Ch.33 Glass Bubble

Chapter 33

The next morning, Wren was up before the sunlight hit the land. He stood by the barn door staring out at the horizon as the morning fog rolled over the sleeping town. Some of the animals had started to walk out and graze on the wet grass, life was about to begin again.

From behind him, Wren heard Birdie whimper in her sleep. The small sound caused his jaw to tense as he willed himself to remain still. He did not want to turn around and look at her. He did not want to go lay beside her and pull her into his arms to ease her fears. What was the point? She would just wake up and accuse him of the bad dreams once more.

Pushing himself and clenching his jaw as hard as he could, Wren stood guard at the door. It wasn't until Birdie awoke with a small yelp that Wren stepped out into the open air and headed over to where he had tied the horse. He could feel the adrenaline from Birdie's body running through his system as he knocked on the farmer's doors and paid him the remaining balance for staying the night.

"Would you like some breakfast for the road?" The farmer asked. "My wife is making some butter biscuits."

"No, thank you," Wren said, his stomach in knots. He couldn't even think about eating at that moment.

Turning away before the farmer recognized him, Wren made his way back to the barn. He could hear Birdie moving around inside before he stopped at the door and cleared his throat.

"We need to head out," he said.

Nodding, Birdie stepped forward. Her cheeks were scarlett from her nightmares and her eyes wide from leftover fear. She didn't utter a word as she climbed onto the horse and waited for Wren.

"You're not going to get on?" She asked when Wren began to walk the horse out of the farm gates.

Wren didn't rely. He starred straight ahead and led the horse down the dirt path towards the towers in the distance. He could feel Birdie's eyes on him. The satisfaction of knowing her eyes were on him should have thrilled him to his core. But the anger he felt towards her didn't allow him to enjoy the moment. Wren wanted to turn towards her and glare.

"Wren?" Birdie tried after a long stretch of silence.

"What?" Wren answered before he could stop himself.

"We could take turns," Birdie said. "I could walk for a bit."

"No need, sultana," Wren muttered.

"Fine, then maybe the horse can take a break."

Before Wren could protest, Birdie climbed down. He paused and finally let himself look at her, shooting as many daggers as he could with his glare. Birdie frowned and stepped back.

"What?" She asked.

"Turn around and walk," Wren said.

"No, I'm just going to stand here and admire your murderous glares," Birdie rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

"You're grouchy," Birdie observed.

Wren refused to engage with her. He kept to himself and held onto the rein as they made their way down the dearth roads and out of the small farm town. Within a few minutes, the houses in the distance began to spread apart. Pretty soon they were surrounded by flat land with bald patches of grass that gave away to sandy waves before losing all it's green and becoming a golden desert.

Birdie shielded her eyes from the harsh dry winds as it undid her braid and tossed her silver locks around. Wren paused to peer into the distance towards the shimmering glass city that seemed to rise out of the ground and pierce through the clouds.

"Is that it?" Birdie asked, following the fey's gaze.

Wren nodded.

"Anything I should know about the glass giants before we go in?"

"Yeah," Wren muttered. "They eat jinns."

"What?" Birdie turned to look at him. "You're kidding."

"Maybe," Wren shrugged. "Maybe not."

"Be serious," Birdie frowned, looking back at the glass city.

"There are stories," Wren said. "But I don't know how true they are."

"What kind of stories?"

"Stories of pretty jinn girls being snapped in half and devoured in one bite," Wren turned his dark eyes towards Birdie.

When she didn't answer, Wren felt his humour vaperize. He stared at the look of discomfort in Birdie's silver eyes and fouch the urge to roll his eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Birdie frowned, noticing the look of irritation on Wren's face.

"Do you honestly think I'll let anything happen to you?" The fey asked. "Why do you look nervous?"

"You're annoyed because I'm nervous?"

"Yes," Wren said. "I'm annoyed that you continuously lack faith in me."

"I'm sorry, but aren't you the guy that bought me?" Birdie stepped forward and peered. "Aren't you the guy who's guards gave me a concussion? Aren't you the guy who's cousin tried to force himself onto me? Aren't you the guy who continuously threatens me?"

Wren's mouth formed a deep frown as his eyes darkened.

"You are on the wrong side," Birdie said, taking a step back. "You're the bad guy. And people never trust the bad guy, Wren."

"If I'm the villain then why are you here with me right now?" Wren argued. "You should be running away from me. As fast as you can."

"I want to!" Birdie yelled back.

"Then go!"

"You go!" Birdie shouted. "I need the key."

"Fine by me!" Wren laughed. "I don't even want to be here with your crazy, paranoid, lying, cheating, two-faced jinn ass."

"I am not a liar!"

"So you agree? You're a cheater."

"You're a cheater!"

"I'm cheating on who, Birdie?" Wren asked, their voices roaring over the wind. "Who am I cheating on? Adan?"

Birdie gasped, "Don't you dare bring him into this? Adan is amazing! He's going to understand that I made a horrible mistake and he's going to forgive me."

"A horrible mistake?" Wren laughed bitterly once more. "Mistakes happen quickly. This mistake lasted for hours, sultana. And you loved every second of it, admit it."

"No, I didn't!"

"Fuckin' liar!" Wren ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

He could feel the way Birdie's heart ached inside of her chest from his words. He knew what they had done was eating away at her. He also knew it wasn't because what they had done was wrong. But it was because she wanted to do it again. That was the part eating away at her...and at him.

As they stood glaring at each other under the desert sun, both took long deep breaths to calm the fire behind their eyes.

"I lo-"

"Don't you fuckin' dare say you love him," Wren held up his hand before Birdie could finish.

