15. Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
Dynalya
“ I am sorry you found trouble in my court,” Keena told her as she led them through the dark forest. Now back to her pixie size, she was no larger than three inches. She left a trail of shimmering gold dust behind as she flew ahead. “The Wyspwood is only meant to confuse outsiders and lead them off our land. Not harm them. Alas, the magic here has been unruly lately.”
Dyna kept close but the fairy’s presence seemed to be all that was needed to settle the woods. They no longer called out to them anymore.
“We are fortunate you came to our aid when you did, princess,” Rawn said.
Keena brought them to the same path Klyde had originally found. “I came as soon as the wisps informed me you were here.”
“What are wisps?” Dyna asked her.
“They are the spirits of the fae who still lurk here, becoming part of the forest like moss on a tree. They are but a wisp of smoke or a pin of light to a mortal’s veiled eyes, and they are naughty things.”
Lucenna looked to Klyde who was staring straight ahead, his gaze on the path. “Can you see them?”
He shuddered. “Aye.”
“They’re harmless, or rather, they’re supposed to be.” Keena frowned at the trees worriedly.
Zev brushed against Dyna’s side and growled at whatever his yellow eyes had noticed up in the canopy. Though nothing appeared to be there.
“Ah, wolf! I remember you.” Keena’s laugh sounded like little bell tones. “Zev, right? But there is one missing. Where is Prince Cassiel?”
Dyna’s heart squeezed at the sound of his name, and she fought the invisible weight of a bolder that pressed into her chest.
“He was crowned king over the winter,” Lucenna commented indifferently. “He has gone to see to the Realms.”
Dyna gave her a grateful look. She couldn’t talk about him yet.
“Oh, I see,” Keena said elatedly. “That is great news. The High King of Hilos, imagine that.”
A dour feeling settled over Dyna again. “Are we far from your court?” she asked to change the subject.
“We are already here,” Keena announced cheerily. The path ended abruptly at the edge of a small glade. In the center of it was a large ring of toadstools blood red caps spotted white. “This is a fairy ring. Enter and your eyes will be unveiled.” She turned to them with a sudden seriousness. “But I must warn you, not all fairy rings are the same. Should you come across another ring in another wood, do not ever enter without invitation. Lest you are never to be seen again.”
Dyna felt a sudden chill in the air, and she shivered. The others stared back at the fairy princess with dread.
Then Keena burst out into tinkling giggles. “Your expressions are hysterical.”
She flew for the ring.
“Was that a jest?” Lucenna asked nervously. “I cannot be sure if it was a jest.”
“Fae cannot lie, lass,” Klyde muttered under his breath.
Well, that didn’t make Dyna any less nervous. She looked to Rawn, and he nodded, but she wasn’t sure if it was out of agreement or encouragement.
The black wolf chuffed at them in annoyance. Her cousin jogged ahead for the ring, catching up with Keena. Both crossed the ring of mushrooms at the same time—and vanished.
Dyna gasped. “Zev!”
She ran for it and leaped inside.
The eerie forest vanished and the Morphos court appeared as if out of a dream.
An enormous tree rose before them with sprawling branches with dark green leaves and pale pink blooms. It was the center of their kingdom. Tiny homes were built within the small hollows in the trunk or on the branches. Thousands of glowing butterflies fluttered among the branches. No— pixies . They worked either to gather pollen, flowers, or tend to the roots. A shimmer of gold dust hovered in the air like living magic.
“Welcome to my home,” Princess Keena said, holding out her arms proudly. “This is our Aurora Tree.”
Dyna gaped up at it in awe. At times the flowers seemed to twinkle with the light of the sun.
“All small fairy folk like pixies and sprites rely on some sort of source of magic grown within nature,” Lucenna reminded her. “Keena’s kind survive off of the Aurora blooms.”
That’s right. Dyna did remember Keena mentioning their court’s wealth was based off their perfume trade with the rest of Urn.
An alluring fragrance of flowers filled her senses. It was sweet and indulging, but beneath it lingered an odd scent. One that reminded Dyna of decaying plant matter.
