The memory of that bright purple spark, the way her energy lit up when she touched the runes...
I ran a hand through my hair as reality presented what I should have seen if I hadn’t been so damned fixated on what my monster was lusting after.
Violet isFae,which meant she was channeling some very old, very legendary powers.
After the Fae had lost one of their own—the Princess of Lir, to be exact—they’d basically closed themselves off from the rest of the realms, unable to trust anyone. Every now and then, a descendant of the Fae made their way to Blackthorn, but other than that, meeting one of the spellbinding creatures was next to impossible.
But with Violet’s lack of magical knowledge, and her inexperience wielding her power, traipsing around a magical graveyard was bound to have some consequences.
I needed to find her.
I needed to make sure she was safe...
My hands opened as I called the fire to my palm, my eyes settling on the faerie arch in front of me.
Ages ago, this land had been a bright kingdom, and it had prospered greatly, at least that was what the legends claimed.
But after they’d lost their princess—dissolved into thin air—they’d harshly shut off the connection they had to any other worlds.
All that remained now were dead gateways like the one in front of me.
Just because it’s dead doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous,I thought as the thunder roiled once more, the soft pitter-patter of the rain making its entrance pushing me toward the darkness of the forest.
I recalled a story my father once told me, of an unlikely bond between a faerie and a demon, and how because of that union, my kind were uniquely able to seek out faeries like the river undoubtedly finds the sea.
But it was just a story, right?
A fable parents tell their children to make them sleep better?
My energy sparked, igniting like a fire in the dead of night, and I wasn’t so sure what to believe anymore.
The only thing I knew for certain was that ever since Violet McCreanor showed up at Blackthorn Academy, my life hasn’t been the same.
So, I licked my lips and focused my flame, praying that I wasn’t going bat shit crazy, and that this... this would actually work.
“Show me the way to the Fae,” I called to my fire.
CHAPTER10
Violet
I was always toldto stay out of the woods by myself because of the Fae. It was ingrained in me that that was their purpose—to lure children into their pretty forest and steal them away from their parents and homes. Though on the few trips I’d taken with my parents, the forest didn’t look at all as menacing and evil as they made it out to be.
But this... the moment I walk through those arches, I know I’m not anywhere... normal. For starters, the trees practicallyglowedlike iridescent sequins, all shades of pink and purple, and the flora was just as bright. It was like I’d walked straight into a forest of...
Faeries.
My mind filled in the blank, as if somehow, even though I’d never seen a faerie or a forest of theirs, that was where I was.
My magic vibrated within me, like a sonar calling out to the magical air that surrounded me. On the other side of the arch, I’d felt that magnetic pull, felt as if everything around me was connected to me somehow, but it wasn’t anything like this. Here I feltpowerful.The ley lines beneath my feet lit up like neon pathways. I let out a laugh, partly because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, while at the same time marveling at the beauty of it all.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered to the air as a glowing hummingbird buzzed by my ear.
Without thinking, I turned to reach out my fingers to touch its elongated beak, and the strangest thing happened. My magic swirled around my fingertips, around the tiny creature, and then the bird just... burst into flames.
I recoiled instantly, panic and fear lacing through me.
Had I done that?
