The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Forty: Thief

I grabbed Knut's arm, readying to flee, knowing for certain that he was looking directly at us. At me. I could feel his power rake across the skin of my face. He was Titania all over again...his very being shouted the same silent threat...but it was somehow worse. I felt like I'd drown in those eyes...like a violent sea would swallow me up if I so much as breathed.

The prince blinked, turned, and strode away. I breathed the most relieved sigh I ever had in my life.

"Something's happening. Let's follow them." Knut lurched forward.

I yanked him back so hard he almost fell. "No. He saw us. I know he did. I don't know why he let us go, but I'm not pressing my luck."

"Don't let his glaring fool you. He may have power, but he doesn't know what to do with it yet." There was a joke in there somewhere, but I wasn't in the mood to laugh. "Lysander is the smart one. He knows better than to start a fight over nothing. He won't do anything unless we give him a reason to." He laid his hand on the crown of my head. "If you truly believe in my conniving little mind," he tapped at the temple of his skull mask, "then trust me."

I took a deep, steadying breath. Why was I letting one boy get to me when Mab barely even fazed me? "I'm sorry." I relented. "I'm just...worried I guess." He pressed the brow of his mask to the brow of mine. We shared a breath. "The Seelie unnerve me a bit...I don't know why." I confessed, hating every syllable.

"I understand." Knut whispered. "The Unseelie flaunt their power loudly, but the Seelie are quiet. They don't need to shout their dominion over us from the rooftops. You can just look at them and know just how small you are compared to them." He took my hand and placed it over my iron pendant. My fingers immediately curled around it and held it tightly, letting the hunk of metal bite into my palm. "But you have iron and with it, you can make them bleed. Don't be afraid. It is they that should be afraid of you."

I squeezed my fist around the metal. "Let's go," I muttered and took my first step forward.

"I enchanted your cloak. Draw up the hood and ask it to hide you and it will, even if I'm separated from you. It's not as strong as usual though. We can't risk doing too much big magic while we're skulking about. You'll become shadow, rather than air, so be careful. Keep to the darkness. Don't get caught in direct light."

"You do think of everything, Darling." I drew my hood over my hair as he chuckled and I whispered the command beneath my breath.

With light steps, Knut and I crept through the forest, my cloak and his magic helping to keep us hidden. We followed the sound of the bigger brother's heavy steps, keeping a healthy distance.

We could just see their forms trudging onward through the thick growth. I kept a wary eye on the smaller man. He kept his head slightly turned, as if he were listing for pursuers, but never turned to us fully nor warned his brother of our possible presence.

Slowly, the scent of smoke wafted into our nostrils. Fire. Where there was fire, there were probably people...and a camp.

As the smell grew stronger, so too did the sound of a myriad of male voices, commingling with one another. Laughter, teasing, boasting and dirty jokes.

A woman's scream.

My blood went cold. My feet quickened.

"Matilda, don't rush ahead." Knut pleaded in my head, but my feet wouldn't listen. I forgot what I was doing as my mind focused solely on the woman's cries. Woman...no...it sounded more like a girl. A child. I had to get to her. I had to save her. I had to. I had to.