Rage (Scarlet Dawson Book 3) Read online

  “I only see nine of them, that means they will forfeit before they’ve even started,” sneers a tall, willowy female with copper hair braided in a crown around her head.

  I roll my eyes at her and turn my back on the Fae, trying to see if I can locate the camp from the cliff’s edge. I look into the dark and can make out trees and shadows that stretch into the horizon but can’t see anything beyond the dark.

  Bastian leans in and whispers in my ear, “Straight down, tucked into the cliff’s edge.”

  I ignore the shiver that runs through my body as his breath tickles my ear and look straight down. I can just make out a cluster of cream canvas around a clearing. But I wouldn’t have noticed it if Bastian hadn’t pointed it out.

  I turn and pull Bastian’s arm, saying to him, “Come on we need to get down there and see if Vex came through on his promise.”

  I inhale and try to calm my nerves as I wonder what condition we’d find Jared in and where we’d find him. As we move to where the Fae have started descending the cliff, I can only hope that Vex stays true to his word and delivers Jared to us in one piece.

  When we reach the bottom of the cliff, I can clearly see the camp that is to be our home for the night. The tents are all large, cream-coloured canvas structures that are square with pointed roofs. They are situated around a square sand arena.

  Bastian has already made it down and appears from under the flap of the large structure that takes up one side of the arena.

  “The camp’s split into sections,” Bastian tells us, reading from a piece of paper he holds in front of himself. “Each team takes the tents located on their side of the square, we are in the middle with Unseelie on one side and the Seelie on the other. The tent I’ve just come out of is the communal area or team tent.

  “The camp is a neutral zone. If anyone causes harm in the neutral zone their team will be disqualified. The games begin tomorrow at first light. We will receive a map that will display the coordinates of the camp for the following day.

  “The fights for the clues to help us on our journey will take part every night. The participants will be displayed on the board or announced at an allotted time before the fight starts. Any team member not in the arena at the start of the fight will be instantly disqualified and removed from the Games. From the second you leave camp, anything goes until the moment you return.”

  Bastian frowns at the paper then flips it over to see if there is anything else on the back. He obviously has more questions, I have quite a few myself, like where the hell are we? What will the other teams be doing to ensure we don’t make it to the next camp?

  Those questions would have to wait. First, I needed to see if Vex had dropped Jared off yet. I walk away from the others and skirt around the edge of the camp until I reach the tents designated as ours.

  I poke my head into the first tent and find it empty. When I turn around, I nearly jump out of my skin to see that Vex has appeared behind me. Jared hangs limply from his arm, his face caked in dried blood, and one eye swollen shut.

  He had been alone with Vex now for days, I just hoped he was strong enough to survive whatever the next day threw at us.

  I take a step forward as Aylesbury and Bastian reach my side.

  “Scarlet, don’t forget what’s at stake if you don’t get me the star,” Vex says as he pushes Jared towards me.

  Jared crumples to the ground and Aylesbury rushes over to him.

  I scowl at Vex, then say, “How will you know that we have the star?”

  “I’ll know, so long as you survive, I’ll be there when you reach the star,” Vex says before turning around and walking into the darkness behind him.

  I frown at him for a second, wondering why he didn’t teleport out. I’m pretty sure he does things purposely to throw me off.

  Chapter Twelve

  Aylesbury and Bastian lift Jared to the nearest tent and lay him on the bed while I look around for the bag that Gerry had insisted we bring. I find it with the rest of our equipment outside one of the larger tents. I quickly grab it and hoist it over my shoulder, running back to the tent where Jared lies unmoving and bloody.

  Silas is in the tent, using part of a sheet to wipe away the dried blood on his face. With each wipe, I can see that there are no open wounds underneath. I already know he is immortal but that didn’t mean that any damage done couldn’t be long-lasting.

