Stone walls rose around me, veined with threads of silver that caught the sunlight filtering through tall, arched windows. Tapestries in deep jewel tones hung between carved pillars that spiraled upward like elder trees.
A fire crackled in the hearth, its flames an impossible shade of blue-white that cast no ordinary shadows.
The bed I was in dominated the center of the chamber, its frame carved from what looked like petrified wood, all flowing curves and organic lines. Gossamer curtains in shades of twilight hung from the canopy, stirring without any breeze I could feel. A writing desk sat near the windows, its surface inlaid with mother-of-pearl constellations.
The scent of jasmine and magnolia tickled my nose. I turned, following the scent to find a vase of beautiful flowers on the table by the door.
Then I felt it.
Old magic in the air.
I breathed deeper, allowing it to flow into my body and clear my mind.
A rush of energy pulsed through me, and I realized with certainty that the spell had indeed worked.
I was back.
Back in Galaythia.
Back to the place I was going to make my home.
I swiveled around, placing my feet on the floor. They were bare of the shoes I’d been wearing.
My toes sunk into plush carpet as I stood.
I spotted my shoes next to the bed, so I slipped them on and moved across to the window.
As soon as the scenery outside greeted me, descriptions from my journal flowed back to my mind like a wave in the tide, and I knew exactly where I was.
This was Vyrenth Hollow, Wolfe’s estate. And this was my room.
Through the windows, the gardens stretched before me, lush and alive with colors that had no names in the mortal realm. Trees with bark that shimmered between blue and gold and copper swayed in the breeze, and flowers bloomed in impossible spirals of crimson and electric pink, their petals glowing from within.
In the distance, the forest rose like a wall and the crystalline sea shimmered beneath the mountain ridge, the sun touching the water's surface, painting it with fragments of color.
This was the Fae realm in all its beauty.
A soft smile tugged at the corners of my lips, and warmth spread through my heart.
I leaned forward and gripped at the window pane as I inhaled the air.
For a moment, I got lost in the sensation, and the darker parts of what brought me here drifted to the back of my mind.
But just for a moment.
The tingle in my wrist pulled me back. Then it spread to my heart, faint at first, like the ghost of a pulse that wasn't quite my own.
I pressed my palm against the window glass, watching my breath fog the surface as the sensation in my heart grew stronger, more insistent. It was magnetic, primal, the way iron shavings must feel when drawn to a lodestone.
It wasn’t the shackle. This was a distinct stirring flowing through my core. It reminded me of that pull I felt from Gryffyn Forest. It was stronger here. Perhaps because I was in the magical realm.
I stepped away from the window and moved toward the door.
I opened it and went out into the hallway.
There were marble floors out here. Paintings on the walls on either side and candles floating in chandeliers lining the way.
I took careful steps, each one making my very bones hum with the sensation to keep going. By the time I reached the end of the hallway, every nerve ending in my body was alive with the certainty that something was drawing me forward.