The breeze blew a few Aurora petals by her boots. They were stained with some brown burns, as if held too close to a candle. She picked one up, inspecting it up close with a frown. Whatever it was, more browned petals were left scattered around the tree.
In whirl of gold dust, Keena appeared at full size beside her. Her hazel eyes saddened at the sight of the petal. “Our Aurora tree has stood in these woods for hundreds of years. It has fed us. Clothed us. The perfume created by its petals are our source of trade with the rest of the world. But this tree is also our home, and it is dying.”
Keena flew down to land beside the roots. They were blackened with rot, and it had spread into the earth. Dyna kneeled by her, inspecting it with dismay. She placed a hand on the trunk, hoping to feel something but couldn’t with her magic behind a barrier.
“What happened here?”
“A mystery yet to be solved.” They looked up at the new voice and another fairy came to join them. He bore a crown over is long braids, and an elegant robe woven from woven leaves. In his hand he held a staff with a tiny blue gem.
“Father.” Keena greeted. “This is Dynalya Astron, the girl I told you about. Dyna, this is my father, King Kain of Morphos.”
She quickly rose to her feet and lowered into a curtsy. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”
“The please his mine.” Kain dipped his head. “I am honored to meet the girl who saved my daughter’s life.”
“She saved mine first.” Dyna exchanged a smile with Keena. “May I introduce my companions?”
Holding out her hand to the others, they quickly exchanged names and greetings.
“I wish you could have come at a better time,” King Kain said with a sigh. “I would be most pleased to bring you up into our tree, but I am afraid you may fall ill. If you can smell it, there is a sickness in the air. Many of my court have already fallen ill.”
Zev and Rawn nodded to confirm they could smell it.
Was that what Dyna had smelled? “What sort of illness?” she asked. “I am an Herb Master. I could?—”
Keena shook her head and came to sit on her shoulder. “I am afraid there is no remedy that can heal them. We feed off the nectar of our tree, and if it is contaminated, so becomes our food. They will only heal when our tree is healed or die when it does…”
“We are connected to the Aurora Tree,” Kein told them as he nodded for them to follow him around it. From other sides of the tree not visible when they first entered, Dyna found more of the black root climbing up the trunk. “Its magic is what keeps us alive, and it gives life to the Wyspwoods. Without it, we will not survive and fae in the woods will either die as well or become mad. I have sent for
all healers and those knowledgeable in plant magic. Druids, Magi Masters, Earth Magus. They all say the same thing. Our tree will not survive the year.”
That was a horrible thing to face. They were losing their home and dying because of it.
“I am sorry this is happening to your court, King Kein,” Rawn said. “Have you contacted other courts for aid? Perhaps there is another Aurora Tree you can find or grow a new one.”
“That is where our problem lies. There may not be a court who can take us, for the Aurora Tree is not of Urn. The first tree was created on an island far away and seeds were brought here to plant.” Kein held out his staff to show them the tiny seed within the jewel. “This is the last seed, and it requires the pure soil from which it was born. But that soil does not exist in Urn.”
Dyna knew then why they were here. She glanced at her cousins and Rawn, and each nodded their approval. Lucenna and Zev had the foresight to distract Klyde by taking him away to watch the fairies turned pollen into nectar.
“We can help,” Dyna said.
Keena burst into a shower of gold dust and appeared before her. “That night in King Dagden’s court, Leoake told me one day you would come and tell me how to save our tree.”
The name of the Druid made Dyna’s geas throb. She took Keena’s hands. “Princess.”
“Call me Keena, please. We’re friends.” She looked at her worriedly. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
Dyna nodded. “I am sorry to say they were right. Your tree cannot be saved, and the soil here has been festering with some sort of rot that has infected the land. It is no longer viable for any Aurora Tree to survive.”
Keena’s eyes welled and her wings drooped. “But Leoake said you would come when I needed you and we do. My people won’t survive without the Aurora flowers.”
Dyna hugged her. “I came here for you, Keena, my Guardian of strength. I can take you exactly where you will find pure soil, untouched by anyone. The same soil that birthed that seed.”
Then they told Keena and her father about the prophecy. The fairies listened with uncertainty at first, until Rawn brought out Azeran’s enchanted map. Keena gaped as the ink swirled across the page, revealing the enchanted treasure island.
