Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I wasn’t finding the Wishing Stone today. Not even close.
I rummaged through the outdoor compartment outside of the inn where I’d stored my enchanted carpet last night. Snow drifted around my feet in the morning breeze. Several inches coated the main street, but the blast of northern air was the least of my concerns.
Because my carpet was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t here.
“No, no, no. Where are you?” I searched through the outdoor storage shed again, and then again, hunting for my only means of transportation. I’d placed it in the shed’s left corner last night. I was certain of that.
But other than a large trunk someone had set near that corner, an old, raggedy enchanted carpet that looked as if it would barely carry one fairy, multiple boxes that were too small to hold a carpet, and a few empty flower pots that I guessed the inn used during warmer months, there was nothing.
Absolutely nothing. Someone had either stolen my carpet or it’d flown off on its own, the second not being possible.
Heart hammering, I left the shed and raced around the inn, searching the entire perimeter for my carpet. When that didn’t yield anything, I went back inside and asked the front desk staff if they’d perhaps moved it. But they denied doing so.
And after doing another sweep throughout the entire inn and then back to the shed, I accepted the inevitable.
My carpet was gone.
“Shite!” I slapped my hand against the wall, gaining myself a new splinter in the process. Moaning, I sucked my finger, then pulled the splinter out and sagged against the wall. “What am I going to do?”
I’d been so careful on this trip. So careful.
I’d avoided all conflicts following that first day.
I’d even lost travel time when I’d sensed other fae wished me harm.
Gods and Goddesses, I’d even carried all of my supplies up to my chambers last night just to avoid any thefts, only to have the one thing I desperately needed to travel taken from me.
My spirits plummeted. “Now what?” I whispered to myself.
Enchanted carpets weren’t easy to come by, especially not in a village as remote as Inisville. If I’d been in Whiteolf or even Jaggedston, it might have been feasible to procure a new enchanted carpet today, but here? I would be lucky if one arrived a month after ordering it.
I slapped my hand against the wall again. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. You should have taken your carpet upstairs with you too, even if the blasted thing weighs a hundred stones!”
Granted, my carpet hadn’t actually weighed that much, but it was heavy and awkward to carry, especially since I’d bought one on the larger size so I could carry all of my supplies.
And since I was trying to conceal the extent of my abilities, I hadn’t wanted to use my telekinetic magic.
Although Kole probably could have easily maneuvered it up the staircase if I’d asked him to.
I balled my hands, anything to stop the rising anxiety clawing up my throat.
Feeling sick at what my future held, I took a deep breath and tried to see the bright side of things.
Straightening, I forced a smile because I could order a new carpet.
It wasn’t like one wouldn’t show up eventually, and perhaps spending more time in Inisville would allow me to better study my book from the Isle of Song .
. . even though I’d read it cover to cover several times over.
My chin wobbled, but I strengthened my resolve to see the positive.
Perhaps I could learn more from the locals about that creature so I would know how best to avoid another encounter with one. Or maybe, just maybe, the cold weather that had filled the land with snow would pass, and by the time I headed out, it would be warmer.
I grasped onto those optimistic thoughts, desperately trying to pretend that this wasn’t a total and complete disaster.
But my lower lip trembled despite my efforts, and I pushed away from the wall to begin pacing along the shed’s exterior. Snow kicked up around my ankles, and a cold breeze brushed my cheeks.
“Think positively. Think positively,” I chanted to myself again and again, then grabbed the lock of Goddess Nuleef’s hair from my sack.
I fingered the golden strands, the shiny material like silk.
“It’s not over. You’ll get a new carpet.
The snow might be melted by then anyway.
Traveling could be warmer. And whatever the creature was, if there are any more in the area, hopefully, the rest will be long gone by then. This isn’t the end. It’ll be okay.”
My pacing increased, but no matter how hard I tried to view this as a blessing, and no matter how many times I rubbed and prayed to the goddess, several cold hard facts remained.
I was now delayed, for who knew how long, and the Stone could very well be found by another fairy while I waited for a new carpet to arrive. It had already been a week since the Stone had shot across the sky.
I walked faster, my feet sliding along the slick snow. Tears were on the brink of forming in my eyes. My uncle might die now because of my carelessness. I rubbed the goddess’s hair more. If only I’d been more careful. If only I’d—
A whoop of laughter came from down the lane.
