“Must have hurt like a dragon when you got it,” the guard said, whistling at the raised gold.
She closed her eyes, remembering her first session with the tattoo artist. It’d taken months to complete. And, she had saved for over a year prior to be able to afford the artist. Despite the agonizing pain of the liquid metal melting and searing her skin, it’d been worth it. The tattoo was a reminder of her heritage and a symbol of the pain she’d endured in pursuit of a more beautiful ending.
“You have no idea,” she replied.
She stared across the room at a small stained-glass mosaic pressed into the wall. It depicted a glowing rock in the middle of a cave, undulating with multi-colored light. A group of nine stood around the rock, each wearing a hooded cloak with only their ears sticking out. Elongated ears that ended in a point were a shared trait among the fae and elves. She knew they must’ve shared a common ancestor at some point. Their magic was similar in many ways, yet there were distinct differences between the two magical beings. She tried to recall what they were as one of the guards ran his hand across and between her legs.
She focused on the image of the rock, her mind detaching from her body. Her stomach involuntarily convulsed, but she did not gag. Her brow furrowed the more intently she concentrated.
“Got it!” the one who’d commented on her tattoo exclaimed. A small pinch on her arm followed. Hot blood trailed down her skin and dripped to the floor. She placed a firm hand on the wound and turned to glower at him.
He held out his hand towards her. There, in the center of his palm, nestled two small capsules. They were no larger than a grain of rice and were tubular in shape. A small, lime green light pulsated behind their skin.
“That’s what was tracking me?” she asked. She fingered the small incision the guard had made when he’d taken the tracker out of her body. It was the same arm Kaden had used the device to test her arm. And then she’d done it again. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized how he’d implanted the tracking devices.
“We’ll have to take you to the med bay to ensure there aren’t any ingestible ones lingering in your body somewhere, but yes. These are the things that allowed King Renard’s men to find you.
She snatched one of the devices from his hand and held it up to her eyes. It appeared indistinct and pliable, probably to make it less noticeable when embedded beneath the skin. For something so small and seemingly unimportant, it had caused so much pain. She handed it back to the guard.
“Turn it off,” she demanded.
“With pleasure,” the guard who’d found them said as he dropped them onto the floor. Lifted his gun, he slammed the butt of it into both devices. There was a sharp crunching noise and when he lifted the gun there was little more than glittering dust remaining.
Layla smiled before realizing that she was still standing completely in the nude. Bending down, she retrieved her leather jacket and slipped it on, zippering the front so that her chest was no longer exposed.
The guards shot glances at each other, their cheeks reddening, before pivoting around. They carried on an awkward conversation as she pulled her dress back on. Footsteps from beyond the doorway, made her ears twitch. She could only hope it was the wizened elf with good news about Max.
Twisting around, her expression of excitement disintegrated into worry when she saw more guards enter the room.
“Please, let me try to explain,” she whispered. She didn’t want to die like this. Alone and afraid. Not when she’d made it this far.
“Is the tracker destroyed?” Max’s aunt asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the guard who’d smashed the tracker said. He bowed his head.
Layla stared at the woman, her eyes widening as realization struck her. She’d only heard the term ‘your majesty’ used to describe the human royal family..
“You’re Janae Silverwood,” she whispered. Her mouth went dry and the words came out stilted.
The elf queen flicked her eyes towards Layla but didn’t respond to her as she held out her hand towards the guard who’d spoken to her. He quickly swept the remains of the device into his hand and placed them in hers. She peered at them, a look of mild agitation crossing her features.
“And you’re sure there aren’t more?” she asked. She held her other palm over the glittering dust. It vibrated for several seconds before the remaining chunks of metals disintegrated. She dumped what remained to the ground and turned her full attention on Layla.
“Come here, child,” she said.
Layla obeyed her request without argument. She knew she was at the mercy of the elves, even if she didn’t want to be.
Queen Janae twirled a strand of Layla’s dark hair between her fingers and peered into her eyes.
“You certainly have the Shadowcrest eyes,” she murmured as she gripped Layla’s chin and twisted her face from side-to-side. “It is rare to find eyes this dark that have such a fiery center.” She sighed, her ears twitching as she motioned for the guards to leave.
They filed from the room quickly, leaving Layla alone with the queen.
“Max might still be alive,” Layla says. “Can’t you create a portal and go back for him.”
The corners of Janae’s lips curled into a smile and she patted her cheek before releasing it. “Several of my best trackers have already gone,” she said.
She ambled over to a small chair and sank into it. Her body audibly creaked. Layla pretended not to hear the groaning of the other woman’s bones as she, too, sat down.
“So you are the lost princess we’ve been hoping for,” she said, amusement in her tone.
Layla glanced over at the queen. She didn’t know what to say. The test Kaden had administered, twice, showed that her blood magic was related to the fae royal line, but that didn’t mean she was the lost princess. It could have been a coincidence or some other magical fluke. It was known to happen before, there was no reason for her to believe it couldn’t happen in this instance, too.
“I’m not sure,” Layla responded honestly.
Queen Janae rolled her eyes. Layla stared in astonishment at the queen’s lack of decorum before snorting softly.
“It’s the truth. I had no reason to even suppose that I could be the lost princess just a few days ago. Now I have countless people telling me that I am what they’ve been hoping for. Look, I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything, but I’ve been working in a bar for the past three years. I love what I do. And I don’t really want to give that up. It’s possible—”
“Enough,” Janae said. Her voice was a mixture of exasperation and amusement. But, there was a sternness to it that made Layla stop talking. “Our system indicated that Max performed an information extraction last night. I assume this was administered on you?”
“Yes,” Layla replied. The sting of losing Penny hit her again, but she forced down her tears. She wasn’t about to cry in front of the elvish queen. “But the information was encrypted.” She slipped her hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out the slim black case. “Here,” she said, “Max said that he knew someone who could help decode what’s on that.”
Janae accepted the case and nodded. “What is contained on this chip may confirm your identity without having to administer additional tests,” she said as she slid the case into a pouch tied at her waist. “Of course, there may be some who will still require the blood sample comparison. We must stop any doubt from arising, now mustn’t we?”