The Court of Outcasts

by Allison Rose

  Nola’s shoulders slumped in relief. She caught Briar frowning at her from the corner of her eye before Allora and Cameron made it back in. She sent him a challenging look back.

  I had to do something.

  He looked away with an unreadable expression.

  Nola sighed internally. If Kelty were here, she would be helping in a heartbeat.

  Then Allora turned on her. “What did you do?”

  “She did nothing, Allora,” Briar said tightly.

  “You can keep speaking lies, Briar, but Fable will find out the truth.”

  This is so messed up, Nola thought as she wiped at her eyes.

  “What would happen if I took you out there?” Allora’s voice in close proximity startled Nola into jumping backward.

  Briar lithely stepped between them. “You will not touch her, Allora,” he said with a note of darkness she had never heard in his voice before.

  Allora nodded regally as she stepped back. “My apologies. She is yours.”

  Nola wanted to step around Briar and yell that she didn’t belong to anyone, but a sharp glance from Briar had her biting her tongue.

  Allora herself returned to the table as if what just occurred was completely normal.

  Chapter 18

  Kelty awoke to the sound of birds chirping. Loudly.

  Annoying creatures, Kelty grumbled internally as she groggily looked to the sky. The light had yet to peek over the horizon, but it was close. Kelty closed her eyes again. She still lay awake most nights, finding it nearly impossible to fight her nocturnal nature, and only slept when exhaustion took her. She wondered if Rowan did the same.

  Rowan. Kelty opened her eyes again, searching the surrounding branches for her potential, but she met another pair of eyes instead.

  Lark narrowed her gaze at Kelty. “You sleep outside of your tree.” She said the words slowly.

  Well, that explains the birds. Kelty rose to a crouch and swatted wordlessly at Lark. There was no way she was explaining herself to the strange faerie. Why did I invite them here? she thought as she slid down the tree.

  She felt Rowan’s presence before she reached the ground, and some of her mood brightened.

  “I told her not to wake you,” he said in greeting, frowning up into the trees.

  “The birds woke me,” Kelty muttered. She briefly touched her forehead to his shoulder, drawing strength from the brief contact, and then walked past him to enter her tree.

  Her mind turned to the task ahead as she readied, using her water affinity to freshen up and grabbing a few berries from a basket resting on a rock ledge. She had managed to grow something like her favorite berry from Faerie, though the flavor was still a little dull. She was still proud that it refreshed her with more energy than anything human grown.

  I have to find a way to connect with them, she thought. I have to do that in order to find out what Fable is really up to. But how do I do that without alerting him? Will he just search their minds afterward and discover me? And how will I do that while also getting the knowledge that I want from Fable?

  The enormity of it all crashed into her again. I’m not prepared for this.

  A gentle light grew from above, more light than her light-infused stones placed into the wall emitted. Looking up with a frown, she gasped as lumin flowers slowly opened their petals all along the inside of her tree. Her heart ached for home at the sight, but then settled into a sort of peace.

  Her tree believed in her even if she had doubts about herself.

  I will unite a broken court, and I will save them from their leader. He speaks truth, but he is misguided at the very least. And he is holding something over them all that keeps them. It is not right.

  She turned and strode out the door to come face to face with the Court of Outcasts.

  Kelty balked a little, glad that Rowan gave her a small, encouraging smile as he came to stand next to her. She slowly took in the others again. Dane stood as far away as possible, almost into the tree line opposite her. Sayra sat, eyes staring off into the distance, also across the clearing but in full view. Anthem and Lark both stood closer, directly in front of Kelty and Rowan. Anthem’s expression was less combative than the previous day, but he still looked closed off. Lark swayed on the spot, looking bored.

  There was no sign of Fable.

  “Fable is not going to join us?” She directed the question at Lark.

  “Sometimes he is busy,” Lark answered, appearing unconcerned, maybe a little relieved.

  Kelty seized on the opportunity. “Why are you all here?”

