Chapter 11
A Gate to Arcelia
“My parents are going to kill me,” Fen grumbled, as the trio trudged through Sigurvik toward the Wolf and Waife.
Ember absentmindedly kicked rocks into shallow puddles as rogue raindrops wet her cheeks.
He and Killian had received the same Helio the night before, and the three of them met at the terminal to walk into town together.
“She’s got courage, I’ll give her that.” Killian half laughed.
Ember furrowed her brow as she looked up at him. “Courage?” Sshe asked, as she shifted her bag to her other shoulder.
Killian nodded. “If I were Fae, I wouldn’t be showing myself anywhere in town right now, especially with young Vala. Odin knows what she’s been dealing with in all of this.”
Ember nodded silently. Honestly, she hadn’t thought about what Asteria, or any of the other Fae, might be dealing with.
She shook her head as she mentally berated herself; she had been so wrapped up in her new home that she hadn’t even thought about her friends.
If it wasn’t for Asteria, she never would’ve gotten through the last year. She owed the Fae a life debt.
“Not too late to turn back,” Fen mumbled under his breath, as they stood in front of the giant door that led into the pub.
Ember laughed as Killian cocked a brow and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Scared, Kitt?” He grinned.
Fen crossed his arms over his chest as he narrowed his eyes. “Of course not,” he huffed. “Not of Asteria. Mostly of my mum.”
Ember laughed as she rolled her eyes and shoved both doors open.
They wandered through the dimly lit pub toward a booth in the back where Asteria sat with her head down, looking like she was doing her best not to be seen.
Ember’s breath hitched in her chest—this was not the lighthearted Fae that had helped her the year before.
This woman was broken, like something inside of her had been trampled on and left to fester.
The light in her eyes was dim, even behind the weak smile she tried to give the trio.
“Asteria, what’s wrong?” Ember asked, as she slid into the booth. “What was so urgent that you needed to see us today?”
Asteria shook her head as she looked warily around the bar, silently threw her hand up in front of her, and mumbled something under her breath.
“No one must know I was here,” she said quietly.
“Technically speaking, I’m not supposed to be anywhere other than home and Hidden Moon, but with the Wardens that have been placed outside of my shop, I didn’t feel like it was safe to meet there. ”
“Wardens?” Ember asked, as she furrowed her brow. “Why are there still Wardens in front of your shop?”
Asteria shrugged as she leaned back. “They don’t trust any of us. We’re all being closely watched, especially those of us that work in town.”
Fen huffed as he impatiently tapped the top of the table. “That’s bloody stupid,” he replied, as he rolled his eyes. “What do they think you’re going to do? Snatch a baby while its mum is buying tea?”
“They’re not thinking,” Asteria sighed. “That’s the problem. They’re acting out of fear, so nothing they’re doing is rational.”
“What did you call us here for?” Killian asked warily. “None of us have any pull with the Chief of the Guard. I don’t think we’ll be much help on that front.”
Asteria shook her head as she waved her hand. “That’s not it. I can handle that on my own. But I’ve been sent a message from Lord Erevan, and he wants to see you.”
“Who?” Ember asked, as she furrowed her brow.
“He’s the Fae king of sorts,” Fen replied, as his eyes narrowed toward Asteria. “What does he want with us?”
“He didn’t tell me that,” Asteria replied, as she shook her head. “Just that he needs to see you, and that it’s an urgent matter. It cannot wait. It must be tonight.”
“Tonight?” Fen asked, as he stiffened. “Mum will never let me go out tonight, not without them.”
“Since when did we start asking permission?” Killian asked with a grin.
Fen narrowed his eyes toward his friend and crossed his arms tightly over his chest.
“How do we get there?” Ember asked, as she focused on Asteria. “We’ve never even been to the Fae territory.”
“Meet me at the Echopoint going toward Heksheim,” Asteria replied. “I’ll lead you to the gate and get you in. He was very adamant that it must be you three, no exceptions.”
Ember nodded as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Tonight then.”
Fen sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “Mum is going to kill me.”
_______
Rain pelted the side of Ember’s face as she sneaked down the long drive and toward the Echopoint on the other side of the front gate.
With a house as big as Lothbrok Manor, it had been easy enough to sneak out without being noticed and make her way to the barn to grab Maia.
Ember thought she should feel relieved that she didn’t have such a watchful eye on her, but something about it made her chest ache.
