Inevitably Yours

MICHAEL

“Why won’t she answer me?” I growled.

“This place isn’t good,” Eros said.

Outwardly I remained calm. It took everything in me not to lose my mind watching my mate struggle to keep up as we were pulled along behind the horse. I knew she had to be in agony. I wasn’t feeling too great either.

I continued to take note of everyone in this court of sorts as Quinn stepped closer to me. Her arm brushed mine, giving me a fraction of relief. I had to figure out how to get us out. We had an advantage at the moment; these Fae had such a superior opinion of themselves they thought we were no better than animals. They discounted us and hadn’t bothered to take a good look at me. I had my swords and Quinn’s sai. As long as she wasn’t hurt from the unceremonious march here, we had a fighting chance.

Someone cut through the chatter proposing to test Quinn. I let my gaze fall on her. She was staring at their king in horror. I wanted to shield her from this, but I didn’t see a way to do that. I flexed my wrists again, trying to get the damned ropes to budge. Despite all the training I had done since leaving Stary, I still fought a degree of panic at the restraint.

“That, Arathorn. Do that,” the king said. His attention was not even in this palace, let alone on Quinn and me before him. That was either wildly advantageous for us or not.

The time stopping Fae turned on his heel and pulled on our ropes. Quinn stumbled again, and I silently cursed my inability to help her. We were marched back through the never-ending halls but in a different direction this time.

“Where are we going?” I demanded. I’d held my tongue until now, but I wasn’t going to forever. Quinn stiffened next to me.

“To find you a cage for the time being,” he said airily. A growl pulled from me. “I suggest you keep yourself under control,” he said, his tone darkening. “I promise you; I am the least of your problems here.”

We were pulled into a stone passageway that looked grim and dirty compared to the rest of the place. The hallway was narrow, so I pushed Quinn to walk in front of me. My broad shoulders brushed the sides of the passageway, fueling the panic in my gut.

“Keep your s**t together, or we can’t keep our mate safe,” Eros chided.

“I’m f*****g trying. I went from the precipice of f*****g the s**t out of her to being herded like livestock. I’m trying to keep it together, but forgive me if these walls feel like they’re going to close in on us!”

“Keep your head and keep her in your sight,” Eros instructed. “We can’t do anything if we can’t see her. I don’t think we can link them. I can’t speak to Sapphire.”

“So she isn’t ignoring me?” I confirmed.

“I do not believe so. Wherever we are, we must not have the same capabilities here,” Eros concluded.

“I wonder how that affects my physical abilities and the weapons. Or Q’s magic. What if it’s different here?” I thought.

“Just pay attention. We need to find out as much as we can about this place so we can get our mate home,” Eros pushed.

“Agreed,” I said.

Arathorn pushed open a heavy metal door, and the sunlight blinded us once more. Time had to work differently here. The days had to be longer. We had easily been here for hours now, and the sun was still high in the sky.

Arathorn continued to tug us along. We were in a walled-off area that looked like some food garden. At least, I hoped it was a food garden. Some of the garden beds had things that looked like leafy vegetables, while other plants seemed to have strange fruits or vegetables growing from them. Nic would be enamored.

We exited that garden and were on a path that led to a large stable. I really hoped we were not about to be literally caged like animals.

“M,” Quinn nervously whispered as we got closer. “I’m so sorry.”

I wanted to tell her I would stop at nothing to get us out of this, that we would be getting home to our pups. I wanted to tell her I would protect her and everything would be okay. I flexed my wrists again, reminding myself that I wasn’t in control at the moment. I stayed silent, not wanting to give the Fae anything to consider us hostile.

We were pulled into the stables and marched past endless stalls of more massive horses. Some whinnied and stomped as we passed. “Hush now, you pest,” Arathorn chided one particularly antsy animal. We neared the back where there was nothing housed. Arathorn stopped and opened one of the doors. It wasn’t like the other stall doors at the other end of the stable; it was more of a cage door with crossed bars. He motioned for us to step inside. Quinn looked up at me cautiously, and I nodded, letting her go first. She stepped inside, but as I moved to follow her, Arathorn tugged my binding back forcefully and slammed the door in her face.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he said. “It would be irresponsible to keep two breedables in the same pen, now wouldn’t it.”

I snarled, furious that he was keeping me away from her. “M,” she gasped through the bars. Arathorn pulled me to the other side and opened another door. He looked at me expectantly, his superior aura pissing me off.

“Let’s go now, dog,” he said. Begrudgingly, I stomped into the stall and turned as he closed the door in my face. “Now be good, and I might ensure you are fed tonight.”

“Ahem,” I said, pushing my bound hands through the bars. “I hardly think these are necessary now.”

“Such a feisty one. They will enjoy breaking you if they choose to let you live out your days,” Arathorn smiled. He undid the ropes around my wrist and then moved to do the same for Quinn. “Now, be good until everything is in order.” He waved as he strutted away.

I looked across the aisle way to my mate tears filled her eyes as she reached out to me. “Don’t cry, Blue,” I said, reaching for her. I knew I wouldn’t reach her, but it didn’t matter.