  Jared was six years older than me, and at some point, between your twenty-fifth and thirtieth year, your body became more resilient and went through the change that made you immortal. Most immortals only knew they had transitioned because they spent a week bedridden and in agony, and some didn’t survive, but that was very rare. I was lucky I had become immortal through the bonding ritual, so I avoided that traumatic event. There was some debate that because of my mixed heritage I wouldn’t have transitioned at all but that was a moot point now, thankfully.

  Aylesbury opens the bag that I pass him and gets out one of the syringes Gerry has prepared for us. In it is a mixture of nutrients and boosters that will help us immortals heal any of the more severe injuries we might encounter. Small injuries will heal instantly but that would take its toll on the body as we would still need rest so that our bodies could deal with the after effects of healing so quickly.

  Aylesbury inserts the needle into Jared’s upper arm and plunges the syringe down, I watch as the liquid disappears. Jared doesn’t move or make a sound.

  “Why isn’t he moving,” I ask, worried.

  “We don’t know what Vex has put him through, but he should be fine after a few hours of rest,” Silas says.

  Aylesbury helps Silas take Jared’s shirt and trousers off, and Silas quickly checks him for any more injuries.

  “There’s nothing else we can do. He has no signs of internal or external injuries, so the only thing we can do now is wait,” Silas tells me as Aylesbury throws a blanket over Jared.

  “How do you know?” I ask her, curious.

  “Gerry made sure there were a few of us capable of dealing with injuries. Aylesbury and Phoenix had more of an intensive lesson in case I was injured as I’d probably need stitches, etc,” she tells me, pulling up a chair to the bed. “We need to take turns sitting with him until he wakes. Once he’s conscious, we can leave him alone to rest.”

  “I’ll take the first shift then,” I say and sit, taking hold of Jared’s hand.

  “I’ll be back for you in a couple of hours,” Bastian says, motioning for the others to leave.

  Aylesbury comes over to me and grabs my chin between his finger and thumb, making sure I’m looking him in the eye. “Don’t spend the next few hours worrying.” I make a sound of protest, but he cuts off any reply I can make. “I know you, Red. Just trust that he will be fine.” He releases my chin and stalks out of the tent with Bastian on his heels.

  The tent is suddenly too quiet, and I find myself swivelling around on the chair to take in my surroundings. As I cast my eyes over the furnishings that are brightly lit by the Fae lanterns strung up on the wooden tent poles, I see that the accommodations inside the tent are quite lavish to say we are essentially camping. There is a large bed covered in plenty of blankets, on which Jared currently lies. A closed off area that I can only assume has bathroom facilities and a table that is laden with food. At the other side of the bed is a comfy-looking fabric chair. I would envy the person that had to put all this together every day, but then we are in Faerie and some Fae is more than likely doing all this with a flick of the wrist.

  After half an hour, I hear a rustling outside and just assume it’s one of the others coming to check on us. I swivel in the chair to face the opening of the tent and listen to the rustling. The noise outside quietens then a Fae male walks into the tent.

  I instantly go on alert and summon Neria. I know we aren’t meant to hurt another team or we risk being disqualified, but I am still a little apprehensive. The Fae in front of me has pale green wavy hair that brushes the top of his pointy ears, hi
s eyes are also a vibrant green. His body is quite muscular for a Fae; mostly they are lean but never too overly muscled like the guy in front of me.

  He smiles at me and I raise my sword out in front of me in response.

  “Hello, dearie,” he says to me.

  I frown at him then my eyes widen when I finally place the tone of voice he’s using.

  “Vex! Why am I not surprised that you're here?” I say to him, letting the ferocity show in my voice and stance.

  He smiles, “Clever girl, aren’t you?”

  “More like you’re getting predictable,” I say flippantly.

  His eyes flash and he flicks his fingers, Neria is yanked out of my hand and flies straight to his own hand which is outstretched and waiting.

  Oh hell!

  A part of me is terrified at the amount of power I know he wields; another part of me rejoices at his arrogance. Each power that he shows me is another way we can track him or take him down. Hopefully, his arrogance will be his downfall, and the more information we have the better.

