Chapter Thirty-Three Trey
Sunset
Uncomfortably Close to a Field of Dangerous Flowers
Waiting for Everyone to Wake Up
Night came early in the forest. The towns nearby would have light for another hour or so, but the sun had already dipped halfway below the treetops. The light cast long shadows over the ground, dimming the vibrancy of the flowers until they looked more gray than rainbow.
Angelica and I had moved everyone as far away as we could, but it didn’t feel far enough. The others were still caught in their dreams and nightmares. Wilde’s seemed to be the most pleasant, judging by his erection. I tried not to think about it too much or about his head in my lap.
A furrow formed in Wilde’s brow, as if his dreams had taken a turn for the worse.
Angelica had spent the past few hours skimming through the horticultural book, searching for any additional information on the flowers. So far, she still hadn’t found anything to lessen the effects or wake the others up.
“Why does the pollen make people hallucinate?” I asked.
She sighed in exasperation and snapped the book shut.
“I don’t know, the book doesn’t go into any detail.
There’s a short historical section on the herbalist who named it and then it moves on to the next blasted plant and never mentions the Somnus ecrosia again.
” She raised it as if to throw it again, then remembered we might need it and gently laid it beside her.
The only person who might know the answer to my question was curled up at my feet, mumbling to himself. I kicked Fitz gently and called his name.
“Why bother asking him?” Angelica scoffed. “He’s so delusional right now he thinks he’s misplaced his hands.”
I ignored her and continued prodding until Fitz looked at me.
His eyes were wide, the pupils engulfing everything, but his brow furrowed in irritation. “Trey, I am trying to figure out where my fingers have run off to, so do me a favor and shove off.”
“All ten of your fingers are attached to your hands.”
His scowl deepened and he raised his hands to prove me wrong, then exclaimed in shock, “They’re back!”
“If that’s settled: why would a plant develop hallucinogenic pollen?”
“To attract pollinators, obviously.” He fluttered his newly found fingers.
“Pollinators? Like bees?”
He hummed and nodded until his glasses went crooked, only covering one eye. This time he didn’t adjust them. “Among other things.”
I caught Angelica’s eye, then we both turned to look at the field of flowers beyond. They shifted gently in the evening breeze, quiet and unassuming.
Angelica relaxed and laughed, the sound small and choked. “Of course a monster’s not going to pop out of the field simply because Fitz gave relevant exposition. That’d be ridiculous.”
The sun had completely disappeared beneath the trees and the forest steadily descended into twilight.
Every night since we’d entered the forest, Wilde had carefully laid protection spells around our camp.
I’d thought it was a waste of energy when we could simply set up a watch for any dangers in the night.
Now that only two of us were awake, and we had four unconscious people to guard, I wished we had those protections.
“Grab your rapier,” I suggested. “Just in case.”
I never looked away from the field, and that was the only reason I saw it. A row of flowers split apart, bobbing to either side as something moved through the stalks. The flowers remained bent for a moment, sketching out the shape of the thing within, before straightening out again.
Angelica slowly stuck her hand in her pouch and withdrew her rapier, the gleaming blade appearing inch by inch from its impossible depths.
The thing within the flowers changed direction and I lost track of it.
I murmured an apology to Wilde and gently rolled his head off my lap. He landed in the dirt with a thud and a distressed grumble. I flinched and watched the flowers. They trembled in anticipation, and then rapidly flattened as something ran in our direction.
Angelica shoved herself to her feet and held her blade in a ready position.
I tried to follow her, but Wilde had grabbed onto my shirt, holding me down.
A beast burst through the flowers with a high-pitched squeal. The fading light gleamed on two sharp tusks protruding from its mouth. Yellow pollen clung to its coarse fur and dusted over the ground, scattering through the air.
Angelica slapped a hand over her mask to keep it in place.
The beast charged straight for Angelica, head bent to ram her or pierce her with those tusks.
As it approached, it became clear how … small it was.
Barely the size of a cantaloupe. Such a small target that when Angelica lunged, she missed, the point of her blade going right over the creature’s back.
It squealed another challenge right before colliding with her shin. Pollen plumed into the air, coating my face, and stinging my eyes.
Dammit, we’d just gotten it all off!
The creature bounced off Angelica’s leg and landed on its stomach in the dirt. Its little hooves scrabbled over the ground as it struggled back to its feet. For a moment, it stared up at us with huge, liquid eyes. Then it squealed again and headed back into the flowers.
Angelica panted as she stared after it in shock. “Was that a piglet?” She scoffed and lowered her blade. “I thought it was a real threat—”
The flowers shifted like a gale had gusted across the field, even though the air around us was still. Another pair of eyes glittered at us from the stalks before another creature stepped out. The first piglet hid behind its companion’s flank.
