Asher was huge. Maybe even taller than Thain. His black hair was cropped close to his head and his pale grey complexion looked haunting with his black eyes. And he was fast. He sprang into action almost immediately after he told me I was coming with him. Three flesh hounds had crept near, snarling and ready to attack.

But the fae that Asher commanded were ready. They sprouted fang and claw, ready to pounce if any of the creatures got too close.

I was terrified. They were huge, and I got a gruesome picture up close that I didn't get when we left Thain fighting one in the trees.

Here in the open I could discern exactly what pieces of torn flesh the hounds adorned themselves with. One had a strip of neck and ear over it's back and what must have been a length of scalp. I distinctly saw fingers on another. And old dried blood striped their grotesque hides. It stung to look at them. To smell them was worse.

They did not have the natural regeneration of wounds like most things in the Wyldes. Instead of healing over, damaged skin seemed to remain open. It festered, dripping puss and infection down the skin. What scars I could see told me the wounds would heal eventually, but what marred and open flesh I could see told me it wasn't a quick or pleasant experience.

One of the hounds closest to me had a mangled jaw with maggots crawling on it. It did nothing to ease my nausea.

It was awful. The smells, the sounds. My newly heightened senses were making me sick, and I kept my eyes shut tightly. Asher assigned one of the males to bind my hands and hold me in place while they fought the hounds. He did so, none to gently. I couldn't have run if I wanted to though. I was absolutely drained of energy, I couldn't even light a candle right now with my powers and I certainly wasn't going to try to run anywhere.

I strained hard, trying to hear or see what might have happened to Schula but I couldn't tell where she was or even if she was alive.

She had to be alive, right? Asher ordered his soldiers to bring her with us.

But he didn't say alive.

But she had to be.

The fighting continued and more fearsome fae joined the fight. Where they came from I couldn't tell, but they all answered to Asher.

I screamed once, when a flesh hound broke the line of defense and came bounding toward me. Asher himself caught the thing by the throat, and ripped it out with his claws. Its blood dripped down his arm, and he looked me straight in the eye as he smiled and licked some of it off his bicep, still holding bits of its flesh in his hand as the body twitched on the ground at his feet. He chuckled at my reaction.

I shivered and clamped my eyes shut for the remainder of the fighting.

Even though I could feel warm blood splatter my face.

Even though I could hear when the flesh hounds got close to me.

Even though I could smell the pungent air of punctured intestines, signaling a gruesome death nearby.

Still, I kept my eyes shut.

It felt like ages before it all died down. I finally pried my eyelids open when I was hauled to my feet.

Bodies littered the ground around us, there were probably two hundred dead flesh hounds and by now two dozen fae all answering to Asher. Three of his fae had fallen and were being carried off.

"Come on, you." Calloused hands yanked me forward and my feet left the ground as my assigned guard grabbed me.

I was lifted and thrown over his shoulder, now fully realizing I had discarded my tunic and was left in only my breast band and pants. Filth from his skin and blood splatter from the fighting coated my exposed stomach.

My view was now of the ground behind the brute carrying me and little else. I twisted my head and could see the boots and legs of other fae, and we were moving.

"Put me down!" I kicked my legs and did everything in my power to disrupt my captor while my hands were still bound.

"Shut up and stay still," he grunted.

"Put! Me! Down!" I screamed, willing my flames to come to life around me, but I was still empty.

"Silence." Asher's cold voice rang through the field around us and I stiffened. In a flash, his powerful hands were gripping my face, his palm over my mouth and his claws digging painfully into the sides of my face. His eyes came into view as he lifted me painfully by the jaw to eye level, my lower half still over the shoulder of his soldier.

"You listen to me, youngling. I will tolerate nothing but obedience from your disgusting kind. You will remain silent for the trip to the palace, and you will hold your tongue in front of his Majesty, or your friend will be the one to pay the price."

He jerked my face roughly to the side. Over his shoulder I could see in the distance where two of his fae were carrying a limp Schula in their arms. I gasped as I saw the trickle of blood steadily flowing from her temple.

"Do you understand, half breed?" He jerked my gaze back to his cold eyes.

"Yes," I said quietly.

He grunted and dropped me, walking back to the front of the group. My body smacked against hard shoulder blades as I fell fully over my guard's shoulder again.

My heart pounded. What was I supposed to do now? But I was going to see Asher's king. That must be the Winter King, right? And I was expected, Asher just didn't know who I was. Right?

But where was Thain? And Eberon?

And was Schula alright?

I let myself fall limp over the winter brute's shoulder as the fae under Asher marched. We made our way leisurely to the looming Winter's Teeth. It struck me as odd that they were in no hurry, since the fae certainly had the stamina and speed to run us to our destination.

