Fey Hearted

by N. E. Conneely

  Waterfall opened his mouth to ask another question but was quickly cut off.

  “No, fey. You have gotten all the answers we will offer. It is a matter for Ember, Dyna, and Rose to address. Pleasant journey.” With that, the centaur turned and cantered up the hill.

  Waterfall stood there, wishing he’d gotten more information. He had hoped for more of a dialogue with the kin representative, but their people lived separately for a reason and this was a harsh reminder of the differences between them. Whatever the kin were, they were neither fey nor elementals, and that was a distinction they never forgot.

  For the third day in a row, Rose stared at the ceiling, trying to see the riddle in the dark of the early morning. It would be so much easier if she could write it down, but she’d read enough books to know that written evidence of disobedience was a bad idea. That was how plots were discovered and people were imprisoned.

  She wasn’t sure why she kept working on the riddle. With Dyna banished it wasn’t as though she needed the answer, but she could hardly get it out of her mind. Part of it was curiosity. What could be so important that the sphinx would risk a fight with the other elementals?

  The answer had to be in the riddle, but Rose had made little progress on it. Under different circumstances she would ask for help, but twice now Waterfall had forbidden her from working on the riddle.

  Rose rolled onto her side. His warnings were why she was lying in bed, before she needed to be awake, trying to figure it out on her own. This time of day, and at night when she should have been sleeping, was the only alone time she had found. It wasn’t ideal, but it was what she had.

  The second line repeated in her head this morning. What could be found in a turn but not a tune? A turn could mean several things, like a turn in the road or turning around. Tune was more defined. It was the melody of a song. The two things had little in common. Taken literally, they both contained a t, u, and n.

  Beside her, Pearl stirred. With the dragon awake, it was time to start her day. Rose headed into the bathroom. She could keep working on the riddle during the shower. The rest of today was likely to be so busy that her brain wouldn’t be able to keep up with the necessary tasks, never mind nonsense spouted by a sphinx.

  Chapter 22

  Rose approached the healing house, debating if it was worth broaching the topic of reducing or eliminating the classes. Her magic lessons had continued to improve, but that same improvement hadn’t translated into her getting any better at healing. It was her least favorite subject, and if she couldn’t master healing tasks, there was little point in continuing to attempt hands-on study.

  She rounded a corner and slowed when she spotted Moonbeam. Last she’d heard, this would be a typical lesson.

  “I thought we were meeting in the classroom,” Rose said, puzzled.

  “That had been the plan; however, I had an idea about a type of healing that might make more sense to you.” Moonbeam shrugged. “It can’t hurt, and you haven’t been able to relate to most of what I’ve been teaching so far.”

  “Oh okay. So what are we doing?”

  “I’m going to show you how to heal the land.” Moonbeam set off down a path.

  Rose hurried after her, curious about what was involved with healing the land and where they were going. She had been forbidden to try healing since she had accidentally killed a seedling with root rot.

  Moonbeam didn’t seem inclined to talk. As they walked, Rose noticed that they were traveling in the direction of the pavilion, where she’d first awakened in this land. The two of them surprised a herd of six teal deer, sending them racing through the woods. Not long after that, Rose spotted the pavilion. The path forked, and they went to the right, avoiding the pavilion and going deeper into the woods.

  Moonbeam guided her over to a patch of bare ground between two trees that were about fifteen feet apart. The tufts of grass on the edges of the bare spot were the same brown as Rose’s burned toast that morning. The affected area filled the space between the trees, and was four feet across at its widest point.

  “This is the Slitan, the spot where we usually open the Slit.”

  Rose looked around. So where was the Slit? Since she’d been unconscious when Silverlight brought her through, she hadn’t seen it before. And for whatever reason, it had yet to be mentioned in her lessons.

  Moonbeam continued speaking. “While a Slit can be opened anywhere, the Slitan is a place that has grown accustomed to bridging the worlds, which makes it easier to open a Slit. Poisons from the human world leak into this soil and cause damage that must be healed magically or it will spread into the surrounding area.”