  “We were rejected by the Day Court,” Lark answered, giving Kelty a confused look.

  Kelty shook her head. “No. Why are you here as a part of the Court of Outcasts?”

  They all shifted uncomfortably, even Sayra.

  “They know it is what is best.” Fable stepped into the clearing. Kelty nearly jumped out of her skin, wondering why the trees hadn’t warned her of his presence.

  Fable stepped lightly up to Lark and took her chin in his hands. Her body froze and she averted her eyes. “When I found Lark, she had taken to living with the animals, hardly able to speak to me at all.”

  He dropped her chin and stepped up to Anthem. He didn’t grab the other male, instead cocking his head and somehow managing to look down on the other faerie though they were the same height. “Anthem would be in human jail or worse by now if I did not step in to help.”

  Anthem stood still, eyes burning with hatred, but he did not speak.

  Fable gracefully sashayed over to Dane, who merely watched the other faerie with a guarded expression. “This one was barely able to move at all, almost becoming one of the trees he so admires.”

  “And Sayra.” Fable merely gestured over to her. “She is an old friend.” Something in the way he said that made Kelty’s skin crawl. A fear showed in Sayra’s eyes, but she did not speak either.

  Kelty shook with anger at their humiliation by the end of it. “What are their normal tasks?” she inquired, trying to divert Fable’s attention.

  Fable nodded to her as if that was an excellent question. “Dane and Anthem work to clear the land and air of pollutants. Sayra, the water. And Lark does what she can with the animals.”

  Lark gave Kelty a sheepish look. “The animals here are not as bright as those of Faerie.”

  Kelty nodded at her, hoping her eyes conveyed that she understood.

  “And now for your part.” Fable’s words took Kelty by surprise.

  She opened her mouth, but Fable continued, addressing the others, “Kelty is known as the Star of the Night. She can wield all six affinities, though is stronger with some than others. She was meant to rule the Night, and instead was banished for an inappropriate relationship.” All of the members of the court looked up at that. Kelty wanted to slink away and hide. Rowan stood stiff beside her, though he thankfully remained silent.

  “I was framed,” Kelty said tersely. Her court looked at her with various levels of skepticism.

  Fable waved away her words with a long-fingered hand. “Unimportant. And now you can show them what you can do. Anthem,” he ordered.

  A sudden wind threatened her balance, as a cyclone whipped around her. It had been a long time since she was outright attacked. She felt a momentary panic and then a calmness spread through her.

  She held her wings in tight as she reached within, letting go of her control over the land to reach out to the winds.

  It was like being in free fall, the feeling of the winds as Anthem was whipping them about. It was unnerving at first, but she pushed through. Had she not possessed the air affinity, this would’ve pulled the breath from her body until she succumbed. But she was the Star.

  Calm. She willed the winds to disperse. It took mere seconds, but by the time the winds cleared, Fable was restrained in thick binds of branches, Rowan staring at him in rage. Fable himself looked calm, and the others only looked on with vague interest, but Kelty’s heart jumped into her throat.
>
  No. We cannot anger him.

  “She needs to learn,” Fable told Rowan calmly. “She wants to learn. Isn’t that right, Star?” Fable’s gaze turned to her.

  Kelty saw Rowan flinch at the name only a few close to her used. Though Kelty bristled at Fable’s patronizing, she had no choice but to play along.

  He could ruin Rowan if he wanted to. And he is not wrong, but there’s no way I can go against Rowan in front of everyone.

  Wordlessly, she turned and locked eyes with Dane across the clearing. “What about you?” she asked a little cockily.

  Anthem smirked at that. Lark sidestepped out of the way. Dane simply looked at her. Then Kelty felt the power around her. Lumin flowers sprouted up around her feet, even out of the trees. A taunt? She kept her gaze on him, but could discern nothing about how she knew of her namesake and if it was meant as a threat or respect.

  Fable looked delighted at the display.

  So he also knows of my namesake. Kelty clenched her teeth. She had no more time to contemplate before Fable called out, “Sayra.”