“Join us,” Dyna told her. “And you will find what you need to save your court.”
Keena stared at her a moment, looking unsure.
“She is right, Keenali,” King Kein said.
“But Father, I am needed here.” She turned to him. “And you have fallen ill. We don’t know how long we have left. What if…”
“What if you don’t return in time?” he guessed. “Then that is fate, daughter. But I have faith. The Aurora Tree has always been protected by the Queen of Morphos. Your mother did. And now that task falls to you.” He handed her the staff he held with the blue gem. Keena’s eyes welled as she accepted it. “Find the soil we need and plant it. If the seed takes root, then you will have saved us all.”
King Kein invited them to stay in his court for the night as Keena debated on what she should do. They laid their bed mats beside the tree and Dyna looked up at the softly glowing blooms against the night sky. She listened to the soft tinkling of bells coming from the branches where the pixies slept, and the soft breathing of her friends.
Only the wolf was awake. He sat on the edge of the fairy ring, his yellow eyes fixed on the dark forest.
“He can rest,” Keena told her as she flew down to land by her head. Dyna rolled over to face her, hoping her appearance meant she had decided. “No need to stand guard tonight.”
“Zev must see something in the forest that is keeping him on alert.”
The princess sat on a stone covered in moss, bending her knee as she watched the wolf curiously. “He must see the wisps.” She sighed and gave Dyna a look. “I cannot join you, Dyna. I need to be here.”
That was disappointing, but she understood. It wouldn’t be fair to ask her to leave her court behind when it was in such dire straits.
“But I brought you this.” Keena handed her a small green berry. “I noticed your geas is burning. It will help relieve the pain.”
Well, that was unexpected. Dyna sat up, accepting the berry. “You can see Leoake’s geas?”
The fairy’s eyes widened. “Only the geas. Not who cast it. Why would you enter a deal with him, Dyna? Fae deals are tricksy, but everyone knows not to make deals with that one .”
If only she had gotten that notice.
Dyna grimaced and ate the berry, finding it sweet and tart. “I admit, I was foolish when I struck a deal with him. I got only half answers in trade for a favor of his choosing.”
The princess sighed. “Oh, Dyna.”
“I know. The burning means the time has come to fulfill it, right? I fear the thought of what he will ask of me.”
Keena nodded and looked up at the Aurora tree, gently rustling in the wind. Its steady light cast a soft warm glow on Dyna’s sleeping friends. “Knowing Leoake, it really could be anything. I can’t say much of his character. Mischievous. Mysterious. Sly. A courtier that makes it his business to know everyone’s business, while never sharing his own. I can’t imagine what he would want. I have not known him necessarily to be cruel, but...”
That dastardly Druid may not have shown her cruelty yet, but he was not kind either. “You couldn’t command him to release me?” she asked hopefully.
The princess shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Leoake is not of my court. He does not answer to me. Regardless, a geas is a powerful spell. Such things cannot be easily broken, at least to my knowledge.”
Dyna groaned.
“If you want to be rid of him, then you must either give him what he wants, or get something that he wants.”
Dyna wouldn’t know where to start. As she said, Leoake didn’t reveal his secrets. He had already gained his freedom from King Dagden. What could be more valuable than that?
Perhaps a sweet little fox might know.
“I wish you luck on your journey,” Keena said, rising into the air. “If it’s not too much trouble, could I ask you to bring us pure soil?”
Dyna nodded. “I will do my best. But if you change your mind, we are on our way to Dwarf Shoe. We will catch a ship there in Kelpway.”
Th princess nodded and looked down at the staff she held. “Thank you for coming, Dyna.”
Then she flew away for her dying tree.
Zev ambled over to her and glowered at her, well, that was the expression Dyna thought she could read from his wolf face.
“We came all the way here for your fifth Guardian, but we are leaving without her?” Dyna guessed, deepening her voice to sound like him. Zev rolled his glowing eyes, and she smiled. “Yes, Zev.” She patted his head. “We must continue our journey. When it is time, we will see Keena again.”
It was already foretold.
All Dyna had to do was wait.