The human world had its oddities, but Faerie was a weird fucking place.
The human world definitely has its oddities. So many and so strange that I began keeping a journal to remember them in years to come when I am closed out of that realm. Obviously, that was before I realized I’d have to die to set right the fissure I created. I find the human world so much more interesting than this place.
She shook her head, closing her eyes as another bolt struck. This one hit another of the stormbacks. The winds persisted, shoving at her from one way, then another.
How did your birth create the fissure? Just because you have—had, I guess—more power than most?
You still remember? he asked quietly.
Your being a Celestial? Yes. Hopefully I will forget this journey when we’re through, though. I’m concerned I’ll definitely be afraid of heights at the end of this horror show. And I haven’t even looked down!
His cheek brushed against hers.You’re a stranger and you’re not from my past, but it is nice to know your memories won’t be stolen. That I can tell you of my past, of the good times, and you will keep them—for now.He took her hand, turned itover, and placed a kiss on her palm. He curled her fingers to trap the sentiment inside.By the end, you will almost certainly hate me. Remember, I have no choice but to play my part in all of this. My cruelty, and my indifference, will be necessary, and it will be brutal. This is the light…and it will balance the incredible darkness I must become.
She pushed aside his warnings. His regrets. They meant nothing to her. She’d chosen this path; she’d weather what came. Literally, it seemed. She wasn’t afraid of his darkness and thought it was sweet that he kept trying to prepare her for his personality change.
She put her hands on his thighs to comfort him. She didn’t know what it must be like to essentially be a ghost. She was displaced from her family, but she knew they’d remember her. She knew they’d lament her passing. She didn’t know how she’d find comfort in all of this if she didn’t have them to think back on.
Continue with the court info, please,she murmured.
They didn’t get thereuntil after dark. Nervous adrenaline had started the second Tarian mentioned a descent into the kingdom. She hadn’t opened her eyes the whole time, and not because of the slow downward flight and surprisingly soft landing. It was because she was full of uncertainty about what was to come. She knew what everything looked like, thanks to Tarian’s shared images, and given his perceptions seemed dark and twisted and ominous, she knew seeing it through her human eyes would be downright nightmarish. It was best she didn’t create terror before there was a cause.
“Thank you, Stratow.” Tarian put his hand on his heart as he faced the large creature. “You’ve saved us much time and effort that we greatly needed.”
Rain pelted down from the stormy skies, obscuring their limited vision within the darkness. They all stood in a field at the back of what was presumably a large castle. Only a sliver of a moon lit the sky, and very little light came from strange globes glimmering in the distance. What seemed like vast and enormous steeples rose out of the murky darkness way above them.
Daisy stood off to the side on shaky legs.
I enjoyed our time together, little human,Stratow told her with mental words.It was a wonderful surprise. I’d like to know more of your kind, I think. So free with your words and thoughts and emotions. I look forward to seeing you again someday under much brighter circumstances. Watch yourself in there. You are our unlikely hero. In you, great things will manifest. I feel it in the winds.
What a lovely, positive outlook. She could get used to sentiments like that when faced with a shitstorm.
Her teeth started to chatter from the cold. “Th-thanks for the ride. Sorry about screaming so much when you were changing course.”
His deep, growling hum signaled his laughter.Thankyoufor the entertainment. Fae like Tarian need a reminder that they are not as great as they think they are. They are merely fae, nothing more.
Tarian’s brows pulled together.
The others said their goodbyes and thanks, and then they turned away, presumably to allow the stormbacks privacy as they organized their return to the skies.
The ground was flat and somewhat sandy, with nothing in the way to impede her feet. She followed behind the others, in a loose cluster with tense bodies and tight shoulders. They were not happy to be home.
This is not our home,Niall said, glancing back at her. She couldn’t make out his expression, but his mental voice was rough.This is our battlefield. Don’t forget that.
Of all of us, she’s the last person who will be able to,one of the others replied.
Not of all of us.Tarian’s voice was hard.
A creature to the right somewhere let out a long, mournful moan. Another answered with a whistle. They weren’t like any animals Daisy had heard. Something thumped repeatedly against wood away to the left, masked in darkness even though the light should’ve reached that far.
Do not look around,Darryn hissed, Niall’s brother with small braids lined with ribbons. He grabbed her arm and yanked her closer.Do not seek out what awaits in the darkness. Never venture into the shadows by yourself. Do you understand?
Y-yes,she said with a nervous flutter.
The shadows here are not merely the absence of light,Lennox said.Many of them are sentient. They are spies or assassins. Creatures or pitfalls into a trap.
Nothing here is as it seems,Niall intoned.Nothing. This place is twisted. The rancid magic has affected much of the court and the creatures on the grounds. Danger is everywhere. You have grown to trust Tarian, and us through him. We are theonlyones you can trust. Do you understand? Eat only that which you have prepared yourself or what we have given you. Starve before you rely on this court for food. Die of thirst before you take their water, for it will be a less torturous death.
Kill before you are killed,Gorlan said.Always.
