Bad Fae | romantasy | Bad Fae #1

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Feyrith may have decided that I wasn't to leave Henmar without his permission, but that didn't stop Dain from taking me out into the woods surrounding Aena Dorei as often as possible.

"I'm geas bound," he reminded me when he saw my look of surprise.

"I assumed the change in situation would have negated your debt," I said casually.

He smirked as he led me under the tall trees and away from the court. Leaves still fell artificially around us, definitely glamoured to add that extra element of magical to the woods despite the season.

We walked that day, both in our armoured leathers, our swords strapped to our waists. I didn't know if his plan was to train or if Dain just liked to be ready for anything in this foreign territory. If there was one thing I'd learnt about fae, it was that anyone could become a threat at any time and, as a people, they were fully ready for that. Oh sure, they'd band together against humanity at the slightest provocation, but they would also turn on each other under their justice if required.

That day, we'd wandered into a section where the trees were thicker than usual. There was more dense underbrush between the trunks, separated by winding paths rather than open spaces. I'd looked up a map in the library at Aena Dorei and I was pretty sure we were to the southeast, lower than where we had previously entered and exited Henmar on either journey.

Suddenly, Dain put a hand out, his arm across my stomach, telling me to stop. I did, wondering what he had seen or sensed. Eventually, I found it.

There was a girl through the trees. I frowned as I saw her... Because I could tell she was human. Though, how did I know she was human? I looked to her ears and saw they were indeed rounded. But it was a confirmation of what I already knew, not the way I knew.

I knew she was human and there was...something not right about her. I vaguely recognised whatever it was that wasn't right, but I wasn't sure in what way. I couldn't place how I knew that either.

"What?" Dain asked me, looking me over carefully.

"She's human." It came out more question than statement as I was still puzzling over how I knew so surely.

He nodded. "She is."

"Why is she in the Henmar wood?" I asked.

I thought for a moment that maybe she was the sport and there were other sidhe hiding elsewhere waiting to play, but Dain seemed to have other ideas.

Dain's eyes were trained on her and, if looks could kill, she'd be very dead. "Humans often think it's amusing to sneak into fae territory and...torture innocents."

I bit my lip as I looked her over. "It's not like fae don't do the same thing," I pointed out.

He didn't disagree with my point; that fae found it amusing to torture humans. But he did say, "I have never met a wholly innocent human."

"You clearly don't meet a lot of babies, then," I said flippantly.

"I am a high born dark fae assassin. Of course, I don't. My duties are significantly more arduous than infants," he answered, still watching the human girl. "Seven years ago, I met my youngest mortal."

I looked at him in surprise. "Me?"

He inclined his head. "You."

"I was eleven."

"Were you?" He seemed surprised by that.

"How old did you think I was?"

He shrugged. "It wasn't relevant how old you were."