by Amelia Shaw
I took a deep breath and stepped into the forest and the fresh air that surrounded us.
There was nothing like the air in this realm, the strength and clean calmness. I wasn’t sure if it was the magic of the Fae or the way they worshipped nature, but I wasn’t really looking forward to going back to the manufactured air of the realm I’d grown up in. Though I only used my magic when I was with Horlow, I could feel my magic sparkle when I was here. Like it naturally wanted to come out and make friends with the elements.
I’d never felt healthier, or stronger, than living here. I’d never felt happier, either. I wished I could show this place to my sisters, that they could experience what true peace felt like.
“I just need to say goodbye to Horlow and Abigail,” I said, “and then we can go.”
Tavlor nodded and together we began making our way back to the centre of the town. Hopefully they would be there. We couldn’t waste time searching for them and I didn’t want to leave without thanking them for all they had done for me.
We walked, side by side, and everything felt so right. Despite the danger I was in, the risks he was taking, I was at peace. He would protect me no matter what. I was safe with him. He might have been pretending to hunt me, but I knew, deep down, he would never hurt me.
I allowed myself a brief moment to relish the feeling. I pretended that he wasn’t a guard and I wasn’t the bastard child of the High Warlock. I pretended he wasn’t supposed to turn me over to a dangerous Council and I wasn’t on the run for my life. Could we be together in any other world? Could we make whatever was between us work?
I hoped so.
But not right now. Not when all this danger and uncertainty surrounded us.
I opened my eyes. Two people strolled towards us, through the trees, and I recognized both of them. Abigail, her diminutive frame a striking contrast to Horlow, who walked beside her.
“Looks like they found us first,” I murmured, more to myself than to Tavlor.
We came to a halt as they reached us.
“Abigail. Horlow.” I smiled in greeting at them.
Abigail took a step closer.
“We came to say goodbye,” she said. She was still smiling that mischievous smile, sparkles in her eyes. She was always happy, no matter the circumstance.
“How did you...?” I asked, glancing from one Fae to the other. Had Tavlor told her of his plan to get me out of here?
She inclined her head. “I assumed from Tavlor’s visit that he needed to take you away from here.”
She stepped forward and wrapped me in a tight hug.
“Thank you for everything, Abigail,” I said sincerely. “I can’t really thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me since I got here.”
Abigail pulled away. “I still feel guilty about encouraging you to push yourself and reveal your power in your testing trial,” she said, bowing her head. “I... didn’t know that it would all end this way. I’m sorry.”
I pulled her in for one more hug. “I know. None of this is your fault, you know.” I stepped back so I could look her in the eye and that she knew I was being honest. “Thank you.”
Then I turned to the man who’d taught me so much since I’d arrived. “Horlow, I need to...”
He held up a hand, stopping my emotional swell of language.
“No, you don’t need to say anything. It has been a true honor to help you, Ava, and I hope that when you return, it is as the next High Warlock.”
My throat clogged up and I couldn’t speak. Horlow was the sort of man and father I had hoped for.
Maybe one day I could have a similar bond with my biological father.
“I... um...” I swallowed hard to push down the emotions. I blinked back tears. “I think we’re a long way away from that.”
He inclined his head. “Everything worth having, must be fought for.”
The locket burned my neck, and I inhaled sharply.
I took the lock in my hand. My mother’s voice echoed in my mind.
Truer words were never spoken.
Oh, now she was a Fae fan!
I dropped the locket back onto my chest, nearly rolling my eyes, and smiled up at my mentor. “Your lessons have been remarkable. Thank you. For everything.”
His lips lifted at the edges in the best smile I’d seen on his face. “Travel safely, Ava.”
He said something in Fae to Abigail and together, they turned and retreated back to the center of town. Abigail waved back at me once before they disappeared from sight.
My heart ached. “I’m going to miss them.”
Tavlor gripped my shoulder. “I know. But it is safer, for you, and them, that we leave now.”
I forced myself to turn away. I was endangering everyone the longer I stayed. And I wasn’t sure I would be able to live with myself if something happened to Abigail.
Or Horlow.
“You’re right,” I said. I sucked in a deep breath and my chest squeezed painfully.
I followed Tavlor through the forest, walking and on our way to one of the many portals in this realm.
“Where is this portal going to take us?” I asked.
“It can take us anywhere you say, or can imagine,” he said. “Do you know where you need to go?”
I nodded. “Yes. The human realm attached to the magic realm where I met you.”
Goodness, that seemed so long ago. And yet, it couldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks. Why did it feel as though I had aged so much since then?
Tavlor’s smile was strange. “Do you know which human portal we need to travel to?” he asked. “There are thousands, all over the Earth.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t realized that. “Shit.”
“I never expected such a word coming from you, Ava,” he said. I shivered. The way he said my name always left me breathless. “I find I like it.” He cleared his throat. “We’re going to have to narrow it down somehow.”
“Tell me how...” I let my voice trail off, unclear how I could respond when his voice sounded like this. A strange smell caught my attention and I glanced ahead, wrinkling my nose. “What’s that?”
