She presses the face of the signet ring against my exposed knee. A prick of pain tunnels deep into my kneecap, like a needle piercing the bone to the back of my knee, anchoring into the tendons. Then a pulling sensation forward, a tug.
My leg gives out and I fall on that knee, gasping. Lila has moved back, now face-to-face with me. Sweat beads across my brow as I meet her eye.
“Just a prick?” I seethe.
She grimaces. “At least there’s little blood?”
She presses the signet ring against the other knee, and once again, I feel a burrowing, a latching on, and a yanking forward. Unlike the Illusion oath, I keep my consciousness. Still, I pant on my knees.
Lila stands.
“What the planes are you doing?” I wheeze, though I know she can’t reply. Instead, she just holds out the ring for me to see. In the center of the oval are now two vertical, parallel lines, engraved deep into the gold.
“That’s it?”
“No, I’m sorry.” Lila circles behind me. “Please stay as you are.”
I force myself to breathe, and still I’m unprepared when she touches the ring to my bare shoulder blade. The pricking sensation fastens to my bone. This time, however, it doesn’t exit. It remains attached to my back, weighing me down. When she brushes against the other shoulder blade, the pain evens.
Lila steps away and helps me to my feet.
“Congratulations,” she says. “Welcome to the House of Reign.”
In her other palm rests the gold ring. On either side of the parallel lines, the surface is engraved with wings, intricately webbed and dotted with two circles each, resembling eyes.
“Moth wings!” Lila says.
“What?” I squint down at the ring.
“When each faerie takes the oath, wings appear on the ring. The wings are your essence reflected as an animal.”
I make a face. “But a moth?”
“They’re nocturnal, unlike butterflies. Fitting, don’t you think?”
As much as I may begrudge it, the moth does feel right for the flitting, anxious genius that sparks in the back of my mind.
“What animal is yours?” I ask.
She pulls another ring from her pocket and slips it onto her slender finger. The engraving catches the light, a thin and feathered wing. “Hummingbird.”
“That suits you.” I smile, and she returns it.
“Now, we’re going to be using these rings to boost our own magic and use the plane to transmit ourselves elsewhere.”
“Are you speaking of lacing? Faeries can’t lace.”
“With these, we can.” She wiggles her finger. “They’re enchanted.”
“But—how?”
“Normally, I’d guide you through the process, but for the first time, I think it would be easier to take you myself. May I?” Lila touches my forearm after I give a nod. She beams. “Hold on!”
Reign magic tumbles up my arms, through my torso and legs. Then I am being flattened, stretched, my lungs screaming, joints popping. The darkness becomes weightless, intangible, howling.
Wind brushes through my hair, warmth on my face. Lila giggles.
The fear drops away to something else. It’s like flying.
