by Meg Bonney
The fire crackled, and Gullway clanked around, passing out full cups to Ara, Jason, and Ren.
“Gullway, this is marvelous!” Jason said, his mouth full of stew.
Gullway’s eyes were brimming with pride, and he almost looked surprised at such praise.
“Thank you, Gullway. We all really needed that,” I said to him. Gullway nodded and took away my empty cup. He then poured his own cup, stood, and left the light of the campfire and our circle.
I looked around at Jason, Ara, and Ren. They didn’t seem to notice Gullway walk over to a fallen tree trunk and sit down. He faced away from our group and began to drink the stew out of the cup. I watched him as he ate.
Jason turned to Ara. “But really, Ara, where did you learn to fight the way you do? You were like this tiny little crazy ninja lady!”
“One does not live in Everly and not learn to fight!” she responded. “I watch over a faction of the fae. Each relies on me to protect them and their way of life. It takes more than a tender word to do so.”
“Especially if you are a Magic. The temple guard will kill you with ease if you cannot fight,” Ren added.
“I can’t even aim an arrow,” Jason said glumly.
Ara jumped to her feet and took a fighting stance. “On your feet, Otherworlder! I will teach you!”
I looked back over to Gullway. He was still perched on the log. I stood, walked over to him, and laid my hand on his shoulder. He jumped at my touch.
Gullway fell to the ground on his knees and bowed his head, dropping the cup on the dirt.
“Oh, no, Gullway, I am so sorry.” I reached down and picked up the now-empty cup. “I will go get you some more.”
The troll looked up at me and stared for a moment.
“What is it, Gullway? Are you okay?”
His eyes searched my face. He rubbed his chin, rumpling the coarse red hairs that framed his face.
“Garl give Gullway food?” Gullway leaned closer to me, as if asking me a secret question.
“Yeah, of course I will, Gullway,” I answered quickly, confused by his reaction.
“Here, let me.” Ren was at my side now. He reached down and took the cup from my hand. Ren leaned close to me and whispered, “Trolls do not get served food. They must eat the scraps of a meal when they are in the service of the Cloaked.”
I felt my cheeks warm with anger and took a step closer to our giant companion. “Gullway, listen to me. You are not in my service. You are one of us. Do you understand? If you fight beside us, it is because you want to. You are not a servant. You are my equal. Please, come and eat with us.” I gestured to the circle around the campfire.
The giant mountain troll looked to Ren and then back to me. Gullway’s bottom lip trembled, and his eyes filled with tears as he climbed to his feet.
Gullway laid his hands over his heart and bowed his head.
“Molad an Banron,” Gullway said, and looked back up at me. I bowed my head back.
Gullway started back toward the fire, and Ren and I followed behind him.
“What did he say?” I asked.
“Molad an Banron? It is troll. It means ‘Praise the queen,’” Ren said softly.
My mouth dropped open slightly. “Praise the queen?”
Ren winked at me. “Trolls may not say much, but they hear it all. And they understand it all. He knows who you are.”
I watched as Gullway rejoined the group.
“But I am not a queen,” I said under my breath.
“Yet.” Ren raised his eyebrows and walked toward the fire to rejoin our small band of companions. He took a seat by the fire as Ara and Jason continued to spar.
“Okay, I give. Ara, you are the baddest babe in Everly. I need to sit down. I’m starting to see spots.” Jason laughed.
I watched them all for a second. The stakes were so high, and we all knew it. But we didn’t talk about it.
“Let’s get some sleep, guys. Big day tomorrow,” Jason said.
He was like our little troop leader all of a sudden.
“You need to get some rest, Mads.” Jason unrolled a cloak so that it was flat on the ground. “We’ll have to share.”
“Sorry,” Ren said as he laid his cloak out next to Jason’s and, well, mine.
Sleep. Sleep sounds good. I laid down on the cloak and stretched out before rolling on my side as Jason curled up close next to me.
