by Allison Rose
“Will you take her place?”
Jae closed her eyes. “I do not want to.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Jae opened her eyes and turned to Mera. “I may not have a choice.”
“There is always a choice.” Mera gave her a significant look, then bowed out of the doorway, closing the door with a gentle click.
Turning over, Jae buried her face in the pillow and screamed.
* * *
Jae awoke, reluctantly opening her bleary eyes. It took a moment for the events of the previous days to come back to her. She turned over and looked out the window at the sun, now above the horizon. She closed her eyes again and groaned.
She had spent the previous day locked up in her room, sitting on her windowsill, gazing out blankly at Faerie.
If I could just clear my mind, she had thought, without all of them poking at me, an answer would come to me.
But by the end of the day, she had felt no clearer on anything than she had been before.
The ache in her core remained. A heaviness settled over her limbs and her mind.
Why even bother? was her first thought.
But then Mera’s words rose in her mind. “There is always a choice.”
Yes. I need to do something.
She dragged herself out of bed, then went through her routine of stretches before freshening up and walking out into the hall.
The court was eerily quiet beside the ever-present whistle of the winds. Jae automatically reached for the power to check for whispers of the courtiers. She winced as the ache in her core only intensified.
Blasted blight.
She went to the food stores first, snagging a few roots known to increase stamina. They had done nothing to ease the ache so far, but Jae knew they would at least slow the progression toward death.
“Everyone is gathered in the garden,” Morlan’s voice said behind her.
She jumped, then closed her eyes in frustration.
“Is it fun for you? To follow me around?” Jae asked as she opened her eyes again and spun around.
Morlan had his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorway. “I only wish to see you are well.”
Jae scoffed, causing him to scowl.
“They are telling stories to pass the time,” he said. “You should join them.”
“I am not technically the heir. I have no obligation to.”
“This is no time to be stubborn.”
Jae glared at him. He stood straight, eyes clear, hair tied up cleanly. In contrast, she bet she looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
“Are you going to drag me there if I refuse to go?”
He exhaled, expression turning imploring. “Why do you have to be like this, Jae?”
Not dignifying that with a reply, she stalked past him, opening her wings and taking flight. He followed her to the garden.
The courtiers sat among the plants, braving the winds in order to get as close to the ara in the soil despite not being able to connect to it. Some used the larger leaves as blankets.
The Glorious and Drake sat against the stone underneath the balcony. To their right, a faerie Jae knew to be one of their storytellers stood, addressing the crowd.
As Jae and Morlan entered from above. All eyes turned to them, and the storyteller paused in his speech.
Jae cringed internally and landed among the outskirts of the group, nearly concealed by a large fern. Morlan landed beside her in a gust of wind.
The Glorious waved the storyteller on, though her eyes lingered on Jae a moment longer.
“Softly the light fades into dark,” he started back up in a soft voice that still carried throughout the garden above the winds. His orange skin looked pale, his long hair faded to a dull blond. Though he still managed to look animated as he paced slowly.
“And in darkness, it appears there is no hope. But it is not absolute. It is not forever. For a new light may rise.”
Jae gritted her teeth.
Sevelle doesn’t deserve this. I don’t deserve this.
“I cannot be a part of this,” she muttered to Morlan before rushing off on foot.
He let her go without protest.
Chapter 25
The next day, Lex rushed them through their morning meal, sending pensive glances at the sky as the wind whipped his white braids into his face. The darkness remained at his core, now visible to Sevelle even when they weren’t touching. Sevelle snuck glances at it when no one was looking, as if studying it would give her the answers she needed.
After a quick washing in a small stream leading off of the Great Divide, Sevelle hopped onto Ash’s back, and they took to the skies.
She tried to seek the power of the dawn when the brilliant colors showed through the cloud cover, twisting in an attempt to let the warmth and light wash over her, but it was hard to concentrate on Ash’s back.
Ash liked to play games as they flew. He raced ahead of the others and hid in the trees. When one of the others came into view, he would dive out of the branches at them. She struggled to hang on but reluctantly enjoyed his antics. Verity and Couren tolerated him with amusement, Verity bopping him on the beak once for his tricks.
With a frustrated shake of her head, Sevelle’s thoughts turned to her worries.
I can see the darkness now. Does that mean I can cure it?
When we get to the mountains, what will I say to Lex’s father? I am here to negotiate peace for the Day Court—also I see this darkness in your son?
The day brought her no answers.
Two days went by in a similar fashion. The settlements, mostly collections of hovels and grassy areas to gather and trade, had grown scarce as they traveled north. They still followed the river. The group dove into the trees in order to avoid Nym in flight, sometimes walking among the branches as the areas grew more dense with vegetation. It grew increasingly safer to be on the ground where the trees blocked some of the wind. Ash could handle flying against the air currents, but the faeries had a harder time. As they walked, Lex gave Sevelle his hand to hold more than once. Couren did as well, and Sevelle wondered pleasantly if he was warming up to her at least more than Verity was.