I stopped short just as my three Faewood friends sailed down the street toward me on their enchanted carpet.
Nym, Jessip, and Felix sat securely upon it.
Fresh supplies were strapped to it just behind them.
In all likelihood, they’d just restocked on food and probably warmer clothing for their journey north.
They obviously had the foresight not to store their carpet out in the open, where anyone could take it.
Felix waved jovially as soon as he spotted me. “Prim, my love, what a pleasant surprise!” The male grinned, his eyebrows waggling suggestively.
Nym and Jessip also waved, and they flew closer to me.
Jessip stopped at the inn’s door, their carpet hovering in the breeze. “Morning, Prim.”
“Good morning.” I forced a bright smile, but moisture still coated my eyes.
“Glad to see you’re safe and sound,” Nym added. “Crazy stuff last night, eh? Did you get a dillemsill as well about needing to stay indoors?”
My smile wavered, and thoughts of the strange creature returned. “I heard,” I replied vaguely, not wanting to dwell on that problem too.
Jessip cocked her head and peered closer at me. “Is everything okay? You look upset.”
I blinked rapidly and forced my expression to smooth. “I’m afraid I’ve had a turn of bad luck, but it’s nothing I can’t fix.”
“Bad luck?” Felix’s brow furrowed. “Did something happen?”
I quickly explained that my carpet had been stolen, so my journey was delayed, but that I had plans to procure a new one.
“I’ll put an order in straight away. It’s just something I didn’t foresee happening, is all.
” I wrung my hands but kept my shoulders back, determined to make the most of this.
I was about to tell them just that, but the inn’s door opened, snagging everyone’s attention.
Kole stepped outside, his dark hair glinting in the dim sunlight filtering through the thick cloud cover.
His broad shoulders brushed against the doorframe, and his sword was once again strapped to his back.
The warrior halted in place, being forced to stop since Nym, Jessip, and Felix’s carpet blocked his path.
“Hi, Kole.” Jessip waved in a friendly manner.
The warrior didn’t reply.
Felix turned back to me, barely giving the warrior a passing glance. “Why don’t you join us? We have plenty of room, and four heads are better than three. We can turn your stroke of bad luck into a lucky break.”
“Really?” I perked up even though I knew that if I joined them, problems would arise eventually. If not on which direction to go, then on who would claim the Stone. After all, if we were lucky enough to find it, only one fairy could use its magic, and I doubted they’d let me.
“What’s going on?” Kole’s expression didn’t change, but he surveyed the four of us.
Jessip waved toward me. “Prim’s carpet was stolen during the night, so she’s currently stuck here without transportation, but we’ve offered her a spot on our carpet if she wants to keep hunting the Stone. We have room after all.” She patted the free patch of carpet beside her.
Kole took a step toward me, his tone lowering. “You’re still journeying north? You’re not going home?”
I tried not to be affected by the blatant concern in his voice or how his deep tone rolled right through me, as if on a path straight to my nether region. “Of course, I’m still going north. Or rather, I’d planned to be until someone stole my carpet, but now—”
“You’re certain it’s gone?” His aura flickered, and he peered inside the shed.
“Yes, definitely. I’ve searched everywhere for it, and it’s not in there. I checked behind the inn too and asked the staff, but no one’s seen it. Someone must have stolen it.”
“Strange stuff must have been going on last night,” Nym chimed in.
“We all got a dillemsill about needing to stay indoors. Maybe that’s when the thief took it since they knew nobody would see them.
” Nym scratched his head. “Do you know what that was about last night? About why we had to stay inside?”
Kole ignored him and swung toward me again, then nudged the boxes sitting at my feet that I’d laboriously dragged down the stairs on my own. “You shouldn’t go north, Prim. You should go home.”
His tone was heavy. Adamant. As if he truly cared for my well-being. And I didn’t even want to think about what that was doing to my insides.
However, all three sets of eyebrows on my new friends shot up.
“She shouldn’t?” Felix scowled at the warrior.
“But I have to go north.” I peered up at Kole. “Retreating isn’t an option.”
“Why shouldn’t she go north?” Felix pushed, a wave of suspicion descending over him.
“It’s not safe. That’s why,” Kole replied in a clipped tone.