26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Nicholas
The last time Nicholas visited Bloodbane had been after Alvina saved him.
He sat in her castle halls waiting for Laurent, then heard from his father’s mouth that he would be betrothed to the pouting daughter at Alvina’s side.
He hadn’t wanted to visit Bloodbane since.
It was a reminder of how powerless he was.
That his father used him as a tool. But even after over a decade passed, he knew Bloodbane had not looked like this.
Leaves crunched beneath their boots. Sapped of their color, they laid as gray husks of what once was.
The trees, too, lost color until they hardly held their ash shapes.
Trunks rotted from within, decaying so branches hung, broken from their heart or shattered on the forest floor.
The trees of Bloodbane were silent and its fields little more than old, cracking dirt beneath their feet.
Evera knelt. She pinched the debris between her fingers, forehead creased.
Nicholas wouldn’t dare say aloud that she carried a pain about her the moment they grew close to Bloodbane.
All the fae felt it long before they saw it, this sense of emptiness, as if a force had hollowed Bloodbane out from the roots.
This was her home, as Darkmoon was his. If he saw this happen to Darkmoon, if he witnessed Hill Castle crumble, he would hurt, too.
“The red caps weren’t exaggerating,” Evera whispered. “Something is horribly wrong.”
“It wasn’t like this when either of you were here last?” Nicholas asked.
Arden pinched a leaf between his fingers. The leaf disintegrated into a fine powder. “There was rot, in some areas, but nothing like this.”
Evera tore her nails through the soil. “Last time I was here, there wasn’t even rot. We should seek my brother first. He’ll have an idea of what trouble she has gotten into.”
“Or he’ll tell her we’re here. He’s loyal to Alvina,” Nicholas countered.
Laurent and Alvina had their similarities, but more differences.
Alvina had better relationships with her children, purely based on the few instances he met her or heard her children speak of her.
Evera had a sore spot toward Alvina, for obvious reasons, but he never heard of Alvina mistreating Amos.
He obeyed her orders with little question and spoke highly of her, albeit truthfully.
He, along with everyone else, knew Alvina veered toward erratic.
“He will be as worried about this as the rest of us. If this has happened to Bloodbane, it could spread.” Evera waved her fingers. “This way and keep close.”
Together, they descended the rolling hills of Bloodbane, once green and now gray.
Evera ran her hands over trees she must have known since childhood.
Her pained expression became apparent, so much so that Charmaine offered comfort by a brief touch to Evera’s arm.
The fae jumped, perturbed by the attention. Then her shoulders slumped.
“I am sure Bloodbane had been exquisite,” Charmaine remarked, clearly unsure of what to say.
“It was, and it will be again,” Evera said assuredly. “We will fix it.”
“We? I thought you didn’t like teamwork.”
“I will accept it if it means seeing my home as it should be.” Evera gave Charmaine a slow once over that had the girl crossing her arms as if she could shield herself. “I suppose the company with me isn’t as bad as it could be.”
“Would it kill you to compliment us?”
“It may. I’m not risking discovering that truth.”
The girls shared a muted glance, then giggled.
“Suspicious,” William whispered.
Arden hugged his torso. “The lot of you are suffering from some form of illness. You best not give it to me.”
“Whatever do you mean?” asked Nicholas.
“Mortals.” Arden made a disgusted face, then put at least ten steps between himself and the group.
Evera guided them through Bloodbane to Sorrows Well.
Every fae lord commanded their domain from somewhere.
Alvina did so from what most would perceive as an ordinary well.
Perched between two slanted burr trees tilted toward one another in a dance, the well sat inauspiciously, stacked ten stones high.
Evera stepped onto the ledge, leading to a hole wide enough for a body, but too deep to see.
“What are you doing?” Henry asked. Then Evera fell into the shadows, and Arden jumped in afterward.
Charmaine lurched toward the well, peering within, then looking at Nicholas for answers.
“Go on,” he said. “This is the entrance.”
“We’re expected to jump in?” she asked.
“Yes, you’ll be fine.”
Henry hefted his pack and stepped onto the ledge. William couldn’t get his disagreement out before Henry shouted, “Look out below,” and jumped.
“This is mad,” Charmaine muttered while shakingly standing on the edge. She took a breath and followed.
He grabbed William’s hand and eased him onto the ledge. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Why can’t fae live in a normal house?” William asked.
“That is so boring.”
“But at least it’s pleasant.”
