This entire experience was surreal, and I was loving every minute of it.
Wonderingly, I ran a hand along Einar’s scales. A sheen of iridescence rippled across the ruby surfaces, and despite the frigid temperatures up here, they were warm to the touch. From what I understood, dragons had iron in their hides, which acted as a natural repellent against all fae magic. That, coupled with their ability to fly and breathe fire, was why they had made such a formidable enemy.
I’d expected to experience some kind of weakness or fatigue, since I was pressing my entire body against a massive amount of iron. But all I felt was the steady heat emanating from Einar’s body, and the moon-touched wind kissing my cheeks. It reminded me of long winter nights sitting by the wood stove with Mother, listening to her spin tales of the outside world while blizzards raged beyond our walls.
Mother.My chest ached at the thought of her, and my hand flew to the spot on my chest where the amulet had always rested. But the pads of my fingers met only flesh and fabric, and my stomach dropped as I remembered how Dune had so gleefully ripped the necklace from me.
I couldn’t decide how to feel about that. On the one hand, Dune’s betrayal and vitriol dug into my chest like a knife wound—it had only been a day or so since I’d thought myself in love with him, ready to travel to the ends of the kingdom so I could stay by his side. But on the other hand, if he’d never taken that chain from me, I would have never discovered my fire magic.
It’s little wonder Slaugh wants to take me back to the king,I mused as I reached out a hand, letting it drift through a tuft of cloud. Ice crystals clung to my fingers as they passed through, but they melted as soon as I placed my hand back against Einar’s scales. Fire and water magic were incompatible, and as far as I knew, no fae had ever been born with the ability to wield both. Greater Fae were sometimes born with the ability to wield two elements, but they were always complementary. Water and air, earth and air, earth and water, and once upon a time, when the fire fae had still lived, fire and air, and earth and fire.
I wasn’t sure when the last fire-wielding fae had died out, but it had been a very, very long time ago. Only a handful had survived the genocide when the dragons came to our world, and their bloodline had been diluted to extinction over the millennia since.
There must be a fire fae somewhere in my family tree. That was the only thing that explained my magic. Mother had obviously known about it—she hadn’t seemed surprised when I’d told her, and the ‘protection’ amulet she’d made me wear all my life had clearly kept my magic suppressed. That explained why I’d never been able to wield more than a thimbleful of my water magic—that gemstone had kept me from using all but the tiniest bit of my power.
I was just wondering if I might be able to use my water magic now, when Einar suddenly angled his body downward, preparing to descend. We dove through a thick layer of cloud cover that left me sputtering, and I blinked as Fenwood came into view. Smoke drifted lazily from the chimneys of the village huts and cabins, and a pang hit my chest as my gaze snagged on Mavlyn’s house. Had she made it back home? Did she know I was missing? She’d used her magic to help me flee, and if any of the soldiers noticed, they would have detained her. Guilt swamped me at the thought of her sitting in a dark cell somewhere, in chains, because of me. I needed to find her, too, and make sure she was okay.
I thought Einar would land right outside the village, but instead he went around it and headed for Fenwood Lake. The lake sat in the middle of Fenwood Forest, three miles from the village, but it offered enough privacy for us to land without being spotted. Feeling jittery, I leaped off Einar’s back, then took a minute to straighten my rumpled clothing while he shifted back into bipedal form.
“Seems like you survived,” he observed with an arched eyebrow, taking in my windswept hair and flushed skin. His golden eyes glittered in the darkness, his full lips curling up with just a hint of smugness. “You even look like you might have enjoyed yourself.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I raked my fingers through my hair and plaited it back into its braid, not quite looking him in the eye. I had enjoyed the experience very much, but that didn’t mean I needed to admit it to him. “Come on. The village is this way.”
