“If you put the blades away,” Sidrick coaxed, “I’ll explain.”
I didn’t move, somehow afraid that the onset of anxiety was the spark’s way of warning me about something.
“Ny,” Tarrin said, stepping up to my left. “It’s okay. Kaelun had to explain the same thing to me. The second you passed out, I lost it on them, pulling out my sword and demanding answers. What he’s telling you is the same thing I witnessed. It was so different than before. I promise.” Gingerly, Tarrin wrapped his gloved fingers around Eithan’s beautifully etched blade and guided it back down toward my hip. “Now the other one,” he whispered.
“You promise?” I said, my voice weak with all the emotions coursing through my veins.
“I promise,” he said again.
Slowly, I lowered the blade from Kaelun’s throat, and the indentation it left refilled with color within seconds. Putting a hand on his shoulder, Sidrick pulled his brother back, and the instinct to put himself between me and his sibling did not go unnoticed.
“My unara is shielding,” Sidrick explained. “And it’s one of the reasons Caius sent both of his commanders.” He looked at Tarrin, offering him a small nod of recognition, no doubt because my human friend had said the strategy didn’t add up. But if Sidrick was like his brother and had a top-secret unara, then it made sense.
“Essentially, my unara can cancel out Kaelun’s ability to sense emotions and magic. It also shields us from a High Lord from noticing when those of us without the spark cross their borders—especially with extra wards. Had I not been around when your power surged, Wymond would’ve been able to detect it. Doesn’t matter that we were in the human realm or that it was arcane magic. A disturbance like that would be felt along his border like the Clarian Sea lapping at her shores. That said, I want to be perfectly clear, Nyleeria, I cannot steal someone’s powers. What I can do is call your power back to the Mother through my shield that grounds through her. Because your body was surging with so much raw power, your elemental magic yielded almost instantly—which was something I did not expect. That sudden drop shocked your body, which is why you passed out. Though it happened, I used a substantial amount of magic, which forced me to valen back to the Summer Court and take a day to recuperate so that I could rejoin you with enough strength to shield us when we cross over into Autumn. As for the note from Caius,”—he took in a deep breath—"it gives Artton and me direct orders to send you back with Kaelun as soon as you get us through the border."
His brother and I opened our mouths to protest, but Sidrick put a hand up. “Which,” he said, stealing a glance at his friend and commander, “we’ve decided to disobey.”
Shock shivered through me.Sidrick? Artton? Disobeying a direct order?Re-sheathing my daggers, I gave Artton a questioning look.
He let out a long, deep sigh. “Technically, I have battlefield priority, which means Icanmake this decision, but I’m still going to get my ass fucken handed to me when we get back. The truth is, the likelihood of Sidrick and I accomplishing what Caius has asked us to do—over and above getting the twins out,” he added before I could jump in, “is already slim. Without you or Kaelun—and fine, yes, the human—we may as well all turn back now. So, if we’re all fucken done not trusting each other, can we just get this mission over withalready, because it hasn’t even begun and I’m already out of patience.”
I looked at Kaelun and Sidrick, guilt weighing heavy on me as I searched for the right words to say.
“I swear to the gods above and the hells below, Spark,” Artton snapped, “if you so much asthinkabout apologizing for protecting yourself, I’ll fucken lose it. You’re under strict orders to choose your safety over all else. The way I see it, if any of us are dumb enough to make you question it, then don’t just pull your blades—fucken use them. Got it?”
I blinked at him, not knowing what to say or how to feel. I’d never truly felt justified in protecting myself. More accurately, I’d nevernothad to defend it with everything I had. And this empty space where words of justification and apology were normally overflowing felt strange being vacant. Mouth partially open, I nodded, unable to speak.
“Great,” he said, clasping his hands together. “Now let’s get back on fae land. These burns are chafing against my leathers, and I’m over trudging through the snow.”
“I think it’s his patience that’s chafing,” Tarrin whispered to me with a wink.
“I heard that, human.”
“It’s not a secret,Commander.”
With that, we continued past the last bit of forest to the Autumn Court.
Chapter 42
Faith
I’d never get over how the fae borders worked. There we stood less than a pace away from the human/autumn border, and yet, to the naked eye, it looked as if my homeland continued to the horizons—the snow-capped Nettorian Mountains to the north, the rolling hills of the Sudinar region to the south, and directly ahead of us, the Sheylic Plains to the east. Only, I knew the second we stepped past the barrier that the heavy snow of the plains would be replaced with damp earth littered by discarded leaves and the undeniable sweet scent of autumn. I wondered if a human not touched by magic or the fates continued walking, if they would indeed find the grasslands to the east—as if the fae realm never existed—or if they’d find some reason to turn back.
“Nyleeria?” Sidrick asked, pulling me from my musings.
I shook the thought away. “Sorry,” I said, knowing they were waiting on me.
“It’s okay if you need a moment,” Tarrin said.
“No. I’m good, really,” I assured them. “Just got lost in my thoughts for a moment.” I didn’t miss the glance Artton and Kaelunshared, the latter obviously using his unara to read my emotions to confirm my truth. “Everyone good to go?” I asked.
I wouldn’t say they were nervous, but it was clear as they nodded that three commanders had slipped into their roles the second I’d asked the question. While I didn’t think Kaelun truly capable of looking like a soldier, he too had a more serious aura about him.
“All right.” I stepped up to the barrier which I could feel more than see. “Let’s do this.”
The instant I raised my hands Sidrick’s unara shielded us, the sensation similar to the sound barrier Amos had trapped me in, albeit less oppressive. I shivered from the memory, then steeling myself, I pressed my palms against Wymond’s border.
When I’d pushed through to reach Tarrin, I’d been panicked and hadn’t really paid any mind to how it felt—other than resistant. Even still, it was different this time. Almost… thicker, if a magical barrier could be such a thing. Closing my eyes, I breathed in slow, rhythmic breaths, trying to link to the essence of the magic whose sole purpose was to keep us out. Like I’d done with the Mother countless times, I connected with the primordial part of me that had created all things—the very essence of what stood between me and the fae realm.
