“Nature’s wonderful. But we both agreed on pooling our gold for this,” Kell said. He presented a round, polished crystal on his palm, disappeared it with a flourish—Saeldian and Jubilee both knew how to palm an object, but his flair was exquisite—and made it reappear before he tossed it into the air.
He exclaimed a phrase in Sylvan. But before Saeldian could feel jealous of him knowing the language they didn’t, the crystal landed in his hand, and the air around them changed.
“Shelter,” Kell said. “Cool in summer, warm in winter, rainproof—I can dim the dome to full darkness, shade it just a little, whatever you please.”
“Wizard!” Jubilee said. “This spell’s expensive.”
Lorzok shrugged. “It was worth it.”
“Thank—”
“Shh!” Kell said.
Saeldian huffed. “Are you really going to pick a fight with me over being polite?”
“No thanks in the Feywild,” Kell said. “Thanking someone puts you in their debt.”
He could have just let them owe him one, which was another reason to thank him, and that was annoying. “This is most convenient,” Saeldian said. “I am pleased.”
“Good kid,” Kell praised.
Ass.
“Time to sleep,” Jubilee said. “I wonder what dreams in the Feywild are like?”
“More fantastical,” Kell said, “and more vivid. Remember—if you don’t like it, it’s a dream. It’s only a dream.”
“Only a dream,” Jubilee said. “Well, let’s get out of this fancy garb and then see how it works.”
Finally, Kell wakesup in the Feywild, and it feels like morning is a friend inviting him to the day. The birds sing up a riot, the leaves whisper against one another in the breeze, a river or a brook or even a waterfall dashes over smooth stones near the camp but not in sight, and all of it singsHome, home, you are home.
Is it like he remembered? This is not Essanderon’s Rest, but it is the changing land of the truewild. Changeable, but supple as clay in the will of someone unafraid to shape it.
Home,the robins sing. Even the air feels right. He can stretch his limbs out from under his blanket and watch the glimpse of sky between the spread arms of tree branches. There’s nothing to do just yet. There’s no one who needs him just yet. And if he stays still and listens, he can stay in the peace of finally waking up where he belongs.
His family is out there. His father, Terandis Redsong, and hisbrother, Verandil Sureshot—it doesn’t matter that Terandis is a dragonfly-winged fairy and Verandil a satyr. They are his family. Hadthar, Shuahn, Yllvriel, and Quickwit, the Amberstars and the Teabellies are out there—
But where?
And with that thought, he was now completely awake.
Kell sat up and rolled up his sleeping pad and blankets. They needed breakfast. Maybe something more than dry-smoked silver mackerel and boiled porridge. He hadn’t started a dough—he’d had no idea he was going to be back in the wild today, so it wasn’t his fault. Porridge, then, no matter what Saeldian thought.
Lorzok’s bedroll was already tucked away atop his pack. Jubilee slept on her back with one leg out of her blankets. Timtim was a fluffy little ball with his small bunny snores, but Saeldian was really exhausted enough to sleep.
Saeldian didn’t usually need to sleep for long, unless they had pushed past their limits. They lay prone with one knee raised, the opposite hand stretched above their head and resting on the hilt of a sheathed dagger. He glanced at Jubilee again. The hilt of another dagger lay tucked under the bedroll, just where her hand would instinctually reach for it.
Did they think they were in danger? Nothing could get in the dome. Maybe they didn’t know that. He needed to get up, though, and as soon as he left the dome, it would vanish.
It didn’t smell like rain. It wouldn’t rain. And there was nothing dangerous here. They would be fine. Kell stepped velvet-soft over the border of the dome.
But the moment the spell vanished, Saeldian threw off their covers and had the dagger in their hand. They moved to nudge Jubilee, who rolled into a crouch, putting herself on Saeldian’s guard side.
Only thing to do: talk. Kell held up his hands and backed away slowly. “It’s Kell. You’re in the Feywild. It’s safe; I just took the dome down. I think that woke you.”
Saeldian sighed and relaxed. The knife went up their sleeve. “Why did you take it down?”
“It’s only active when I’m inside it,” Kell said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
