Chapter 19
Aurora
Camryn and I exchange looks and her hand twitches toward the door.
“I know how it sounds. But I need you to sit,” Mei says.
Camryn hesitates before grabbing my hand and pulling me to the table, where Mei waits calmly. I focus on the woman’s eyes, which are sharp and clear as she watches us move with hesitation.
“You better start talking or, Lord help me, I’ve had enough of this fairy bullshit,” Camryn spits as we settle at the table.
Mei’s eyes scan Camryn’s face and then mine.
“Caelum sent word to me two days ago that he is bringing Arc and two travelers here. He didn’t say why, but he wanted to warn me about Arc’s visit.
But I’ve known you were coming since I arrived in Silverveil more than a century ago.
” She pauses, catching sight of Camryn’s face twisted with questions.
Camryn puts up her palm. “Wait, there’s a lot to unpack here. First, why is Caelum warning you about Arc coming here?”
Mei’s lips curve up slightly. “Because I’m perhaps Caelum’s biggest secret.”
Her eyes flicker to me and I think of the cheery, bright-eyed warrior that is always quick with a flirtatious smile. “What do you mean?” I ask.
She sighs. “This should really be his story to tell, but seeing as how I can’t really tell mine without it, I will do my best.” Her eyes flash to the table before returning to mine.
“I didn’t arrive in Silverveil as a child.
I was forty-two years old when I was sucked into this world from my home near Xi’an.
I look very much the same as I did then. ”
I gasp and cover my mouth.
She continues. “I had been walking near the woods by my home when a sound drew me into the forest. I couldn’t turn away.
It was a faint buzzing sound, like electricity pulsing through the air.
The further into the wood I walked, the louder it became.
I nearly had to cover my ears when I stepped into a little clearing, a small ring of flowers in the center.
The air in the meadow rippled and when I stepped into the ring, a blinding light flashed before I was pulled into a void, weightless. ”
My stomach churns at the memory of my journey to Silverveil. Falling down the ravine had been painful, but the thought of churning through a weightless void makes bile rise in my throat.
“The next thing I knew, I was laying in the same field. Only it was different. I could feel it. I did my best to retrace my steps, looking for my way home. But when I came face to face with this big man with bright-streaked hair and large red wings, I knew I was somewhere else.”
“Caelum,” I whisper.
Mei nods. “I was trembling so badly, terrified at the sight of him. He stared back at me wide eyed, as if he was just as surprised to see me as I was him. When he spoke to me, it was calm and sincere, and I instantly felt at ease with him. I knew he didn’t wish to harm me.
He told me to keep quiet and he would take me somewhere safe.
He asked if he could pick me up to fly me away.
And when he scooped me into his arms, he was warm.
I tucked myself into his chest, keeping my eyes locked on this statuesque male who somehow felt like home. ”
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Mei as she spoke of her arrival to Silverveil and her interaction with Caelum.
“He brought me here. The village was small, smaller than it is now. But the first thing I noticed was that I was the only woman. It was mostly men and a few children. When I asked Caelum about it, he scowled and looked at me like he’d witnessed a great deal of heartache.
He told me I’d be safe here. He would keep away the cursed lord.
But if he ever came to the village, I needed to lie.
To tell him I was a child when I arrived.
When I asked why, he merely shook his head, and the grim look on his face was all I needed to trust him.
So I’ve been here, stowed away, keeping Caelum’s secret. ”
I blink, my mind trying to process the information. “But wait, are you saying Arc hasn’t noticed you before?”
Stephanie shakes her head. “He’s been here twice since I’ve arrived. Both times, Caelum hid me away, so I never met the cursed lord until today.”
“What the fuck?” Camryn breathes as she looks at me. “Why would Caelum do that? Why didn’t he take her to Arc like all the other women?”
I chew on my lip. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to know what happens when Arc finds out Caelum betrayed him.”
Mei swallows. “Let’s hope he doesn’t.”
Camryn’s gaze slides back to the woman. “Are you two, like, together?”
Mei’s brown eyes flicker to her. “No, it’s not like that. I feel very comfortable with him. There’s a familiarness about him. But nothing romantic.”