  Kelty was ready for this one. She grounded herself, commanding the trees to drink from her as she absorbed the water meant to smother her. It was surprisingly easy, only a half-hearted attempt, and when Kelty locked eyes with Sayra, she saw something almost like pride. “You are strong,” the older faerie spoke for the first time, voice hoarse and raspy.

  Struck speechless, Kelty merely nodded at her, and Sayra lowered her gaze to the ground as if nothing had happened.

  “Admirable,” Fable cut in. Kelty darted a look to his face, but he looked impassive and in control despite still being bound by Rowan’s branches. He continued, “Lark cannot give a demonstration, though she may be able to give you some instruction with these limited beasts of the human world.”

  Lark looked at the ground in shame.

  “I suggest you still work with each of them individually,” Fable said to Kelty. Then his eyes found Rowan. “She is unharmed. And your binds will not stop me from hurting her should I truly wish to.”

  Rowan nearly trembled with rage, but the branches retracted back into the trees.

  Please don’t make me fend him off right here and now. Kelty tried to weave her magic more thoroughly to guard against a spirit attack as anxiety made a ball in her stomach.

  “And what is your part in all this, Fable?” she asked, trying to draw his attention from Rowan.

  Fable’s brows perked in interest as he turned to her. “I walk among the humans.”

  Among them. He gets that close?

  “How?”

  A small smile crossed his face. “That is a tale for another time.”

  Kelty eyed him, wondering how far she could push. “I would like to know.”

  “In time.” As he said the words, she felt a brush against her mind. Every muscle in her body froze. It was one of the deepest violations, invading another’s mind without permission. This was another warning. He would not test her right now, but he could. Anytime. As he retreated from her mind, she fought to hide her trembling. Stay strong.

  “But being around the humans drains faerie magic,” Kelty blurted out.

  “A tale meant to keep our kind separate. Even the outcasts.”

  Kelty’s eyes widened. “It is a lie?” She cast a glance at the others. None looked the least bit surprised. Anthem looked outright bored. Rowan didn’t react. She turned back as Fable spoke.

  “Their fascination with iron and other such things makes them hard to be around, but it is not the humans themselves that drain our magic. It is being here, forced to live in this energy-less world, that causes the weakening.”

  He knows so much. I need him to tell me all of it.

  Fable gave her a cunning smile and a conspiratory tilt of his head that threw her into a panic. And now he knows he can hold his knowledge over me.

  As she took a deep breath in an attempt to slow her beating heart, Fable turned on his heel and abruptly walked off a few paces into the trees before taking to the skies.

  Kelty’s mouth nearly dropped open. She turned to the others. “Does he do that often?”

  Lark nodded. “Only all the time.”

  He is just so sure he has control over everyone and everything. She thought back to Briar’s words: “because then he thinks he knows everything. He will not expect anything different.”

  I will have to use that to my advantage somehow.

  “I don’t suppose you will tell me what exactly it is that he does around here,” Kelty grilled Lark.

  The sunset faerie shrugged. “I do not know what he does.”

  Kelty glanced at the others. None of them answered.

  Well, so that is how it’s going to be.

  “I would like to know more about each of you, starting now.”

  All of them averted their eyes.

  Maybe this is not the time. I can at least keep them busy. And they may open up if they are alone.

  “I am curious as to how you would improve my territory. Go. I will check in with you throughout the day.”

  Kelty turned to her adviser. Lark promptly looked up and stood straighter. “You will stay with me.”

  Lark nodded once. Kelty turned to Rowan as the other three wasted no time slipping away into the trees. He still looked perturbed, but his shoulders relaxed a fraction. Kelty longed to speak with him about what just went on with Fable, but was hyper aware of Lark hovering very close like a curious child.

  First thing, establish my authority.

  “Lark, though Rowan is not my partner yet, you will treat his commands as my own.”

  Eyes wide, Lark nodded. Kelty caught Rowan’s appreciative look out of the corner of her eye.

