Chapter 24
twenty-four
They came upon a giant waterfall nestled between stones stacked so high Orelia couldn’t see the top. Bioluminescent mushrooms of varying heights lined the pool at the waterfall’s base, casting a turquoise glow across the rippling water.
Orelia touched the velvety top of a spotted mushroom and it shrank, making her yank her hand back.
Evie giggled. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you.”
She watched the head of the mushroom inflate until it was back to its dome-like shape. “Wow. Do these glow by themselves?”
“Yup! And they aren’t the only things that glow. Come on!” Evie waved them forward, disappearing behind the curtain of roaring water.
Orelia stepped onto the wet stones behind the waterfall.
“Careful,” Vade said, grabbing her elbow. “Don’t need you slipping and cracking your head open.”
His steadying touch surprised her. “Is that genuine concern I’m hearing?”
“Don’t mistake my caring for anything other than making sure I keep my life.”
She sighed. “Lighten up, Vade.”
“I’m just saying—”
“I know what you’re saying. It’s all you’ve been saying since we left Minro.
I’m not some fragile thing you have to constantly look out for.
Yes, I’ve made a couple mistakes, but I was the one that saved you from the eagle, and the wolf, and I secured us a safe place to stay for the night. A little more trust might be nice.”
He dropped his hand and gestured into the awaiting cave. “Then by all means, go first, oh-so-capable witch.” A condescending quirk of his lips had her rolling her eyes.
Inside the cave, pink and orange spiky plants sat in small clumps on the ground, ebbing between the two colors like the plants were breathing.
The damp cave smelled of rain. Droplets echoed in the space as they fell from the ceiling and landed in small pools along the path. Orelia was careful not to brush against the speckled blue mushrooms growing halfway up the narrow walls as she walked deeper into the cave.
Evie appeared from around a bend, calling out with an impatient wave of her hand. “Come on!”
After a short trek through the winding cave, they came out on the other side, and Orelia gasped.
The largest weeping willow she’d ever seen sat in the middle of a clearing. Its trunk was wider than two homes, its height almost unfathomable. Delicate, leafy branches swayed gently in the breeze, almost touching the ground. Evie held back the branches like a curtain, encouraging them to enter.
As Orelia stepped inside, it was no longer the size of the tree, or the number of gangly limbs, it was the life within the great willow that had her enamored.
Pixies buzzed around the Tree, some as tiny as her finger, others up to her shoulders. They landed on ledges protruding from the plethora of hand-carved windows that ran up the entire length of the trunk, the Tree glowing in shades of orange.
Orelia’s eyes were so wide she could hardly take it all in. “Have you ever seen anything like it?”
Even the fae wore a look of wonder, the spectacular light flickering in his eyes. “Never.”
A few pixies dangled from the branches while others chased each other through the leaves, laughing as they went. Evie ushered her forward, and Orelia reached out for a small trulight floating nearby, curious as to why it was oval-shaped.
She yanked her hand back when the orb moved. “Not a trulight . . .” She wasn’t sure what the word for it was.
“A firefly,” Evie said.
The almond-shaped insect spread its wings and flew away, the bottom half of its body glowing a pale yellow.
“Firefly,” Orelia parroted. “This is incredible, Evie.”
The pixies didn’t seem to mind two strangers in their home, paying them no heed.
A few cast spells that created small balls of blue light.
The lumomancers tossed the orbs into the air, motioning with their hands as the lights responded, nestling themselves in the willow.
A trio of plump females perched atop a branch stared at Vade, giggling behind the cover of their hands.
“This way,” Evie called out.
“I’ve never seen anything so bright and beautiful,” Orelia said. “This is . . .magnificent.”
Vade whispered, “Things may look calm and inviting on the surface, but it’s a dark moon. Anything can happen.”
His warm breath sent goosebumps erupting down her arms. Gods, this man had the most irritating effect on her.
Never had she known someone who could boil her frustration, then make her a puddle just by saying a few words in her ear.
She chalked it up to not having been intimate with anyone in far too long.
The voices in the Tree faded when Evie led Orelia and Vade up to ruins of what might have once been a temple or shrine. Ivy wrapped around destroyed furniture, the place in disarray like whoever had been there had left in a hurry.
“What is this place?” Orelia asked, careful not to trip on the vines stretching across the stone floors.
Evie led them around a cracked pillar missing the top of its column. “It used to be a gathering hall for sorcerers who studied at the Seidr School. This was where they would celebrate finishing their classes, before they destroyed it.”
