Chapter 87 Chapter 87

Chapter 87 Chapter 87
Mirelle's POV

After Mirelle’s mother, Isolde, had taken me to the village healer multiple times to drink some horrible concoction because I kept insisting I was not Mirelle, I decided to stop arguing and just live her life until I figured out what was really going on.
The last thing I remembered was killing my father… and him killing me. I had died in Drake’s arms. Why and how I woke up in the Unseelie was still a mystery.
But…
Everything had changed here. The villagers lived in fear, while Seelie soldiers patrolled day and night. Men and boys were being used to harvest the power enhancement stones, and anyone who defied the soldiers was killed.
I didn’t know where Corlin, Makus, or Hagath were, nor how to find them. My best guess was that they had been captured and taken to the palace. But there was nothing I could do in this body. There was no way I could fight properly. So I decided to bide my time until I found an opportunity.
Then…
While I was on my way to deliver the clothes Isolde had sold to the blacksmith, I overheard his son whispering about some rebels in the woods. I tried to listen as much as I could before the blacksmith noticed me.
“Keep quiet over there,” the blacksmith snapped.
He looked at me, and I smiled innocently. I knew why he reacted that way. There were rumors of spies among the villagers, and nobody wanted trouble.
“Hey, Mirelle. How is your mother doing?”
“She is doing fine, Ragel. She said to be careful with this one.”
He laughed.
“My work won’t let me. Tell her that. But I’ll try.” He stared at me for a moment longer. “How are you? Heard about the bad flu you got.”
“I am fine now.”
“I can see that. Take care of yourself.”
“I will. Thank you, Ragel.”
I left the shop, but I had no plans of going home yet. I decided to wait around and see if I could talk to his son.
I waited for a long time. I was just about to give up when I finally saw him with his friends.
“Hey!”
“What do you want, Mirelle? I already told you I wasn’t interested.”
His friends snickered. I rolled my eyes. I had no idea what he was talking about since I truly wasn’t Mirelle.
“I already told you I’m in love with someone else, and I plan to marry her,” he continued.
“Good for you. I’m no longer interested in you either. I just have a question.”
I moved closer and whispered into his ear.
“About the rebels you were talking about in your father’s shop.”
He immediately looked around nervously.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Please.”
“Why are you interested in rebels?”
“I’m just intrigued, that’s all.”
“Well, that kind of information isn’t free. You’ve got to pay.”
I blinked.
“Are you kidding me right now?”
I really felt like punching him, but I didn’t want to draw attention to us.
“Well, how about I report you to the goldies?” I said, using the term they called the soldiers because of their gold-colored armor.
I saw his friends exchange nervous looks.
“You wouldn’t,” he said.
“You wanna bet?” I replied.
We stared at each other for a full minute. Then I spotted a goldie in the distance and deliberately took a step toward him. Of course, I wasn’t actually going to say anything. I just needed the information badly, and I had no money to pay them. Fear was the only leverage I had.
“Draven…” one of his friends whispered, panic written all over his face.
Draven hissed and grabbed my wrist.
“Fine. Not here, though. Come on, follow me.”
We quietly moved to an area with no patrols. The place was silent.
“Just so you know, if you try anything, I will scream.”
Draven’s eyes widened.
“We would never! Why would you even think that?”
He looked genuinely offended, but I didn’t know what they were capable of.
“Alright, we can talk here,” he said. “Why do you want to know about the rebels so badly?”
“That’s my business, Draven. Can we get to it?”
I couldn’t exactly tell him I was the Unseelie princess, hoping to find familiar faces among the rebels. And if I didn’t, I planned to join forces with them to get rid of the Seelie Court.
“The last I heard, they were in the dead woods. I know someone who knows someone. He said the lost prince was with them.”
My ears perked up instantly.
I hoped with everything in me that the lost prince was Corlin.
“Okay… the Dead Woods. Are you sure?”
“As sure as I’ll ever be.”
“How do I find them in there?”
“I heard there’s a mountain with glittering rocks somewhere in the forest. When you get there, whistle three times. They’ll come to you once you do.”
“I hope you’re not lying because I threatened you.”
Around here, the dead woods truly lived up to its name. Things went in… and never came back out.
“I’m not. I swear it. I told you I know—”
“Someone who knows someone,” I completed. “Fine.”
“I hope you won’t tell the goldies.”
“I won’t. But maybe next time you want to talk about rebels, don’t do it in your father’s shop. He gets a lot of customers, and some of them could be spies.”
“I told you we should have used my place,” one of his friends muttered.
“Shut up, Cody,” Draven snapped.
“Whatever.”
They walked off, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I had to find a way into the Dead Woods. If the rebels were really hiding there, then maybe the forest wasn’t as dangerous as people claimed.
I would go tonight. Quietly. Without attracting attention.
When darkness finally fell, I waited until everyone in the house was asleep before sneaking out. Even though I didn’t have my powers in this body, I could still fight. I was slower and weaker, but I could still hurt someone if I had to.
I moved as quietly as possible. Thankfully, there were fewer goldies patrolling tonight. I crouched low and moved quickly through the shadows.
When I finally reached the Dead Woods, the sight alone made my stomach tighten.
The forest looked terrifying.
But I couldn’t let fear stop me. I had to do this for my mother… and for my half-brother, Benedict.
So I stepped inside, my heart lodged in my throat. Every little sound made me jump. The stories the villagers told about this place were getting into my head.
I stopped and took a deep breath.
“Calm down, Elisa,” I muttered to myself.
I just needed to find that damn mountain.
But no matter how far I walked, I couldn’t see it anywhere. Restlessness clawed at me.
Then I heard another snap behind me.
Whatever was following me wasn’t even trying to be discreet. I slowly turned around—
And froze.
Two pairs of glowing yellow eyes stared back at me from the darkness, growling low in their throats.
Then… I ran like hell.
Branches whipped against my skin as I sprinted through the forest. My lungs burned, but I didn’t dare slow down. The creatures behind me were fast. Too fast.
Then I saw it.
The mountain.
It wasn’t very tall, just a little higher than my height, but I immediately jumped onto it. The creatures chasing me looked horrifying up close. Their bodies resembled cheetahs, but their backs were hunched and lined with long, sharp spikes.
I stood on the mountain and whistled three times, praying the rebels would hear me.
The creatures tried climbing up after me, but each time they slipped and fell back down. Frustrated, they began circling the mountain instead, growling viciously.
I didn’t know how long passed before I suddenly heard the sharp whoosh of arrows cutting through the air, followed by the creatures yelping below.
“Finall—”
I didn’t finish speaking.
When I felt cold steel pressed against my neck.