“There are no tracks,” Tarrin said beside me, looking at the sodden ground we’d walked on, only to find it untouched. As needing to see it for himself, he kicked the leaves under his feet away until he hit earth, then took a step back. Nothing happened. He took another step. Still, nothing happened. But in the middle of his third step, the compressed leaves of his first footprint began to plump with moisture as if a magic hand rewove the scene.
“Okay,” I said. “That’s pretty cool.”
Sidrick chuckled. “I suppose it is.”
I frowned, coming to the only logical conclusion. “It’s me. There’s something aboutmethey’re able to track.”
“The way the hounds were focused ononlyyou, I’d have to agree,” Sidrick said, voice solemn.
“So, what do we do?” I asked, trying to stay calm.
“We follow Artton’s orders. But if we continue to run into issues, then we don’t stop at the rendezvous point—we head straight home and report back to Caius.”
“What about Artton and Kaelun… and the twins,” I added in whisper.
“Nyleeria, the second Thaddeus turned up, our mission was forfeit. I’m sorry, but retrieving the twins is no longer an option. As for the other two, we have to trust that Artton is Caius’ highest-ranking commander for a reason.”
Swallowing, I nodded as the weight of his truth threatened to crush me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he truly believed those words, or if they were just to soothe my worries. My eyes burned. Our summer companions may still have a chance to come home, but the second I took another step away from Cassy and Leighton, they’d be lost to me.
“Come on, Ny,” Tarrin said, his voice heartbreakingly gentle as if he could read my thoughts. “We need to keep moving.”
Looking over my shoulder one last time toward the distant palace I’d probably never see, I whispered, “I’m sorry.” Then I sent a prayer to the gods for their souls and to bring Artton and Kaelun home safely before I slid in step with Sidrick and Tarrin again as we continued to head south.
An hour or so later, the summer fae paused at a threshold where the forest gave way to a vast valley with very little cover. Not only that, but the valley floor was littered with layers upon layers of piled leaves—very dry, very dead leaves.
Shoulder to shoulder, we silently assessed the situation, but there was only one choice. Through.
Tarrin sighed from the other side of Sidrick. “Let’s be honest, if they were hunting us by scent, sound, and tracks, they would’ve never found us in the first place given your powers. And both of you would’ve been able to hear them if they had, no?”
Sidrick nodded, mouth pursed. “Doesn’t mean I want to walk across a wide-open field that not only exposes us, but is the equivalent of a marching band as we walk through it. Not to mention, my unara is good at covering our tracks, but it will cost me for it to reshape every leaf that crumbles to dust as our weight crushes them.”
“Can’t we just valen?” I asked.
“No, I can only valen myself when my unara is hiding our magic from Wymond. Otherwise, we would’ve all just valenned away when Thaddeus arrived. Unfortunately, we’d give our new location away, which wouldn’t do us any good. That, and I’d prefer not to entice theHigh Lord himself from joining the party. Artton, Kaelun, and I are some of the most powerful fae in existence, and we’re naturally stronger than autumn fae, but our powers pale to a High Lord.”
“What about Ny?” Tarrin asked. “Aren’t her powers stronger than any of yours?”
“In your experience, commander,” Sidrick with perfect calm, “in a duel between a green soldier who naturally has a once-in-a-generation strength versus a lower-ranking soldier who has been training for years, which one would you put coin on?”
“Experience trumps raw talent and strength—always,” Tarrin answered, throwing me an apologetic look.
“The fates just couldn’t have placed me in a fae body to begin with, hum? Gods forbid I’m actually able to use all this power inside me.”
“Admittedly,” Sidrick said, “it would’ve been a better choice.”
“Ultimately, it doesn’t matter,” Tarrin countered, looking toward the valley. “There’s nothing we can do about it, so let’s focus on the problem right in front of us.”
“Agreed,” Sidrick said.
They were right, of course, but that didn’t stop me from feeling frustrated, if not a little deflated. We’d come here for a purpose—to save the twins—and now I felt so stupid for even thinking it was possible. Sure, Tarrin was right to point out that the only reason Caius would agree was if there was something bigger at play, and I still didn’t know what mission the summer commanders were truly on, but like Sidrick had pointed out, everything had gone to shit the second Thaddeus showed up. And regardless of how hard I thought of it, I had no idea how he was tracking me—or us. All that mattered now was getting back to the Summer Court. Getting usallback to the Summer Court.
“Tarrin,” Sidrick said, “are we able to follow the aspens in either direction to avoid the exposure of this valley?”
He shook his head. “No. This is actually the mouth of a canyon that spreads across the court. If you want to ensure we stay covered,we could head west and exit into the human realm, then make our way back to summer from there, which is a viable option.”
My heart raced with objection, but Sidrick beat me to it. “If we don’t rendezvous with the other two, we’re trapping them here. Wymond strengthened his wards to prevent fae from coming and going. That’s why we needed Nyleeria. Without her, we wouldn’t have been able to get in—or out.”
A chill ran down my spine. “That’s why we haven’t heard from Endymion,” I said under my breath so only Sidrick could hear, finally understanding the ramifications. As if summoned by his name, my chest ached in that strange way it had since he’d left the Summer Court.