Tavlor looked towards the trees and he drew his sword from the magically hidden sheath on his back. He gripped the hilt. “That’s a wolf shifter. And judging by the way he’s stopped, staring in this direction, he’s here for you.”
Chapter 4.
A vicious snarl ripped through the air as the man transformed into a massive black wolf.
I had never seen a shifter actually transform. My heart pounded against my chest and my entire body went rigid.
“Holy shit.”
How did one fight against a shifter? Did I use my magic or wait for Tavlor to kill him with his sword? Was there proper protocol? And that was assuming we were even allowed to kill shifters. Granted, if one was all ready to kill me, I was going to defend myself. But what were the consequences of killing a shifter? Would I even be able to kill him with my magic?
I wished my mother had prepared me for a time like this. I knew no one could have predicted one would be coming for me, but I would have liked to know how to defend myself against potential threats. Instead, I had to rely on Tavlor. I wanted to be able to rely on myself.
“What do we do?” I looked to Tavlor.
Tavlor pushed me back, one hand on my belly while he stepped forward, sword in hand.
“Get behind me and use whatever shield techniques you are able to conjure,” he said. He wasn’t even looking at me. His eyes were narrowed, focused on the shifter ahead of us. “Oh... no. He’s brought his pack.”
One wolf on the horizon turned into two, then three, then four.
Four vicious, snarling, black beasts.
“A pack?” I took a step back. It wasn’t like it mattered. There were too many of them and I had never been a fast runner. “They’re all here to get me?”
“Yes.” He nodded once, his gaze focused in front of him. At least he was honest, though a small part of me wishe
d he would lie to me and tell me everything was going to be okay.
I stepped up next to him, pushing that thought aside. I was not going to run. I was not going to cower. I was not going to let the man I cared about fight for me. He was already betraying everything he knew because of me.
I took a deep breath and let my magic free reign inside of me. I had some training in attacking thanks to Abigail and Horlow—though Horlow tended to focus more on protective spells than anything else.
The wolves ran faster, but instead of coming directly at us, as I’d expected, they formed a circle around us.
Okay...
I clenched my teeth together.
Tavlor moved and pressed his spine against mine, back to back.
“Any tips before I start blasting them?” I shouted, forming heated magic in the palms of my hands, ready to defend us. I wasn’t sure if he had some strategy, if there was one way to do this that was right.
“Yes,” he said. “Don’t hesitate.”
With that, the first wolf lunged at me.
I lifted my hands and threw the magic at the wolf with all the power I had. He burst into flames as though I’d lit a match to his fur and hit the ground. The wolf let out a pained howl. Birds in nearby trees shot into the sky.
Behind me, I heard the swing of Tavlor’s sword and the sickening crunch of flesh and bone separating. I closed my eyes, rolling my shoulders back as a shudder sped down my spine.
My heart pounded in my chest with the heaviness of an anvil, loud and persistent. I snapped my eyes open. I couldn’t let myself get distracted by sickening noises. If I was going to defend myself, I needed to not get grossed out by the repercussions of a fight.
Two down, two to go, I reminded myself.
We could do this.
I didn’t dare blink as I stared at the wolf pacing back and forth before me. He snarled, flashing his razor-sharp teeth at me, saliva falling down his lips. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce. I needed to be sure I didn’t give him one.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It was difficult for me to breathe.
Tavlor was swinging, and grunting, and I assumed he was killing the second of his wolves. I wished his back was pressed against mine. I liked the way it felt, to know I wasn’t alone.
But I had to focus. I had to be able to do this on my own. I needed to take care of myself regardless of whether Tavlor was here or not.
I flared my nostrils, my gaze following the wolf back and forth, back and forth.
They weren’t meant to kill me, I reminded myself. Perhaps they hadn’t expected such a resistance. Perhaps they hadn’t expected Tavlor.
The wolf continued to pace. I had to strike before he did.
I created ice-like magic this time, something that would freeze the wolf in place, and hopefully stop him from reaching me.
Tavlor turned, stepping up beside me.
I risked a glance to his face. Blood had splattered across his cheeks and flecked through his beautiful hair. I couldn’t tell if it was his or the wolves he had killed or both. We were both breathing heavily, though Tavlor was much subtler.
Tavlor lifted his sword. “Would you like me to finish him off? Or would you...?”
I loved the fact that he was asking, not just stepping forward and taking over. I sucked in a deep breath.
“I’d like this one,” I said, nodding once. “Thanks.”
I focused on the size of the wolf’s body and head, measuring the amount of speed and ice required. I wanted to get this right so I didn’t have to do this a second time or a third.
I raised my hands and began to build my magic, the all of a sudden, the wolf turned tail and ran.
I blinked. I had not expected him to flee.
“Don’t let him get away!” Tavlor yelled, pulling me out of my stupor.
I hated to attack someone with their back turned. In fact, it went against everything I stood for and believed in. They were surrendering. I didn’t want to hurt someone who was giving up.
