As Silas pulled me close, I let out a long, slow breath. I was trembling in his arms, so relieved to hear his heart beating in his chest, to feel the warmth of his human form. After the illusion on the mountain today, I’d been feeling uneasy, as if I’d lost a piece of Silas.
But now in his arms, I knew I’d never lost him at all. He’d been right here waiting for me the whole time. Believing in me, trusting me to do what I needed to do on my own, and to come to him when I needed help.
I was sure he could tell I was shaken as I pulled away. I gave him a kiss, then looked up at him. “Can we talk about spirits?”
“Sure?”
“What do you know about them?” At this, Silas looked confused. “I’ve been speaking a lot with Liza. She has a way of communicating with her mother. Her mother is dead.”
“Ah,” Silas said. “I see.”
“She told me tonight that there are more spirits on this island than just her mother. Liza is sensing the spirits are agitated, like they need something, or maybe trouble is coming. She’s not sure, just sure that they need help. They’re trying to communicate with anyone who can listen.”
“I see. Are you one of those people?”
“I saw faces tonight. In the river. I think they were spirits,” I said. “But they disappeared before I could get a good look, let alone communicate.”
Silas just nodded. Not a hint that suggested he thought I might be crazy, which made me love him even more.
“After your visit to The Glade and your second trial being completed, I’m not surprised you’re unlocking more of a connection to the spirit realm,” he said. “It might seem fleeting now, glimpses of it here and there. Not necessarily something you can access on command?”
“Exactly.”
“As for your experience at the river, you might want to look through your Fae manuscripts,” Silas said. “There’s a ceremony I’ve heard of before called the Procession of Spirits. See if you can find it.”
“Do you know what it does?”
“I can’t give you any more information. I’m not sure it’s anything more than a myth. But if there is anything documented about it at all, it would be in your books. It’s something to do with the spirits.”
I hurried to my room and heaved a stack of books into my arms. My heart was still pounding, adrenaline buzzing after seeing the faces in the water. It was an ungodly, eerie sensation to see silvery, human faces staring up at me as if I could help.
I began flipping through the pages frantically. But the more desperate I got, the harder it was to understand anything. I searched through my books at the kitchen table, right then and there, for upwards of an hour.
At some point, Millie plunked a tea in front of me.
“Take a sniff,” she said with a wink. “Maybe a deep breath.”
I looked up, agitated at the interruption, but then I saw her kind face smiling down at me, freckles winking on her cheeks, and I nodded. As I inhaled, I caught deep whiffs of lavender and mint. The steam had a calming effect on me, like I was inhaling the smoke from a potent potion.
Calm, I realized.
I needed to calm down. Grounding had always helped me more than anything else—even Millie could recognize that. I’d been so frantic and frenzied in my search, I’d probably missed important information that was right in front of me.
I closed the book I was reading and took a sip. I let my eyes shut as I sat in silence for the duration it took to finish my tea. I could feel Silas and Millie exchange a look. I could hear their footsteps as they backed out of the kitchen, leaving me alone.
When I’d finished my tea, I opened my eyes and reached for the books again. I felt calm and centered, probably in big part due to Millie’s homemade magic. I flipped open the cover of the first book, trying to focus on how I’d felt in The Glade—that sensation that I wasn’t alone. That I wasn’t counting on my powers alone, but on the powers of my ancestors, too. I could use their senses; I’d done it before. I just needed to figure out how.
I remembered the glow of the statues’ eyes. The drip of the water. The whistle of air. That bodiless voice that had assured me I wasn’t alone, that I had centuries of sisters willing to help me, rooting for me even.
I stood then, bringing the books out to the garden. I always felt more connected to my powers outside in the natural world. I made myself a space in the grass, nestled in among the delphiniums, and resumed my search through my Fae manuscripts.
This time, it took all of five minutes before I’d found the right page. As the moonlight illuminated it, and the breeze ruffled the ancient pages, the text became legible.
“The Procession of Spirits,” I whispered. “Silas, I found it!”
I scanned the page as Silas crunched through the grass to my side. On the page in front of me, I saw a castle, not unlike the one that stood in the center of our island now. Water rested before it in a calm pool, and inside that pool were glimmering faces, just like I’d seen tonight.
In the image, a Fae Queen stood on the castle balcony above. She wore a crown tucked into her long, flowing hair. A simple gown fell from her shoulders to the marble floor.
