“I-I…suppose so…”
“We must go now.”
“Go,” I whispered, my body stiff as a statue with shock and confusion. “Yes…we must go.” Devil propelled me forward gently and we followed Oberon around the dais. As we passed the weeping willow, I realized that what I had imagined to be diamonds were actually water droplets, which fell down the curtain of thin branches and leaves, almost like a fountain, and hit the grassy forest floor, then were quickly reabsorbed.
“The willow…” I whispered to Devil, “it actually weeps…” The absurdity of it all made me laugh, even as my legs trembled and my stomach twisted into knots of fear that I was sure would make me sick. I stumbled over a tree root, but Devil caught my arms and released a dozen fireflies to light a path ahead of my feet. He spoke no words of comfort, however, as we followed Oberon into the pressing darkness of the Arden.
Chapter eighteen
Adored & Beloved
The longer we walked,the more exhausted I became, my poor human body slowly starting to give out. Just yesterday, I had woken up in Locksley Abbey, in my own bed. Today alone, I had hiked to the falls, then walked back to the Hollow with Will. On edge and anxious already, being on my feet at the revelry and downing several cups of faerie wine had not helped. But every time I stumbled, Devil was there with a steady hand at my back, and I couldn’t help replaying all the things he’d said to me during our dance.
The moth and her flame.
The reason for my very existence.
I was created foryou,May.
Of course, it made no sense, but I wasn’t about to tell him that with Oberon walking only a few paces ahead of us. Instead, I asked him, “How much longer?”
“We’re close now. I know you must be tired.” I just nodded and looked ahead again, but Devil kept speaking. “I promise, May, you’ll have your answers now.”
“And then what? I can pay my debt?”
There was a pause before he answered, “I hope so, but it might not be—”
Oberon stopped, turned to face us rather abruptly, and said, “We will need light.” On his command, Devil sent a dozen large orbs flying from his palms, which bobbed just above our heads. “I apologize for the drama and mystery, Marina. I understand how confusing this all must be.”
“Just…please just tell me why I’m here,” I murmured.
“You are here because the Arden…is dying,” Oberon sighed, “and I believe you might be the only person who can heal it.”
I glared at Devil and growled, “You said I’d have to heal apersonof great importance. Not an entire damn forest!”
“I only did as I was ordered,” Devil said in a flat voice, eyes on his master.
“You may leave us now, Puck,” said the faerie king.
“No!” It came out louder than intended, and I covered my mouth. “I-I am not…My Lord, my apologies, but I would not…”
“She doesn’t want to be alone with you,” Devil spat.
Oberon’s face fell, but he relented, “Of course, I understand. Marina, please come here. I must show you.”
I glanced back at Devil, who nodded, then slowly walked forward. The orbs of light gathered in front of us, hovering just over the ground and between tree trunks so I could see it.
The blackness.
The reason I had been brought to the Arden.
Like a dark, shimmering vein, it crept through the roots of the nearest tree like a spider web, then crawled up the trunk. Not a single leaf of any color clung to its barren branches, and it was missing the warm tenderness of its fellows, choked by the disease clearly eating it alive. I had grown hundreds, if not thousands, of plants in the Abbey gardens, and tended our apple orchard since I could walk, but I had never seen anything like this before, and it frightened me.
My question came out in a near whisper, “What is it?”
“We call it the Rot.” Oberon waved ahead and I saw how it spread across the ground, infecting dozens of other trees. The earth between them was barren, dry, cracked. Nothing grew. No birds sang, no water flowed, no life flourished. “It spreads slowly, almost imperceptibly, but the damage is done the moment it touches any living thing—eating away until there is nothing left.”
“What if it touches…a person?”
