Chapter 16 #4
“Everything Maethrel has done is weird,” he answers absently, his gaze still on the cottage door that holds his friend inside, along with a multitude of Maethrel’s secrets.
I decide to rummage through the small sack that’s strapped across my body. This gets Raef’s attention.
“Got any snacks in there?”
I nod, pulling out a couple pieces of hard fruit and handing it to him.
“You’re the best. I’m starving,” he says dramatically. His eyes roll in the back of his head as he takes his first bite of the pink, juicy fruit, tilting his head back. His throat bobs as he swallows. “This is the best fruit I’ve ever had. What is it?”
“Hazeberries,” I answer as I toss one into my mouth. It tastes amazing. Maybe that’s because I haven’t eaten all day.
He lowers his head and looks at me. “Isn’t that the berries that make that crazy wine?”
“Pink wine, we call it. And yes. But don’t worry. It doesn’t have that effect unless it’s fermented.”
“Okay,” he says, taking another bite. “I trust you.” There’s a teasing gleam in his eyes.
I pass him a water-filled flask after that.
He looks at me like I just gave him his own castle.
“Okay, if you always come with badass snacks and refreshments, you’re required to come on all of our journeys from now on.”
“Do you not bring food and water when you travel far?” I ask with a laugh.
He shrugs. “Sometimes. The essentials, at least.”
I shake my head.
We both go quiet, watching the cottage again. Raef steals another hard berry.
“Should we go in there?” I ask eventually.
He sighs, thinking it over, when the door finally creaks open, the light from the cottage seeping out. Daegan emerges. He doesn’t say goodbye to the witch, and he doesn’t look at either of us as he strides past us. “Let’s go,” is all he grumbles.
He wears his usual expressionless mask, so it’s hard to guess his mood after his private meeting with the witch.
We take off after him, falling into our usual formation. Raef keeps quiet behind me, and I take that as my sign to do the same. He knows Daegan best. Clearly, it’s best not to press him right now.
Our trek through the forest is much quicker and far less eventful this time. I guess Maethrel must have called off all of his beasts.
When I think we must be getting close to the edge, Raef gasps. Not in a way that makes me think he’s in danger, more in a way that sounds like he’s excited.
“What is it?” I ask, still trying to keep pace behind Daegan.
“I thought I saw…” He pauses. “No. I’m sure it wasn’t.”
“What?”
“I thought I saw a fairy.”
“Was it a shimmering golden light that looked like a million tiny specks all clustered together?”
“Yeah. Like, a trail of that. And then it disappeared in an instant.”
I shake my head. “It can’t be. They don’t live in this region. Never have.”
“Then what do you think it was?”
“This world holds many mysteries.” I shrug, unable to offer him a more sufficient answer.
What he described sounded exactly like the fairies I’ve read about and seen illustrations of.
But what would one be doing here? They live in the forests by the shores.
The idea that one might be so far away from their natural habitat worries me.
“I want to bond a fairy.”
I scoff.
“What? You don’t think me worthy?”
“I’m sure you are. But that hasn’t happened in thousands of years. It wasn’t even common before the curse.”
“That you know of.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
We finally reach the clearing where we left our horses, and a strange feeling overtakes me.
Now that we’ve emerged from Wraithmere, the hard part begins.
The part where we must decide if we’re going to work together now.
If we can trust each other in our quest to find the rest of these relics.
Then all we have to do is figure out where and how to unite them and break the spell for good.
Daegan stops at the horses, finally turning to face us. His expression is even more hardened than before, if that’s possible. For a moment, it seems like he’s avoiding meeting my eyes, but eventually he focuses and locks on. Reluctantly.
“Thank you,” he says.
“For… what?”
“For saving our asses in there. For taking us and letting us in on this… secret. And for trusting us.”
“I never said I did.”
I could swear the tiniest twitch of his lip occurs, but it’s gone before I know it. “You do. You have no choice.”
He jaunts off toward his horse, and I’m left staring after him with my mouth open, arms raised, and my palms up.
“You’re an arrogant ass,” I say quietly. I’m certain I hear a breath coming out of him that almost sounds like a laugh.
I glance at Raef, who’s watching the whole interaction with a grin on his face. “He is,” he agrees.
“Let’s get moving or we’re not going to make it back before night,” Daegan remarks as he climbs atop his horse.
Everyone in the entire kingdom knows not to travel in the night.
Once upon a time, the night would be illuminated by a moon and thousands of tiny stars that looked like little lights in the sky.
I’ve seen many paintings of it, and it looks ethereal, magical. I’d like to see it one day.
But now, the night gets so dark outside of the towns that you can’t see a few body lengths in front of you.
It’s as dark as shutting your eyes. Torches or orbs will only help you so much.
Dangerous, mysterious creatures roam the lands at that time, and it is not wise to be caught out in the country.
I check my time orb and find that the flame has gone down significantly. “Shit. We might not make it back to the castle even if we ride fast for the remainder of the day.”
“Well, let’s at least try to make it to that inn. I’ve been almost killed one too many times for my liking today,” Raef says.