Abandoned (Born From Shadows #2)

Wind pressed hard against Tatianna’s face causing her to involuntarily close her eyes. She didn’t know how she got here; everything was a blur. One moment she was standing in the Queen’s chambers, knife in her hand, the next she was hundreds of feet above the empty ground.

Tyrion’s wings beat fast above her, each movement propelling the two forward. She looked down at the ground as saw Nylif bolting below them at incredible speeds. She was so far up. One slip of grip and she would be falling to her death, yet that didn’t scare her. At least not more then the prospect of the Elves finding them.

They had been in winter for a month now, but only now that they were accelerating through the air did she truly feel the full force of the cold as it tried to resist each of her movements.

Did she regret what she did? She had to, right? It was wrong but she got her freedom. Chains may still be strung between her feet but there was no one to threaten her, not for kilometres. The adrenaline that was running through her veins was starting to lose its effect with each minute that past. It gave her time to think, to truly take in what had just happened.

The blood that once again was dried to her hands.

Where she found the courage to do such a thing she did not know, but it was done. No point dwelling in it. With a slight chuckle to herself she repeated the familiar words in her head, a new day a new adventure.

After a few hours she felt Tyrion’s muscle begin to shake and she knew it was time to land. The sun was clouded over, but it still shown enough to tell her it was at least midday. She would miss the view of the approaching mountains, higher than anything she could’ve imagined. Taller than the mansions in Avalla and the trees in Lyracris. There peaks tipped in white.

“You need a break,” she shouted over the breeze. Tyrion did not respond but their altitude did begin to lesson so she assumed he had taken her words into account.

They landed close to the foothills of the mountain range that seemed to stretch out forever. Tatianna imaged each mass of rock and dirt as sleeping giants, waiting for their moment to rise, grumbling under the ground.

“Is that Kaddgem?” she asked looking at the grey mountains. Tyrion nodded his head. “Isn’t that the place we should be avoiding? Last I checked the Dwarf’s don’t get along with us.”

“I know you killed the Queen,” Tyrion flatly stated. Tatianna swore she could feel fear touch her shoulder, she moved her hand to the hilt of her dagger.

If she killed him, she would most likely starve. She would be lost out here for eternity, but anything was better than going back to the Elves.

“Here is what is going to happen. You can either be free and help me with something or I can take you back to the Elves and they will have their justice which may be better-.”

“I’ll help you,” she did not hesitate, interrupting whatever he was going to say next. It did not matter to her; she heard the word free and that was all she needed.

“I haven’t told you what it is yet,” commented Tyrion. “It’s dangerous, may even get you killed.”

“In the time I have been the Queen’s prisoner I have been starved, dehydrated, almost lost my mind, chained like an animal, forced into a marriage and raped. Whatever it is I will do it. Even if I died, I will be free,” she confidently told him, not letting her voice crack at the thought of the past. It was in the past now…

“Good. Then get some rest. You will need your strength for what comes next.”

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Her feet plunged forward. She ran. Ran and ran till her feet were covered in blisters and as red as the sunset. Her heart pounded beneath her chest uncontrollably, trying to make every muscle in her body freeze, but she knew she had to run.

Tatianna’s legs started to give in to their tiredness, the adrenaline no longer able to push her further. Her knees wobbled and one moment she was standing, the next her face laid with the jaggered rocks.

What had she done? Had she just doomed the entirety of life?

Another grumble violently shook the ground beneath her feet. She felt the wind blow past her…but it wasn’t the wind. She knew what it was, and she could not lift her eyes to face it.

“I warned you,” a shadow to her side whispered. “I warned you yet you ignored me anyway. Actions have consequences.”

She had seen that figure before had she not? She wasn’t scarred anymore she was confused. Where was she…what did all this mean?

The scene shifted and she gazed into the eyes of the laughing prophet. Laughing - laughing, her head started to pound. Then her eyes opened.

She gasped for breath the laughter still echoing in her mind. She looked down at her hands and feet, none of which were covered in blisters and sores. It was just a dream.

Tyrion was asleep, wrapped in his own wings for warmth. They had not dared start a fire in fear that the Elves or any wondering humans will see. In some twisted way she felt more at peace with the cold. Living outside under the stars as the ice wind swept beneath her, it was all so familiar. No more Red Prince, it was like nothing ever changed. But it had…she was an Elf and a Fae laid near her.

Her dream was already starting to fade away from her mind, each time she tried to remember it the more it seemed to go away. With a sigh she pushed Nylif from her body, the weight of the wolf making her legs numb. The movement awoke the sleeping, Fae.

“Are you ready?” Tyrion asked.

“For what?” she questioned still not understanding what she was supposed to be helping him with.

“To go into the heart of the enemy and rescue the Commander of the Fae. To meet the Lady of the Night.”