He took off his pack and reached for the one she carried. He set them both on the ground before stepping back and putting out his hand to make her do the same. The air filled with a musty, earthy scent, and the packs vanished.
“Where’d they go?” she said, aghast.
“Somewhere safe…where you won’t try to drop them and let the Celestials claim them.”
She watched him pass. “Shit. I should’ve dropped my pack out there.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. I had the main object of interest in my pack. Now we need not worry about it. Come along.”
“Why make us carry them? You could’ve sent themsomewhere safebefore we were sprinting for our lives, weighed down by them.”
“I can use my magic in the human realm, and I can use it in the fae realm, but I cannot use it across both at the same time. I cannot send items from the human realm into Faerie, and vice versa. No, I do not know why. I don’t even know if that was by the gods’ design or a happy accident for them.”
“But how…” She felt dizzy. “How do you do it? How do you make stuff disappear? There are only a couple types of magic similar in the human world, and those basically go through the underworld. Someone has to be carrying the objects.”
“Sounds complicated.” He didn’t elaborate. Clearly he wouldn’t be explaining the intricacies of fae magic.
She followed him deeper into the cavern, shoving the magical curiosity aside. It wasn’t the most important thing right now.
“Why are there suddenly so many Celestials out there?” she asked.
“They sensed the magic. Mine usually draws one or two, only. It seems the crystal chalice magic called them to you in greater numbers. I hadn’t known it would. Now I do. You’ll be quite an alluring little pet within the court. The ripples of curiosity, jealousy, and desire will play into my plans nicely. The increased danger, though…” His words trailed off. “That’ll take some additional planning. We don’t want you killed soon after arriving, do we? Now, let’s get ready for the next phase of the fringe.”
Silence drifted in between them, and their footsteps echoed on the bare, rough-hewn walls. Strange bioluminescent fungi and small-leafed plants grew along the top, illuminating the jutting rock or pockets along the ceiling. Water dripped somewhere, splatting onto the hard-packed dirt floor. The cool, damp air carried with it a scent like ancient earthand moss.
Do not speak,he told her, his mind touch like a whisper.The heart of the fringe is a treacherous place. You must always assume danger lurks around?—
A deep and mournful sound vibrated the ground under their feet. Tarian stopped with a hand in the air, looking up at the ceiling first, then at the walls. The sound continued, growing louder until dust rained down from the ceiling.
He turned in a rush. He sprinted back the way they’d come, barreling into her. His arm looped around her back, he lifted her and held her tightly. She didn’t resist, holding him around the shoulders, her feet dangling.
Everything shook, and it sounded like a crank, metal grinding against metal, reverberating against the walls and groaning through their feet. They stopped at the mouth of the cavern, and he put her down. The Celestials still stood guard. Tarian didn’t cross the bubble sheen. He pushed her against the wall right beside it, flattening himself over her as the vines and plants crawled back up the wall away from him.
What’s happening?she thought, her face crushed against his hard chest and her back pressed against the wall.
The ground bucked. Rock pushed up under their feet. The wall shoved at her, but he held firm, keeping her pinned. She could feel his heart thundering. Two metallicclunkssounded deep within the ground, oneand then the other, before the sound died away. The quaking of the cavern subsided.
Tarian’s breath came loud and quickly. More dirt rained down from the ceiling.
That—he pulled back, looking deeper into the cavern—was the Celestials cheating.
What does that mean?
He stepped away and took her hand, pulling her with him. She didn’t have the time or inclination to allow the delicious feelings to materialize from the warmth and pressure of his hand holding hers.Sorry, I might have to be like one of your action stars. I need to keep you close without sparing you my attention.
I know how to walk closely to someone. It’s not likely I’m going to run now.
Run? Not likely, no. Something stepping out of the shadows to grab you? Very likely.
That shut her up. She held his hand tighter.
Celestials have the power to change the heart of the fringe,he said, each footfall slow, like he was hesitant to make too much noise. She followed his lead.They haven’t done it in…decades. More.
And they just did it now?
Sounded like it, yes. We’ll know in a moment.
Theyreallydidn’t want her and Tarian making it into Faerie. In feeling the power of the crystal chalice, they must’ve known its potential to help fae over the fringe.
