“Weird sounds, not the normal that you would expect at night. Some are whispering that a creature from Silventine Wood has wandered into the southern Wood of Stonewild, a creature that isn’t supposed to be able to leave the magic of that forest.”
I shivered, a full-body shiver that blasted through me all the way to my toes.
There were several Woods in our realm that were filled with magic and animals that other Woods didn’t possess. Silventine Wood in Stonewild Kingdom was one of them. The Shroud Forest on the Nolus continent was another. There were other forests too, and most fae knew to stay away from them. Ancient magic fed the soil in those Woods. Creatures roamed there that would happily eat fae for breakfast. Plants flourished in them that could easily choke the life from a fairy.Deadly and nefarious.It was the words that were often whispered when those forests were spoken of.
I shuddered anew. “Does anyone know for certain if a Silventine Wood creature has come down this way?”
Nivinity shook her head. “No, but it’s probably best if you stay in for the night. Just a few nights ago—” She cut her words off.
I took a step closer to her. “Just a few nights ago,what?”
She shook her head. “Nothing, but be smart and go to bed. No reason to press your luck out there.” She nodded toward the front entrance door.
“But what about the others that are still out?” I thought ofNym, Jessip, and Felix, probably still drinking and dancing, none the wiser that a potentially lethal creature was prowling around this small village. And there were still other fae in the salopas, fae who had to find their way home for the night.
Nivinity lifted her hooved hands. “It’s only a short walk across the street for the other travelers, and the locals have heard the rumors. They know to be careful. Besides, that male you know, the one with the sword... With any luck, he’ll catch it and do us all a favor.”
It struck me that she’d probably seen Kole race off into the night through the window. “Did you tell him about the creature? Is that why he went after it just now?”
She inclined her head. “In a way, yes. He was asking a lot of questions before he ventured to the salopas. He wanted to know if there had been any strange occurrences around here lately, and he pressed me for every detail about the rumors.”
My lips parted, and I realized that Kole hadn’t been lying. He trulywasworking, and that was why he was here, and perhaps, just perhaps, he hadn’t revealed the full reason for his presence because whatever he was trying to catch wasn’t meant to be known.
I’d guessed he’d been traveling through the Wood due to crimes that the Wishing Stone bred, but maybe that wasn’t it at all. Maybe that was just a cover. Maybe ominous things were going on in the Wood, and maybethatwas why he ended up in the same village as me.
But that didn’t explain why I first met him in Whiteolf.But just as fast, I reasoned that could be because he had to venture from Whiteolf to get here. For all I knew, that was where the Imperial Council headquarters were. After all, they were so secretive that nobody knew their exact location. But if he was ultimately hunting a creature from Silventine Wood, it certainly would explain why we’d kept bumping into one another. We’d been headed to the same location.
And now Kole was out there, potentially confronting that creaturealone.
Fingers once again twisting into knots, I peered out the window, praying that I’d see him, while trying to talk myself out of doing anything rash, but only snow greeted me.
“Has anyone been hurt by whatever’s out there?” Even to me, my voice sounded weird.
Nivinity released a breath. “Not here, thankfully, but we’ve heard that some of the fae whose villages are just south of here haven’t been as lucky. Several have disappeared, and whatever took them has been on the move. It’s going steadily north from what the rumors are saying, probably back to Silventine Wood.” She shivered. “I suppose it would make sense if it’s now around here. Truly, Prim, you should stay inside. It’s safest.”
I spun away from the window. “Fae have disappeared? As in,gone? Or taken? Or”—I gulped, barely able to get the word out—“eaten?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Truly. It’s just the rumors I’ve heard.”
Her statement slammed into me, and it suddenly occurred to me why that growl I’d just heard had sounded vaguely familiar. It was because Ihadheard it before, that other night in the Wood. That was the night I’d also sensed Kole’s presence nearby. Even then, he’d been hunting it, but he obviously hadn’t caught it.
But just now, it soundedsoclose.
My heart thumped a steady tune in my chest, throbbing faster with every breath I took, as I imagined Kole out there alone with thethingthat had taken fae, possibly eaten them.
I was opening the door before I knew what I was doing, acting on an instinct that I could neither understand nor ignore.
The last thing I heard was Nivinity calling a warning to me just as I bolted outside and raced down the street.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Snow flew around me, and every rational thought inside me told me that Kole would be furious if he knew what I was doing, but I couldn’tnotfollow in the direction the warrior had gone. If something happened to him... If something hurt him...
I had no explanation for the panic that squeezed my lungs, so I shoved those feelings aside. Besides, I was of sound mind enough to know that while I wasn’t as large and as skilled as Kole, I also wasn’t a liability. If needed, my magic could overpower anything in the realm, including a deadly creature from Silventine Wood that had wandered too far south and was slowly making its way back to its home.
Cold air rushed past me, my breath labored in my mad dash, but my magic shot out of me hot and bright. I unleashed it since nobody was about. It flowed out of me like a charged, invisible river.
A sense of release traveled through me, as though my magic were breathing a sigh of ecstasy for the first time in many seasons. Finally, I’d opened the door to its cage and allowed it to do what the gods had blessed me with.
