Chapter 9
Nine
The Wyldes
Eberon led the way through the mountains.
Puko flew overhead or sat on my shoulder as we walked.
The unexpected weight of him dropping onto my frame nearly had me toppling over more than once in surprise, but his new habit of using me as a perch, as he once had with Mila, became easier as we traveled.
Out of concern for Bryn’s coat, I did wind a rope around my shoulder so Puko’s talons couldn’t cause any real damage to the weathered leather.
My sled had been abandoned at the outpost, and I carried most of my belongings on my back and an axe on each hip.
With the food stores gone and the thick bear pelt going with Thain, it wasn’t too heavy.
The rises and dips of the mountainside were not foreign to me; the ancient, rolling shapes filled with morning mist and afternoon sun had always been a part of my home.
But as we traversed north and Silver Lake grew more distant, the feeling of the unknown prickled down my arms.
When we sank into thicker woods down the slope, I had a hard time keeping up.
Eberon, for all his fine clothes and neat hair, was as much a part of the mountains as the towering pines were.
He didn’t stumble, he avoided every branch, and he picked his way through the trees as easily as if a road was laid out before him.
If that was what it meant to be full fae, I had to admit I was a little jealous.
“Come here, little bird. I want to show you something.” Eberon held a branch out of my way so I could stand next to him.
Puko landed on my shoulder as I drew even with the fae, and I grunted with the unexpected weight of the huge bird.
I looked up to scold him, but as my eyes hit the view below us, I lost my breath.
A winding valley, greener than the mountains in full summer bloom, swept below us like lush carpet.
A crystal river cut through the hills and poured into delicate springs dotting fields full of dancing willows and rich with wild roses.
Creatures I had no knowledge of grazed on the hillside, unaffected by the beauty around them.
It could have been a painting. I couldn’t believe it even seeing it with my own eyes.
“Charming, isn’t it?” Eberon spoke beside me, but I still couldn’t tear my gaze from the valley.
“This is the Wyldes?” I breathed.
“It is. Once you set foot in it, you feel its pull every time you leave,” he said, his tone filled with sentiment.
This wasn’t our destination; they’d already explained the travel ahead to me.
Still, if the rest of the Wyldes was this beautiful, I would be in awe the entire way.
“We’re still in the southern borders of the Summer Lands, quite a bit of travel from home.
Here it will remain summer for as long as there is a fae seated on the Summer Throne. ”
Puko made a croaking, chirping mess of notes in my ear, and I shooed him away until he took flight. Hungry for the sights before me, I had to pull my eyes from one to the next with deliberate effort.
“We’ll be to camp in a couple hours,” Eberon said, looking up at the position of the sun. “Not much more than that.” Puko cawed his contentment overhead.
The twisting hike down the end of the mountainside was all the harder knowing what I was so close to.
Maybe some fae part of me longed for it too.
Some part that hadn’t started to awaken until I’d met Thain and the wraith.
When sprigs of bright green began peeking out of the leaves on the ground, my heart skipped a beat.
“We won’t have the luxury of hot water again until we reach the city, but if you’d like to take a dip in one of the springs near the camp, you are more than welcome to.
The current is slow and harmless, and there aren’t any creatures to worry about in this part of the Wyldes,” Eberon offered.
“Once we cross into the Unclaimed Wyldes, that will no longer be the case.”
I honestly couldn’t have cared less if I had hot water so easily accessed ever again if it meant exploring a place like this for all my days. “I want to see everything.”
Eberon’s laugh crackled like a bonfire. “If the Summer Court impresses you, I cannot wait to see you set foot in the splendor of Autumn.”
“Are you sure your opinion isn’t biased?
” I asked. I was ready to dance and sing and live again.
I still mourned Bryn, and some part of me knew I always would, but something about the Wyldes touched me to the core.
If I could ever find a home again, it would be here.
The seal on my back was alive with the power of this place, and a mild burning like I had sat too close to the fire warmed the strange lines I knew ran down my spine.
The last pine crossed my vision, and the emerald fields opened up.
Eberon held back and watched my face as I whirled around, trying to look at everything at once.
“Do you see that small cliff under the oak tree? That’s where I’ll be setting up camp.
I suggest you enjoy yourself for a while until the others arrive, release some of that energy.
It feels as though you’re about to burst with magic. ”
I stopped. My seal crackled to life on my back.
Would the very nature of this place open me up like a box of fireworks?
Mila had never said anything about the Wyldes, but why would she ever have assumed I’d come here?
I couldn’t stop the look of horror that crossed my face, and Eberon was instantly on edge.
“What is it?” He rushed to my side, one hand on a small horn at his belt.
“Nothing!” I almost screamed at him, then swallowed to calm my voice. “Nothing is wrong. I need to lie down, I think, or maybe soak in a spring. I’ll be at camp soon.”
“Wren—” Eberon’s concerns trailed away behind me as I took off for a pool of water not too far away, but not too close to the oak tree. Eberon didn’t follow me, but I could feel his eyes until I ducked behind a willow.
Heart pounding for several long minutes, I sat in the shade. When I was certain I was alone, I stripped my boots and stockings off and plunged my feet into the cool spring. I flopped on my back and stared into the sway of the willow branches, which offered a latticed window to the sky overhead.
“What have I done?” I threw an arm over my eyes.
The flapping of wings overhead told me Puko watched me from the tree.
I knew my magic fought the seal. I knew the Wyldes would be full of magic.
I’d let myself get far too excited in this place.
I didn’t want the magic to come out. Mila had tried to unseal just a small part of it for me when I was ten, and it had ended in disaster.
I never wanted to go through that again.
