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Three stalls down she found Midnight. He neighed loudly and stuck his head out of his stall window. Layala smiled and rubbed the white star on his forehead. “Hi, boy. Want to go for a ride? We must help Aunt Evalyn tonight.”

He threw his head up and down excitedly and she unhooked the latch and swung the door open. She grabbed his dark brown reins and bridle off a hook to the left and slid them over his head. Maybe this new confidence made her reckless. Thane’s voice warning her to not go out alone echoed in her mind. She ignored it.

After Midnight was saddled and ready, she hopped on. They trotted off at a casual pace and once they reached the bridge, a set of guards stepped away from their positions off to the sides and approached. “Lady Lightbringer,” they both said, and a glance of confusion passed between them.

“I’m going out for a night ride. I should be back in an hour or so.”

“Would you like an escort? It’s dangerous.”

“No, thank you. I’ll be fine.”

The two guards exchanged wary glances, no doubt questioning if they should allow her to go and what might Thane say or do if they did. “Lady, the High King asked us not to let you go off the property without an escort.”

“I said, I’ll be fine.” She nudged Midnight’s sides and rode past them.

They argued behind her, “We can’t let her go.”

“Are you going to stop her? She’s calledFightbringer for a reason.”

“Do you fear her or the king more?”

“Her.”

“Coward.”

“I don’t see you chasing after her either.”

She laughed quietly to herself and nudged Midnight to go faster. His large hooves clopped on the stone bridge and the heavy sprays of mist from the massive cascading waterfall assaulted her face. With a small, wooded area to the north in mind, she rode the trail that led up and out of the Valley. At the crest of the hill, she tugged back on the reins, turning him toward the castle. Midnight stopped and dug his front hoof into the dirt impatiently. “Just a moment, Midnight.”

The moonlight illuminated the outline of Castle Dredwich. Torches lit up arched windows from within and shadows of passing elves walked by on occasion. Her home suddenly felt foreign and invasive. Like it wasn’t home at all and never was. Nibbling her lower lip, she tugged on the reins, tearing her sight away from it, and kicked Midnight into a canter until they raced down the trail, wind tearing through her hair. His deep breaths shot out in huffs, and the pounding of hooves disturbed the quiet of night. Glowing eyes of little critters among the trees spied with curiosity. A pink pixie darted in front of them leaving a glittering trail of dust. The tiny creature cursed as she and Midnight sped by. “You have the entire sky!” Layala shouted back at it. As if the thing couldn’t fly higher.

She let the feeling of freedom and escape rush through her, savoring being alone until they came upon the small wood at the Valley’s edge. Not far away were rows of corn in a field and to the left of it a thatched roof house and a square fenced area with a handful of sheep. A single cow among the sheep lifted its head from grazing and mooed. She’d passed this farm on several occasions. Every time one lantern sat in the window while the female bounced around the kitchen. Why did they take the risk of being out here alone?

Layala dropped to the soft grass and ran her hand across the shiny black coat of Midnight’s neck and then pulled the list out of her pocket and scanned it. She needed to make this quick. “Alright, Aunt Evalyn wants deadly nightshade. Not sure who that is for, but I don’t ask. Lillian thrope root, good for stomach aches, pottifer leaf—ugh, does she know how hard it is to find?” Layala looked up at the oak trees and the variety of foliage growing along the forest floor. Wildflowers and sprays of baby’s breath, a patch of forget-me-nots. Seeing the blue blossoms made her smile. She used to place that particular flower at her parents’ memorial once a week.I haven’t thought about my parents in a long time, she thought and that made her chest ache. Lifting her chin to the night sky, she searched among the stars; were their souls out there somewhere? If she’d once been Valeen but had passed on and was reborn, where had her soul been all those years. Questions she supposed she might never know.

Layala gripped the leather reins and tugged Midnight along behind her. As luck would have it, she found the Lillian thrope not even a foot into the wooded area. It was a blue weed that grew two feet tall and boasted long serrated leaves with gold spots. She dropped down to one knee and carefully pulled three of them up by the roots. Then tucked them in the pouch on Midnight’s pack. Several feet over, among bunches of green weeds and foliage, she discovered the deadly nightshade with its star-shaped purple blossoms and near-black berries.

She pulled it up by the roots, plucked the berries and put them in a small glass container and placed them into the pack as well. Her foot hovered over the stirrup when a faint odor hit her. One might be able to say it was the farm animals lowing in the field not far off if she didn’t know better, but that rotten scent was distinct to one creature in Adalon. Anger and frustration bubbled up in her chest.

She couldn’t think of pale ones without Hel coming to mind anymore. And she’d stood there helpless as he mauled her with magic, and nearly made her undress with a simple command.Maker above, how can I be so pathetic?

Midnight lifted his head from nibbling on grass and nickered in alarm. She patted his neck again. “I know, boy. Time to go hunting.” She pulled out her sword and turned to the horse. “Stay.”

Moving like shifting shadows, she raced down the shallow hill and pressed her back up against the house. She slid to the side of the window, debating if she should warn them. A female hummed a tune Layala didn’t recognize, and a moment later she heard a male say, “Whatever your cooking smells delicious.”

“Mama, mama,” a small child cried. “I heard something in my room. I’m scared.”

“You’re supposed to be asleep,” the mother chided. “I don’t want you to come out here one more time.”

“But I heard something!” the child wailed. “What if it’s a monster!”

“Back to bed.”

Shaking her head, Layala crept to the corner of the house and peered around it. If only they knew how right the child was but if she alerted them, they might only get themselves killed.

Two pale ones were at the fence line only fifty yards away now. One of them threw a rock at a sheep and sent it scurrying. The small herd bleated in alarm and trotted as far away as they could get. Both monsters cackled and hopped the fence.

Reaching a hand into her belt, Layala pulled a throwing star. She waited until they were close enough that she wouldn’t miss. The moonlight glinted off the star as it soared through the air and struck a pale one in the center of the throat. Soundlessly, he clawed at his neck and then tipped over into a dark heap.