  In a blink of an eye, he is behind me, with my sword pressed to my throat, his other arm wraps around my ribs. His arms tighten around me and I still.

  “You tell anyone I’m here and your brother dies. Maybe both. I have easy access to all your team now as they don’t know I’m here.” His hot breath whispers against my skin and sends a shudder through my body.

  I calm myself and say, “Why are you here, Vex?”

  “I’ve been grooming you for years to join me; years of wasted time and effort. I’m here to protect my investment. I know you better than you think, Scarlet, I know you’ll be planning something. Just know that whatever you’re thinking won’t work. I’ll be watching your every move from here on out.”

  I listen to his words, my mind reeling at his implications. Did we even have a chance? Had we ever had a chance?

  I shake my head. Now is really not the time to think defeatist thoughts. Instead, I take stock of the situation. Vex’s new form was more muscular than his original form, so he hopefully wouldn’t be used to his new body density which could throw him off balance. Or I could be totally wrong, and he could be used to the extra bulk and know how to fight like this.

  I tense my body and I’m about to make my move when Vex steps away. He steps around me and holds my sword out to me, passing me the hilt. I frown at him.

  Vex notes my frown and says, “You forget, Scarlet, I need you, I always have.”

  I grab Neria as he turns his back on me and walks out of the tent.

  Something isn’t quite right. He can’t just be after the star. If he was, surely he could just get it himself.

  After a few moments of staring at the entrance, I move back to sit with Jared, my mind reeling about what I should do. Do I risk telling the others Vex is here? If I did would Vex just disappear into the woodwork again. He’s certainly up to something but I just can’t understand what his intentions are this time. I honestly didn’t think the star was his goal, so there had to be something else.

  I was only positive that our plan would no longer work and, until I had more information, I couldn’t tell any of the others.

  I sigh and move over to the table piled high with food and fix myself a plate of fruit and veg, sticking to the items that I recognise. I sit back down on the chair, balancing the plate on my knee. When the tent flap moves again, I jump up, nearly showering Jared’s prone form with food.

  I quickly steady the plate and turn around to see Bastian with Aylesbury. I frown at them both and turn back to my plate of food. Bastian moves to stand directly behind me while Aylesbury throws himself in the comfy-looking chair.

  “You’re hiding something,” Bastian says, making an obvious attempt to sniff in my direction.

  I knew he could smell fear and desire but wasn’t sure if he could smell other emotions. Hopefully, I was getting better at evading; I’d definitely need to be now.

  “Nope,” I say to him and sink my teeth into a slice of shiny red apple.

  “Then why was there another Fae in here?” he says, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around on the chair to face him.

  The piece of apple sticks in my throat and I start to choke, coughing while thumping my chest until the piece finally slides down my throat. Bastian glares at me, obviously demanding an answer. I look over my shoulder at Aylesbury and he just raises an eyebrow at me.

  I sigh and say, “What Fae?”

  “Well, Red, maybe he’s asking about the Fae male we saw leaving here a few minutes ago?” Aylesbury says, his tone bordering on sarcastic.

  I could spin this back around easily and, hopefully, they wouldn’t see through my subterfuge. “Oh, that male, not a clue who he is,” I say flippantly, not looking Bastian in the eye. “He just wanted to check to see if we needed anything to help with Jared. He saw you carrying someone unconscious in here. I personally think he was scoping out our weaknesses,” I say with a shrug. Smiling, I then shove a piece of cheese into my mouth.

  I finally look at Bastian and see his eyes are narrowed slightly, I knew he was weighing up which part of what I had said was a lie. I know he can tell, so I just carry on eating like nothing is amiss.

