Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I didn’t know how long Kole was needed by the Imperial Council, so I settled in for the journey on my own. With Kole’s tracking charm buried deep in my pocket, I checked my seekerill as the carpet sailed steadily north. The seekerill’s needle continued to point exactly where I dreaded going.
Silventine Wood.
“Goddess help me.” I snapped the lid closed and shoved it back into my pocket.
Anxiety swirled higher inside me. I released a harsh breath and turned my attention inward to call Ree.
I needed to let her know that I was still safe and unharmed since I’d told her I would do my best to keep her updated.
I also still hadn’t told her about the creature outside of Inisville and Kole’s true reason for being in the Wood.
The six shifter males yesterday had taken precedence in our brief conversation.
I had so much to tell her, but first, I did a quick search of my surroundings, especially now that I was on my own.
The snowy Wood had thinned out, and I could easily see that no fae or predators lurked about. Above, the cloud cover had finally fully cleared, and the sun shone brightly. It would be safe to connect with her, but just as I was about to, a noise came from behind me.
“Yoo-hoo!” someone called. “Is that Prim up there?”
I looked over my shoulder, and my lips parted in surprise. Jessip, Nym, and Felix barreled around a dip in the road and raced toward me on their carpet.
Relief hit me that my Faewood friends looked unscathed. Obviously, they hadn’t encountered those six shifter males before Kole and I had.
“We thought that was you!” Jessip called good-naturedly as they neared.
They sailed their carpet forward to glide alongside mine. When they reached me, Jessip frowned. “Where’s Kole?”
“He had to leave for a bit.”
“Did he get maimed?” Nym brought a hand to his chest, his expression aghast. “Is that why he left? Did he need to seek a healer?”
I shook my head. “No, he got summoned for a work thing and is fine.” I smiled broader. “I wondered if I would see you all again. I’m happy to know you’re all still safe.”
Felix waggled his eyebrows. “Of course you’re seeing us again, love. You’re my future wife after all. And why wouldn’t we be safe? Nothing is too dangerous to keep me from tracking you down.”
I snorted in amusement even though he was laying it on thick. “You know that I haven’t said yes to our nuptials yet.”
Felix sighed, getting a laugh out of Nym and Jessip.
“I see that I need to get you on the dance floor again.” Felix straightened and rapped his knuckles against his thighs. “Right, my mission after we find the Stone has been set. Once I have you in my arms again, you’ll be changing your tune.” He grinned so cockily that I laughed anew.
Nym guffawed. “That might be wishful thinking, Fee. Dancing with you doesn’t make females want to marry you. Otherwise, you’d already be married a dozen times over.”
Felix smacked his friend in the chest. “That’s only because Prim hasn’t been properly courted by me yet. But I plan to do that too after our next dance.”
Nym smirked, and Jessip rolled her eyes.
Still smiling, I asked, “Did you all find a safe place to rest last night?”
Jessip sighed dramatically. “If you can count sleeping in a tree, well away from the Wood’s floor, a safe place, then yes, I suppose we did.”
I winced. “Oh no, what happened?”
Nym made a horrified sound. “A larpanoon came prowling around in the wee hours of the morning. Luckily, we got up the tree in time, but then none of us could leave the tree to retrieve our carpet and get out of there because the larpanoon kept circling the tree’s base, but thankfully, it finally left at sunrise. We didn’t get much rest, though.”
“Or any rest,” Felix corrected.
My chest tightened. “That sounds close.”
“It was.” Jessip ran a hand over her braided hair. “Count me out of ever traveling to this region of the continent again.” She cocked her head. “What about you? Did anything exciting happen to you since we parted?”
“Do six shifter males accosting Kole and I on the road count?”
Jessip’s eyes grew as round as the sun. “You’re joking.”
“I wish I was.”
Felix sidled closer to me on their carpet. “Do tell.”
I quickly summed up our encounter with the six fae but left out the gory details of the males’ deaths and instead said that Kole took care of them, without elaborating.
Nym shuddered. “That sounds even worse than the larpanoon. So when will Kole be back?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I’m assuming sometime today.”
“You should definitely travel with us until then.” Jessip eyed the snowy Wood ahead of us. “This area of the continent gives me the creeps, especially if you’re a lone female on the road.”