I exhale deeply, trying to push this development to the back of my mind. “You said you knew we were coming. That you’ve been waiting for us since you’ve arrived. What do you mean?”
Mei’s gaze flashes back to mine. “It wasn’t long after I arrived in the village that the visions started. Dreams. Almost every night, I’d envision a woman riding into the village—saving us. Setting us free. That woman was you.”
Chills erupt from deep in my bones. “Me? Are you sure?”
Mei gives me a faint smile. “It’s hard to forget those eyes. Especially after so many years. In my dream, you always arrive at the break of dawn, an army of fae behind you. You go house to house, collecting everyone before riding away from the mountains toward a sky filled with darkness.”
My brow furrows. “Do you know why I’m here now?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t get the answers for everything, but I'm guessing it has something to do with our powers. Our hidden powers.”
My eyes widen. “So Arc doesn’t know?”
She bites her lip, shaking her head.
My voice drops low. “And Caelum?”
Her face scrunches with worry. “He knows about me. About my visions. And he knows about some others in the village. He’s helped us keep it from Arc. He doesn’t know what Arc would do if he knew we hold fae powers. But I’m guessing that’s why you’re here and we’re going to find out.”
Camryn hunches closer, looking around the room as if Arc could be lurking on the ceiling.
I lower my voice. “There’s so much to tell you.”
Mei rises from her chair. “I’ll make some tea.”
The three of us stay up for hours, going over the details of our experiences in Silverveil.
I tell Mei everything about how I fell through the portal, and Soren rescuing me.
About Isolde. And about learning how Camryn has been in Silverveil all along.
I tell her our revelation of King Caledor and his curse on Arc, and the theory of travelers being half-blood descendants.
Mei is quiet, listening attentively and nodding her head as if all the pieces of a puzzle are snapping into place. Camryn watches her, and I know she is still suspicious of the woman. It is too surreal—too fated. But everything has that edge since I’ve been in Silverveil.
“And you’ve never had a ‘vision’ of me?” Camryn asks with air quotes.
Mei shakes her head. “Not until last night, when something shifted. Instead of arriving in the village at dawn, Aurora rides in through the darkness of night, and you are with her. Only when we left, you stay behind.” Mei looks at her with nervous eyes.
Camryn huffs. “Oh, that’s just great! What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
Mei’s face is distant. “I don’t know.”
I wring my hands in my lap. I’m queasy at the thought of Camryn playing a part in whatever is happening in Silverveil. She’s my rock. Not knowing what this means makes me anxious.
I lift my gaze to Mei. “Does anyone else have premonitions like yours?”
Mei gazes back at me and the corner of her lips twitch. “There’s one who Caelum believes is a seer. She doesn’t have dreams like me, but has visions. They haven’t always been so clear, but lately …” Her voice trails off as her eyes slide from me to Camryn. “You’ll meet her.”
My chest is heavy. Not only do I need the Ni’haan travelers to reveal their powers to Arc, but there’s a secret at risk of being uncovered in the process. I want to know why Caelum saved Mei from Arc’s grasp.
“Has Caelum brought other women travelers here? After you?”
Mei stares at me with a steady gaze. “No. I’m the only one.”
I press my lips together. I need answers. There must be a reason he hid her here all these years.
I sigh. The weight of the situation pulls my eyelids closed. “I want to make sense of all of this. I do. But I think rest will do us all some good.” I open my eyes to meet Camryn’s weary gaze.
“Yes,” Mei replies, pushing up from the table. “Let me show you to the bedroom. You two can sleep there. I will take the front room.”
Camryn and I exchange looks as we follow her down the narrow hallway to a small bedroom at the back of the cabin. The bed is smaller than modern standards, but it will comfortably fit the two of us.
I smile weakly at Mei as she lights a lantern on the bedside table. “Thank you.”
She returns a friendly grin. “You’re welcome. Rest well. We have a lot ahead of us.” Mei softly shuts the door behind her as she leaves Camryn and me alone with our churning thoughts. I strip off my outer layers and slip between the sheets. Camryn slumps down next to me.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Rory.”
I swallow the uncertainty that is creeping up my throat.
“Where’s your sentinel when we need him?” she mumbles before rolling over.
Where is he, indeed?