One calming breath. Then another. Then I kept breathing slowly, relaxing the part of me that pushed on the seal. Eventually, I was ready to see the world again. I moved my arm; Puko sat above me and gave me an indignant caw as he looked down with his good eye.
What are you moping for? Look around, you dummy; you’re in the Wyldes!
Propping myself on my elbows, I turned to the clear water.
I would keep myself under control. I wanted this place.
My magic wanted this place. I just needed to figure out that happy medium where I could have friends here and not chase them off by firing magic all over the place.
The day was too warm to have Bryn’s coat on, and I carefully folded it into a pillow filled with familiar scents and many memories.
It was a long time of lying by the water, eventually tucking my feet up on the grassy bank and letting the sun-warmed air lull me to sleep.
I wasn’t ready to face Eberon. Wasn’t ready to face any of them.
Reality came looking for me when a shadow fell across the water near my feet.
“Can I sit here?” Schula’s cool voice washed through me. Sitting up, I nodded and scooted to make room on the patch of grass. She sat down gracefully and removed her boots, putting her own feet in the water. Stretching my legs, I joined her.
“Eberon told us what happened. Are you all right?” she asked, a softness rounding her words.
“Yes,” I managed. “My back.”
“Has this happened before? Does it hurt?” she asked.
Watching the ripples in the water, I collected myself.
“Back at the outpost I told you we tried to remove the seal once. It didn’t end well.
I must have too much human in me or something, but it overpowered me.
And I can’t, I can’t remove it. But I also know I must remove it at some point.
I’m scared. I’m terrified right now that it’s going to burst open, and I can’t do anything to stop it. ”
Schula, to her credit, listened quietly, stroking her cool hands up and down my back. When I was done, she pulled her feet from the stream.
“Every fae has magic, Wren.” She ran a hand over her wet skin, the drops freezing enough that she could brush them off before putting her boots on dry feet.
“You can’t help what you’re born with any more than the rest of us.
I can’t imagine being separated from mine, let alone sealing it away.
But I understand how you feel, so here is what we can do.
I’m going to put a little more power in the seal.
I won’t tamper with it or read into it, just put a little reinforcement on it.
You won’t lose control here, and you won’t be sick.
And once we’re settled and I can find out how to safely do it, we’ll remove the seal.
You have no idea how much a part of you your magic is; it’s like you’re cutting one of your limbs off. All right?”
I nodded. I wiped my face off and pulled my own feet from the water.
“Good.” She smiled. “I won’t say a word to Eb and Thain.
It will be just like the bath. I’ll just tell them you were feeling overwhelmed with your first touches of the Wyldes today.
We can keep it secret for now; just remember that no one else can find it before you deal with it.
Now, would you mind if I lifted your shirt so I can reinforce your seal? ”
I let out a long breath.
“I’m ready,” I said. Puko clicked his beak overhead.
“I’ll start, then.” Schula used cool fingers to glide under my shirt and up my back just enough to touch the markings.
The first frost that snowflaked on the windowpanes, that was what it felt like.
Her magic crawled up my back, only touching where the marks were.
She was pulling my shirt back down before I knew she was done.
“Thank you.” I turned to see an odd look on her face. She stared into the space between us without really seeing me, then she blinked and met my eyes.
“It was no trouble,” she murmured. “This is not by fae magic. It’s not any magic I know.
Though, the witches have been gone from these lands longer than I’ve been alive, so I wouldn’t recognize the feel of it, just the markings.
But this witch of yours isn’t the one who put them there, so I wonder who did. ”
“Mila never specified. Many nights I’ve lain awake wondering who could have done it, but I’ll probably never know.”
Schula and I just stared for a moment, neither having the answer to such a question, until Puko took off with startling wingbeats, drifting back to the campsite.
Schula shook her head. “Come on, we’re not going to gain any answers by standing here, and I’m starving.”
Shoving my boots back on, I scrambled up and followed her back to the others.
The cliff curved gently inward and made for some cover from the weather.
A fire was already dancing in a pit that had the black marks of hundreds of fires before it.
There were signs of previous bedrolls, notches dug into trees for who knows what purpose (possibly past campsite boredom), and a few sizeable stones placed in a circle, likely for some kind of game.
Three logs had been positioned near the fire, and Thain sat on one, stretching out his long legs.
“Where is Eberon?” Schula asked.
“Out getting something to eat,” Thain said, then settled his intense gaze on me. “Are you all right?”
My face burned, but a cool hand pressed against my back. “All is well,” Schula answered for me. “The Wyldes are overwhelming for someone who has never been in them before.”
Thain watched me for a long moment, one of his stretches of unreadable assessment, then nodded. “If you are both finished at the spring, I think I’ll head over there now.”
“We’ll watch the fire.” Schula sat down on a log and stretched. Thain left, and I sat on another log.
Thain’s dark shape moved with ease, his black tunic against the green, grassy fields an easy thing to spot as he moved until he was out of sight.
Shame stabbed through me like a hot rod of iron.
His hand, rough and worn from his life here, had been the first to reach out to me.
Ever. And I knew I was keeping a secret from him.
On some level, I wondered if he knew it too.
“Would you like me to tell you about the Autumn Lands?” Schula interrupted my thoughts.
I nodded, hungry for more now that I’d gotten a taste of the Wyldes.
This place was full of shock and wonder, but I wanted nothing more than to make it as familiar to me as the mountains I’d grown up in.
Craving to know it as a place I could call home.
“Please,” I begged. “Tell me everything.”
The evening came and went. We talked well into dark about the sights I would see, the people she knew, the foods she had eaten in Thanantholl. Thain and Eberon added their own opinions as the night wore on, until finally I fell asleep leaning against the log.