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If I saw him again, I would bleed him for information first, and then I would kill him.

Because I would go home one day. I wanted to, and one day…Iwould.

Plotting and scheming my way down the unpaved road, I walked until my rage simmered down into smouldering embers, burning the last of my energy along with it.

Without a sun in the sky, I couldn’t discern the time of day. I had no sense of time passing or the world orbiting in Faerie, and as far as my mortal eyes could see, there was nothing but more of those infernal empty fields for miles and miles.

Taking a seat against a roadside tree, I smacked the back of my head into the trunk until its bark came off in my hair.

Fool.

I was a fool for following Wren out of Belgrave, for having given it absolutely no thought whatsoever, and for not asking any of the right questions, even though I’d read enough books about faeries to know better.

They are tricksters and thieves.

I should have known better.

I should have stayed at home and mulled over my predicament overnight like any logical and sane person would do.

My mother likely wouldn’t have agreed to any plans I made to keep us safe—like moving to a different town—but I wasan adult, so I could have found a way to convince her. With some better weapons and a little more research, we could have found safety somewhere far away from any of the gateways into Faerie, and I could have lived out the rest of my life in peace.

But instead, I ran.

I quite literally bolted like a horse out of the gates. I had abandoned Brynn like Wren had abandoned me, and the reason was horrible. It was horrible, and it made me horrible, and everything was horrible.

Folding myself in half against the tree, I bent my forehead to my knees and began to cry. I had time for it now that I was alone, worlds away from any of my responsibilities.

Hours might have passed before my well of tears finally dried up and I lifted my head again, my neck cramping in protest, my eyes blurred by despair. The sky was still bright with colour, the fields of grass still swaying in the breeze, and the road spanned for miles and miles.

But—

There. A dot on the horizon, right in the middle of the road.

I scrambled to get to my feet, shielding my eyes with a hand as I squinted ahead, trying to discern the approaching figure. I took five hasty steps forward before I realised it wasn’t Wren and a deathly warning in my head chilled my blood.

Not the caenim.

Something worse.

Better keep your wits about you, bookworm.

Well, I hadn’t. I’d stared at the flame for too long when I was six years old and no longer had any wits to keep anywhere. John had tried to warn me.

Running felt futile, but I sprinted away from the creature nonetheless because that’s what I did: I fought when I should flee, and I fled when I should have stayed to fight.

I ran until my lungs burned, until my knees buckled, until sweat stung my eyes.

And then I kept going.

Over the sandy, uneven road sprinkled with small stones and rocks that seemed hellbent on tripping me up, I ran until I came to another crossroads, and the berry trees lining the path stopped.

Three possible directions were laid out in front of me because turning back was not an option anymore. I had no idea which way was which, but I’d followed a fairly straight line of direction with Wren. The ocean had to be somewhere to my left, and the coastline straight ahead. In most human lands, the cities were built around the sea and close to large bodies of water. But with cannibalistic Merfolk dwelling below the surface in Faerie, I had a feeling the High Fae might have built their civilisations further inland.

I turned right, and I glanced over my shoulder as I did, only to find that there was nobody on the road anymore.

Skidding to a halt, I circled around to double-check that the Court of Light was not playing tricks on my eyes. I wascertainI had seen a dark, hooded figure walking down the lane. I had felt their ominous presence, and the warning bells in my head had gone off like a defence siren.

But there was no one there.