Daughter of No One by Sam Ledel

Author:Sam Ledel [Ledel, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635554281
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2019-04-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Aurelia awoke with a pounding headache and an intense throbbing running from her shoulders to her legs, which were numb. She groaned and sputtered, tasting blood and dirt. A blockage of something thick made her choke when she tried to cough, and she quickly realized a rag had been tied around her face, gagging her. She blinked. Her stomach sank at the darkness around her, and she feared she must have been blindfolded. Slowly, though, her eyes adjusted. She wasn’t blindfolded; night had fallen.

Heart racing, Aurelia lifted her sore head from where it had been hanging against her chest. How long had she been unconscious? Her legs were tucked awkwardly beneath her, and they slowly gained sensation after she wriggled on the ground. Damp moss and grass tickled her tightly clenched fingers. She could smell the earth—fresh like wind after rain. Her wrists itched, and she felt a crude rope tied around them. It didn’t take long to realize her hands were bound behind her back.

As her mind cleared, voices drifted over from behind the hundreds of trees surrounding her. I’m in the forest. How did I get here?

Drest.

The memory came back in a jolt, like the feeling of missing a step climbing the tower stairs. Her body lurched, and rage bubbled inside her chest. Drest had done this to her. But why? Why take her away from the castle? Why do this on the day of her brother’s remembrance? Nothing made any sense. She scanned her surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of Keller. As she did, the voices came to a halt, and rustling sounded nearby.

A towering, slender figure emerged from the dark pillars of trees. Aurelia pushed herself back against the trunk she sat in front of, fumbling her tied hands over the large roots at its base.

“What kind of royalty cowers from the unknown?” an elven voice sneered. Despite the less-than-kind comment, his voice was lovely. It rose and fell like a lyre being plucked. Another elf with the same gray eyes and nearly iridescent skin that seemed to glow in the moonlight followed the first out from behind a tree. Together, they walked toward her.

“The human kind. Remember: they’re not like us. They hide behind their magic and high walls out of fear, not power. This one is an example of the many weak members of man.”

Aurelia grimaced. She felt afraid but grew angrier with each word the elves spoke. Who do they think they are? And why are they saying such things? She had always believed the elves to be kind, stoic fae. At least, that was what she had read about and what she was taught by her mother and father.

Of course, her mother hadn’t taught her about the Well of Slaine. Perhaps there were some things she believed that weren’t as true as she had originally imagined.

The first elf, wearing a flowing green tunic of light material, rested his forearm on a bow that came up to his chest. “Tell me again why we can’t take her back to our queen.

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