“Doing some late-night gardening?” he asked, nodding behind me.
My grip tightened on my tools. “No, I was just heading back inside. The weather is going to—”
“Don’t lie to me, Lara.” His voice turned icy. Brutal. The beast within him flared in his eyes, because that was what he was. A heartless, cruel, vindictive beast of a fairy.
I flinched, and a flicker of perverse delight shone in his eyes.
Don’t show weakness. Do not show him weakness. Squaring my shoulders, I kept my chin up. “I’m not lying.”
In a move so fast it was a blur, his hand locked around my throat, and my tools clattered to the ground just as a boom of thunder shook the land.
He spun me so fast the realm turned. A split second passed, then my back slammed into the shed as his grip on my neck tightened. The welcoming magic of my garden disappeared in an instant since we’d crossed the barrier. Icy wind bit into my cheeks as the shed’s cold planks heaved at my back. My heart thundered as I struggled to breathe. I thrashed against him, fighting as hard as I could, but it was no use.
Vorl always overpowered me.
He leaned in close until his entire hard body was flush against mine. My small breasts were squashed under his powerful chest, and the sadistic light in his eyes grew. A gag worked up my throat, but he squeezed harder, and it stayed trapped in my chest.
“Do not lie to me, sweet Ilara. You know how much it displeasures me when you do that. I know you were just about to tend to your garden. You and I both know that the weather doesn’t affect your land. Or do you think I didn’t notice?” He increased the pressure of his palm, and I clawed at his large hand more, but he didn’t budge.
“Lara?” My sister’s distant call came from the house.
In a flash, Vorl released me and widened the distance between us. I gulped in air, my throat burning as I scrambled from behind the shed just as my sister emerged from our tiny home.
“Tell no one. Or you know what happens.” That sadistic gleam glowed in his eyes again, and the heavy weight of his magic shot around me.
Warmth seared my throat, and the scent of casting magic fell over me like a heavy cloud. I knew he’d just hid the bruises he’d inflicted since Vorl’s affinity was illusions. He excelled at them above all others.
Cailis’s pace increased as she ventured across the crisp, frosty snow of our small yard. The second she saw Vorl, she stopped in her tracks, and her eyes narrowed to slits. “What are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “I was flying by on my way to the village when I saw Lara struggling with her tools. I offered to help.”
Cailis’s gaze dropped to the tools that lay in the dirt, bending several stalks of berries. She slowly returned her attention to Vorl’s guileless expression. “If Lara needs help, I can do it.”
My sister’s fingers drummed against her thighs, and her wings flexed. She didn’t stand a chance in a fight against Vorl, but she’d go down trying.
“Vorl was just on his way, weren’t you?” I tried to say loudly, but my voice came out hoarse. I hurried back to my garden and carefully pulled my tools from the berry plant. Magic clouded around me. Familiar, warm, comforting magic pulsed from my garden’s land, and some of the tension eased from my shoulders.
Vorl cleared his throat, and I turned back to him and my sister.
Cailis was still watching him. Poised. Ready.
He scoffed. “Another time then.”
Vorl flexed his wings and gave me one last warning look before he shot into the sky.
The energy thrumming from my sister evaporated. “He’s a fucking prick, that one,” she said through clenched teeth.
“That he is.”
Against the impending storm, Vorl’s outline looked like a phantom on the wind. He flew high and fast, already so far away that he was a small figure in the sky. No, not a figure. He was more like a dark demon who had come from the underworld to wreak havoc on my soul.
“Are you okay?” Cailis helped me collect my remaining tools.
“Fine. I’m fine,” I said firmly.
She studied me, her eyes darting down my throat and along my body even though my worn clothing and thick cloak hid my limbs and torso. My neck was exposed, though, but Vorl’s illusion affinity was strong and hid the bruises that were no doubt blooming across my skin as assuredly as my acorlis needed harvesting.
I gave my sister what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Go back inside and stay warm. I’ll just be a moment. It won’t take long to dig them up.”
“But—”
“It’s fine, Cailis. Truly, it is.” I forced a bright smile. “I don’t always need saving. I’m not hurt. See?” I held out my arms and tilted my neck even though my throat ached. It was such a familiar feeling that I barely noticed it. Choking me was one of Vorl’s favorite pastimes when he got me alone. It had been ever since we were children.
Cailis’s frown remained, but after looking me over a second time, she finally acquiesced.
When she disappeared back inside, and the door had shut firmly behind her, guilt spread through my veins like wildfire. Cailis had tried so many times to save me from Vorl because none of the other villagers knew how the male brute tormented me. I’d tried to tell them. Once. But Vorl’s retaliation had quickly put any further uprising from me to rest. He was our village archon after all, and he held more power than I ever would.
Still, it didn’t stop me from fighting back every time he pinned me, but I was never strong enough to break free, especially since I held no magic, and the bastard knew that. It was no doubt why he’d chosen me as his favorite victim.
Alone in our yard, I tightened my grip on my tools as snow skittered on the wind, flying and blowing as the gale let loose.
When I stepped over my garden’s magical barrier, though, the gale vanished. Warmth flowed across my skin as my small patch of land welcomed me into its fold. I took a moment, reveling in my garden’s energy as it seeped into my soul.
I used it to calm my breathing, because I hated being the weak one. The one who was different. The one who was less.
A true defective.
But I was good at gardening, and it would keep us from starving.
At the end of the day, that was what mattered most.
CHAPTER 2
The storm raged above my garden as my fingers ran through the black dirt that felt as soft as butter. I crooned and sang softly to the acorlis as I plucked one after another of the ripe large root vegetable from its underground vine.
Its bright orange skin shone like the sun as I stuffed each vegetable deep into the pockets of my cloak. As I slashed through the vine’s bounty, I thanked it for its life that would sustain our bellies through the long winter.
Despite the angry storm, I worked until it was so dark that I could barely see the thick vine snaking through the soil. I’d pulled over twenty feet of it and still hadn’t found the end.
“You grew quite deeply into our Mother, didn’t you, my friend?” I murmured to it, then stood and brushed dirt from my pants and cloak. “I shall have to finish tomorrow, though. For now, I think we should both rest. Don’t you?”
I gave the acorlis a gentle pat before hurrying to the shed to grab a large bucket. Snow and ice needled my skin when I stepped over my garden’s barrier. It was so cold that for a moment, my breath caught.