She missed the coziness of the Kitts’, something she didn’t quite feel here.
Not yet anyway.
Maia nuzzled her hand as she held her breath and grabbed the low hanging branch on the Echopoint, the familiar pull in her stomach before she dropped to the ground on the side of the road leading to Heksheim.
She brushed the dust off her jeans and quickly adjusted the strap of her bag while she looked down the road.
Just as she turned her head, she heard two thuds back-to-back and turned to see Fen and Killian in a tangled mess at the trunk of the tree.
Maia clicked her disapproval and let out a low growl.
“Honestly,” Ember breathed, as she rolled her eyes with a grin, “I don’t know how the pair of you ever get anything productive done.”
Killian brushed the dirt off his shirt as he cut his eyes toward Fen. “I told you to wait till five minutes after twelve so this,” he motioned toward the spot they had fallen, “wouldn’t happen.”
“I did wait,” Fen replied, as he shot him a dirty look. “You were just five minutes too late.”
“Maybe you can continue this argument later,” a voice echoed from behind them.
Ember whipped her head around to see Asteria standing just a few steps down the road. When had she gotten there? Ember hadn’t even heard anyone walk up, and she hadn’t used the Echopoint.
“We must hurry,” Asteria said, as she nodded toward the looming tree line. “We don’t have any time to waste.”
Ember nodded and tugged both bickering boys down the road, placing herself between them to try and keep the peace for the remainder of their walk. As they reached the ward surrounding the school, Ember sucked in a breath as they veered left, toward the entrance to the forest.
“Into the bloody forest we go again,” Fen grumbled, as he shoved both hands in the pocket of his hoodie. “I was hoping we were done with this place.”
“Sometimes the place we least want to go,” Asteria replied, “is the place we are most needed.”
Ember felt a chill run down her spine as she wrapped her arms around her waist.
“Cold, Starshine?” Killian whispered, a little too close for comfort.
Ember felt another chill run down her spine as she shook her head. “I’m fine, it’s just the rain,” she replied softly, as heat crept up her neck.
Killian nodded and pulled something out of his pocket, a small piece of cloth.
He mumbled something under his breath that Ember didn’t quite catch, and then the piece of cloth suddenly turned into a full-sized jacket with a hood.
He smirked as he draped it over Ember’s shoulders.
“Packed it just in case.” He shrugged, as if he was answering a question Ember hadn’t asked out loud.
“How did you do that,” she whispered, as she rubbed the fabric between her fingers, inspecting the zipper and the stitching. “We haven’t learned that spell.”
Killian shrugged again and shoved his hands in his pockets. “When you live with the family that I do, you get good at hiding things.”
Ember nodded as she averted her eyes. “Thank you,” she said under her breath.
“Don’t mention it, Starshine,” he said, as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Killian shifted into his wolf form, keeping close by Ember’s side as they walked in silence for another hour.
Just when Ember was starting to doubt her trust in the Fae, she stopped abruptly in front of them.
In the deafening silence of the forest around them, Ember almost jumped out of her skin when the faint sound of tiny bells erupted behind her.
Killian let out a low growl, the white fur on his neck standing straight up as he bared his teeth.
Maia didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she knew something the rest of them didn’t.
White flashed between the trees, and Ember felt her magic thrum wildly in her veins, preparing to defend herself and her friends from whatever lurked in the trees. Fen’s face had gone pale, his eyes wide, but Asteria just had a small smirk painted on her mouth.
Ember let out a breath and heard Killian do the same beside her, watching as Odette Quinn waltzed out of the tree line and onto the trail.
“You’ve got to be feckin’ kidding me,” Fen mumbled, as he loosed a breath.
“It’s such a lovely night for a stroll,” Odette said as she walked up to Ember, petting Maia’s snout and between her eyes.
Maia closed her eyes, clicking and cooing into her touch as her tail thumped against the dirt.
“Odette, what are you doing here?” Ember asked, eyes wide as she scanned the tree line beyond.
Odette shrugged nonchalantly as she patted Killian’s head.
The wolf let out a low growl as he huffed.
“Sometimes I come out here at night to think,” she replied. “Sometimes I just enjoy hearing the trees whisper. They have quite a lot to say if you know how to listen.”
“Right, of course,” Fen mumbled. “Let’s traipse into the forest to converse with the trees.”