Morning, Lovelies!

Thank you ever so much to Mel and Pamela!

Chapter Eight

Bella

The world was so … green.

Growing up in a smoke-choked city, I had never been exposed to the natural world. I knew industry and the toxic waste that progress left in its path.

But outside the city limits the world was wide open and wild.

Jasper led our horse down a dirt road past fields and fields of some green plant that I did not recognize. It seemed impossible that any plant would grow with such organization, but then again, maybe they did? I certainly knew nothing about them.

"What is that?" I asked several minutes later as I spotted a figure standing amongst the thigh-high plants. I felt Jasper turn to follow my line of sight.

"Oh, that's a scarecrow. Farmers put them out to try to scare off the birds."

It was like he was speaking a different language. Farmers? Birds? How did all these things fit together?

"Why does it matter if birds come here?" I asked.

Jasper lifted one hand from the reins and motioned around us. "These fields are growing wheat for the city," he said. "Birds like to come and peck at the young plants so the farms do what they can to stop that."

I shook my head. This was where my food came from?

"These fields must go on for miles," I whispered, taking in the expanse around us. The plant was growing as far as I could see, a shimmering dancing sea of green.

"They do," Jasper confirmed. "And they aren't the only ones out here."

My mouth dropped. Just how big was the world?

A flock of blackbirds circled over the field and a few landed on the outstretched arms of the scarecrow, making me chuckle in surprise.

"He's not very good at his job," I noted.

Jasper hummed. "The scarecrows used to be infused with magic and dance through the fields," he told me.

"Why don't they anymore?"

Jasper didn't answer me, and I suspected I knew why. My eyes flashed toward Edward, my anger bubbling up in my chest. This was just one more reason why the royal family were ruining our kingdom. The drain of magic was even affecting our crop industry. That had to have deeper negative impacts, right?

Just how bad were things?

I was grimly determined to find out. If I was forced to be in the presence of a royal, the least I could do was uncover some truths.

No matter how dark they may be.

…

Around midday we stopped just outside the city limits to let the horses drink from a small spring while we ate ripe plums off the trees that lined the royal farmlands. Our path was inland for now, but Jasper showed me on the map that soon we would return to the coast and hug it along our way to Primm.

"It's about a three-day journey usually," Jasper told me, holding out the map. "But with an extra rider, I expect it will take about four."

I didn't think Jasper meant it in any way except factual, so I tried not to take offense. So far, Edward's guards had proven themselves both to be kinder and easier going than the crown prince, who had a stick so far up his ass I wondered if all he could taste was wood.

After lunch, we climbed back atop the horses—this time, I sat behind Jasper and wrapped my arms around his waist—before we set off again on our journey.

We moved faster when I was behind Jasper, but it was certainly more effort for me to stay alert and hold onto him.

I'd never wanted to let my eyes wander more.

Soon the farmlands began to give way to forests that surrounded us in more trees than I'd seen in my life cumulatively. The forest was magnificent, with a surprisingly diverse flora and fauna that kept me peeking around Jasper for a better look.

Out here, the world felt alive.

"What's that?" I asked for perhaps the hundredth time in the hour.

Jasper chuckled in front of me and turned to see where I was pointing. "The tree or the moss?" he asked.

"Moss?" I echoed.

Jasper nodded. "It is a plant of sorts, and it grows between the branches of trees."

I blinked in surprise. "What for?"

Jasper shrugged one shoulder which I felt move against my cheek. "I honestly do not know, but I've seen many in the towns and villages use the moss to plug up holes in their houses."

I frowned, bewildered by such a concept. Eventid was industrious; that was what we were known for. It was a machine pumping out so many noxious fumes that the citizens lived half starved for air. I didn't know places like this existed in the world anymore. I thought every corner of the kingdom was drowning as we were.

Why were things like this?

Every new question brought up a scathing loathing in my heart toward Edward. What was he doing to stop any of this?

By the time we stopped for the night to make camp, I'd come to realize that riding horses wasn't all spectacular and amazing. My body was stiff, my muscles aching as I hobbled away from the beast.

"How are you doing?" Emmett asked, stopping by me where I'd managed to plop down on a felled tree trunk.

I looked up at him. "Why couldn't we have taken one of those horseless carriages?" I whined.

Emmett smiled. "Magic only works in the city," he explained with a shrug. "You'll get used to riding."