We trekked through the forest, taking the well-worn path I’d used countless times. As a water fae, I’d always found comfort in the clear, still waters of the lake, and had often used it as both refuge and escape, diving deep beneath the surface and staying there for as long as I could. The kelp forests and the colorful fish that darted between them made me feel like I was in another world, and while I still needed to come up for air, I could stay down there for a solid thirty minutes, far longer than any earth fae could manage. It was the perfect way to avoid chores, or get away from the burning taunts of the other children when I’d had enough.
Anxiety pushed me to pick up the pace, and I lengthened my stride until we were practically running. If Einar wanted to complain, he showed no sign of it, matching my pace smoothly. The trees thinned, and my heart plummeted as my house came into view. A huge chunk of the roof had been torn off, and large, thorny vines as thick as my torso snaked out of the opening, draping over the sides of the house. A sense ofwrongnessemanated from them, and my steps faltered as my brain tried to catch up with what my body already knew.
“Adara, stop.” Einar snatched my arm, pulling me to a halt. “Those vines are infected with shadow magic. I can sense it, even from here.”
Horror curdled in my gut as I remembered the tendrils of darkness that clung to Slaugh’s shadow. Had he been shadow touched? Did the king know? Questions tumbled through my mind as I stood there, staring, but I knew I wouldn’t get any answers here.
I had to go inside.
Einar cursed as I wrenched my arm from his grasp, and darted through the back door, which was wide open. There was no sign of my mother, but every sign that there had been a struggle. Furniture was upended, dishes smashed, the floorboards ripped up where Mother had torn the ground open and shoved me inside to get me away. The thorny vines I’d seen from outside had burst from the ground in the space between our beds, and they pulsed darkly as they clung to the wall and ceiling. I was careful to avoid them as I moved through the room, checking for any bodies or other clues as to what had happened.
Tears sprang to my eyes as I made my way into the workroom to find every single vial and jar smashed, their precious contents bled out all over the dirt. The fresh herbs that hung from the ceiling had been torn down and trampled, the cauldron lying on its side and sporting a nasty dent.
“Why would they do this?” I cried as Einar stood silent behind me. “Why destroy not just our home, but my mother’s life work?”
“To send a message,” Einar said somberly. His gilded eyes were heavy with memories as he looked around the room—probably scenes of brutality against his own people. “To let you know what they’re capable of, and what happens if you defy them.”
“It’s senseless, this violence.” I shook my head, unable to wrap my mind around any of it.
“Who exactly was it that came here last night?” Einar asked. “And what did they say they wanted?”
I sighed. I’d given Einar only the barest details, and he hadn’t seemed inclined to ask more. “His name is General Slaugh,” I told him. “He saw me use fire magic at the tryouts, and came here looking for me.”
I gave Einar a summary of what had happened, telling him about my struggles with magic, my amulet, the fight with Slaugh, and Dune’s subsequent betrayal. “He mentioned something about a prophecy, too, and he seemed to know my mother by another name, Gelsyne,” I finished. “I wish I could remember more, but everything happened so fast.”
Einar’s jaw flexed. “I’ve clashed with General Slaugh on the battlefield before,” he said. “He’s a monster, absolutely ruthless—I’ve seen him step on the dying bodies of his own comrades to get to an enemy. I’m the one who gave him those burns, after he and ten of his soldiers brought down one of my cousins.”
“Wonderful,” I muttered. It was a good thing Slaugh wasn’t here right now—I had a feeling he would lose his mind if he came face to face with the dragon who’d disfigured him. I looked around the room once more and shook my head. “I don’t know why the villagers haven’t burned this place to the ground, now that it’s infected. I need to find Mavlyn, see if she made it home. Hopefully she’ll be able to tell me more.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Einar asked as he followed me out the front door. “It might be better to keep a low profile right now, especially if this Dune person is trying to get rid of you.”
“I don’t care about that right now.” Anger built inside me with each stride, until my fingertips crackled, and I felt as though the very air around me were about to catch fire. “Finding my mother is more important.”
I stalked into the village, my rage growing. The night air seemed to sizzle around me, and I gritted my teeth, doing my best to control myself. Setting the village on fire was the last thing I wanted to do.
