards on either side of the door. I backed up a step and bumped into something metal with a thump. An armored hand grabbed my palm, turning it over, revealing my blood-stained fingers and palm.

My stomach clenched, wondering if it had come from Orin.

"You found the portrait, Rosa?" A voice as rich as cream asked, and the petite female nodded vigorously.

I turned to find another fairy from yesterday, Ceno, with midnight-dark skin and piercing blue eyes. He wasn't as big as the Fae Prince, but he easily turned me, one-handed, towards the table where three Fae sat.

The Prince had chosen a seat at the head of the table. In one of the chairs furthest from me sat Rhodwin, the female fairy I had saved with the Witch's Glass, with Ash, her brother who had appeared in my dream about Winnie.

Ash regarded me with mild disdain. Blank parchment spread in front of him, a pen in his hand. Rhodwin, her chin resting on an upturn palm, wore the same empty expression as the last time I saw her.

"My Prince, did she injure you somehow?" Ceno asked. "Her fingers are covered in your blood."

"I'm fine Ceno." The Prince said, sinking into one of the seats and holding his bloodied hand, where the tips of three fingers had been eviscerated. The same hand he had used to grab me. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around his wound.

I stared at it, shocked. When had that happened?
"I got impatient and forced my way through the barrier to grab the Sea Devil, and the curse punished me."

Curse? Barrier? And hadn't the voices in the forest mentioned something about the Sea Devil and revenge?

"I'm not sure who this Sea Devil is, but it's not me," I replied—glancing towards movement in my side vision, seeing that it was Ceno making intricate hand gestures in Rosa's direction.
"I'm referring to you, Inanna, and you know it!" Prince Derion's lips pulled back to reveal pointed canines. "Or should I call you Valentina or Val, since that appears to be your name now?"
"I'm not Inanna," I said as Orin's words came back to me.