  “Now,” Kelty addressed Lark, “we will show you the boundaries of my court and where the humans visit.”

  She executed a graceful leap into the branches above without waiting for confirmation. As they flew the boundaries, Rowan took more of a lead showing Lark where the humans frequented, explaining that the outcasts were to keep themselves magically concealed at all times. Kelty watched Lark frown in concentration as she took all of it in.

  Then they crossed paths with a squirrel.

  Lark’s attention immediately darted to the animal, and she imitated its chatter, as if trying to speak to it. The animal promptly turned and scattered away through the branches.

  Realizing Kelty and Rowan were staring, Lark’s head drooped in embarrassment as she crouched on her perch. Kelty wondered if Fable would have reprimanded her for that.

  Though Kelty had an affinity with the beasts, she was most drawn to the land and the natural world. Her mother, however, was known for her affinity with the beasts, sometimes paying more attention to the animals around her than the faeries. Kelty could only imagine what it must be like to suddenly have to adjust to living in a world where the animals could not or would not speak to her with their minds.

  “That’s rather clever,” Kelty told her. “I haven’t tried to communicate with the animals since I have been here. Mimicking their sounds might be the only way.”

  Happy tears shined in Lark’s eyes at the statement. Kelty felt a flash of triumph, though an awkwardness hung in the air immediately afterward.

  “Why were you banished?” Kelty blurted out.

  Lark’s expression closed off immediately. “I am a traitor to the Day Court.”

  Kelty pursed her lips in frustration. I will never learn anything if they will not tell me. “As your ruler, I could demand it from you.” Rowan frowned from where he crouched a few trees ahead.

  Lark’s eyes went a little wide, but she said nothing. Kelty sighed. Like I would ever do that to her. To any of them.

  “Keep your secrets then,” Kelty told Lark. “Just do not turn them on me.”

  “I carried incriminating messages,” Lark blurted. “That is all.”

  She flew off toward Rowan in a rush, leaving Kelty staring after her and wondering what sort of messages these were a
nd who they were from.

  But the damage had been done. She reluctantly let Lark go and turned pleading eyes on Rowan.

  Fix this.

  He gave her a disappointed look but nodded once and took off after Lark.

  Kelty exhaled in a hiss.

  Please let this go better with the rest. I need them to trust me.

  She flew aimlessly for a few minutes in order to calm her mind, then landed lightly on a high branch and sent her magic through her feet and into the tree in search of Dane. She followed the strong burst of magic she felt in return to her home tree.

  Dane kneeled with his eyes closed in front of the berry bush she grew next to her tree. Kelty landed a few paces and tentatively stepped toward him. Then she paused as the magic flowing from Dane coaxed the berries into growing before her eyes.

  They respond better to him than they do to me, she thought in wonder and jealousy.

  “With this world, you have to ask.” She nearly jumped at the sound of Dane’s deep voice.

  He unfolded himself from the ground and rose, towering over Kelty. “As for my banishment, I refused to use my power at Court,” he said evenly, as if this was a perfectly normal discussion.

  As Kelty stood speechless, he gave her a nod and walked past her, movements unhurried and deliberate as he made his way through the trees.

  Well, that was unexpected. Kelty stared after him a moment, then went over to inspect the fruit. A magical prod revealed they were indeed holding more magic, and therefore more nourishment for her. The plants of this world held little nourishment for faeries, who absorbed the ara within them for energy. Kelty pitied the outcasts who did not have a land affinity that allowed them to grow such a plant. They would live, but it would be a miserable existence.

  Amazing. He might be my court’s greatest asset. And I can respect his decision not to use his power to further the ambitions of the Day Court.

  She took in a breath, mood lifting despite the apprehension of speaking with Anthem and Sayra, the ones she already feared would be more difficult.

  Shifting her magic to her disconcerting air affinity, she allowed it to guide her to where the air currents were stronger, cleaner, more magical. There she found Anthem.