Seidr School. Now known as ‘Dahlia’s Temple.’ Her muscles tensed at the mention of dark magic-wielders. “Are we close to Dahlia’s Temple?”
Evie dropped onto a chair situated in front of an off-kilter desk with a broken mirror sitting on top. “We live on the outskirts of the Greywood, and the temple is in the middle. We don’t go there. It belongs to the nymphs now.”
At the end of The White War, in a battle that came to be known as The Final Night, the two strongest sorcerers went up against one another.
Their blinding seidr light lit up the sky completely, ripping a hole in the sky.
Legend said the Goddess of Desire—Dahlia—emerged from the heavens through the giant tear and gave her nymphs a place on the continent to live.
Orelia had always thought the idea too outlandish to believe.
The White War was ‘a battle of good versus evil’, the history texts said in terms too simple to describe the magnitude of devastation Nivinia and her people suffered.
Sorcerers were to blame for the significant collateral damage in their infighting, and when they were done killing each other, their vile magic created the first dark moon—a night that occurred at the end of every month.
A night that encouraged pain, sadistic rituals, and sexual deviancy.
Orelia never thought she’d feel safe so close to the Seidr School, but she’d been wrong about everything about the Greywood so far.
Evie poured out small pots of creams in various colors from a bag of woven leaves onto the table.
“What are you doing?” Orelia asked.
“We celebrate the dark moon by dancing around the Tree as a way to pay our respects to Mother Moon. We thank her for all she has given us. It’s a night for joy and love, so you must participate! Sit.”
Orelia set her pack down and took a seat on a wonky school chair, eagerly surveying the items on the table.
Vade walked around the ruins, inspecting every nook and cranny.
The trio of pixies she’d spotted earlier darted into the space, wings fluttering so fast they looked like streams of sunlight. They were half the size of Evie and giggled when they saw Vade.
“Can we fix him up?” one of them asked. “Oh, please, Evie! Please!”
“I get to dress him!” one of the others said as she batted her green eyelashes.
“Sure, sure,” Evie said with a flippant flick of her hand. “I’ve got her.” She winked at Orelia.
The pixies squealed and flew to Vade. One lifted a strand of his hair while the other two twirled around him. “He’s so handsome,” the smallest one said.
“I get to put the leaves in his hair!”
Vade swatted them away. “You’re not doing anything to me.”
Orelia chuckled watching them fawn all over him, knowing how irked he must be.
“Oh, yes we are! It’s a dark moon, so we have to get you prepared!” One of the females twirled herself into his hair, and Vade sneered so hard it made Orelia bust out laughing.
“Just play along. Just for tonight,” she said as she settled from her laughter.
Vade snorted his disapproval.
Evie dabbed a bit of the pink paint on Orelia’s cheeks, hovering in the air as she worked.
“Drop your pack and come with us!” the smallest pixie said as she futilely tugged on Vade’s sleeve.
“I’m not leaving her alone.” The deep tone of his voice came out more defensive than she expected.
“Oh, please. She’s safe with us,” Evie offered as she dabbed a bit of cream on Orelia’s nose, making it wrinkle at the tickling touch. “Plus, I’m going to dress her up, and you can’t be in here to see her while she changes.”
“Dress me up?” Orelia could hardly contain her excitement.
“We stick together. And I’m definitely not leaving my pack with strangers.” Vade crossed his arms to prove his point.
Orelia pinned him with a glare. “We’re guests in their home, Vade. Play by their rules. It’ll be fine.”
He seemed to consider her words, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “Fine. But our packs stay right here, and no one touches them. Got it?” He looked at the trio who hadn’t stopped grinning.
“Got it!” the tiny females said in unison.
Orelia chuckled at the absurd sight of the fae being led by a creature as big as his hand.
“He’s awfully protective of you,” Evie said as she stuck a slender bone in a pot of dark kohl.
“Yeah, but it’s not because he cares about me. We’re in a bit of a . . .situation.”
Evie fluttered eye level with Orelia. “Tilt your head back and look down. I’m going to paint your lashes.”
Orelia did as told. She hadn’t been able to afford cosmetics in years, and she couldn’t wait to see herself in the mirror.
Evie worked slowly, careful not to poke her in the eye. “What kind of situation?” she asked.
“A complicated one. And it’s all my fault.” Orelia blinked, having never had a paint that thick on her lashes before. “Is my eye supposed to feel this heavy?”