Orelia touched the velvety top of a spotted mushroom and it shrank, making her yank her hand back.
Evie giggled. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you.”
She watched the head of the mushroom inflate until it was back to its dome-like shape. “Wow. Do these glow by themselves?”
“Yup! And they aren’t the only things that glow. Come on!” Evie waved them forward, disappearing behind the curtain of roaring water.
Orelia stepped onto the wet stones behind the waterfall.
“Careful,” Vade said, grabbing her elbow. “Don’t need you slipping and cracking your head open.”
His steadying touch surprised her. “Is that genuine concern I’m hearing?”
“Don’t mistake my caring for anything other than making sure I keep my life.”
She sighed. “Lighten up, Vade.”
“I’m just saying—”
“I know what you’re saying. It’s all you’ve been saying since we left Minro. I’m not some fragile thing you have to constantly look out for. Yes, I’ve made a couple mistakes, but I was the one that saved you from the eagle, and the wolf, and I secured us a safe place to stay for the night. A little more trust might be nice.”
He dropped his hand and gestured into the awaiting cave. “Then by all means, go first, oh-so-capable witch.” A condescending quirk of his lips had her rolling her eyes.
Inside the cave, pink and orange spiky plants sat in small clumps on the ground, ebbing between the two colors like the plants were breathing.
The damp cave smelled of rain. Droplets echoed in the space as they fell from the ceiling and landed in small pools along the path. Orelia was careful not to brush against the speckled blue mushrooms growing halfway up the narrow walls as she walked deeper into the cave.
Evie appeared from around a bend, calling out with an impatient wave of her hand. “Come on!”
After a short trek through the winding cave, they came out on the other side, and Orelia gasped.
The largest weeping willow she’d ever seen sat in the middle of a clearing. Its trunk was wider than two homes, its height almost unfathomable. Delicate, leafy branches swayed gently in the breeze, almost touching the ground. Evie held back the branches like a curtain, encouraging them to enter.
As Orelia stepped inside, it was no longer the size of the tree, or the number of gangly limbs, it was thelifewithin the great willow that had her enamored.
Pixies buzzed around the Tree, some as tiny as her finger, others up to her shoulders. They landed on ledges protruding from the plethora of hand-carved windows that ran up the entire length of the trunk, the Tree glowing in shades of orange.
Orelia’s eyes were so wide she could hardly take it all in. “Have you ever seen anything like it?”
Even the fae wore a look of wonder, the spectacular light flickering in his eyes. “Never.”
A few pixies dangled from the branches while others chased each other through the leaves, laughing as they went. Evie ushered her forward, and Orelia reached out for a small trulight floating nearby, curious as to why it was oval-shaped.
She yanked her hand back when the orb moved. “Not a trulight . . .” She wasn’t sure what the word for it was.
“A firefly,” Evie said.
The almond-shaped insect spread its wings and flew away, the bottom half of its body glowing a pale yellow.
“Firefly,” Orelia parroted. “This is incredible, Evie.”
The pixies didn’t seem to mind two strangers in their home, paying them no heed. A few cast spells that created small balls of blue light. The lumomancers tossed the orbs into the air, motioning with their hands as the lights responded, nestling themselves in the willow. A trio of plump females perched atop a branch stared at Vade, giggling behind the cover of their hands.
“This way,” Evie called out.
“I’ve never seen anything so bright and beautiful,” Orelia said. “This is . . .magnificent.”
Vade whispered, “Things may look calm and inviting on the surface, but it’s a dark moon. Anything can happen.”
