My power strains against its leash, flooding my mind and clouding reason. Not ideal when danger breathes down my neck.
Too bad I need my full wits.
If I were alone, I would piss myself.
Fortunately for me, my backup is far more intimidating than the creepy surroundings, even if the uneasiness seems to beradiating out of the air. Like silence before a storm, but with a bitter aftertaste.
No birds. No rustling leaves. No life.
Nothing.
Only us, trespassers in a forest that tolerates but does not welcome.
Once in a while, I glimpse offerings of flowers, pinecones, fruit, crystals, even gems. At least the little folks are too simple to question the inherited urge to please their Lady.
Not only do we have few allies,Aidon hisses in my head,but you insult the one who does not know better than to serve you.
Gorok created Little Folks as a gift for Beriganders. They’re determined to please us, marked with stamps upon their tiny souls.
It backfired. They were too persistent, too eager, too easily offended. The Fourth High Queen decided to banished them into the woods.
Many Queens tried to recall them to the palace, but few could stomach their intensity for long.
Now, it is a tradition that on coronation day, each new Queen chooses only one Folk to serve her for life. Their gifts are ‘choose me, please’ messages.
Something hits the ground behind me with a solid thump, shaking me from my thoughts.
I spin.
Nulok lies on the moss, his dove-blue eyes wide open, staring at the canopy above. Too still. Too quiet.
“Hey, buddy?” Jestin’s voice cuts through the sickening quiet. Bane and Riven exchange looks, drawing their weapons. But Nulok stays quiet.
Jestin drops to his knees beside him, hands trembling as he checks for breath.
My heart stops and then restarts, painfully slow, and I search for the closest hand to steady myself, gripping it like I am holding on for dear life.
And I am, for Nulok’s. For the Fae who never let me feel unwelcome, who shared stories on paper, who first believed in me when the rest only saw my temper and doubted I belonged. He always saw past the layers of expectation. He saw me. The broken pup who needed to be accepted.
And he did just that. Accepted me.
“Come on, buddy,” Jestin whispers, shaking his shoulders, but his head sags.
Just like Trisha’s did.
I do not move. Only Aidon’s firm grip on my hand keeps me from losing my shit.
All the while the forest watches. The air holds its breath as we wait for his chest to rise. The seconds feel like an eternity.
It does not.
It will. Any minute now.
Bane mutters something I cannot catch.
Riven’s roar shatters the stillness. “Cover each other’s backs.”
His command snaps us back into motion.
