Page 28

And when I remembered…

I was not so afraid.

Chapter eleven

A Small Single Bed

There was another emptyfield on the other side of the Forest of Eyes and Ears.

It was identical to the last, except this one was placed atop a cliff overlooking a restless cobalt and silver ocean. I never strayed too close to the edge, but from what I could see where the land curved inwards before jutting out ahead, it was a very steep drop down to a narrow beach of broken shells and stones.

In the sky above, a rainbow of colours and dusting of crystals still danced and played where the clouds should have been, but it cast a normal, albeit somewhat peach-tinted glow upon the world.

Tawny clay speckled with white made up the exposed earth on the side of the cliff. It could have been any ocean in the world crashing upon the shoreline, based on appearances alone.

“That belongs to the Merfolk,” Wren murmured, catching my horizon-bound stare. “You’ll draw their attention if you keep looking out there.”

I studied his expression, tilting my head. “No,” I breathed, a smile curling up on my lips.Faeries I can believe, although even that is a stretch. But Merfolk?“Surely not.”

Wren cocked an eyebrow and beckoned me to his side. “What do you see down there?” he enquired, pointing to the stony shore.

We were a few feet away from the straight drop down, but it was hard to be sure in the long grass, so I leaned slightly into him as I peered over the edge. He placed his hand on the small of my back like he was about to shove me over it.

Heart lurching, I skipped backwards, out of his reach, and averted my eyes. “Stones and shells. Maybe some sand.”

He chuckled darkly. “Bones, bookworm.”

A shiver spider-walked down my spine, pricking me with needle-like legs. I didn’t dare another glance, but I could hardly accept that it was true—even if I knew he couldn’t lie.

“Some human legends refer to them as Sirens, but they’re all the same,” he went on, staring down at the ocean. The waves began to climb higher and they crashed into one another with a spray of white sea foam. “Vicious, slimy little creatures.”

For all of his bravado while he’d cursed them, Wren still promptly grabbed me by the elbow and urged me to quicken my pace as he hauled me further inland.

“So, the Merfolk are faeries?” I clarified, once we’d put enough distance between ourselves and the ocean.

“In a manner of speaking,” he answered loosely. “All forms of magic descended from the High Fae, originally.”

“Do you callthemhalf-breeds, too?”

He faltered a step but didn’t glance back at me as he replied, “I’d rather your company than theirs. Let’s leave it at that.”

“They must be hideous.”

“They are.”

I rolled my eyes at his back and decided against pressing for more information. He didn’t seem inclined towards conversation, and I wasn’t sure how many more of his insults and dirty looks I could take on an empty stomach.

Provoked by the thought, my belly began to grumble with hunger.

I couldn’t remember how many hours had passed since I’d last eaten or had any water, and I’d skipped at least two doses of my medication.Though, I supposed as my eyes bore into the back of the broody High Fae man in front of me,I probably don’t need it anymore.

Thoughts of home circled my mind for the rest of the day’s trek into the Court of Light.

My father would likely be long gone, perhaps never to return after the incident with the caenim, and I could only hope that my decision to leave would keep my mother and Brynn safe. That hope was what I held onto. It was all I had to hold onto.

By the time we made visible progress across the land, almost all of my human needs had caught up to me. I didn’t particularly fancy broaching the subject with Wren, considering how little I knew about faeries and their own needs, but I was nearly desperate by the time he finally stopped.

We were at a dirt crossroads, lined with trees of average height sprouting large purple berries. The sky was beginning to fade into violet and silver.