A Court of Shadows and Pain

Fourty-eight

How she had managed to escape from Azriel's arms without waking him up, she didn't know. But she had. And she was currently walking in the woods close to the Illyrian mountains.

All her daggers were strapped in place, as well as her sword on her back. She had tightly braided her long hair for the first time in a while. Her shadows were more awake than usual. They certainly knew about what they were going to do. And for once, Valery felt like they might actually obey her.

Some of her shadows had scouted the area. They hadn't found anything suspicious, but they did pull her in a certain direction.

She had to admit that there had been hesitation in her body upon leaving the River House. But she did it anyway. This had been going on for long enough. And she would not be afraid. She wouldn't run away like a coward, even if it might cost her life.

There was a slight chance that Eris was lying about their whereabouts. But she would take the risk. Maybe it was reckless, and most of all selfish. If she died Azriel would definitely suffer from the consequences. Even worse, Rhys would lose his shit. But they would both get over it.

Her shadows pull grew stronger. This way, they whispered. Valery listened, keeping to the shadows of the trees. Her own shadows pulled her towards the even darker parts of the trees.

Over there.

Her shadows shot out before her, clearly having sensed something. They all whispered, causing Valery to not get a single word. She sighed while continuing to walk, her hand ready on the hilt of a dagger.

There was slight rustling sound to her left, right between the overgrown bushes. Her shadows hadn't told her anything odd, so she decided to go look herself. They could be wrong sometimes.

Valery walked forward. Only when she stepped into something softer than the hard frozen ground beneath her feet did she stop.

Watch out

Her shadows warning came too late when a set of arrows flew her way, piercing through her skin.

Valery stumbled backwards, grabbing her daggers and readying her shadows to strike. They flickered once, slightly disappearing. Her breath hitched. There was a large dose of Fae bane in those arrows. More than normal. Just the right amount to make her shadows disappear.

Thorn branches crawled up her legs, making Valery fall to the ground. She reached for them, trying to cut through them with her daggers. The thorns grew along the side of the branch, cutting through her skin with ease.

Valery struggled against the tight grip and pain. This could only mean one thing; they were close. She only knew one person with earth magic. One family with earth magic. The one power she couldn't quite escape with her shadows. The one thing she was scared of.

The thorns cut deeper into her skin, making Valery cry out as they sliced upwards. Her shadows were slowly starting to fully fade away. The Faebane worked on her. She kept trying to fight off the branches, but her daggers didn't help much. They kept crawling upward, thorns and all. Blood leaked from the long cuts, slicing right through her leathers.

It was only when it reached her collarbone that it stopped. Valery stopped trying to fight it, her body falling limp against the ground.

Had she really been this fucking stupid? She didn't know if she had walked into this trap herself or that it had been Eris's fault. She didn't really care in this moment. All she cared about was that they were coming to get her.

And she was right as a pair of footsteps walked her way. Valery glanced upward to find a pair of green eyes stare into hers.

The male smirked, looking her over.