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The leather pants and tunic covered my body as I crept through the Pillars of the Court of Shadows surrounding Tar Mesa. The ground beneath my feet was an odd mix of grass and rock, the steps jagged as I continued down the pathway through the trees. They were barren of leaves in the area Mab had dropped me in, as if nature itself had died when the creatures took over the Pillars.

The wind howled through the trees, sending a scattering of snow over the path. I stepped through it cautiously, slinging the bow over my shoulder as I walked. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was really hunting for anything.

Or if I was merely being hunted.

There was tension in the air, and I should have been more afraid of it. I should have given into the urge to be cautious. But my bones rattled with the magic simmering in my blood—with the knowledge that for once, I was free from prying eyes. My throat was un-collared. There was no iron to prevent me from touching the surface of that deep well.

The creature who lurked beneath the surface of my skin rose to greet me, opening her golden eyes as she took control of my limbs. I looked to the surface, thinking of Caldris’s lesson in summoning my own magic.

In creating, rather than shaping, whatever already existed.

Closing my eyes, I paused in the clearing. Cupping my hands, I thought of the way the threads of the stars felt when I grasped them between my fingers.

They were warm—the surface smooth like silk. But the stars themselves were rough and molten, like a giant burning flame held trapped within the cold of the night sky. I focused all that energy into my palms, embracing the feeling of fire against my skin as a wave of cold air brushed against my face.

I opened my eyes slowly, peering down at the orb of light that floated above my palm. It was smaller than my hand, glowing with the golden light of fate in the dark of the woods.

I smiled, a laugh bubbling up from my throat. I curled my hands around it, imagining the light dimming to a soft glow. Shadows wrapped around the surface, encasing it in a dark film around the curves of the ball. I let it free, watching as it floated through the forest.

It didn’t rise to the sky above; instead, it floated ahead of me to light a path. I formed another, allowing it to rise and hover beside the other. They cast a warm glow upon the otherwise gloomy forest as that strange,otherworldly laugh spilled free from me once again.

I ran forward, delighting in the way they followed me, as if tethered to my soul. The path through the woods curved in a circle as I cast out one tiny star after another. I sprinted, dancing and spinning as I went, reveling in the feeling of magic upon my skin.

Reveling in the way I felt whole, my soul lighter than ever before.

Even the terrifying creature within me laughed, her smile illuminating the darkened corners of my heart. I leapt from one rock to the other, jumping over a crevice in the ground as my newly immortal body sang.

Freedomraced in my veins as a tear fell down my cheek, the moment so unlike anything I’d ever dared to dream of. I might have had to go back to my cage when it was all said and done, but for a single, bittersweet moment, I tasted the air on my tongue. I tasted the sharp crispness of moving where I wanted. Doing what I wanted.

Touching everything I passed.

Caldris’s joy echoed my own, thrumming down the thread to strike me in the chest. His response to my own happiness—to my moment of freedom—echoing my own elation.

I spun around a corner, coming to a stop as I approached a pillar. It jutted into the sky, a single flat slab of stone. There was nothing around it but the steps leading up, the surrounding ground in the clearing just as haunted and dead as the rest of the forest.

Symbols had been carved into the surface as I approached, then made my way up the half-dozen steps. The stars cast an eerie golden glow upon the marks I didn’t recognize as I reached the top of the steps,but I would have sworn they glowed from within as I stretched out with a single hand.

I was only a breath from touching the surface when lightning cracked through the air somewhere behind me. I spun, turning so sharply I nearly tripped over my own feet. My dagger was in my hand before I finished my rotation, finding glowing eyes of gold staring down at me from above.

They shone down from the ebony face of a horse, situated to the side of a single horn wrapped in blue light. It was twice as tall as any normal horse.

I shifted the dagger in my hand, but something kept me from stabbing it forward. Stopped me from slaying the creature where it stood.

I studied those eyes, only noting the pulse of blue light beneath his black hair in a distracted way. He flapped massive, feathered wings of black, shifting the air toward me and forcing me to stumble backward.

I caught myself, my hand touching the pillar behind me. A rush of warmth filled my hands, and the creature and I both turned to look at the symbols that glowed. They spread out from my palm, moving farther and farther up the pillar as if I were the apex of power.

I drew back suddenly, stepping closer to the creature in front of me. He made no move to harm me, tilting his head to the side as he leaned forward.

His hoof touched the bottom step, his head raising so that the end of his muzzle could press against my chest. It twitched over my armor as he smelled me.

I drew in a deep breath, shuddering as I sheathed the dagger in my hand. He didn’t miss the movement, watching me carefully as I reached out with that now empty palm.

I let my eyes fall closed as I stretched forward slowly, lingering just shy of touching. I couldn’t force myself to close the distance, couldn’t risk losing my hand. Fear thrummed through me, sending my heart pounding in my chest.

Stupid. So fucking stupid.

He closed the distance, leaning his head forward until he pressed against my open palm. My breath fled in a single sigh as my eyes flew open, finding his golden gaze gleaming down at me. There was a hint of amusement there, something far too human for a horse. He stepped back, moving away slowly as lightning cracked through the sky. It moved beneath his skin, as if it originated from him when he raised his horn to the sky.