But there was more at stake than the morals I’d created when I’d lived in a safe bubble. If he got away, he could go and get more reinforcements. He could be running to tell others where I was.
I didn’t know and I couldn’t speculate. I needed to take care of him now. This way, I would know. It wasn’t just about me, either. Tavlor was in this with me and could easily get hurt or killed on account of me. I couldn’t let that happen.
I hurled the cold magic at the retreating shifter, grunting as I did so.
The ice hit his flanks and spread quickly, up his spine, along his legs, and to his face. In a manner of seconds, he was frozen. I watched with almost a detached gaze as the beauty of my spell overcame the powerful shifter and turned him into a solid piece of ice. A sculpture.
I waited, expecting him to melt and continue to run, to fall, something. I didn’t think it would work right away.
But it did.
Tavlor clapped me on the arm. “Good job.”
I reveled in his compliment. I was sure it was difficult to get one of those from him.
“But we better hurry now,” he said, returning his sword to its sheath.
He was right.
Since these shifters failed, there would be more coming. The problem was, we didn’t know when they would be here.
We turned and darted to the portal. We ran straight past my wolf ice sculpture and kept going. The spell was already starting to fade. I wished I knew if he would be alive once it finished melting or if he was dead. I wouldn’t be around to find out.
We arrived out of breath and stood before a wall of trees.
“This is it?” I asked him as I struggled to get my breath back. I placed my hands on my knees. I probably looked like a hot mess to Tavlor, but at least right now, I didn’t care.
We were almost out.
Tavlor nodded. “Yes,” he said. How he sounded so nonchalant, as though the run didn’t affect him at all, I had no idea. “I will open it, but you will need to tell me where we’re going.”
Frustration clawed at me and I groaned. I tugged my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know,” I said. “We enter my mother’s realm via a small village. I can see it in my head, but other than that, that’s all I know.”
The locket around my neck practically sang with vibrations. The sound pierced my ears, and I closed my eyes, as though that would help mute the sound. Unfortunately, it didn’t.
“Shit!” I exclaimed, covering my ears.
I grabbed for the locket and my mother’s voice rang true.
The town is Adare, Ireland.
I looked at Tavlor. “The town is called Adare. It’s in Ireland.”
Tavlor took his sword and plunged it into the trees, closing his eyes and speaking his native Fae tongue. The sound was melodic, like a song I didn’t quite understand.
The trees began to rustle. He pulled the sword from the branches.
The wind picked up and magic began to swirl before us in the silver swirling portal.
“Let’s go.” He nodded towards the portal.
I stared at him. “You’re coming with me?”
He took my hand. “Yes, of course.” He looked at me as though I was mad for suggesting otherwise. “I need to make sure you arrive safely.”
With fear and apprehension pulsing through me, I squeezed his hand tightly.
He gave me a look that seemed to imply it would be all right, he would be with me, and I nodded back. I was glad he was here. I was glad I had him.
Together, we stepped straight into the whirling vortex.
It was just like the other times I’d gone through a portal. There was nothing different about it, simply because it was a portal in the Fae realm. This relieved me, and I nearly snickered to myself about how worried I was for nothing. There was the same strange nothingness, a cold stillness. Then, we stumbled onto the cobblestones of the alley way from which I’d last seen Aunt Alison.
“Oh... I thought
we were going to need to travel through multiple portals to get to this one.”
I pulled my hand out of Tavlor’s grip so that I could catch myself against the wall.
“I’m still getting used to that feeling,” I said sheepishly, my face turning red.
Tavlor smiled. “Since you knew the exact town, I was able to channel the energy better, but even I’m surprised we made it in one jump.”
“Where are we exactly?” he asked, looking around the alley way as though he expected something to jump from the walls and roofs around us. His hand was on the hilt of his blade, as though he didn’t quite trust where he was and what he saw. I understood that. He had never been here before, and he wanted to be prepared.
I tried not to laugh. I was sure I looked the same way when I first got to the magic realm. In fact, I remember watching a wolf walk down the street and nearly jumping out of my skin. And no one seemed to care either way.
“We’re in an alleyway,” I said. “The main town is a few blocks that way.” I pointed in the direction of Aunt Alison’s house. “And my mother’s portal is this way.”
It was a nice feeling, to recognize everything here.
I began walking along the cobblestones and back towards the main road.
Tavlor didn’t follow.
I turned around to look at him. He stood frozen.
“Come on. Follow me. Unless you want to go back now... The portal is... just there.” I gestured to the wall where a shimmer of magic was still glimmering on the stones.
Tavlor glanced towards the portal, as though he was considering leaving me already. My heart dropped. I didn’t want to force him to stay. However, it was disappointing to know that he wanted to leave when I was dying for him to stay.
I forced a smile to my lips. “I’m safe now,” I managed to get out. “It’s okay. You can go.”
His spine straightened as though pulling himself together to garner the strength for a battle to come. He shook his head, pressing his lips together.
When he walked forward, I giggled, because he really had no concept of how safe we were now.
“You okay?” I asked as we walked together along the streets of the tiny town.
