Reign of Ice (Forever Fae series) (23 page)

TRAIPSING ACROSS THE barren land to get to the Black Forest was ominous at best. Each step took us closer and closer to our doom and to the unknown. Merrick described what it was like on the way there, and I explained it all to Bastian as Merrick spoke. We were on the edge of the forest where the dark, oily trees stood high into the sky, filtering out all shades of sunlight. I shivered just gazing up at them.

“You might want to glamour yourself now,” Merrick suggested.

I nodded and turned to him. “Good idea, but as what? We need to find this Gothin you spoke of and kill him. What is the best way to get to him?”

Bastian spoke up, “It is simple, Your Highness. No one could deny a beautiful female, especially if she’s taken prisoner and entranced with the
Tyvar curse. With me joining their side, I could offer you to him and that would get you close.”

I groaned. “Okay, so female it is.”

I knew the sorcerer liked the Summer Fae women more so than any others, so I glamoured myself to be golden skinned with a hint of red in a shade of golden blonde hair and green eyes. I took characteristics of my sisters and Sorcha and put them all into one. Merrick and Bastian both sucked in a sharp breath, their eyes wide.

“What do you think?” I asked, glancing back and forth to both of them.

Merrick smiled and reached over to touch my cheek. “You look so much like Calista right now.”

He tenderly grazed my cheek and then pulled back when he realized what he was doing. My heart ached for him because I knew he wished
Calista could see him and talk to him like I was doing. Seeing each other in the dream realm wasn’t exactly the same as seeing each other in real time. Not to mention he couldn’t touch her like he could touch me.

Bastian took a strand of my hair and rolled it through his fingers, smiling as he looked into my eyes. “I can see traces of
Meliantha in you,” he murmured. “She’s a beautiful woman, but no one could ever be as beautiful as you. They aren’t going to be able to resist when they see you.”

“Thank you,” I uttered kindly. I then turned to Merrick and said, “I think we’re ready. Lead the way. I don’t know where we’re going.”

He grunted. “Unfortunately, I do. Once we get to the middle of the forest we will come to a village. The sorcerer’s dwelling is inside the massive tree you will see. You won’t be able to miss it. The troll you want to find should be close by there. I’m sure someone will lead us to him.”

Merrick took the lead while Bastian and I followed side by side behind him. As soon as we entered into the forest it was like all life had been sucked out of everything around us. The air
smelled like death and decay, and everywhere I turned there was nothing except blackness. I guess it got its name for a reason.

I placed a hand on my dagger and took a deep breath. It felt so right in my hand that I knew I was meant for this, like it was made exactly for me. “Are you ready for this?” Merrick asked, turning his head so he could glance back at me.

I nodded, but I couldn’t deny that I was a little nervous.
What if I failed?

The whole time we rode through the forest I could hear the blood pounding in my ears and the shallowness of my breath as I tried to breathe. I had never been surrounded by so much evil and death, and hearing the erratic beating of my heart didn’t help. Abruptly, Merrick came to a stop and held up his hand for us to halt. He pointed to an area up ahead where I could see the first sign of lights and hear the far away chatter of the sorcerer’s army.

“We’re almost there,” Merrick informed us. “You might want to hide your dagger as well.” I did as he said and hid it under my shirt behind my back. “When you get into the village, just get Bastian to ask someone how to find Gothin. I’m hoping that works, but if not I know what he looks like. Also, it might be good for you two to ride on the same horse going in.”

“Why?” I asked incredulously.

Exasperated, Merrick rolled his eyes and said, “If you’re supposed to be Bastian’s sex slave, don’t you think you would be a little bit closer to him than that. I thought the women who got enamored by them couldn’t keep their hands away.”

Groaning, I turned to look at Bastian who had a bewildered look on his face. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Merrick thinks we should ride in on the same horse together since I’m supposed to be your sex slave and all,” I answered matter-of-factly. Bastian tried to hold back his smile and failed. “Don’t get any ideas,” I snapped at him. “It will only add to Brayden’s wrath if we make it out alive.”

Bastian shook his head and slid back to make more room in front of him. He patted the saddle with his hand, a big smile on his face. “I would be foolish to not take advantage of this situation.
If
is the key word here, Your Highness. If I am going to die then why shouldn’t I enjoy what little bit of joy I have left? I would gladly submit to the wrath of your lover just to be here with you.”

Merrick lifted a brow and chuckled. “He has it bad for you, doesn’t he? No wonder
Kalen doesn’t like it when Meliantha gets visits from him and his brother.” I laughed and rolled my eyes knowing very well none of it was funny, but I had to find humor somewhere to get my mind off of what we were about to do. It was probably the last laugh I would have.

Slowly, I climbed down from my horse and took Bastian’s hand so he could pull me up in front of him. He wrapped his arms around my waist with one across my stomach while the other held onto the reins. “Let’s go, lover,” he whispered jokingly in my ear.

“Keep it up, Bastian,” I warned halfheartedly. He chuckled low in my ear and held me tighter just to mess with me.