“Good night, Mads,” he said, putting his arm around me.
“Good night, Jay.” I settled into him, little spoon to his big spoon. I tucked the small book under my side.
“I will take first watch,” Ara said, standing and walking out toward the Temple Road.
Ren lay down on his cloak and faced me and Jason. I watched him settle onto the ground. I could see the flicker of fire reflecting in his eyes and couldn’t help but smile at him.
“Good night, Ren.”
“Good night, Maddy,” Ren said with his eyes closed.
He called me Maddy, and this time I didn’t correct him.
CHAPTER 29
Jason fell asleep quickly, as did Ren. Ara was on the far side of our little circle, pacing back and forth. I watched Ara’s silhouette as she navigated gracefully through the trees. She moved like a long-limbed fairy, almost like she was gliding over the brush.
I wished I had gotten to know her better. Her story was a curious one. Her dad was a Merman and she was now an Empress of the Fae, and she was a strong, skilled fighter.
The only sounds now were the crackle of the fire and the almost melodic sound of Gullway snoring. He had plopped down on the other side of Jason, no cloak or anything, and slept hard—like he was in a luxury bed at a fancy hotel.
I rested my cheek on my arm and closed my eye. The moment I did, I saw it again: the dead bodies. The blood. My god, the blood. I opened my eye quickly.
Well, that solved that. I guessed I wouldn’t be sleeping…ever again. Could that vision really be my future? Or was Sinder was just messing with my mind?
Either way, I couldn’t wipe the vision from my imagination long enough to rest. I rubbed my good eye with my the back of my hand. The leather fingerless gloves made a squishy sound against my eyelid, which made me smile. It was a sound that only Jason would find as amusing as I did.
Carefully, I lifted Jason’s arm off of me and he rolled onto his back, half off of the cloak. Sitting up, I picked up the little book and flipped it open. The moon was bright enough that I could make out the words if I squinted hard enough at the yellowing pages.
Ren stirred. He looked so vulnerable when he slept. The hardness in his eyes was gone, and his mouth was in a slight pout, like a small child. He had a leaf in his hair. I reached over and gently pulled it out.
Ren’s eyes flew open.
“What? What is it?” He looked around frantically.
“Nothing. Sorry. I, uh―you had a leaf.”
Ren sat up and shook out his hair with his hand. “Did you sleep?” he whispered.
I nodded, even though I hadn’t. “How do you feel?” I whispered back.
He let out a long sigh. “Like I died today.” Ren pulled his legs up and rested his arms on his knees.
I bounced my legs and clicked my teeth together. I felt overly energized for someone running on a bucket of crazy and no sleep.
Ren was still looking at me. There was something unfamiliar about the way he looked at me. Like Jason looked at Caleb, but not exactly.
I smiled and stood. “Do you want to take a walk with me?” I asked.
Ren grabbed my outstretched hand. I pulled him up to his feet, and he let out a little grumble. I started to pull my hand back, but Ren kept a grip on it.
And I let him—but just for a moment as he steadied himself.
“You okay?” I asked.
He nodded, letting go. He took the lead.
Ara trotted into view on the far side of the dying fire. I waved, and she gave
me a nod before jogging back toward the Temple Road.
We walked the path where Ren had taken me after I nearly burned the place down. I held my hands out, brushing the narrow tree trunks as we walked. My shoulder bumped into a tree on my blind side, but not enough to hurt.
Ren stopped in the same clearing from before. The tree tops hadn’t grown together, so the moon seemed brighter here. I walked beneath the opening of the canopy toward a cluster of tiny purple flowers that shimmered under the light of the moon.
“Oh wow…” I bent down to touch the small, delicate petals. It was as if they were specked with glitter. “These flowers bloom at night?”
“Some flowers only open when they think nobody is watching.” Ren reached down and picked one.
“Here.” He laid the delicate flower in my open hand. I couldn’t look away from his eyes as his hand grazed my palm. I felt a simple ease with him now.