"I do," Birdie protested.

"It's not love, little bird," Wren sighed, exhausted from the heat and the track.

"How would you know?" Birdie asked.

"Because it's not madness," Wren shrugged, his navy blue eyes distracted and tired.

"You keep saying that but I don't even know what it means," Birdie said.

"You will," Wren turned his eyes towards her. "You'll know exactly what it means when ev-"

Birdie arched her brow as she waited for Wren to continue. She stared at the fey as his eyes slowly moved off of her face and landed on something behind her. Frowning, she began to turn when Wren grabbed her hand.

"Birdie!"

But Wren wasn't fast enough.

The sand beneath Birdie's feet shifted and swallowed her whole. She was pulled under the currents of the sand waves as she began to be torn away from the fey. Her body slid down the dunes towards the tower of sand piling up upwards and into the sky.

"Wren!" Birdie screamed as bits of sand flew into her mouth and eyes.

"Stay still!" Wren hollered back as he ran after her.

"Wren!" Birdie screamed once more as she was flung towards the sky by an invisible force that had an iron grip on her ankles.

The desert air filled with a monstrous growl and an ear piercing shrill that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Wren threw his hands over his ears as the sound began to make his insides ache in pain.

But as the fey tried to stand still against the glass giant's siren call, he felt his magic be summoned to the surface.

"Birdie, No!" Wren yelled. "No, no. Don't do that!"

Birdie couldn't hear over the growls from the sand. She pulled at Wren's magic through the autura and blasted whatever part of the giant she could aim at. Like a brilliant firework, the psionic blast radiated off of Birdie's palm and struck the glass giant against his chest.

"Shit!" Wren cursed as he watched the moving sand grow deadly still.

"I got it!" Birdie hollered victoriously. "Did you see that?"

"Oh fuck..." Wren paled as the bits of sand began to fall off of the giant's body.

"Wren?" Birdie swung her head back to look at the fey on the ground from where she hung upside down by her ankles.

"It was nice knowing you, my love," Wren said, not taking his eyes off of the giant.

"What ar-"

A blinding light filled the desert as the glass giant shed all the sand over its body to reveal it's true form of pure crystal limbs.

Birdie gasped as the shimmering, sparkling, dazzling giant moved with extreme slowness like a diamond in the middle of the desert. It's grip on her ankle tightened as it swung her through the air and flung her into a sand dune in the distance.

Wren's hand shot out immediately as he summoned a shield and broke Birdie's fall. He wrapped her in a protective cocoon and sat her down on the sand gently. But before Birdie could catch her breath or understand what was happening, the glass giant gave one more cry of pain and agony. It swung it's gigantic arm towards Wren and screamed in fury when the fey jumped out of the way.

It's anger only made it deadlier and faster.

Wren did not stand a chance as the glimmering glass fist of the giant came thundering down on him like a hammer on a nail.

"Wren!" Birdie yelled from inside her cocoon as the giant began to beat his fists over Wren's motionless body. "Hey! Stop that!"

With her palms against the shield, Birdie pushed to go forward. But she could not move. The ground beneath her shook with each pound from the giant on Wren's body.

Birdie's eyes began to water as she realised Wren had trapped her inside the shield and she would not be able to make it over to him.

"Stop! Stop!" Birdie yelled, banging her own fists against the shield.

Just then, a second glass giant appeared beside Birdie.

She still as the giant kneeled and scooped her up along with the shield into its hands as if she was a snowball. The giant moved Birdie closer as she fell onto its palm and stared up at him.

"Let him go,'' Birdie said, pushing her fear to the back of her eyes and gripping onto her anger.

The giant lowered it's nose and took a sniff.

"Mmmm," it's rumbling voice hummed like a powerful engine. "Moor."

Birdie felt a shiver crawl up her spine. She did not look away as both the giants peered at her with inquisit eyes.

"No, fey," the first giant said.

"No, moor," the second giant holding Birdie argued.

"Fey."

"Moor."

"Boys," came a feminine voice. From somewhere behind the giants.

Birdie held her breath and tried to find something to hold onto as the giants turned. The one holding her in its palms kneeled to eye level with a tiny woman with silver hair like Birdie and warm honey eyes. She was dressed in a long white dress with a gold chain around her full hips. Her hair blew in the wind behind her as her beautiful eyes narrowed.

"What's this?" She asked, arching her brows as her eyes took in Birdie.

"Fey," said one of the giants just as the other one said, "Moor."

"Well, she can't be both," the woman rolled her eyes. "Which is it?"

One of the giants turned and pointed towards where Wren's body laid motionless in the sand.

"Fey," it said. "Fey prince."

"Prince?" The woman straightened up. "What do you mean?"

"Fey prince," the giant said once more.

Curious about what the giant could possibly be saying, the woman rushed over to where Wren laid. She leaned down and took one look at his face before a loud gasp escaped her lips.

"Send for help," she commanded at once. "How dare you treat him like this?"

"Please," Birdie pressed her hands against the shield. "Help him. He's hurt."

The woman's honey eyes flickered towards Birdie. Her small pink lips twitch as she pulled Wren's head onto her lap and wrapped him in her arms.

"Taft," she said, not taking her eyes off of Birdie.

"Taft," the giant holding Birdie bowed its head.

"Throw her into the pit."

What now? What will happen to Birdie and Wren?

Thank you for being so patient with me! I really appreciate all the love and support I got the past few weeks. If you didn't know, I got married LOL it was amazing and it was everything I wanted it to be. I also published Queen Material so that was a big deal and a long celebration on its own. It has been a crazy few weeks and will continue to be but I want to say thank you to you all for being so patient and kind.