Now that they all knew about her lack of power, Sevelle began to make time to seek clarity at each dawn. She rose early and waited for those brief moments of peace. The wind still whipped through her hair, causing her to lose her concentration more than once. But she remained determined.
I need to find the answers.
Though she tried to wake before the others, they were early risers as well. All of them at some point caught her sitting with her face upturned toward the sun. She wondered what she looked like to them. The girl who stares at the dawn. Verity gave her a look one morning that said as much. The others simply averted their eyes as if intruding on a private moment.
Sevelle had been sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed and face upturned next to a large rock near the river that blocked some of the wind, when Verity’s voice startled her.
“Does this really help?”
Sevelle sighed to clear the flash of irritation. She almost shouted over the winds, “I have to do something. I have to try.”
Verity studied her for a moment. “Have you tried a focus?”
Sevelle turned around to look at her. “A what?”
“Instead of trying to channel the power, think of something you want to happen. The outcome.”
Haven’t I hoped to be able to save the court and reconnect them to the ara time and time again? Sevelle thought.
But she simply nodded at Verity, unwilling to get into a debate. “I’ll try.” She started to turn back to the dawn, but then stopped herself.
She is a spirit-user. She might have the information I could use to help Lex.
“Verity.” She glanced around, checking they were still alone, as Verity looked back at her. “I saw something in Lex. A dark spot in his core.”
Verity’s expression grew dark. “So you can see it
, too.” Then her eyes narrowed. “How?”
“Ash showed me first,” Sevelle answered so quietly Verity had to lean forward to hear.
“It appeared after he visited his father last,” she admitted. “I do not know what it is or if he knows about it. I was hoping Taria would be able to fix it when we made it to Muren.”
“Taria would do such a thing for him?”
“Taria is Lex’s father’s sister,” Verity said as if Sevelle should’ve known that already.
What else about Taria has my mother not taught me? Sevelle thought, but she pushed aside the irritation. “So you do not know how to cure it?”
“No. It is like nothing I have ever sensed before. It is not cutting him off from the ara, though he seems a bit tense and drained.”
“And what do you think Taria can do to cure him?”
Verity’s frown deepened. “What does it matter? She is wise in all things.”
Sevelle turned back to the dawn. “I only wondered.”
There was silence. Then Verity asked, “Do you think you can cure it?”
“No,” Sevelle admitted. “But I feel like I should try.”
“Try what?” a male voice said, startling both Sevelle into snapping her head around and Verity to jump.
Couren appeared from the side of the rock near the river, roots gathered in his arms.
“You shouldn’t sneak up on us like that,” Verity nearly shouted. Then she lowered her voice. “Sevelle was just saying she can see the black in Lex’s core.”
Right. No secrets among this group, Sevelle thought darkly.
Couren’s easy expression instantly grew serious as he turned to Sevelle. “How can you see it?”
Sevelle shrugged, pressing her lips together in a thin line.
“Can you help?” Couren’s voice was curious.
“She doesn’t know,” Verity answered for Sevelle.
“But if there was anything you could do, you would do it, right?” Couren tilted his head to the side.
“Yes,” Sevelle answered.
He nodded in approval. “Well, that is what’s most important.”
Sevelle looked up at him with startled eyes, but he had already turned away.
“Time to go,” he said.
Verity offered Sevelle her hand.
As Sevelle took it and rose from her seated position, she turned their words over in her mind.
Maybe telling them was a mistake. Now I feel even more pressure.
* * *
About midday, Ash descended, ducking through some tree branches to land on the ground. It had been almost a whole hour since they saw a faerie.
The part of the woods to their right was eerily quiet, the branches and leaves unnaturally still. Sevelle shivered and glanced around at her companions, suddenly noticing their dark expressions. She wanted to question them about the woods, but stopped herself when she saw Lex’s pained expression and tense shoulders.
“The solitary have moved closer to the Wood,” he said tersely to Verity.
Sevelle looked from one to the other. What is going on?
Verity looked grim, though not alarmed. “They have sought better cover from the approaching Winds.”
“And you did not think to tell me?” Lex asked as they continued.
Verity threw Lex a surprised look. “We’re not going into it. Just dropping off the Telk and moving on.”
Lex sighed and stopped abruptly to turn and face Sevelle. The others stopped as well.
“We will see some of the solitary as we travel through these parts. It is up to you if you wish to remain silent or not. They will not harm you, but prepare yourself—they have no love for the Day Court.”
“All right,” she answered, subtly taking a step toward him.
“They despise all forms of leadership, actually—or at least most do,” Verity added. “But they won’t bother you unless you provoke them.”
Sevelle nodded at her, feeling some of her anxiety ease.
Verity led the way through the trees to their left as Ash took off to wherever it was the halkyr did when not needed. He crashed through the branches, and Sevelle cringed at the noise.
Lex took her hand then. When she looked at him, he held up his other hand with the sun symbol, features smoothing into something more like his usual self. She gave him a small smile as they followed the others.
After a few more paces, Verity and Couren paused up ahead. They turned their gazes upward.
A soft voice floated out of the trees. “Rebels walk the forest today.”