“Thanks, Ren.” I looked to the ground quickly, suddenly super unsure of what to say. “This whole thing has been crazy,” I mumbled.
“Very.”
I looked up at the star-covered sky that peeked through the trees above and took a deep breath, closing my eye.
“Madison, are you all right?”
“Ren, I―I just―I want to tell you that I―I really…” I turned and walked to the tree behind me. Its branches jutted out to the side, and I leaned on one.
I didn’t need a mirror to tell me how red I was. My cheeks felt like they were on fire. Why was this so hard? I rubbed my temples.
“I really suck at this,” I muttered.
I looked over at Ren. He was standing with his hands together behind his back, rocking back on his heels, eyebrows up.
I exhaled loudly. “Okay, I just―thank you. I want to thank you. My whole life might have been a lie, but it was great life so far. And the reason it was great was because of him. Jason and I have been together for as long as I can remember. I didn’t have the cookie-cutter family like everyone else, and I never really felt like I missed out on anything. And I think that it’s because… I was never lacking, because I had him. He was all the things that I needed him to be.”
“You are welcome, Madison,” Ren replied. “It is easy to see why you are so devoted to him. Jason is great.”
“Why? Why did you do it?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “When you pushed him out of the way, you couldn’t have known that you would be okay.”
“I did not, but I knew without a doubt that if that boulder had hit Jason, you would not be okay.” Ren rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “So I chose you.”
I felt a lump in my throat at his answer. “Thank you.”
“I guess I am not as bad as they say, right?” Ren forced a smile as he walked over to where I leaned against the tree.
I shook my head. “Of course not.”
He shrugged.
“Why is it a curse?” I asked softly.
“Being a Porter?”
I nodded.
He looked to the ground quickly. “I am not like them. I do not get to have a normal life, a family, a home. I have a job. I cross through the portals, and I bring people back to Everly. It’s not like the other groups here. There are only a couple of my kind. The people here do not understand, so they fear it. They fear me and what I am capable of.”
“It sounds like a gift,” I said with uncharacteristic optimism. “Being able to travel through the worlds like that.”
“It takes a toll. Trust me, it is a curse,” Ren answered quickly, staring back at me. I studied him for a moment longer, and his bright, round eyes softened.
“I just don’t get it.” I reached up and hooked my hand on the tree branch above me. “Why doesn’t everyone in Everly see what I see in you?” I cleared my throat. “What Jason and I have seen since we have been here.”
“Because I do not let them.” He shrugged.
I looked back at his eyes. I could see it in his face: something had changed for him, too. I didn’t want to yell at him and fight him. I was happy to have him here with us, helping us.
“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” I smiled.
He chuckled.
And then all at once it hit me. This wasn’t the beginning.
This was the end.
Tomorrow would be hard. It would be dangerous. I could lose him again. I could lose them all. We were marching into a temple where they were slaughtering people. Magic people. Anything could happen, and here I was strolling the woods like my aunt wasn’t in crazy amounts of danger.
My heart sank. What if I fail? My eyes welled with tears as I covered my nose and mouth with both hands.
“I have to go,” I blurted out.
Ren looked confused. “Madison, wh—”
“I―we should get back.” I started walking as a tear escaped my eye.
“Okay,” Ren said softly, clearly confused, and rightfully so.
“Let’s just get some sleep, okay?” I said over my shoulder, and walked back through the trees. Everyone was still there, right where we had left them, only Ara was now sitting on the boulder by the fire.
“Right, good idea,” Ren answered from behind me.
I felt a twinge of guilt for abruptly ending my walk with him, but what on earth could I possibly say to him now? I laid on the cloak facing Jason and closed my eyes. Burying my face in my arm, I quietly cried myself to sleep.
CHAPTER 30
“She cut her head off,” Ara said softly. My eyes fluttered open, the one still dark beneath the seashell eye patch.