I barely resisted making a rude gesture toward him with my hands, surely out of my own exhaustion.

Emmett left me in peace to set up camp while I tried not to fall apart completely on the log.

Edward stalked toward me a few minutes later and threw a small brown bag at my feet. I glared at him before stooping to pick it up.

"Go wash yourself in the river," he said. "You stink of horse." He turned around to storm back to the other side of the camp while my fingers groped along the forest floor until they closed around a hard brown object Jasper had told me was a pinecone. I hurled it at the back of Edward's head, making him yelp in surprise. When he turned to glare at me, I forced myself to stand with as much dignity as I could muster before I stomped off toward the river.

He was such an ass.

The water was frigid, and when I was clean, my skin still damp, there was no way I was getting the leather garments back on, so I kept them off, opting to sleep in my own clothes for the night. When I returned to camp, I was pleased to see someone had constructed a fire and Jasper was busy turning two rabbits on a spit.

I was so famished I thought I could eat a whole goat on my own.

Our supper was simple but delicious, made better by the stories Emmett told. He was a wonderful storyteller, and he spent time recounting tales he'd heard through the kingdom. Most of them were crude, which seemed to make Edward's mood worsen, but I enjoyed laughing at them with Emmett and Jasper. I was glad they weren't treating me like I was made of glass. I might have lost my mind were that the case.

Soon the fatigue of the day was catching up with me and I could feel my eyelids growing heavy. I stretched out on the bedroll that I'd been given and groaned as my back cracked on the soft ground.

Across the firepit, I could see Edward swathed in shadows and flickering light from the dying fire. His eyes were on me, burning like coals, and immediately, I felt my blood alight, my magic surging to the surface of my skin and screaming for me to make contact with him.

I wrapped my arms around myself and forced myself to turn my back on the fire, my eyes wide as I tried to remember how to breathe.

Despite the amulets which had indeed helped to dampen most of the draw, the need to bond was still there, lying under the surface of my skin, like lightning waiting to strike ground.

I had to keep resisting.

Despite my exhaustion, I hardly slept, too acutely aware of Edward and the current that seemed to be humming between us. By the time morning broke, I was in a foul mood.

Edward seemed to match my frustrations, for he said very little and stomped around the campsite a little too loudly for someone trained in military stealth.

I climbed up onto the horse behind Jasper again, and this time, despite the questions I had, I kept them all inside, too exhausted to indulge my own curiosities.

…

Shortly after midday, our path finally turned toward the sea again, providing us a sweeping view of the bay. From our vantage point, I could make out the lost Isle of Maera, sitting in the heart of our harbor. It had once been common to travel between Maera and Eventid, but when the mytag came, the ships stopped running. There was no way for us to know whether the people lost to the isle were alive or not after all this time.

Our road was high up on a cliff which allowed me to look for once at the water without much fear of being dragged below the surface. I was surprised to see that in the bright sun, the bay glittered like gemstones. Did water always do that?

"Jasper?" I asked, my voice low enough that I knew no one would overhear us.

"Yes?" he asked, his head tilting slightly to hear me.

"Have you ever sailed before?"

It wasn't common for anyone my age. The only exceptions might be people in the military or else those from different cities.

Jasper cleared his throat. "I have, once," he confirmed. "I was just a boy, but it's something I could never forget."

I frowned. He had sailed as a child? "Where are you from?" My eyes flickered up to his hair where I could see the tips of his ears parting his blond locks. I hadn't paid them much mind when I first saw him yesterday.

"I was born in Mura," he explained, and I felt my eyebrows lift in surprise.

"The southern isle?" I asked.

Jasper nodded. "The very one. I left when I was eight and moved to Eventid to begin my training. I've been here since."

"Why did you have to leave so young?"

Jasper shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "My mother died. She was a human." His words made me jolt in surprise. "Relationships between humans and fae aren't so divided in Mura," he said, reading me accurately. "My mother's family wanted to keep me home and raise me themselves, but my father had been in service to the king before he died and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. I left as soon as I was age-eligible for training."

I licked my lips. "Your father was fae?"

Jasper nodded. "He was."

I'd never heard of half fae, half human children. What did that make them? Did that limit his powers, or did that make him stronger?

I found suddenly I had a host of questions, none of which I could force out fast enough.

