Chapter 14
The dim light from the hallway spills into our tiny room as we enter. Levi strikes a match to light the oil lamp on the table before I close the door. He doesn’t say a word as he skirts the bed, sits, and fluffs a pillow on the far side. Lying down, he faces the wall. I’m not sure if he’s more afraid of what I asked him or of sleeping beside me.
“You really don’t have to act weird.” I unlace and kick off my boots beside the door. “It’s not like we haven’t slept in the same room before.”
Turning toward me, he props his head up on his elbow. “Can you say that again?”
I’m not sure how we’ll have the conversation we need to have in a darkened room.
I settle under the covers, trying not to shiver in the cold air. I turn to face him so he can read my lips. “What’s so special about me?”
He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. “The prophecy is only part of it. There’s a connection we feel when we’re around you. It’s almost spiritual if that makes sense.”
Spiritual? In Avren, people look down on religion. We exist because of science. The progress of humankind is all due to what we’ve accomplished establishing a perfect society. When left to chaos or even religion, we spiral downward into the creatures of the wilderness. “How do you mean?”
He shifts significantly closer to me. “Don’t you ever get a gut feeling?”
“I suppose.” Since being in the wilderness, I’ve had them more.
“It’s like that but more intense when I’m around you. It’s as if the universe is drawing me to you like a magnet.” Within our little bubble, he reaches out and touches my cheek. “There’s something special about you that both Gray and I feel. Bastian and Evie do their best to block it, but in the end, it’s not something they can deny either.” His finger trails along my skin as if I’m fragile—a priceless treasure. “You will fulfill the prophecy. I know it with everything inside me.”
“And what if I don’t?” If Avren taught me one thing, it’s that I’m not special. Only another cog in the machine, making it work like a well-oiled operation. If any of the members clog up the mechanics, the Council sends them to the wilderness. It happened to my father, to Arazian, to Levi’s parents, to me.
Levi drops his hand, lays his head on my pillow, and opens his arms. “Come here.”
I snuggle into his arms, feeling safer than I have in years with a man I only met less than a week ago. He opened his heart to me. Something I only felt with my father.
His fingers trail along my hairline. “Block out all the lies they’ve fed you over the years about your value to society. The Kindred Few wasn’t complete until you came along. You’re an integral piece, not only to our plan but to our family. Never discount your worth.”
Knowing he can’t hear me without seeing my lips, I whisper, “I love you.” They are words my dad used with me, but it’s been a long time since I uttered such a powerful expression of my feelings. And I mean it. Prophecy or not, I will fight through Avren and the First City to defend my brother.
When I wake,I look over at Levi, cocooned snugly in blankets. Shivering and hungry, I snatch his coat from a nearby chair, pick up my boots, and go out to the hallway, closing the door as quietly as I can.
Soft voices drift through the stairwell from the room below, so I pull on my boots and head out to see if I can scrounge a piece of fruit or bread.
Images from the night before come to the forefront as I find the table we sat at for dinner. My heart races just thinking about Quinn Malum—his long silver hair, hypnotic amber eyes, electrifying touch, and promise to meet again. Did he feel the same spiritual connection the others sense in me? I shake my head to break free from his hold. Without him here, it’s manageable. And currently, my stomach says it could give a rat’s ass about Quinn Malum.
“Good morning, sweetie.” The same woman stands behind the bar, serving up a plate of eggs and bacon to an older man. “Can I get you something to eat?”
“Yes, please,” I say, leaving a stool between me and the man. “An apple?”
The woman furrows her brows and pouts. “No wonder you’re so skinny. I’ll fix you a plate of eggs and bacon, along with a serving of porridge to start.”
Before I can protest, she’s gone.
The man beside me clears his throat. He sets down his fork and looks at me. “You’re clearly human. Were ya born in the wilderness?”
“No,” I say, wondering how much I should tell a stranger. With his gray beard and tattered clothes, he seems harmless enough. “My parents raised me in Avren.”
He turns back to his breakfast, filling his mouth with eggs. “A Citizen.”
Both as an Undesirable and as a Citizen, the evicted face persecution. I felt it from Guy and Flynn’s friends in the city. And it’s rampant here. “No longer, sir. My mother died before my eighteenth birthday.”
“And your father?” The man keeps his focus on his eggs, continuing his intrusive questions.
“He left for the wilderness when I was younger. Decided his job on the Council was too much.” I smile at the cook as she delivers my steaming plate of food. I devour a piece of bacon.
The man picks up a saltshaker, adding a healthy dose to his eggs. “Mildred never seasons a single thing around here.” Instead of diving back into his breakfast, he taps his fork on the side of his plate. “What’s ya father’s name?”