  “Why don’t the elementals heal it? Or the magic itself?”

  “The elementals see this as a fey concern. We open the Slit, so we must correct any damage to the land. Any concerns they have about issues like this, they keep to themselves. As for the magic… A system at rest will stay at rest without outside influence. We are that influence.” She smiled at Rose. “Now, you heal the land the way you do any magic, by asking it and showing it the benefits.”

  “What do you think about?” Rose asked, hoping that this time she’d get an answer that helped her understand what she was doing wrong.

  “I think of restoring the area to the way it was before—regrowing the grass, removing the toxins, and restoring its lost health. If it works, this is what you will see.” Moonbeam closed her eyes, and the air was filled with the scent of lavender, lemon, and fresh earth. The grass greened and crept over the barren spot. It slowed and stopped when it had covered half the space. Moonbeam opened her eyes, stepped back, and motioned for Rose to make an attempt.

  “Now you.”

  Rose fixed the idea of restoring lost health in her mind. She pictured the earth healthy, whole, and beautiful. The grass crept forward what might have been an inch on each side and then stopped.

  Rose huffed and looked at her teacher.

  Moonbeam smiled encouragingly. “That was good. Try again.”

  With a nod, she turned her attention back to the earth. Rose went through the visualization again, holding onto what she wanted it to look like and why. When nothing happened, she whispered, “Please?”

  Two shoots of grass popped up in the center of the patch of dirt. “Ugh! I give up. Healing clearly isn’t my thing. Can we cancel the lessons or do them a different way? This isn’t worth it.”

  Sighing, Moonbeam nodded. “Agreed. This was your last lesson. You are always free to come to me if you have questions. You know where to find me.”

  Rose felt like the weight of Ember had been lifted off her shoulders. “Thank you. Thank you.”

  “What is this place?” Rose asked as they approached a rock face with a door built into it. Yesterday’s victory of being excused from future healing lessons had given way to today’s mystery. This was the second time she’d asked Silverlight a question about what they were doing, and she was hoping he would answer it this time.

  “I told you, it’s where we are having your lesson today,” Silverlight said.

  Rose sighed but didn’t say anything else, and Everblue whistled cheerfully behind her. Today’s lesson would be different, not only because of the location but because Everblue was with them. This would be the first time he had joined them for a magic lesson. Even with her curiosity burning, she wished she were back in her room working on the riddle. She was still stuck, and it was starting to eat into her sleep at this point. If she didn’t make progress soon, she’d have to cut back on the time she was spending on the riddle. Silverlight would notice if she kept looking sleep deprived, and then there would be awkward questions.

  Silverlight opened a door, and Rose followed him in, observing the stone floor and walls, the damp feel to the air, and the soft blue lights drifting near the ceiling. She was in a cave. Behind her, she could hear Everblue close the door.

  As normal as that door looked, there must have been something magical about it, because not a bird chirp, or a so
und of an angry squirrel, or a creak of trees in the breeze made it through the wood. In fact, the room was so quiet that she could hear the fey breathing.

  “We will be having magic lessons here for a week or two. This area is shielded so that we can practice larger requests. After what happened with the wilds and Dyna, Father strongly recommended that we officially teach you how to tackle them. You have the ability to motivate the magic. Now we need to teach you how to control it.”

  “Do the wilds ever use more powerful magic?” Rose asked.

  “Not often, but it has happened. We were lucky that such a small group attacked us and that they used very little magic. The next time they come, they might use more magic, and you need to be ready. To simulate battles, we will be creating or acting as the enemy you need to defeat. Try to repeat what you did with Dyna, but focus in on exactly how to get the best results in battle,” Silverlight finished.

  “I can try.” Rose wasn’t sure how she’d gotten the magic to work for her then, so it was going to be difficult to make it work now.