As darkness fell around us, more eyes appeared within the flowers. More creatures stepped out, pawing at the ground, huffing around their tusks. One had startled us. Two would be a challenge. A dozen or more …
We couldn’t carry four people and run. If we left on our own, maybe the creatures would ignore our companions to chase us, or maybe they would trample over every threat. If we had more time—
I looked down at the dreaming mage still desperately clinging to me. “Wilde.”
The lead pig squealed a battle cry, and iridescent wings flicked open on its back.
They fluttered tentatively at first, then slowly picked up speed, lifting the piglet into the air.
Buzzing filled the air as more piglets unfolded their wings and rose to join their leader.
The leader squealed again and zoomed straight toward Angelica.
Half the hoard followed it in the air while the other half charged across the ground.
I shook Wilde’s shoulder and called his name again. Fitz had woken up when disturbed so hopefully Wilde would too.
My shout startled the hoard. The leader’s wings faltered, and it crashed toward the ground, colliding with the foot soldiers. The other flying piglets slowed, circling around us in cautious circles.
I sighed. Maybe all we had to do was be bigger and louder than them to scare them off.
One flying piglet separated from the hoard and swan-dived toward Angelica.
She ducked out of the way a beat too late—its tusk sliced open a long line across her back.
Pollen coated the wound and mixed with her blood, turning her blouse red.
She tried to stab the creature, but it flew out of her reach, looping back to its companions to share the scent of victory.
“I know you’re fucked beyond all belief right now, but we could really use your help! Wilde!”
His eyes snapped open, and everything stopped.
I’d felt this before. The sudden silence and heaviness in the air.
The piglets’ war charge halted with some of the creatures frozen in midair while the others surrounded us on the ground. Pollen hung suspended around us in a yellow haze. Angelica was caught mid-lunge, but her sword could only aim at one among the many.
Wilde stared at me with unfocused eyes. “I don’t want to control you.”
Where the fuck is this coming from? “Thank you? Could you try controlling time instead?”
He shook his head mulishly. “I can’t keep erasing my mistakes.”
“Very mature of you,” I said through a strained smile, “but this isn’t the best time to learn that lesson.”
A tear streaked from one eye, golden against his pale skin. “I don’t want you to do things just because I tell you to.”
I couldn’t help shaking him in annoyance. “You aren’t telling me anything! I’m asking you!”
His eyelashes fluttered. “What do you want me to do?”
“Reverse time to before we stumbled across these stupid flowers!”
He nodded and raised one hand to snap his fingers. His voice was faint, almost dreamy, as he whispered, “Reset.”
Several Hours Earlier
The Grimnight Forest
Approaching a Field of Flowers
“Stop!” I threw my arms out to block Delilah and Fitz from taking another step.
Fitz sent me a bewildered look, then examined the field ahead of us. “Ah, Somnus ecrosia. Good call, Trey, their pollen can be quite tricky to deal with.”
I rolled my eyes. He’d learned about these flowers only a few hours ago yet acted like he’d known about them his whole life.
“Let’s find a way around it,” Angelica said, backing up several feet.
I turned to ask Wilde what he thought we should do, but he stared back at me, pupils still blown wide. He swayed, eyelashes trembling, and then crumpled. I barely had time to catch him before he collapsed.
“What’s the matter with him?” Maximus asked, inching toward us. His expression was a mix of suspicion and begrudging concern.
“Overexertion.” I slipped one of my arms behind Wilde’s knees and picked him up, positioning him so his head rested against my shoulder.
Maximus snorted. “He’s barely done anything the past few days but walk.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I snarled.
Maximus pulled away from me, closing in on himself as if to block a physical blow. I didn’t have the time or patience to soothe his bruised heart.
“Fitz, find us someplace to stay,” I said. “We’re guarding ourselves tonight and I want four solid walls between us and whatever lives in the forest. Angelica, get your fucking sword out and keep it out.”
“Don’t swear at me,” she snapped even as she followed directions.
As we walked, Delilah sidled up next to me and whispered, “Will Wilde be alright?”
“We ran into trouble we couldn’t handle,” I explained, my jaw tightening in frustration.
I’d known how much his magic cost him, and I’d pushed him to use it anyway.
It’d been the only solution I could think of with the creatures flying overhead, but now I wondered if I could have found some way to chase them off without relying on Wilde’s magic.
Delilah’s brow furrowed. “Why don’t I remember anything this time?”
“It’s a long story. I’m glad you’re up and walking at least.” Or we’d still be stuck out in the open come nightfall.
Fitz found an old house that only had three standing walls, but it would have to do. We set up a rotation for watch, with Maximus volunteering to take first shift. I tucked Wilde into a bedroll and sat by his side.
While everyone else had left the pollen behind in another time, it still held him in a dreamy half-daze. He didn’t quite look at me as he mumbled, “Thank you.”
My brow furrowed. Why was he thanking me? He was the one who saved us. “For what?”
His eyes drifted shut. I thought I wouldn’t get an answer until he said, “Everything.”