As we approached the village there were guards stationed at the entrance. “Make sure you ask for
Gothin,” I told him quietly. Our time for joking was over.

I could feel him nod and tense behind me when the two giant Redcaps stopped us at the entrance. “Who are ye?” one of them said in a gruff voice. The blood from his cap ran in rivulets down the sides of his face. He smelled of raw meat and the metallic scent of the blood pulsing out of his cap.

“I am looking for Gothin,” Bastian announced. “I was told he was the one I needed to find. I have a gift for the sorcerer.”

The other Redcap approached from the other side and poked me in the leg with his pikestaff, piercing my skin through the leather pants I was wearing. The blood pooled by the wound and slowly drifted down my leg. Before the blood could fall to the ground, the Redcap took off his cap and soaked it up like a starved animal. Bastian growled low in his throat and held me tighter while I held my breath, hoping that it wouldn’t come down to a fight.

When the Redcap placed the cap back on his head, he closed his eyes, releasing a contented sigh, and staggered forward as if he was drunk. “Aye, tis a nice gift ye have there,” he said admiringly.

“So can we pass?” Bastian questioned impatiently through clenched teeth. I could feel the anger emanating off of him, and I knew that if they didn’t let us pass he was going to attack.

The Redcap who took my blood immediately stepped aside and replied, “Aye, ye can pass.” The other one glanced at us warily before slowly moving out of the way and letting us go.

Without wasting any time, Merrick, Bastian, and I entered on our horses and steadily made it through the camp. There were creatures everywhere: faeries, trolls, Redcaps, leprechauns, dwarves, and even some elves. They all stared at us like wolves as we sauntered past them, and I prayed that they wouldn’t stop us. I couldn’t believe the amount of people who had turned on our courts.

“Just keep going,” Merrick assured us. “Do not stop until we get to Gothin. I know where he’ll be.”

We followed him until we got to the massive
tree which stood as the sorcerer’s private dwelling. Merrick had been in this exact same spot years ago when he and Ryder were waiting to save Calista. It was the same day he died, the same day my sister’s heart broke. Bastian dismounted and inspected the wound on my leg from where the Redcap punctured me.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I gazed down at my leg, and since we healed fast the wound had already started to close up. I nodded and answered him, “Yeah, I’m fine. It didn’t hurt as much as it pissed me off. I was afraid we were going to fight.”

“I thought so, too. I did not like what he did to you at all.”

I smiled up at him. “I’ve had worse done. Believe me.”

“All right, you two, let’s go,” Merrick called. “We need to find
Gothin before the sorcerer finds
you
.” He stared at various places in the village and then pointed to a building off to our right. “And I do believe we will find the troll in there.”

“Why is that?” I asked, hooking a glance over my shoulder.

Oh, that’s why.
It didn’t take me long to figure it out. The place looked like a dingy bar, all dark and disgusting, with nasty drunken men that you would see in the mortal realm. What made it even more like that were the trolls gathered around outside, toppling over each other with mugs of liquid in their hands. They were celebrating, and I knew why.

Bastian whispered in my ear, “I’m not going to hurt you, but go along with what I do. When we find
Gothin we need to get him alone.”

“And then kill him,” I finished for him.

Taking my arm, he pulled me along behind him as we approached the building. Trolls were hideous creatures—with their warty faces, bad teeth, and various sized bodies—who probably never saw a bar of soap in their life. You could smell them from a mile away, and the ones here definitely didn’t disappoint. Some of them were short and stocky while some were tall and lean. Out of all the creatures in the land it made me wonder how a disgusting creature like a troll could ever be the sorcerer’s right hand man.

Ascending the steps, I followed behind Bastian and entered into the dank building that smelled of trolls and urine. The whole room fell silent as they spied us. “I’m looking for
Gothin,” Bastian called out.

All heads turned to the one troll at the back table who was sandwiched in by two faerie women. They looked worn and haggard, and immediately my hackles rose. An overwhelming sense of disgust swarmed through my body. I wanted to rip him in two and laugh while I did it. I wanted to save them, to get them out of this
hell hole that they’d probably been living in for years with no hope of ever being saved.

Bastian gripped my hand tighter and shook his head. “Patience,” he whispered. “We will get them out of here.”

Gothin stood and eyed me curiously as we approached him. He had pointed, rotten teeth, and still smelled foul like the others, but also happened to be dressed better than them, too. “What do you want?” he grunted. “As you can see I am busy.”

Bastian jerked me forward and pushed me toward the troll. “I have a gift for the sorcerer. I think he would find her to his satisfaction.”

“Indeed,” Gothin approved.

Dismissing the faerie women with a flick of his hand, he narrowed his gaze and ran his dark, beady eyes up and down my body like a vulture, while rubbing his scruffy chin. “Yes, I think she will do just fine. I can take her from here,” he insisted greedily, licking his lips. “The master is not here for the time being, but she will be happy in my care until he returns.”

Like hell I would be.
Where the hell was the sorcerer?