Ahead of us, Edward began to slow his horse and I automatically shifted, my gaze flying to him to see what was going on. There was a large felled tree across the road, though it seemed easy enough to go around or indeed over. But for some reason, it seemed to alarm Edward and his guards, who instinctively looked up to take inventory of the trees.

"What's happening?" I asked, my voice a whisper.

Jasper gently hushed me and it was a testament to how much I was growing to like him that I did not snap at him for it.

After a moment, Jasper cleared his throat. "Trees don't often fall across the road like that," he said, his voice soft. "It usually is a sign of a potential ambush."

I opened my mouth, maybe to laugh it off or gasp, I wasn't sure, but either way I never got to make a noise. Before I could, there was a sharp shout and then the sound of a horn as nearly a dozen men rushed us from the treeline.

"Jasper!" Edward roared, drawing his sword. Immediately, Jasper tried kicking the horse into gear and I felt my arms around his waist tighten.

"Hold on, Bella." He grunted as he kicked the horse into a gallop. The horse stopped short a moment later as two more bandits emerged before us. Jasper swore and twisted in the saddle, drawing his sword. "Do not get off this horse," he commanded. "The first chance you get, ride ahead."

My mouth flopped open in protest, but before I could utter a word, Jasper was off, his broadsword raised as he charged at the bandits in our way.

My gloved fingers scrambled for the reins and I felt my legs squeeze the beast in panic. There were trees to the left of the path, and to the right was a sheer drop to the ocean below. It was a terrible spot for travelers, and I realized, a very good spot for bandits.

Emmett and Jasper were dismounted, striking down thieves from their positions on the ground. Edward was still on his horse, but it was becoming evident that that was hindering him. I watched as he fluidly dismounted while the beast was in motion, his movements practiced and confident. In the same instant, his sword arched in a blinding sweep, coming down between the shoulder and neck of his opponent. I winced and squeezed my legs harder around the horse as it knickered in panic.

"Please stay calm," I begged. "Please, I …"

A bandit broke through the line Emmett, Jasper, and Edward were holding and came rushing at me. He looked filthy, with matted dark hair and at least three missing teeth. His leer was suggestive and repulsive as he ran toward me, a long sharp blade gripped in his knobby fingers.

"Go," I shouted at the horse, trying to kick my heels into her sides as I'd seen Jasper do. The horse whinnied and then unexpectedly rose up on two legs, sending me tumbling straight off her back. I screamed as I landed hard on my hip. I scrambled out of the way, trying to make sure I wasn't stepped on as my horse continued to buck before she finally took off into the woods, leaving me utterly defenseless.

For fuck's sake.

"All alone, girly," the man sneered as he advanced toward me.

I took a breath and reached into my boot. I may be out of my element, but I'd grown up on the streets.

I knew how to take care of myself.

I yanked a short sharp blade out of my boot and scrambled to my feet, lunging at the man before he could assess me. I caught him across the belly and he screamed, his dirty fingers gripping at my hair.

I twisted, trying to get away from him but he grabbed hold of my braid and yanked my head back, making me groan.

I let him draw me into his grasp before I stepped hard on his foot at the same time my elbow drove back into his stomach, right over the wound I'd just carved into him.

He gasped and I spun around, lifting my palm to shove his nose up and in. I heard the sick squishing noise that let me know his nose was broken as intended and he yowled in pain, staggering away from me.

I held the knife before me, dragging in a deep breath as I glared at him. "I will drive this into your heart," I snarled, feeling terrified and angry at the same time. "Or you can walk away now."

Most of the people I'd had to get physical with were after one of three things: money, power, or magic. Those who sought money usually knew when they were beaten and sought it out somewhere else. For those who sought power or magic … Well, sometimes the fight was the foreplay they wanted. It was always a risk, but one I had to take to keep myself alive.

The bandit spit at me, a wad of his saliva hitting the ground near my feet before he turned on his heel and fled into the trees. He had some sense after all.

I was about to take inventory of the fight when a large pair of arms wrapped around me, pinning my hands to my side.

"No one move," the man snarled, his voice hoarse. I felt the cold chill of metal press against my throat and froze, my eyes wide.

One by one Edward, Emmett, and Jasper turned to see me caught in the man's grasp. Fury unlike I'd ever seen was all over Edward's face, and briefly I remembered the thugs he'd killed last time I'd been cornered.

I couldn't let that happen again.