“What she said,” Felix added. “As my future wife, I consider it my duty to protect you.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop my smile. “Thank you. I would love to join you all.”
“It’s settled then.” Jessip surveyed the road again, her nose scrunching up. “I can tell you that once we find the Stone, we’re out of here.”
Her comment reminded me that despite their friendliness, we were still in direct competition with one another, but I didn’t want to think about that just yet.
It was possible that the Stone had landed so deeply within Silventine Wood that it would take a few more days to find it.
We could still enjoy each other’s company for a while.
But regardless, hearing about their larpanoon experience and remembering the six males Kole and I had encountered were reminders of the challenges I would be facing if I didn’t find the Stone soon.
It was just one more thing I needed to consider.
The morning passed in a flurry of cold wind, desolate roads, and chipper communication with my three Faewood friends.
Since most other fae left hunting the Stone had been fooled by the direction of its tail, where we traveled was nearly deserted.
After passing the last village before Silventine Wood, I began to wonder if Kole would be back before I reached the ominous forest.
I hadn’t heard from him, he hadn’t mistphased back, and no dillemsill ever appeared.
A part of me wanted to try linking consciousnesses with him, but since we’d never connected mentally before, it could prove difficult to find him. Still, I could try.
But as soon as that impulse hit me, it left. Kole didn’t know my magic could do that, and my attempts at reaching him could only end up alarming him since the feel of my magic brushing against his mind could be mistaken for an ailment or the feeling of going psychotic.
I sighed. Even though I knew his work took precedence, I still wanted to know if he was okay.
But more than that, I wanted him with me.
Having him at my side had made me feel much more secure in this region of the continent, but I tried not to worry about that and instead concentrated on making headway.
Hours passed as the day flew by. Throughout the afternoon, I stealthily checked the seekerill several times. Its needle stayed true to its course. North. I was growing closer to the Stone.
And when I checked it again as evening neared, my breath sucked in. The needle began quivering, alerting me to the fact that I was almost to where its endpoint lay.
When that happened, I snapped the lid closed.
Breaths coming faster, I slipped the device into my pocket since my three friends were all glancing the other way.
Apparently, I wouldn’t need to spend days in Silventine Wood searching for it.
If the needle was vibrating like that, it meant the Stone was even closer than I’d thought.
A hill loomed ahead, and only low-lying crisilite shrubs surrounded us. When we crested the swollen land, the entire northern region came into view, and just beyond that, the glimmering and icy Brashier Sea waited.
My lips parted in wonder. The last time I’d seen that sea, I’d been traveling on a ship to the Isle of Song to retrieve Legends of Our Realm. It was hard to believe that had only been a few short weeks ago.
But at sea, there hadn’t been a deadly forest to contend with, only waves and potential storms.
“Dear Gods, there it is.” Jessip shaded her eyes in the early evening, staring straight ahead.
Nym and Felix swore quietly, and I swallowed the knot of anxiety that had suddenly grown in my throat.
Silventine Wood glimmered on the landscape, filling the area before the sea, and the eerie metallic shimmer along its border let us know that we’d nearly arrived.
I shuddered. The Wood’s name had come from that very perimeter.
A silvery metallic haze enshrouded the forest, like a dome of gleaming metal.
It was said that after one passed through the border, the color changed.
Some days, the Wood’s interior would be dark and sinister.
Other days, it appeared vibrant and colorful.
But that was one of the reasons this Wood was so dangerous.
It was alive in its own way. The soil was rumored to be incredibly magical and had a lifeforce all of its own.
Plants writhed like fae’s limbs. Animals prowled beneath the ground’s surface.
It was even said that the trees communicated, as though an all-seeing omnipresent consciousness controlled the Wood’s creatures.
“I’ve heard a god died here eons ago, and his soul lives on in the ground.
” Jessip toyed with her fingernails, picking and scraping at them.
“And that’s why it’s so magical and so labile.
Some say the god’s soul is unable to escape from here, and when he’s slumbering, the Wood is dangerous but still survivable, but when he awakens, dark acts occur. ”
“That’s just a rumor.” Nym elbowed her. “There’s no proof of that.”