“Daxson Barellis, but his good friends and my mom called him Dax.” I take a sip of water, hoping this man has heard of him before. Not that I’d want to see the man who left me in favor of a life of adventure.
The man mumbles an indecipherable string of words as he wads up his napkin. “Can I get my bill?”
“What was that?” I ask, desperate to hear more from this man who obviously knows something.
“If you know what’s good for ya, stay away from your father and his whole lot. The Northern Duke’s not to be trifled with on a good day.” He mutters a few curse words, counts coins from his pocket, and drops them on the counter. “No worries, Mildred,” he calls. “I overpaid ya.”
I grab the man’s sleeve as he slips from his stool. “Please, tell me more.”
“The only other thing I’ll tell ya is the man’s crazy. Same goal as the rest of the Redeemed, but he thinks working with the Supes is the way to accomplish it.” He rakes his eyes over me. “Scrawny little thing, aren’t ya? The Northern Duke will eat you up and spit you out. Doesn’t matter you’re his spawn.”
I sit back down on the stool to steady myself. Dax Barellis is alive and well. Did he know about my mother’s death and my expulsion? And if he did, why didn’t he send someone for me? The Northern Duke does not sound like the man I knew. The man who bought me a music box, and who my little heart loved until he broke it.
“Do you want to take breakfast up to your husband?” Mildred breaks into my thoughts. “He says you have a bit of traveling out to your sister’s farm.” She leans over the counter, closer to me. “They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
“Thanks for the advice.” I give her a quick smile, not having the strength to smash her illusion of my relationship with Levi. “Can you pack him something to go?”
“No problem. I’ll have it ready when the two of you check out.”
I climb the stairs to our room in a daze, chewing on the old man’s words. When I enter our room, Levi’s awake and dressed, sitting in a chair and reading a book beside the oil lamp. The world outside is still gray with the early morning light. He looks up.
“Good morning.” I close the door and lift my pack to the bed to organize it. “Did you sleep well?”
Signing, he says, “Surprisingly well. How about you?”
“Fine.” I remove a sweater to throw over my tunic. There’s a chill in the air. “What do you know about the Northern Duke?”
His eyes widen. “Where did you hear about him?”
“At breakfast.” I don’t want to reveal how I know the duke. A lot of emotions swirl through me regarding my father and abandonment. “An older man mentioned the faction of the Redeemed who work with Supes.”
“Supes… wayward Miscretes.” Levi sets his book on the table beside the oil lamp. “The guy’s missing a few screws in the head.”
Though I want to know more about my father, I drop it for now. As soon as the first rays of the sun hit, I want to be on the road so we can get back to Rumsford before dark. “Sounds like a real piece of work. Are you ready to head downstairs?”
He stuffs his book in his pack, shrugs on his coat, and throws his bag on his shoulder. “Are you sure you want to go to Mafekadi? That’s where that fairy’s headed. What happened last night made me nervous, and I’m part fae.”
“You said most of the fae in the town are harmless, right?”
“Yes,” he says.
I remove a dagger from my cloak. “And you said this is made of iron, correct?”
“Yes… but…”
“Then I have confidence in our ability to defend ourselves if needed.” I throw on my cloak and open the door. “You coming?”
Nestledin a valley between the sloping foothills of the massive mountain, about a two-hour hike from Rumsford is the settlement of Mafekadi. Along the way, Levi and I discuss the prophecy and Avo, his closest friend among the fae.
When we finally crest the hillside, the air is thick with enchantment, tingling my skin. Looking down at the village, I see it holds a blend of organic architecture and natural formations. Giant mushroom caps serve as rooftops, while intricate carvings depicting scenes from fae folklore, cover the walls of the homes. Elaborate treehouses constructed from intertwined branches and vines sway gently in the breeze, creating a seamless connection between the structures and the surrounding forest. Wind chimes hanging from the same trees emit haunting tunes throughout the valley.
A brook meanders through the center of the village, providing a mirrored surface to reflect the deep greens and vibrant colors of the surrounding foliage. Stone bridges arch over the water, connecting different parts of the village and leading to communal gathering spaces.
My mouth hangs open. Never in my life have I witnessed the antithesis of Avren. The city is the pinnacle of human innovation and progress, creating imitations of the natural world with metal, stone, and plastics. Mafekadi embodies what it looks like when creatures and the natural world work together. “I’m speechless.”
“It’s pretty amazing, right?” Levi loops his arm in mine and drags me along the moss-covered path.
As much as I want to delve into the intricacies of the village’s beauty, standing on the hillside and admiring it from afar is almost as tempting. It’s a dream. At any moment, someone will pinch me, and I’ll wake up. “How does it make you feel to be here?”
