The Cursed Rune (Royal Reaper Academy #1) - G. Bailey

Prologue

The Otherworld

The fae are as cold as a frosty night.

In the twilight, they steal your heart.

In the morning, they tear you apart.

Never trust a fae, my dear.

They will only wreck you and depart.

* * *

“You have to go. Now!” My uncle’s fevered voice, littered with panic and fear, shouts from right behind me. I stop singing my song, the one my mum always sings to me before I go to sleep, and turn around. He stands in the middle of my small room, his eyes wide with worry as he looks down at me. My uncle is never worried. Mother always said she was the worrier and my uncle was the laid back one. His sweaty hand clamps onto mine as he drags me out of our small house and into the high grass field outside. The straw and grass snag in my pink dress, and stones cut my feet as I run faster, struggling to keep up with him and wanting my shoes. Why can’t we stop for my shoes? My uncle suddenly comes to a halt, and I smack into his back, hurting my nose and crying out.

But he doesn’t move to check on me as tears burn my eyes. His whole body shakes.

I peek around him to see the fields in front of us are on fire, an unnatural blue fire that spreads faster than should be possible. Right in the middle is the shadow of a man, and before I can really see him, my uncle spins around and kneels down in front of me. He leans closer and kisses my forehead.

“Is my mother coming back soon? Are we going to get her now?” I ask in a rush, my heart beating so fast that I can hear it in my ears. “Who is that man? Is that fae magic that you said was banned?”

“Shit, you’re just eight. This isn’t fair!” he breathlessly tells me, placing something cold in the middle of my hand. I look down to see my mother’s necklace, a silver pendant with a purple stone in the centre and a strange symbol on the front of it. “Daesyn, I need you to run into the woods and find the yellow portal. You can’t miss it. I’ve opened it for you, and it will close soon.”

“But—”

“Daesyn, listen to me,” he all but shouts, looking over his shoulder once more as I slip the necklace into the pocket of my dress. The fire is getting closer, and I can feel the heat of it now, making me feel warm in the cold night. His green eyes lock down on me, and he looks so sad. His hands shake as he cups my face once more. “Don’t stop running. Don’t stop training to fight, and never trust anyone. Your mother is dead and I will be next, but I will make sure you escape here. Don’t ever come back to the Otherworld! Be brave, like we taught you, and kind like your mother.” He cups my cheek, his cold sweaty hand shaking. “Survive, Daesyn, and this is all worth it a thousand times over.”

“No, no, no,” I cry, and he shoves me back, shaking his head and turning around to face a man walking through the fire in the distance.

With one final look over his shoulder, his forest green eyes lock onto me as they turn from green to black. “Run, Daesyn, and remember: Don’t ever come back.”

With tears streaming down my cheeks, I take off through the tall grass, pushing it away with my hands as my uncle’s warning repeats in my mind over and over again. The fire nips and flickers at me as I run as fast as I can, wondering if the fire will get me before I get out of the grass and into the tall trees of the forest I’ve never been allowed to go into before.

My mother can’t be dead. I don’t believe my uncle. It’s always been my mother, my uncle and me since before I can remember. We have always lived here, alone, with only the fae creatures for company. Mother told me we are safe here, but only if we don’t leave the field, and we never did.

Until three days ago when my mother kissed my cheek and promised she would come back for me. She promised.

My mother never, ever breaks her promises. A small cry catches my ears, and I come to a halt, breathing heavily as I look down at a tiny blue monkey-like