He chuckled, then William let go of his hand and jumped.
He followed immediately, falling through the darkness, then slowing to a stop.
In a blink, the shadows faded and ethereal blue light illuminated the narrow dirt hallways.
The facade was smoothed into obsidian darkness.
Stones embedded in the ceiling covered them in the blue light.
William stumbled and caught himself on the nearby wall.
“What a… lovely home,” he said. In front of him, the rest of their group waited.
“It is.” Evera nodded behind her. “Amos is nearby.”
The halls of Sorrows Well were long and winding, changing at random intervals.
Much like Hill Castle, the halls changed of their own accord, coming and going, opening to the sky or digging to the harsh rocks below.
Creeks ran along the ceiling, clear water so one could see the fish swimming above, and yet nothing dripped upon them.
The hall led into a deep library, six floors below.
The glowing stones circled into a spiral and threaded themselves between the carved shelves full of scrolls and books.
Evera descended the wooden staircase to a circular room where Amos sat at a table digging through scrolls.
He was so fixated on them he didn’t notice Evera until she called.
Amos stood tall, realizing that he wasn’t alone.
“You’ve brought unwelcome guests,” Amos hissed with his attention landing on Nicholas.
Evera glowered. “They may not be so unwelcome. What’s wrong with Bloodbane?”
“This is not a conversation to have in front of them.”
“We’re here because something is wrong in Terra, too,” Henry said, earning a worried glance from William. His brother forced a smile. “Now is the best time to be honest with each other. Something is very wrong, and it’s affecting all of us.”
Amos was likely about to say something smart when William interjected, “There are shadowed disciples kidnapping mortals and bringing them to Faerie. I know of seven, but there are certainly more.”
Evera tapped a claw against the scrolls. “You’re looking for answers, too. Whatever is happening must be stopped, or we may lose Bloodbane for good. This has something to do with Mother, doesn’t it?”
Arden knocked a set of scrolls out of place. They clattered loudly across the floor, earning Amos’ murderous attention. Arden kicked those scrolls aside nonchalantly and kept digging, as if he cared about anything in the library. However, his actions put anger on Amos’ typically stoic face.
“She has been acting odd,” Amos admitted without looking away from Arden. “More paranoid than usual, double checking her alliances like she expects a great evil to befall us, or rather one worse than what we’re seeing.”
Amos stepped away to snatch Arden by the wrist. Arden heeded the warning and retreated, letting Amos travel between the shelves.
The group followed, witnessing the destruction before Amos settled his hand on the wall.
A great scar ripped through the wall. A scent like death fell from the wound, making the ground soft so Amos’ shoes sunk in the mud.
“I cannot imagine what she is up to, but it’s getting worse by the day, and she won’t speak to me about it. If what you’re saying is true,” Amos looked at William, “Then perhaps our mother is to blame. You’ve visited at the perfect time. She’s bedridden.”
“Bedridden?” Evera repeated. “Whatever for?”
“She wouldn’t tell, but she’s weak enough to be in bed the last three nights. I suggest you speak with her before that changes.”
Evera snagged Nicholas’ arm in a fierce grip. “This is it. My mother is up to no good, and she is weakened. All of Bloodbane is. We solve this for her in exchange for ending our deal, then the two are taken care of.”
“Alvina is obsessed with shades. She’ll say no,” he countered.
“Not if Bloodbane is at stake. Look at this place.” She nodded toward the withered wall. “You know as well as I that any lord can be abandoned by their land if they do not protect it. Clearly, my mother isn’t, and if she loses her lordship, she will weaken. She doesn’t want that.”
They had got out of Laurent’s deal. It wasn’t utterly hopeless to imagine escaping Alvina’s clutches.
“Alright. Let’s see her.” He gestured for Evera to lead the way.
“The mortals should remain here,” Evera said. “We don’t want my mother to sense we’re desperate or play tricks on them.”
“She must already know they’re here,” he argued.
“Not if she’s weakened.”
“I am not comfortable leaving them alone.”
“Amos and Arden will be with them.” Evera didn’t sound very convince nor did he feel convinced.
“That’s worse.”
Evera huffed. “They can handle themselves, can’t you?”
Henry took to pursuing the library, uncaring of the plans. Charmaine sat at the table, her hands clasped in her lap. William leaned beside her, his expression grim, but he nodded. “Evera’s right. We’ll wait here.”
Nicholas frowned. “If anything happens—”