“If I didn’t have this stupid magic, we wouldn’t be here,” her voice quivered. I shook my head; this wasn’t her fault. She let her arm drop, still looking at me with tears swimming in her eyes.

I couldn’t hold her and console her. I couldn’t make this okay right now. I was trapped behind bars with her out of reach. I looked behind me at the stall. There was a pile of hay in the corner and a bucket opposite it. I looked back at Quinn. She was only wearing small cotton shorts, a baggy t-shirt, and a cardigan. If it got cold, she wouldn’t have me to warm her up.

I didn’t like what he said about us being ‘breedable’ either. If he thought for a second anyone was going to touch Quinn, I’d cut him to pieces in front of his king.

“We’ll be okay,” I told her. “We can survive anything together. Maybe you should rest. I’ll watch over you from here.” Her l*p quivered as she nodded. With a lingering look, she turned and moved inside her stall, hopefully to the straw bed she had. I loosed a long breath when I heard her lie down.

From the magic bonds he’d used earlier and the general feeling I got in this realm, I knew I wouldn’t survive a long rebellion. I would have to either find out how to get us out of here or find a way to walk into the afterlife together, much sooner than I had anticipated in planning our life. I knew Quinn like she was a part of my own soul. She would endure what she had to for my and our children’s safety, but I wouldn’t let her. I would rather die than let one of them touch her, and I would meet our Goddess with Quinn, hand in hand.

I scoured my cell for anything that could help. It was hopeless. I had used Safir and Diagne to cut through metal before, and I wondered if they would cut through the bars of our cell. I wanted to keep my weapons a secret until the right time though. Pulling that card before it was necessary could take away our choice to end things or to use them to get us out of the realm altogether.

I mentally retraced our journey from the door to our cell. It was much longer than I would want it to be, but I was sure I could get us back there. If the sun would just go down, I thought maybe we could shift and try to skirt around the town he drug us through. A shiver went down my spine at the thought of the magical bindings he used. I couldn’t let on that confinement terrified me, or I’d end up in a cage I barely fit in. He said they would break me, but I could handle anything beyond that. Still, I thought their hubris would be their downfall. I doubted the time stopping Fae spent much time training, and I’d contemplated putting the magical bindings around his throat to see how long he wanted to keep them on me.

The sun never seemed to go down, so I had no way of measuring time. It felt like an eternity had gone by, but I couldn’t tell for sure. Being in that room with my terrified pups and my mate as she negotiated for our loves seemed like it had been at least a day ago.

“Time moves differently here,” Eros said warily.

I heard footsteps echoing down the hall, and when I looked across at Quinn’s cell, she approached the door with a fearful expression. I tried to push calm through our bond, but it wasn’t working. I wasn’t calm either.

Our time-stopping nemesis had returned, this time with what might have been a younger Fae. I honestly couldn’t tell. They were all magical and s**t, and I was tired of seeing their faces already. The one I assumed was younger gave me a smirk. It was just something about him that screamed, ‘I have no experience in life.’

“I’ve come to collect you for the first trial,” Arathorn told Quinn, although he said it loudly enough for both of us. “You will be fed upon your return. Come quickly.” Quinn stepped to the front of her cell, putting her hands out to be bound again. Arathorn shook his head, “As long as you behave during this trial, that will not be necessary.”

The other Fae threw a tray down and kicked it under the bars of my door. It sat about a foot off the ground, enough room for food to get through but not for me. I ignored him as Arathorn started to walk away with Quinn, apparently leaving me behind.

“Take me with you, Fae,” I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

“Eat mutt. I’ll bring her back to you unharmed as long as she does what she’s asked,” he said dismissively, his voice growing quieter as he moved away with my mate.

Quinn looked back at me, mouthing, ‘‘I love you’’. I did the same, damning this world for taking away our link. I had no trouble sending overwhelming love through our bond, though, and I felt Quinn’s in return.

I had no idea what they wanted with her in these trials, and now I couldn’t protect her. For the first time in my life, I honestly had no answer. I needed to figure it out.

“Don’t worry, dog,” the other Fae laughed. I hadn’t even noticed he’d been left behind. “I’m sure she will enjoy her life as a royal pet if she gets through the trials. Probably keep her on a leash as a furry little b***h. I hear the royal table scraps are quite-”

Eros’ roar echoed off of every surface of our cage, the bare room doing nothing to dampen it. The rest of the animals in their stables started losing it, smashing against the walls of their confinement, trying to escape the predator among them. I’d shifted without thinking, losing my battle to Eros’ rage and my own. I now looked down at the formerly smug Fae who’d fallen to his a*s, his pants soiled. I was snarling with my muzzle pressed through the bars. I needed to see if my teeth could tear through Fae flesh.

As the embarrassed Fae gained composure, he snapped, “You’re still the one in a cage, you disgusting mutt. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

He ran off, presumably for more pants, and I eventually shifted back. On my knees, with my head honestly pressed against the bars, I stared at Quinn’s empty cell. That’s when I saw she’d dropped her glasses, or they’d been knocked off her face in the rush of getting her to the trial. They were shattered, probably by the running Fae.

“Great, now she can’t see me either,” I muttered. Things were getting worse by the moment.