Chapter 37 #2
‘Orthriel!’ My scream ricochets the mountain as I sink to my knees. ‘You’re… you’re—’
‘Fine. Battered, weakened, humbled – but fine.’
I make the sign of the Star, only dimly aware of the other members of the Quaternity crowding around me, brought outside by my shout.
‘Look up. I want you to be the first to see it.’
My Guardian’s voice is thin – weak. I can feel the effort it’s costing them to push these syllables into my mind. But it’s also warm. Tender in a way I’ve rarely heard.
Perhaps they missed me too.
I’ve so many questions for Orthriel. About my Shadow Mark. About my vision of Arden in the mooncrystal. But they’ll have to wait.
Heart skittering, I tilt my head. But I can’t see anything – only the same floor of shifting, shimmering clouds beneath me, and the empty sky above.
Then, slowly, so slowly it’s hard to tell whether I’m imagining it, the clouds thin.
Something rises before me. A shape. I walk towards it.
A diamond-shaped island, but transparent.
A mirage? The outline sharpens and I gasp.
‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’
More beautiful than even my wildest imaginings.
The semi-translucent island is carpeted with lush grass and fields of nodding flowers in every soft hue of the rainbow. Waterfalls cascade its edges, and towers of swirling cloud float above – literal castles in the air. The entire island glows, surrounded by its own halo of astral light.
Murmurs of astonishment fill the air. The other members of the Quaternity stand huddled outside the cabin on the mountain ledge, a few paces behind me. The island is drawing level with the ledge. A flowered meadow spreads at my feet. In the distance, I can hear the roar of the falls.
‘What are you waiting for?’ Orthriel whispers.
My mouth drops open. It was enough just to see it.
‘Really?’
Orthriel chuckles. The sound is the silvery tinkle of a wind-chime. ‘Yes, all of you.’
‘But…’ I look up at the peak of the Astral Mountain.
‘Don’t worry, I won’t keep you long. Besides…’ A shadow colours their voice. ‘I have something for you. You have to come.’
My brandsong growls at the hardening in Orthriel’s tone, but I’m too excited to worry about what it means. Nimbi hovers close enough that I could jump across to it – but how? It’s shimmering vapour, as much an illusion as Orthriel’s body.
‘Trust me.’
I lift my foot.
‘What are you doing?’ Astrophel rushes forwards.
My heart is drumming in my ears, my stomach knotted, but I smile over my shoulder. ‘Orthriel, they’re… they’re alive. The cielsylphs are granting us permission to visit Nimbi.’
He shakes his head, reaches for my hand. ‘You’ll fall. Be dashed to pieces.’
‘Listen to him, don’t do anything stupid,’ Blayze growls. He takes a clumsy step towards me.
But the island is calling me.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes.
What’s one more step?
*
MY FOOT MEETS earth. The mirage solidifies at this first brush of contact.
The ground gives slightly beneath my boot.
Tall grass brushes my calves. I trail my fingers over the translucent petals of the breeze-blossoms surrounding me like a sea on all sides, fragile and vibrant as panes of jewelled glass.
The great waterfall, whose roar I heard from the mountain ledge, cascades in the distance.
It looks – feels – so real, but everything on the island shimmers – a sign I’ve crossed to an Aethereal plane. This is all an illusion.
And yet, the island is bearing my weight.
I’m not hurtling through the air to my death as Astrophel and Blayze feared, and I’m able to trace the delicate petals of the flowers.
They tinkle like bells with each caress of the wind, just as Orthriel said they would.
Even though magic is fading here, it’s still potent.
Though I don’t understand how it works, what’s real and what’s not.
Calm descends over me like a feathery mist, gently blunting my senses as I wend my way across the field – the effect not unlike that of spritesong.
I resist the urge to rub my eyes or pinch myself, to make sure I’m not in the ice-cabin, dreaming all this.
The air is weighted by the scent of nectar.
For the first time in moons, I’m not cold anymore.
I’m not warm either; there’s no temperature here.
But I can breathe properly. I draw lungfuls of Aether-infused air deep into my lungs.
With each breath, my worries melt away, dissolving like snowflakes on my tongue, until even my fear for my mother grows remote and hazy, like some half-remembered dream.
I turn towards rustling sounds. It’s Astrophel, followed by the other members of the Quaternity. Their wide eyes reflect my own dazed wonderment. Tansy lags behind the others, examining the flowers.
