Magic.
The word itself didn’t frighten him, though it generated a wave of uncomfortable tingles. He’d known from a young age that his gifts were strange. People couldn’t convince men twice their size to turn aknife on themselves with words alone. It wasn’t normal to feel the emotions inside someone the same way one saw or smelled a flower.
David had known he was different, had researched the phenomenon without much success, but his suppositions never quite leapt into the magical.
His heart had only begun to slow from the mad dash into the mist, but it doubled its pace now.
Magic.
A world beyond the mist.
And these people, who feared him by sight alone.
Frost crept down his spine, raising the hairs on his neck. David perused his surroundings once again. He recognized this place. The unexplained images in his head gushed with the same subtle glitter, the dazzling light.
This forest was part of him—whether his past or future, he didn’t know, but he needed to find out.
David eyed the couple, both still gawking like he was a monster. He laced the silk with a thread of needle-sharp pressure. “Take me to someone who can explain.”
They obliged without argument.
CHAPTER 9
SEAN
Welcome to the show.
What did that mean?
“We really should get back,” Bel said, taking Sean’s hand.
“Aye.” Cathaire nodded. “Your father has been waiting long for you. Best not keep him in suspense.”
Sean’s gaze drifted back toward the Tree, looming high overhead. Apprehension curled around his muscles, tensing them. A brush of fingers ghosted over his knuckles, and he turned to find Anna, studying his face.
“Breathing exercises help anxiety,” she said.
He screwed his face into his charming smile. “Am I that obvious?”
She shook her head. “In through your nose, out through your mouth.”
He laughed once and agreed to try. After a swift goodbye, Isobel took his arm and headed back toward the monstrosity behind them.
Back toward his father.
Before long, they reached the Council Hall and entered theantechamber to his father’s quarters. The brownie rang a bell, then cracked the door open. “The heir of Sidera is here to see you, sir.”
“Of course. Let him in,” came Aunt Blaire’s familiar voice, and tension released in Sean’s neck. Aunt Blaire would never abandon him.
Except…she wasn’t his aunt. Not really. And she’d kept so many secrets.
Before Sean could decide how he felt about that, Isobel was dragging him into his father’s living space. With the balcony doors thrown wide open, sunshine filled every nook and cranny. Cole stood at the railing, looking over. Autumn, perched on a sofa nearby, stared at the back of his head.
Mesmerized by the morning sun glinting over the treetops, Sean merely stared.
Kywyn stood beside him. “Pretty, isn’t it?”
“Why is it glittering?”