“Like I’m home.” The corner of Levi’s mouth tilts upward. “As much as the four of you are my family, Mafekadi stirs the part of me I try to hide.”
“I like that part of you.” I adjust my hold on his arm, drawing him in closer so he knows I’m here for him no matter what happens. “Don’t hide it.”
In the heart of the village, there’s a communal square I assume is used for celebrations and gatherings. I can only imagine the breathtaking nature of a fae wedding. Ancient standing stones, each engraved with symbols, surround the square.
Many eyes are on us as we walk through the village. Although Levi is part fae and visits Mafekadi, he is still clearly human. The looks are more curious than menacing, and the overall calming magic in the air makes me feel at ease.
“Avo lives about two blocks from here.” He leads me between two homes, through a garden, and into another patch of dwellings. Bright swatches of flowers adorn the cobblestone walkways to the homes.
While I want to visit Levi’s friend, I haven’t forgotten about the material I hope to purchase for the new clothes. But looking at Mafekadi, I don’t see a single store. I might find a tailor in Rumsford on the way back.
Levi knocks on the door of a home with thousands of daisies growing up to our waists beside the front walk. The smell of the entire valley is intoxicating, and I’m not sure if it’s the scent of the flowers or the magical nature making me want to find a patch of grass to take a nap in.
Standing outside the door, my eyes start to close before I’m startled awake by its opening. A man, about a head taller than Levi with long, golden hair, stands on the threshold for a second before embracing my friend.
“Levi Crassus! It’s been months.” He sways back and forth with his arms still wrapped tightly around the smaller man. There’s no smile on his face. “I almost thought you’d joined the First City.”
Levi pats him on the back, probably not hearing a word he’s saying. He moves away from his friend and holds a hand out to me before signing, “This is Maribel Windsong. The woman I told you about in the letter I sent with Wix.”
“Ah… the Citizen gone rogue.” Avo pulls me into a hug, but it’s not as tight as I expect it to be. “Levi’s told me all about you. Didn’t think that exclusive little group would ever let another one in. You must be something special.”
“If you count a woman who’s never cooked, cleaned, or shot an arrow straight regularly as special, then you’re a genius in your assessment.” I still don’t understand the magnetic pull Levi feels around me. “Unless my personality draws you in.” Smiling, I follow Avo into the house.
“Have a seat,” he says, ushering us to a bench formed by the giant roots of a tree. Entanglements of herbs and plants hang from the ceiling, giving the room a thick smell. Earthen-colored pillows cover the seating area. Bringing us each a cup of tea, he sits on the floor by our feet, his legs crisscrossed. “The prophecy’s clear. One savior will come from Avren.” Moving to his knees, he lights a long stick in the fireplace before bringing it back to me.
“What is that?” In the wilderness, there are many things I’ve witnessed not present in the city. Most have to do with the spiritual realm or necessities not needed in a progressive community.
“It reveals the hidden.” Avo moves the smoking stick slowly around my body. It has a sweet, woody aroma which calms my nerves.
I close my eyes, giving in to the fae’s magic. Though I don’t know Avo enough to trust him, I trust Levi. If this creature can decipher the puzzle of who I am, I have no problem with him waving his smoky wand.
“It is written.” Avo’s voice echoes through my head. “So shall it be.”
I open my eyes and look from Avo to Levi. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your presence, your aura, and the clear attraction you emit tell me you are the first half of the prophecy.” He brushes his long hair over his shoulder and tosses the smoking stick into the fire. It releases a purplish hue in the flames. “I’m but a simple fae, but my instincts hold the same clarity as the greatest among us.”
“Do you know anything about the missing piece of the prophecy?” Levi signs out his words.
“If you didn’t have luck with your uncle in Frostacre, I’m afraid you won’t find an answer here. The Unseelie Court stole the prophecy from us years ago. They are the ones to ask.” He stands and leans against a door, probably leading to a bedroom.
“Bracken won’t tell me anything. It’s like asking a wall for help.” Levi draws in a sharp breath, places his elbows on his knees, and buries his fingers in his hair.
“Do you think the fae from the Unseelie Court will listen to me?” I place a hand on his back, trying to find some way to be useful. “If Avo can see I’m a so-called savior, won’t they sense the same thing? I need to know who I’m working with if I’m supposed to take down two cities.”
Levi sits up straight, interlocking his fingers with mine. “You’re never to go to Frostacre. It isn’t safe for a human.”
The door to the bedroom opens, revealing a fae with silver hair. Quinn Malum. “She doesn’t have to travel to Frostacre alone. The king sent me to be her personal escort.