I was sure they were either hesitant to face what was ahead of us, which didn't seem like Asher; or they were letting someone or something catch up to us, which I didn't want to think about either.

Light snow that had crunched underfoot was quickly turning to packed ice as we neared the mountains. The fae didn't talk, they didn't march out of line, and they all deferred unquestioningly to Asher.

I would be completely bored if I wasn't scared out of my mind.

The sun which had been high overhead was starting to dip into the afternoon. Enough that I could tell we were heading further west. I squirmed on my guard's shoulder, trying to see Schula from where I hung upside down. He took one giant hand and smacked my backside like an insolent child, and I yelped from the force of it.

"Stop moving," he growled out.

He growled, a lot like Thain did.

Thain.

If only he could catch up, and we were already going at such a slow pace for the fae...

"I have to go to the privies."

"Hold it," the guard snapped.

"But I really have to go," I pleaded. "I can't hold it any more."

"Fine," he sighed. I grinned briefly before being unceremoniously dropped onto the snowy ground. With my hands bound in front of me I couldn't reach out to catch myself as I fell.

"Ouch!" I squeaked.

"Hurry up," he said, looking over his shoulder at the other fae continuing on without us.

"I can't go with you watching me," I mumbled.

"Then you don't have to go that bad." He reached down to grab my arm but I yanked it back.

"No, I do. Fine, just give me a minute. Umm..." I reached out my hands to show the bound wrists that prevented me from dealing with my leggings.

He grumbled but reached forward and yanked my leggings down to my knees for me.

I screamed and crouched down low on the ground, trying to cover myself.

"There, now hurry up," he ordered.

I was already down to my breast band on top, and having my leggings yanked down to my knees made me feel exposed and humiliated. Not only that but there wasn't a tree or a rock anywhere nearby where I could get an ounce of privacy.

At this point I didn't care, I was ready to do anything to let Thain catch up and to get a glimpse of Schula, who was still being carried a fair distance behind us.

I turned away and looked over my shoulder. "Are you going to watch?"

He rolled his eyes and looked back over his shoulder toward Asher.

I did my business, and quickly pulled my leggings back up as best as I could with my wrists bound together. It occurred to me that I wasn't cold despite how little I was wearing, but I didn't bother dwelling on it. Maybe it was a fae thing. Maybe it was a fire magic thing.

I reached down to the snow a little distance from where I had embarrassingly enough relieved myself, and quickly wrote out 'Asher' in the snow. I felt like it was important information to pass on.

"Are you done yet?" Growled the guard behind me.

"Yes, I'm done," I said as I turned to face him.

"Alright, get over here." He reached out for me but I took a step away.

"I can walk you know," I said.

"No, you can't." He threw me once again over his shoulder and I let him, conserving my energy for whatever was ahead of me. As he walked, I jerked my head to see if the fae carrying Schula had grown any closer.

They had!

Two burly fae were carrying the limp form of my friend between them. The blood that had dripped steadily from her temple before had now stopped, but she was still unconscious.

They had walked closer while I had stalled, but still not nearly close enough for my taste.

"I'm hungry," I whined.

"You'll wait," he grunted.

"I need the privies."

"You do not."

"You must have pushed my bladder when you threw me over your back like a barbarian," I insisted.

Something between a grunt and a laugh sounded from him, and we kept going. He picked up his pace to catch up with Asher again, letting Schula and her captors fall farther and farther away.

I closed my eyes and reached for that well of fire inside. It was barely a dwindling flicker. I guess storing and then releasing so many years of build up magic had really and truly burnt me out for now. I was exhausted and scared. And empty.

I sighed and laid my head back down. It didn't look like I had a choice but to face Asher and whatever fate he was dragging me toward. I had to do my best to rest my body and hope I could come up with a plan when we got there.

Maybe it was all a big misunderstanding. Maybe the king would recognize me and let us go. Maybe...

Asher had called me a halfbreed. Maybe I never really escaped that after all.

A cold tear streaked from my eye to my temple and dropped to the ground. I furiously tried to wipe at my face with my bound hands.

It was different now. Even if I was going into danger because of what I was, I wasn't the same lost girl I used to be.

Now I had fire. Now I had friends. And I was ready to fight.

I was ready to take control of myself.

My newly healed ears twitched as a whisper reached them. Far in the distance, very softly, I heard a familiar caw.

My throat tightened as I nearly cried out for Puko. I swallowed and choked out a laugh. A quiet and strained sound.

"What is so funny?" the brute growled under me.

"Nothing," I grinned watching a tiny black speck in the distant sky.

My heart soared to him as Puko followed safely behind us. If even a half blind bird could track me down across the Wyldes, then I could get us out of this.

I wasn't alone, and this time I was going to bow to no one.