I study the photograph, frantically committing every shadow and leaf to memory. Three seconds later, he’s pulling out a lighter and my eyes race over it one last time before he sets it aflame, burning the evidence.
“Shadow court.” My look must betray my confusion, because I have no fucking clue what he’s talking about. “Exactly,” he whispers conspiratorially. “Illiah was busy before his ‘vacation’.” I have ten thousand questions, and no time for a single one because he’s already shoving me back towards the ring. “Use a different one to cross back in case they know what town you’re shacked up in.”
The smoke has turned into an inferno as they burn their way in, since Rickon sealed off the entrance. At this point, there’s no way they’ll think he doesn’t have a hand in my escape.
“Why aren’t you coming with us?” I hesitantly ask.
I don’t just suddenly trust the asshole guard after years of abuse, but I don’t want to see him die if he’s trying to help me survive. I’m aware that I’m obviously missing some key information here, so if I can convince him to come with us for at least a little while, maybe I can get some answers.
“I was going to,” he admits quietly, so low I’m not sure he meant to say it aloud. But by the way Dorian’s hand tightens on my hip, I know I didn’t imagine the words. “Someone needs to give you a head start since you have the humans weighing you down,” he snaps, sounding more like himself. “Go!”
Before I can second guess myself or throw away the advantage, I grab Atlas’ hand, Dorian already spinning with me, and start running back towards the fairy ring. As soon as the four of us are inside, I start visualizing the place from the photo, screaming it in my head.
As I feel my body start to fade, I risk opening my eyes one last time. Rickon stands there, jaw tight and eyes hard, but full of fire. The smoke bellows around him, beginning to obscure his features, but there’s no missing those piercing green eyes radiating pain.
“Fly free, little Lark. Don’t come back.”
Chapter 2
Dorian
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Iscan for threats, finding none. No people, not so much as a sound. It’s dark, only lit by bioluminescent plant life, making everything glow in an eerie way. We step out of the ring, eyeing everything warily.
Shadow court.
“Okay, this makes sense,” I mutter, looking around with hesitant appreciation.
Despite how brutal and terrible the fae world is, it doesn’t make it any less beautiful. It’s every bit as magical and amazing as I fantasized about over the years, and despite the complications that came with it, I can’t help but feel lucky that I was able to see a place like this in person, to have confirmation that something so amazing really exists.
It created Cambria after all, so I refuse to believe this world is completely evil. Good and bad, everyone and everywhere has it; balance. So it makes sense that if there’s a shadow court, the one Cambria hails from is the light court. Two sides to the same coin.
“Nothing about this makes sense,” Atlas seethes, anxious and hostile.
I shake my head, walking forward a step, but not any further into the dark woods we arrived in yet. “It does, actually. The concept of dark fae isn’t anything new; dark to balance out the light. What I don’t understand is what he was talking about with Illiah being busy. I could argue a case that Cambria was kept sheltered and ignorant, restricted to the Queen’s territory or the human world, but that’s not what he was implying.”
