From the Heart of a Fae
Chapter 4

Kora sprung from the ground in front of Ben, screaming. She drew her blades and started swinging blindly at the fire. Everyone started, Ben and Royce reaching her first, trying to subdue the swinging swords. Kora’s eyes were blank, she could not see anything, and she panicked.

" No, No!” She was hysterical. Royce and Ben ripped the swords from her hands, a true feat, considering the supernatural strength and speed of a fae. Malik grabbed her from behind, trying to restrain her from grabbing another weapon. Ben grabbed her face, searching.

“Kora - KORA! Baby please, it is ok, we are right here!” Ludis ran over, and she pulled a cork out of a small vial, it was the foulest smelling thing Ben had ever witnessed. She held it under Kora’s nose, and she began to cough violently, as she had heaved in a huge breath of it. The soldiers had approached at a run, swords drawn. Royce waved them off, claiming they had it under control. Malik did not release Kora as Ben lifted her face. Her head snapped up, and her eyes were clear now, but the panic had not left. She began to swing her head back and forth-

“Where - where is he? Where did he go?” She was frightened; they had not seen her since she was turned back to flesh from stone. Sensing his adopted sister was no longer in whatever trance she was in, Malik released her slowly, and Ben took her into his arms.

“Kora, no one was here, it was just us. You fell asleep.” Stella was standing close by, her arm linked with Ludis, they were looking at Kora with concern. Kora began to pat her chest, her heart, before turning in Ben’s arms to look around again. Shadow was up, growling and circling Kora, trying to access where the danger was. She was sweating. Royce handed her a flask,

“Drink. Relax, No one except us has been to this camp. Tell us what you saw.” Kora’s breathing started to slow, and she sagged against Ben, taking a long drink from the flask, parched. She handed it back to Royce.

" Your other flask, please.” Kora was not playing; she wanted the hard shit. Royce handed it over and Kora took two large mouthfuls from the flask, sputtering at the bitterness of the alcohol. They managed to coax her back down, sitting next to the fire, and she sat.

“Kora, you got to say something, you can’t just try to cut all of our heads off and not offer an explanation.” Malik ran his fingers through his hair, nervous. A normal person, who was as good with a weapon as Kora was, concerned him when they swung a blade blindly. He had seen Kora half a tree before. Ben was rubbing her back, and he scowled at the king. Malik shrugged. If they had not been as fast as they had been, she could have hurt one of them. If she had not been so disoriented, she would have gotten whatever her imagination was aiming at, for sure.

" It was him. The man who turned me to stone. He - he tried to rip my heart out.” Kora buried her face in her knees, and Ben held her closer. The others looked at each other, concerned. It was a specific nightmare, and Ludis leaned forward, her arms wrapped around her knees.

“Kora, did he say anything?” Ludis asked softly.

"He said that … He said I had moved on quickly, and that my heart could only belong to him.” She was muttering, a foul taste in her mouth as she said the words. She looked up at Ben, and despite the hateful tone in her words, Ben saw fear there.

" I don’t think he meant love, darlin.” Royce’s voice was dark. Kora stood up suddenly, grabbing her chest. Ben was at her side in a second, and she stepped back. She looked at the sky, then turned to Malik.

" The book about the fae stories, do you still have it?” When Malik had sat beside her last winter, he had been reading a book of fables. Malik started, then grabbed the book from his saddlebag. He had brought it as a joke and had stuffed it away forgetting it until now. Tossing it over the fire, Kora snatched it from the air, and began to flip through it. Finding the page, she was looking for, what little color she had found drained from her face.

“From the Heart of a Fae, everlasting life can be found. From the heart of the Fae, the earth secrets will be revealed, a window to the gods will be opened. The heart of a Fae will give the person who possesses it all they desire.” They all stood still as the words were read aloud by Malik, who had come around the fire to take the book from Kora when she did not speak.

“What the fuck does he want? To cut it out?" Ben was furious, looking around.

“He wants to eat it.” Kora’s soft voice echoed around them. They all looked at her, horror-stricken. She covered her face.

" The one who consumes the heart of a fae will obtain all that Fae has to offer. He will become Faerye. A dark Fae.” Kora’s voice was weak.

" It was supposed to be a scary story, told to the children of the fae when they wandered too far from their homes at an early age. An evil wizard would come and eat the hearts of the children.”

The true implications of what she said sank in, and everyone stood in stunned silence. An evil Fae. What was this monster trying to accomplish? Shadow howled, a lonely, long sound.