  Everblue looked at Silverlight, who nodded, and a blob of mist formed into what looked like a black bear. The bear shook itself, focused on her, and roared.

  Rose stumbled back. Silverlight had always been fond of trial by fire, but this was taking things a little too far. Hopefully it wasn’t as deadly as the real thing because she wasn’t sure she could capture it.

  The bear trundled in her direction, and she focused on encasing the bear in a cage. That wouldn’t harm the creature but would prevent it from harming her, and that’s all she needed to do.

  With a whiff of lilies, a door much like that of a jail cell appeared in front of the bear, but the rest of the cage didn’t materialize. The bear stopped an inch shy of bumping its nose into the bars, backed up, and studied the construct.

  Rose froze, afraid that any movement would draw the bear’s attention back to her. Even though the cage idea hadn’t totally worked, it had bought her time. Maybe she didn’t need to capture it but merely redirect its attention. Rose pictured a beehive full of honey. Wanting to make it attractive to the bear, she kept the sound of some bees but the hive itself was vacant except for the honey.

  When nothing happened, Rose muttered, “Come on, I need that honey.”

  The tree, complete with hive, blinked into existence as the smell of lilies and irises filled her nose. After a moment, she also picked up the sweet scent of honey. If she could smell it, surely the bear could, too. That’s when she noticed that its nose was twitching.

  The bear swung its head back and forth before honing in on the beehive. It lumbered over and started investigating the treat.

  “That’s enough,” Silverlight said.

  The bear vanished.

  Rose silently asked for the magic to make the beehive go away, and it ceased to exist.

  “Good. A distraction is as good as neutralizing the problem, especially if it gives you time to escape. But why do you think the cage failed?” Silverlight asked.

  She considered the question but couldn’t come up with a good answer. “Maybe the magic knew it was the wrong thing?”

  “Or you didn’t ask clearly enough.” Silverlight paused. “You need to practice silent requests. Remember, it’s better to ask for the magic’s help with your mind. If you verbalize the request, your adversary can hear you and will know what you’re attempting.”

  Rose winced and nodded. She often resorted to words and would need to work on that. “Got it.”

  “Are you ready for the next challenge?”

  “Sure.”

  Silverlight went to a cabinet in the back of the room and returned with a wooden sword in his hand. Rose didn’t need to have this attempt explained to her; she’d done enough variations of it in her weapons classes. This was where she had to fend off an attacker who was better armed. The only difference was the objective. This time she had to neutralize him with magic.

  “Start,” Everblue said.

  Silverlight lunged forward, sword slicing through the air. Rose dodged and moved away. She needed to get some distance if she was going to have time to think of a way to hold him off.

  He came after her again, and by the third attack, Rose knew she had to figure out how to get the magic to work while she was on the move. Silverlight wasn’t going to let her get away. Rose pictured him tripping. It wouldn’t hurt him, but it would buy her the precious seconds she needed.

  Rose tumbled away from him, quickly returning to her feet. As Silverlight followed, a section of the cave floor surged up, tripping him. He pitched forward, taking quick steps to stay upright. Taking advantage of the movement, she ran across the room.

  With that one success behind her, Rose grew more ambitious. When Silverlight came at her next, Rose pictured the wooden sword flying out of his hands. Silverlight tried to reverse his swing, but the sword kept moving, pulling itself out of his hands. It flew right at Everblue, who scrambled to the side to avoid being hit.

  The trick with the sword turned out to be a mistake. It didn’t slow Silverlight down in the slightest. He reached for her and she backpedaled, trying to put distance between them, but she was too slow and his hands tightened on her wrist. Moments later she was on her knees with one arm twisted behind her back.

  She grimaced. “Okay, okay. I surrender.”

  Silverlight let go and helped her up. Rose nodded her thanks before finding her water. This wasn’t as easy as most of the magic classes.

  “Everblue, what do you think?” Silverlight asked.

