Taken

Chapter 19 (Part 1)

"If the courts don't get along, why is the Autumn Guard helping the Winter King instead of being mad that he brought me here?" I asked Silas, pulling the hood of the oversized cloak down over my eyes to hide from the crowd as we weaved through it. The darkening sky allowed shadows to hide my features.

Silas had handed me the heavy cloak just inside the walls of the city before pinning one in place under his chin. It had taken hours of riding and a thorough roam of his healing hands to walk through the crowded streets lined with shops and makeshift stalls. Though he had stopped more frequently this time, my body wasn't able to make it through such a long jostling journey unscathed. Not until it grew used to the strain of riding a steed.

I pulled my thoughts away from Silas pain erasing touch as a shoulder bumped into me. I reached for my neck, pulling the pinned fabric away from it while readjusting my hood that the bump had shifted. I didn't see where Silas had gotten the thick cloak that felt stuffy over my coat, but he hadn't left my side long enough to have purchased it. Not to mention, his coin bag still weighed heavily in my pocket.

Silas stepped into my side, shielding me from the jostling bodies of the crowd that grew thicker as the road narrowed. "There have always been the four bloodlines, but there weren't always four different courts for each one. Centuries ago there used to be two. The Seelie- Summer and Spring, and the Unseelie- Winter and Autumn. The divide can still be found in the way the Courts interact. The Winter and Autumn Courts hold each other in higher regard than they do the other two courts who favour one another more than them. The Summer and Spring Courts are the ones the Winter king would want to avoid knowing that he brought a human here. They're the ones who would seek out punishment. They're also the last ones you want to discover that you have the Blood Stone." His eyes hardened as they roamed along the street, peering into the darkened alleys that veined off the main street.

"And here I was preferring that none of them figure it out," I mumbled sarcastically under my breath. "I'll remember to keep my shirt on and hope no one removes it while I sleep."

"We'll head for the Summer court after we get the glamours," Silas continued, leaning towards me to keep from being overheard.

My brows shot up. "The place you just made a point to warn me about?"

He nodded. "It's only dangerous if you catch the royal family's attention. That's something The Winter King will make an effort to avoid. Since the two Courts seem to share the greatest animosity towards each other, the tension has made the presence of the opposing court unwelcomed and monitored. It'll make it harder for the Winter King to hunt you on Summer land."

"So one of those 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' kind of things?"

"The Summer Court is full of many things, but friends are not one of them."

I guess that wasn't a Fae saying.

"It seems you have something in common with them," I remarked instead of explaining.

Not that I was someone who could say much.

I only had one friend and he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. From the first time we met when I had been shoved down the dark stairs and had the basement door locked shut on my tear-soaked face, to the times I snuck down to give him food and water after. He didn't have any other option.

"I have friends," Silas shot back defensively.

"Like Penelope?"

His eyes narrowed. "Penelope is a nuisance."

"I agree. Hilda does too," I added when his lips quirked up at my response. "Then, the one you were talking to on the phone?" I continued to inquire, curiosity slipping into my teasing questions. There wasn't much I knew about Silas. Not more than I had witnessed, overheard, or was told by Hilda.