I couldn't get a good angle to stab my blade into the man holding me, but my fingers could slide into my pocket. I groped for the talisman I kept there and began chanting under my breath.

The man was talking, giving his demands of surrender to Edward and his men, but I was too focused on my spell to listen to him.

Subtly, I felt the wind pick up, and then like a giant invisible hand was reaching through the air, the man was dragged backward and flung off the cliff. I tried to slip out of his grasp, but his hold on me was strong and I felt myself begin to plummet with him.

Panicked, I let out a scream, my gaze finding Edward's as I fell off the side of the cliff.

The man let go of me as he scrambled for purchase against the rock face, and I felt the talisman and knife drop from my own grasp as I tried to do the same.

My gloved fingers scrambled over a root protruding out of the side of the cliff and I caught myself on it, the wind driving from my body upon impact. Below me, I could hear the man falling to his death and I screwed my eyes shut.

I did that.

"Bella!"

I looked up to see Edward looking at me over the edge of the cliff, his eyes wide and terrified.

"Help me!" I croaked, struggling to keep hold of the root. I could feel my hands starting to slip, my strength failing too quickly.

"Hold on, Bella, just hold on!" he shouted.

Right, like I could do anything else right now.

I could hear them arguing above and I couldn't help but wonder why the hell the rescue was taking so damn long. Edward had wings, dammit. Why wasn't he just flying down to save me?

"Bella!"

I tilted my face up and felt my body slide down the root. I screamed in panic, my feet kicking out under me.

"Bella, I need you to climb up," Edward called. "Make it to that ledge. Can you do that?"

I grunted. "No, I cannot fucking do that. Fly down and save me, you asshole!" I screamed.

Edward let out a strangled sound, and then he was crawling over the edge of the cliff. What the fuck was he doing? Was he going to climb down?

I watched in bemusement as he scaled down the edge of the cliff until he was on the ledge he'd wanted me to make it to.

"Bella, you have to meet me halfway," he said, his long body stretching toward me. "I need you in reach and then I can pull you up."

There was still no sign of his wings, damn him. I grunted and flailed on the root, my arms growing more and more tired.

"I'm not strong enough," I gritted.

"You are," he argued. "Bella, you are strong enough. You have to do this."

I'd never been this scared in my life. I could feel my grip failing. If I stayed, I'd fall to my death.

"Okay Bella," I whispered to myself. "Get it together. You have to do this."

Taking a deep breath, I slowly inched my way up the root. Edward had his hand outstretched toward me, so I was only a few feet from him now.

"That's it," he encouraged. "You're doing it. You're almost there. Good girl."

"Oh, fuck off!" I screamed, making him smile. I pushed myself that last foot, just as the root itself started to give way. I angled my body to be able to press my foot against the cliff and I pushed off, reaching for Edward's gloved hand.

His fingers wrapped around my wrist as the root snapped under my weight and I screamed as I felt a moment of freefalling.

"I've got you." Edward groaned, his other hand coming to wrap around my other wrist. Once both arms were in his grasp, he hauled me up onto the ledge beside him. We were both wrapped in leather gear, but even so, we were standing so close it was a wonder how our magic wasn't bonding.

"You're okay," he whispered, his arms wrapping around me. "Hold onto me."

"No," I croaked, but when he put my arms around his neck, I didn't fight him. It was then that I realized he had a rope wrapped around his waist. He tugged it once and immediately we started getting hauled up off the cliff. I clung to him, my heart hammering from both the near-death experience and the proximity of Edward.

It would be so easy to reach out and touch him, skin to skin. I could feel his body pressed along mine and my mind flooded with every dirty thought it could summon.

My hands were practically shaking trying to resist feeling him up.

Emmett and Jasper hauled us up over the cliff edge, and the moment we were on land, I sprang away from Edward, falling to the dirt road with a gasp. My body was heated where I'd been pressed against him and I wanted nothing more than to crawl back to him and strip us both down.

What I wouldn't give to feel the full length and strength of him against my naked body.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

I looked up at Jasper who was watching me with concern. I gave him a thumbs up before my arms flopped back down on the ground.

I wasn't going to be able to keep resisting Edward, not now that I'd gotten this small taste.

I was so fucked.

If you're on FB, make sure to join my group: Fanfics For Nerds. I post teasers there, but I also have a map of Eventid for those readers who are visual learners.

See you next time!