  Bastian looks like he’s about to say something when Jared starts to stir, mumbling quietly. I turn my attention to him while placing the plate on the floor under the chair. I watch him as he starts to move his head, then he sits bolt upright. Looking directly at me he says, “Scarlet, where am I?” He looks down at the blanket that has dropped from his chest and now only covers his legs. “And why do I only have my underpants on under the blanket?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Before I answer anything, how are you feeling?” I ask Jared as he tucks the blanket around his waist, his face blushing slightly.

  “A little tired but other than that fine. Why?” he answers, looking at me with a confused expression on his face.

  “Why? Are you seriously asking me why?” My voice rises a little in anger. “Let’s see, when you arrived here you could barely stand and were covered in blood.”

  I watch as reality sets in and he realises exactly where he’s been for the last few weeks.

  “How did you get me out?” Jared asks.

  “We didn’t. Vex decided to give you back to us so you could help us win The Enduring Tournament.”

  “Bloody hell,” he says, his eyes widening in horror.

  Aylesbury moves over to the bed and dumps a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on Jared’s lap. He scoops them up and motions with his finger for me to turn around so he can get dressed. I turn and face Bastian, listening to the sound of Jared pulling the clothes on.

  “Scarlet, what I did—”

  Jared begins speaking but stops when Bastian pushes past me. I turn to find Bastian holding Jared by the front of his shirt, and he growls the words, “Tell me why you stabbed my mate?”

  I don’t give Jared a chance to answer the brute as I wedge myself between them both and start to push Bastian away. I glance at Aylesbury, my eyes asking for help, but instead, he just stands there and shrugs.

  “Bastian! Let go!” I shout at him.

  He looks at me for a long moment then pushes Jared away and takes a few steps back. I stare for a minute. I’m quite shocked that he listened.

  I turn back to Jared and say, “I know why you did it.”

  “No, you don’t. You think I was pretending to be under his influence, but I wasn’t. I remember everything he asked me to do. He told me to say those words to you and I obeyed. It was just another of his mind games. I didn’t even care that The Guild would never sanction something like that. I just wanted to please my father. I wanted him back so much.” He turns away from me and takes a step towards the back of the tent. “His hold on me only broke a few days ago. I tried to disguise it, but he knew straightaway.”

  I take a step closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “I don’t care, Jared, it wasn’t you, it was Vex.”

  I hear B
astian mutter, “You might not care but I do.” I choose to ignore him.

  Jared turns back around. “I tortured you, just because a person masquerading as my father told me to. That’s unforgivable. I’m a bloody monster.”

  Bastian starts to mutter something again, so I throw him a glare over my shoulder before pulling Jared into a hug.

  “All that matters now is that you’re back. What he made you do isn’t you, Jared, he’s the monster, and he’s going to pay for messing with us.” I pull away from him slightly and smile.

  When Jared smiles back at me, I pull away from him and move to sit on the edge of the bed.

  “What in the name of all that is Irish are we doing in The Enduring Games?” Jared asks after a few moments of silence, his lilt more prominent than normal.

  “Apparently Vex would like us to win the prize for him this year: a star,” Bastian answers for me.

  Aylesbury interjects with, “So if we survive, we are going to surprise him at the end of the games and hopefully finish this once and for all.”

  “How are you going to manage that? Do you have any idea how powerful Vex really is?” Jared says, looking directly at me.

  “We kind of have a secret weapon,” I tell him. “I have the stone of death, Necros, and I’m also the only one that can wield it.”

  “So why are we taking part in these games that can potentially kill us? Why not just go straight to Vex?” Jared asks, looking confused.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t exactly know how to use the stone yet. Until I can wield it, the only option we have is to go along with Vex’s plan and hopefully turn this back around on him in the end,” I tell him, disgusted that I’m lying to the only three males I now class as my family.

  I flop back on the bed and stare at the Fae lanterns, watching the tiny lights inside dance around like fireflies. I finally have the one thing I’ve always wanted: family, and I’m going to destroy it all because I’m lying to them again, so they don’t die.

  “What did Vex have you do whilst you were under his influence?” Aylesbury asks.