From the corner of my eye, I notice the air warping, rippling, brightening.
I whip my head around as a halo of opal flame roars into life.
The waxen scent of lilies fills the air.
Orthriel. Their face is gaunt, their corporeal form thin and flickering.
Even here, on Nimbi, the glow of their heartcrystal is horribly weak.
‘I’ll recover here,’ they say, reading my thoughts.
Before I can press further, the air warps again.
But this time it’s like the whole sky is rippling.
I shrink back as a collective inhale rasps behind me.
Blayze swears under his breath, and Serafine squawks overhead as a host of cielsylphs materialise in unison – a ring of opal flames, a wreath of burnished visages surrounds me.
My heart stutters in the face of so much fearsome beauty, so many unblinking silver eyes.
They draw closer, their movements deft and darting – unnervingly inhuman. Despite the bodily illusions they don to make themselves more palatable to us and to ease communication, they are not mortals. Could never be mistaken as such.
One steps forwards, spreading their arms. They’re taller than Orthriel and even sharper-featured. ‘My name is Reuel. You are most welcome on our island, Princess. You remain our guests, and under our protection, while you stay with us.’
‘Thank you.’ I incline my head towards our hosts.
‘You must all be tired. Go and drink from the Fade Falls. The Aether in the waters will refresh you, and you’ll need your strength for what lies ahead.
’ Reuel waves towards the thundering waterfall.
‘Be careful though, its waters are charmed, intended to restore our kind. A few sips only – drink more, and I can’t guarantee the effect on your mortal frames. ’
‘But how can we drink from it? How is any of this possible?’ I ask.
Reuel’s lips lift at the corners. ‘In the same way we are real though not visible to mortal eyes in our true forms. We cloak the island as we cloak ourselves, so mortal eyes can understand. Though, as a Starborn, you might perceive the shimmer?’
I nod.
‘A glimpse of the island’s true appearance. But rest assured, everything here is real, if not precisely as it seems. You can drink our waters, walk our towers… Let the island soothe your minds, refresh your bodies.’
Before I have a chance to question them further, or even to thank them, the brilliant arc of opal flame blazes around us, and the cielsylphs dematerialise. Even Orthriel vanishes.
No one speaks for a minute.
‘Do we trust them?’ Blayze grunts, golden eyes flashing over the island like he expects the host to reappear at any moment. Astrophel is staring after the cielsylphs too, though the expression on his face is haunted rather than confrontational.
I turn to the waterfall. ‘The waters will help us. I can feel it.’ And I realise I can feel it, can actually feel the pull of the water. I must be responding to the Star-Aether.
Maris slips an arm around Blayze’s waist. ‘If Leilani thinks it’s all right…’
Blayze shrugs away from her, tightens his grip on his walking staff. ‘Fine. Lead on, Sparkles. Let’s see how charmed this water really is.’
Maris goes very still, and Delphine reaches for her hand, lacing their fingers together. The pearlsprite’s lips pucker, hair flaring momentarily scarlet before settling back to a neutral flax colour.
I turn and lead the others through the blossom-field, moving slowly for Blayze’s sake. His limp hasn’t much improved, and though he’s trying to put a brave face on it, the tightness in his jaw speaks volumes about how much pain he’s in.
The thunder of the cascade grows louder as we draw close. Its waters are not only rainbow-hued like the Opaline River, they also glitter.
The scent of damp grass drifts up as I kneel at the edge of the pool and rake my fingers through the water.
It has the slippery, fluid texture of true water, but no temperature.
I scoop up a scant handful and bring it to my lips, but before I can drink, Blayze knocks my hands, spilling the shimmering liquid back into the pool.
I flinch, more from the involuntary shiver of pleasure that streaks through me as his warm fingers brush mine than from shock.
He looks deep into my eyes. ‘I’ll go first – just in case.’
‘I don’t think the cielsylphs would—’
‘Can’t be too careful, Sparkles. You’re too important to risk, remember.’ His lips curl, making light of his words, but his eyes burn into mine.
Blayze scoops water into his own hands. ‘Bottoms up!’
He drinks. Almost immediately, his eyes glaze, his face goes slack. He staggers towards the meadow, sits with a heavy thud. Serafine curls close beside him.
‘Quite safe,’ he slurs, with a lopsided grin. ‘Like dreamroot – only better.’ He falls back against the flowers, pillows his head in his arms, closes his eyes.