She sighed. “I do, but they’ve still pledged loyalty to the King. It’s one thing for a guard to sneak you out to a tavern, but to a place like this?”
“You sneak out to taverns?” I teased. “With guards?”
“I never said that.” Her cheeks glowed a rosy red.
“I can’t believe you.” I brought a hand to my face to stifle a laugh. “Gentle Lady Raena sneaking out to taverns with the palace guards. It’s scandalous… You must bring me along next time.”
We both erupted into giggles, though our laughter promptly faded the moment we realised we’d reached the willow tree.
“What now?” Raena asked, drawing her cloak closer to her chest.
“From what I’ve read, there should be an opening somewhere in the tree trunk.” I reached forward to part some of the willow leaves, then peered towards the centre. “This way.”
She followed closely behind as I pushed through the leaves. It was so dark under the willow canopy, but I kept forcing my way through, treading carefully to avoid the uneven ground. Eventually, my hand hit something hard and bark-like, and I felt a strange sensation pulse through me.This must be it.I continued padding my hand against the tree trunk, trying to feel for a door or some kind of opening.
“Have you found the way in?” Raena whispered.
“Not yet,” I called back.
But then I felt it.
Beneath my hand, the bark seemed to shift and change untileventually it parted, the hole growing wider and wider. A faint violet light seeped out of the hole, until I could see my hands again and clearly make out the features on Raena’s concerned face.
“Blessed Oceans…” she breathed as the hole morphed into a small archway. Just beyond the arch, a long hallway stretched out in front of us. Violet orbs lined its packed dirt walls as the corridor seemed to slope directly into the ground, and at the end of the hall, a small spiral staircase descended into the unknown.
“I think I found the entrance,” I said, my heart thrumming in my chest. Now the doorway was wide open, I could feel something strange mixed in with the air that was pouring out. It smelled like sugar and fresh spring blossoms, while the feeling of it against my skin sent a warmth rushing down my spine.
Magic, perhaps?I didn’t know. Whatever it was, it made my fingers tingle.
“After you,” Raena offered quietly, gesturing towards the hallway. Her hands were shaking, but when I went to comfort her, I realised mine were too.
“Let’s do it at the same time,” I suggested, intertwining my trembling fingers with hers. She gulped, her gaze fixed on the passageway before us. The violet light spilling from it made her brown eyes shimmer like gemstones.
“For Corlixir,” I breathed, as we stepped together under the willow archway and into the kingdom of the fae.
CHAPTER 13
The air changed again as soon as we passed under the archway, wrapping around us like a silk veil. I’d never felt anything like it before. Like a soft caress, it tickled every part of my body. Even the dirt walls seemed to hum with life as we made our way down the hallway lit by violet orbs.
“Can you smell that?” I asked Raena in a hushed voice. The scent of spring blossoms was thick in the air around us. I could practically taste the power radiating off this place.
“I don’t smell anything,” she replied, her voice equally quiet, “but this place certainly scares me.”
We carried on until we reached the archway before the spiral staircase. Each step seemed to be moulded from the roots of the willow, but it was too narrow to walk down together so Raenacourageouslylet me lead the way. As we descended, I could hear a faint voice talking beneath us, and then another that replied to the first voice with a deep, rumbling chuckle.
Just as we reached the final steps and the doorway to lead us out of this tower, the faint voices quietened. Then, I heard a sudden hiss of panic and the clattering of swords.
“Who goes there?” a male voice squeaked.
Carefully, we stepped out under the archway, and I raised my empty palms as a sign of innocence. Before us, was another much grander corridor. These dirt walls were lined with dark wooden beams, and violet orbs suspended from golden chains lit the hallway. At the end of the corridor were two men that appeared to be guarding a large round door.
At least I thought they were men.
The longer I looked, the more I realised just how inhuman they were. Their cheekbones were sharp and the tips of their ears extended into long points. Even their eyes seemed strange, as their irises glowed with an unnatural purple hue. And while they didn’t seem much taller than each of us, their limbs were longer and more fluid. It didn’t take me long to realise why they looked so… inhuman. It’s because they weren’t human at all. These were faeries. Angry faeries whose faces began to drain of colour as they pointed their swords towards us.
“Humans!” they growled.
“We come in peace,” I shouted, keeping my arms raised. Raena quickly mirrored my action, stepping towards me and lifting her palms too. “My name is Princess Naria Alderbrook of Corlixir, and my companion is Lady Raena of Ryntook.” I swallowed down the trembling in my voice. “We have come to request an audience with the Faery King and Queen.”
