As I rounded the top of the small hill to the training facility, I felt someone watching me—and not for the first time since I’d left theballroom. I hadn’t looked to see who it was, but given their ability to attune to theleave me the fuck aloneenergy I was exuding, it would have been a safe bet that Kaelun was back on guard duty.
Emboldened by the foreboding thought that plummeting to my death because a magical bridge failed me wouldn’t even be the worst thing to happen to me this week, I stepped out onto it, instantly feeling its solid presence beneath my boots. Though, I wasn’t brazen enough to look down.
Not giving a damn about tradition, I trod down the steps in my boots, their soles engulfed by the silty sand as I stepped into the mundane training space that was anything but. Remembering what Kaelun had said, I closed my eyes and pictured home in as much detail as I could muster.
When I opened my eyes, I was home.
The crisp air of the Nettorian Mountains slipped in through my nostrils, tickling the back of my throat as I breathed it in like the lifeline it was. Until then I hadn’t realized just how muggy the warm air of the Summer Court was. Sure, technically it was as close to sea level as one could get, making it richer in oxygen than back home, but my body would never crave it over the rich scents of pine, fertile ground, and fresh dew.
Thiswas home. At least in the sense that my soul craved it more than any other place.
As I opened my eyes, a half-sob escaped me. Intellectually I knew the cabin that stood before me was nothing but ash in reality, but my heart didn’t care as it swelled with more emotions than I could possibly name. I wasn’t brave enough to enter—no, I’d learned just how fickle magic can be with memories the hard way—but it soothed a part of me to see it again.
As I walked past it toward the forest, I ran my hand along the weathered exterior, my fingers dipping and lifting a fraction from the tiny imperfections in the smooth logs that my great-grandfather had picked by hand at the mill. Generations had loved this log cabin. An escape from Leighmullan and the responsibilities it held. A place tobe one with nature, hunt, and drink more than their fair share. I chose to hold onto that memory. The one before my family lost their fortune and we were forced to call it home, and I knew in that moment that this would be the last time I’d ever see it again.
The stiffness had worked its way out of my body, but my breath was more labored than it’d ever been climbing to our lake. I supposed that was expected given what my body had just been through, fae or not. Strangely, I found the burning sensation comforting as it brought back memories of training with Eithan until our lungs gave out. A soft smile caressed my lips as Eithan’s breathless profile flashed through my mind, and I held onto that feeling like my life depended on it as I climbed the rest of the way.
I spent what must have been hours by the lake just staring out into it, thinking, being, wishing, hoping, but most importantly, processing.
The truth was, I was afraid to face the others. Not because of anything they’d done, but because of how intimately they knew me now, only I wasn’t there to share the truths myself, react to their emotions, and soften some things while keeping others to myself. The experience of trust being built through vulnerability was not only bypassed in its entirety, but it was completely one-sided—and that is just not how trust is built.
So, how did we move forward from here? From whatever was built between us in a lopsided silo. Did it matter? A part of me believed it mattered very much, like trust had been shattered, not built. The other side felt a strange relief, as if all the cards were now on the table. In a way, the oath extended to nearly every part of my life—which included those I loved.
These thoughts chased their own tails the same as the sun being chased below the horizon by Kaleatia, my favorite of Lumnara’s moons.
The next morning when I opened my eyes, the lake was gone, replaced by endless sky. As I sat up, my elbows dug into the silken sand through the blanket I’d slept on. I was back in the magical pit. Apparently, one had to maintain consciousness in order for the illusion to exist.
Finally hungry, I reached back for my rucksack that doubled as a pillow and froze. My eyes landed on Artton’s large frame taking up a great portion of the steps as he sat nonchalantly, elbows on splayed knees, hands comfortably suspended in the air.
“Sleep well?” he asked, a hint of amusement slipping into his tone.
Reaching my hands above my head, I indulged in a long stretch, shifting my head to one side, then the other. “Well enough,” I offered, before pulling the strings of my bag loose and freeing the sandwich. “Is there something I can help you with?” I asked, brow raised, before taking a large bite.
“Actually, the opposite.”
Brows furrowing, I swallowed before saying, “As in,you’rehere to helpme?”
He gave me a roguish grin, and I wasn’t sure I’d like where this was going. I tracked his right hand as he slowly reached behind himself to grab something, then paused as if for dramatic effect.
One second passed by.
Then another.
Just as I was about to protest, his hand came back into view, and I jumped to my feet, eyes wide.
“I thought it was about time I taught you how to use these,” he said, wiggling his fingers as if to entice me, the movement making the golden runes of the magical blades dance in the morning sun.
“Really? Now?”
He extended his arm out in invitation. “Really. Now.”
I didn’t have to be told twice. Sandwich forgotten, I stepped forward and slid the buttery smooth bandolier off his fingers and overmy head in one motion.
“Now what?” I asked.
“Now, you grab your belongings, place them on the landing, and remove your shoes.”
I’d never moved so fast to obey a directive a day in my life. Not waiting for him to fully vacate the steps, Artton chuckled as I slid past him and unlaced my shoes in a blink. When I looked back up, the pit had transformed into a valley one would find in the Flatlands, with a small creek, a back drop of soft rolling hills, cooler air, fluffy clouds, and wild grasses swaying in the light breeze.