She threw her head back in time to see a thin red faerie drop down from above. His pale eyes had a far-off look to them. His wings faded to a pale orange, and he wore a brown cloth wrapped around most of him.
“Zen,” Verity addressed him warmly. Lex and Couren nodded to him.
They know him.
Sevelle let out the breath she had been holding.
The faraway look on Zen’s face remained, making him hard to read. When he glanced over, Sevelle nodded and kept silent.
Couren removed the pack from his shoulders and started removing the Telk they still had, showing it to Zen. “We brought Telk for the solitary. Will you distribute it to those in need?”
Zen nodded as he ran his fingers over the stones.
Lex remained tense beside Sevelle and made no move to speak.
“Why move so close to the Wood?” Verity asked Zen in a hushed tone.
“Some say even the Winds dare not go there,” Zen answered. Verity turned to give Lex a look as if to say, ‘See? Nothing wrong with that.’
“Though others say the Wood is expanding in the blight. Best to remain vigilant,” Zen continued, looking down as he ran his fingers over the Telk.
Lex’s hand tightened on hers. Alarm took over Verity’s expression then. And Couren shifted on his feet.
Zen caught Verity’s gaze, then nodded gratefully. She gave him a tight smile before he leaped back into the trees.
They watched him until he was out of sight.
“What did he mean?” Sevelle asked tentatively into the silence.
Lex hesitated. Then he sighed and pointed off to the right, at the wood that seemed untouched by the increasing winds. “The Whisper Wood is where my mother took her own life, and well—the resulting power surge created a magical vacuum of sorts. It is hard to explain.”
His mother.
“The Whisper Wood?” she asked, naming a place she had only heard about in stories.
The Whisper Wood somehow retained the energy of a faerie who took her life. The ara of the lake where she drowned absorbed her sorrow. The energy passed through the roots of the trees. And as her sorrow spread through the wood, it created a haunting of whispers rather than a restful place of peace. Still, faeries traveled there seeking to be freed from their pain. Some did not return. The voices of the dead called to them.
The area drew in the broken and lonely, those desperately seeking peace. The wood absorbed their pain and held it there; the whispers echoed throughout time.
Lex nodded, expression far away. He dropped her hand. Sevelle let her arm fall to her side.
“I’m sorry,” Sevelle said softly.
Lex gave her a small, sorrowful smile. “The winds are less intense here. We can follow along the edge of the Wood for a while,” he said before abruptly walking forward.
Sevelle stared after him a moment. Then Verity took her arm and they followed in silence.
* * *
The next morning, under the cover of a large tree, Sevelle stretched her back and aching legs as she tilted her gaze up to the colors of the dawn just visible through the branches.
Lex had barely said a word to her since revealing that his mother was the creator of the deadly woods.
That woods is like a giant reminder that his mother is gone, she reminded herself. All the more reason to focus on finding the answer to eradicating the darkness within him.
Thinking of Verity’s words, Sevelle f
ocused on her goal as she beheld the dawn.
Please let me find the light to heal him.
“Any progress?” A voice jolted her out of her concentration.
She looked over as Lex sat down beside her, looking up to the sky.
“Uh, maybe,” she answered, suddenly hyper aware of how close he was to her.
“Your magic, it doesn’t speak to you, does it?” He turned to her suddenly, desperation in his gaze.
Sevelle blinked at him. “Speak? Like words?”
He nodded.
“No. It is elusive. I cannot reach it.”
He sighed. “Good.”
The silence stretched.
“Your mother, what was she like?” Sevelle blurted before she could think better of it. “What was her name?”
He was silent for a few long moments as he looked forward.
Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.
But then he took a breath and turned back to her. “Her name was Onallay. She was everything good and kind,” he answered sadly. “You would have liked her.”
“What—” Sevelle faltered a little and then forced the question out. “Did her magic speak to her?”
He sighed. “It was like she lost her grip on reality. Taria explained that it was like she was sometimes stuck on an island in her own mind, unable to find her way back. She had lucid moments, and she had bad ones where she would stare or mumble. Eventually, she claimed to hear voices on the ripples of the river. And after—everything, she started speaking about things that were not real. We did not know what to believe. The worst was she felt their pain, the pain of these other faeries’ voices she heard. And it killed her that she could not help them. It was the hardest on my father. He and Taria tried everything, but she never came back to us.”
“How did she come to be that way?”
He gave her a pained smile. “My mother’s sister was the female element of the Great Destroyers. I do not know exactly what happened. My mother was young when the Silver Dusk occurred. But The Glorious still found some way to punish her for their crimes. Taria thinks it was the Punisher. That he planted something in her mind that grew as she got older, made her grow slowly mad. Until she gave into it.”
The breath rushed out of Sevelle’s body. Her eyes widened in horror as she remembered once she had accidentally stumbled into a hallway and seen a courtier after her mother ordered the Punisher to remove some of his memories. The vacant expression in his eyes chilled her to her core. Sevelle had been secretly glad when the Punisher was banished to the human world, yet she never forgot it was her mother that ordered the punishments he carried out.