  “You need to do a lot more work on using magic under duress. You did fine with the bear because it never did anything to you. This time you needed to divide your attention between the magic and your attacker. Besides being unable to focus on both, it takes you a long time to get magic to work, and that increases the difficulty.”

  “Agreed,” Silverlight said. “We’ll be working on both those skills until you have them down.”

  “Any helpful tips?” she asked.

  “Practice. Lots of practice.” Silverlight smiled. “Can you go again?”

  She nodded, and before she knew it, Silverlight was attacking her once more.

  This was going to be a long morning.

  Chapter 23

  Rose closed the door behind her. Silverlight wasn’t up yet, and she wanted to be back with food from the Commons before he woke. She turned to walk the short distance to the path and came to a complete halt. The grass between her and the path was awash with unicorns, perytons, and teal deer. But they didn’t just congregate in that one space. The elemental fey were everywhere. They had surrounded several nearby houses and were flowing into the woods.

  Pewter’s foal charged over, nearly falling over as it tried to stop. The foal finally got its legs sorted out and nickered at her. When she didn’t move, it nudged her hand. Out of reflex more than anything else, Rose started petting the unicorn.

  As of last night, Silverlight hadn’t mentioned anything about the elementals coming for a visit. Maybe it was supposed to be a surprise, but surely Silverlight would’ve said something to prevent a morning outing from ruining the surprise. He knew she brought breakfast back from the Commons some mornings, and lately she’d been doing it more frequently. It was a way to get some alone time to think about the riddle, not that she’d made any progress.

  “Perytons? Teal deer? What the blazes are you doing here?” Alda squawked from next door. “You four-footed creatures have an entire field. Get out of my yard!”

  Rose gave Pewter’s baby one last pat and started winding her way through the elementals. Some of them stepped aside, but others stayed where they were, forcing her to walk around them.

  “Alda, do you have any idea what’s going on?” Rose hoped the older woman would have an answer, but considering that Alda was standing outside barefoot and in a dressing robe, that was a rather dim hope.

  “Not an inkling. I was making breakfast when I saw them. I thought a couple of the perytons
came out to play tricks on those of us with two feet, and I was going to run them off.” Alda waved a hand. She was clutching a mug, and coffee sloshed over the side, splashing one of the perytons. Alda didn’t notice the escaped coffee or the annoyed peryton.

  Rose bit her lower lip. “I guess this isn’t a usual sight?”

  “No,” Alda said, flapping both hands in the air. The coffee flew out of the mug, covering her hand and decorating her dressing robe with brown spots. Alda looked down and started cursing. “I need more coffee to deal with this,” she said as she walked inside her home.

  Rose stood there, not sure if she should follow.

  “Are you coming?” Alda shouted from somewhere inside.

  “Now that I have an invitation, yes,” Rose grumbled. She closed the door behind her, ignoring the faces peering in at her.

  “Do you want coffee?”

  “I’d rather some tea, if you have it, please,” Rose said absently. As usual, there was a bit of clutter in the corner and under the side tables, where books and half-finished projects had piled up.

  Alda snatched the basket out of Rose’s hand, dropped it on the floor, and shoved a cup of tea at her. Rose took it quickly. Judging from the look on Alda’s face, if Rose hadn’t acted fast enough, she would’ve had it poured over her head.

  “Those creatures, they think they can just do whatever they want.” Alda heaved a sigh. “Maybe they’ve decided they don’t like their field and want this one. Well, if that’s the case, I’m not moving.”

  “Drink your coffee, Alda,” Rose said with a laugh. “Your brain needs to wake up before you say anything else.”

  Alda glared at her but took a deep swig. “Ahh. That’s better. I spilled the first cup before I had a chance to taste it.”

  Rose just nodded and sipped her tea. When Alda frowned at the cup and went back in the kitchen, Rose followed her, figuring it was safe to talk.

  “Do you have any real ideas about why the elemental fey are here?”