Jason responded in a whisper, “Yes, but she deserved it. She was using her powers on Maddy’s mind.”
“Even so, perhaps she and her father have more in common than we thought,” Ara answered. “It is just all very surprising. I did not think Madison had that in her. I know Sinder deserved it.”
I didn’t move. They thought I was asleep.
“You don’t know Maddy, Ara. She’s a good person, but she has an edge to her.”
“I know she has a good heart, but the Temple of the Ember Isle corrupts. That is what worries me. Her father was once a just man. He loved her mother dearly, but he fell under the spell of the darkness that Strongblood power can bring. He and Vilda began to fight about how Magics should be governed or whether they should at all. Vilda’s sisters from the Rosewood Coven grew apprehensive when they heard of King Dax’s growing influence over Vilda, so they used magic to break into the Temple of the Ember Isle and take Madison and her mother. After they disappeared, the king’s hate for the Magics grew to the level that it is now,” Ara explained.
“So, nobody knows where Maddy’s mom is?” Jason asked.
“No, sadly,” Ara confirmed.
They were silent for a few moments, and I heard Ren’s breathing behind me. He was asleep and, judging by the snores, so was Gullway.
“She wants to know him, which is the saddest part.” Ara broke the silence. “I can see it in the way she speaks of him.”
“She’s wanted to find her parents her whole life,” Jason informed her. “She doesn’t talk about it much, but I know it hurts her.”
They were silent again. Jason coughed.
“Ara?”
“Yes?”
“What happens to King Dax after Maddy lifts the spell?”
“He must be killed. But Ren is too close to her now. I could not let him shoulder that burden. He cares for her and would not want to hurt her that way—that much is clear. This is why I decided to come along. I must kill King Dax. It is the only way this can end,” Ara said coolly.
I swallowed hard and looked over my shoulder slowly. Jason and Ara were facing away from me, toward the fire.
Ara is going to kill him?
I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t. And I knew what I had to do.
Careful not to make any noise, I sat up slowly and picked up my scabbard, the little canvas book, and the c
loak.
I looked down at Ren for a moment. “Thanks again,” I whispered.
I stayed low on the ground and made my way toward the Temple Road. I moved slowly and as quietly as possible to avoid being caught. The trees were thicker near the Temple Road, so I rolled on the ground to my left, ducked behind a bush, and listened. I stood to peer over the bush, but Ara and Jason were still deep in conversation. Putting my scabbard on, I slowly walked away from the group into the thick of the forest.
There was only one way I could do this: alone.
I made my way to the Temple Road by the light of the moon and continued on the path climbing up the slight hill. Looking behind me, to make sure I wasn’t followed, I started running. To my right, the moonlight glittered on the water. Everly truly was the most magical place I had ever seen.
I ran until I could no longer see the spot from which I had just emerged—or so I thought. The Temple Forest sort of looked like a copy of the same tree made over and over again. Then I slowed to a fast walk and flipped open the book. I held it against me to keep it steady as I read the words of the ritual that would break the spell on the courtyard.
Magic binds the Magics’ line;
To mid’ the temple doth confine.
A Strong, a royal, and Rosewood must bleed
Onto dagger or sword; ’tis the three that they need
To break the bind. Royal must they be
To plunge foil to soil so the Magics go free.
I studied the words again, repeating them over and over out loud.
“To plunge foil to soil so the Magics go free.”
The “foil to soil”—foil was another word for sword. Blade in the soil?
I heard rustling behind me. I slammed the book closed and tucked it into the top of my pants, pulling my shirt over it. Looking around, I didn’t see anything, but I pulled my sword just in case. I squinted into the dark woods to my left to see a pair of beady eyes looking at me. It was a rat, or something that looked pretty ratlike.
“Just you,” I muttered. I slid my sword back into its scabbard and decided to start jogging again, just to be on the safe side. I thought of the spell, running over the words again.
