Page 49 of Enchanted

Everything had started to change when she had rescued the kitten from the gate. Rosalyn’s gaze narrowed on the creature. “Who are you? What are you? Because I begin to understand you are not a cat.”

The kitten growled, then vanished in a swirl of grey mist, only to reappear and take the shape of a man.

Rosalyn shuddered. “I should have suspected it was you.”

“Hermes?” His deep voice rumbled around her with all the power of thunder from the sky overhead. “You would name me after that paltry Greek god? Why not Loki, the shapeshifter? Or Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder?”

Rosalyn scrambled to her feet, and flexed her hand, ready to reach for her dagger. She swallowed hard and asked, “What do you want?” As the fairy king stepped forward, Rosalyn shifted back, careful to avoid the roots of the trees this time.

“The MacLeods seem to have a soft spot in their hearts for you, especially Keiran.” The fairy shrugged. “So you are going to help me take my revenge on him and the others for trying to destroy me.”

“I will do no such thing.” Rosalyn’s mind raced. She had a weapon, but the chances of her using it effectively against the fairy king were minimal. He had magic that he could use to manipulate her a thousand different ways. Her greatest weapon was her mind. She had proven that with all that she had taught herself over the years. Could she use intelligence to meet the fairy king on equal ground? She had to try.

“You say that Keiran and the others tried to destroy you, but it was the opposite from what I heard. Aria, Pearl, and Gille gave you their magic to save you from dying. They were the heroic ones, making that sacrifice for your benefit.” Shaking her head, she continued, “You were the one who reneged on their sacrifice by draining the very life forces out of their bodies.”

His lips pressed into a thin, hard line. “It was my due.”

“Was it?” Rosalyn asked. “Or was it you who pushed all the fairy folk to do what came next . . . when they all rebelled against you?”

His gaze narrowed, and with a flick of his hands the forest vanished and instead, an instantly distressed Rosalyn found herself on a towering rock, in the middle of a foaming sea. The shale beneath her feet was wet, and she had to widen her stance to keep from slipping off the rock and plunging into the sea. The fairy king hovered above the rock, watching her through his slitted gaze.

With a thunderous roar, a wave crashed against the defiant monolith. Water exploded against the rock face, sending an icy plume skyward. As it did, the spray caught the light, briefly creating a dazzling rainbow before it was whipped away by the wind, leaving white foam to ripple around the rock in a frenzy of bubbles.

Rosalyn shivered at the spray that drenched her clothing and the salty spray that stung her face. “It is a brave man who can admit he was wrong.”

“I am never wrong,” Oberon said, glaring at her as another wave crashed against the rock. “And when you die in your dreams, you die in life.”

“If this is a dream, can I not just wake up?”

“There is no one to wake you.” He smirked. “They are all fighting their own battles. When I take revenge, I am thorough.”

She was not the only one caught in Oberon’s trap? The weight of her situation and those of the MacLeods felt like a crushing weight on her shoulders. She looked around her for an escape that simply wasn’t there. The air vibrated with the raw power of nature as another wave crashed over the rock. The shale beneath her feet was slick and smooth, giving her nothing to wedge herself into or grasp for support. She could feel her feet being inched backwards towards the edge of the rock. It would not be long before she tumbled into the sea.

Keiran was not coming to save her. No one was coming to save her. If she was to survive, she would have to save herself.

*

As the minutesticked past, Lady Janet continued her frantic search for Rosalyn. When she approached the old keep for the second time, it was to see that where the grand structure once stood, colossal vines grew like emerald ropes wrapped around the stone building, keeping all who approached out, and trapping anyone inside.

Fortunately for her, such barriers were easy to breach. With ease, she sailed through the roots and stone. Oberon had to be inside, as did Rosalyn. The fairy king would not have gone to such extremes if she were not.

Floating up the stairs, Lady Janet saw a strange blue light emanating from a room down the long hallway. She hurried inside, searching, then paused at the open door to the secret passageway.

Rosalyn!

A chilly dampness leached onto her mist, feeding the dark cold that hovered around her. If she’d had a true body, she would have shivered as she moved towards the blue light, fearing the worst, preparing for anything.

When she saw Rosalyn standing there on the cobblestones, something inside her soared. Rosalyn was unharmed, standing as though she were waiting for something. Yet as Lady Janet moved closer, her elation turned to fear. Rosalyn stood frozen in place, her eyes open, but her focus was on something that was not of this realm. The young woman neither blinked nor breathed. Was she dead?

Lady Janet instinctively wrapped her arms around Rosalyn. The cold surrounding Lady Janet deepened. Poor dear. What has Oberon done to you? From within her mist, Lady Janet could sense an awareness, a presence still inside the frozen body that she held so tightly, hoping to convey some comfort, some warmth. After a long moment, she pulled back as a strange sensation further twined with her mist. The sensation blossomed and grew, until she could recognise the emotion that did not come from herself, but from Rosalyn. Sorrow. The young woman had communicated her sorrow.

Lady Janet gasped and released Rosalyn only to bring her hands up to cover where her heart had once beat. She had always been able to sense the emotions of others, but never feel them herself. Sorrow reverberated within her mist. Emotion. At the intensity of it, she closed her eyes and felt moisture gather behind her eyelids. A tear slipped down to fall on her translucent cheek. I must find Keiran. Rosalyn is in terrible danger.