Page 42 of A Dance with the Fae (Mistress of Magic #1)
‘In the middle of the four faerie kingdoms, over the four crystal bridges stands the Crystal Castle of the Moon. That is where She who is the Highest Power resides,’ Levantiana intoned, a week after the cup ritual.
Faye found herself with a foot firmly in both realms. By day she ran the shop, greeting customers, offering advice, and maintaining what normality she could with Annie and Aisha.
She still hadn’t seen Rav, though. He’d been out of town again, and still hadn’t replied to her messages…
Every week, in an evening, Faye would summon Levantiana and take up her lessons, and feel her power and knowledge deepen.
The faerie queen was patient with Faye, but there was a remoteness about her that had no conception of human niceties like small talk.
As before, Faye had summoned her at the tideline, this time at the new moon, and Levantiana had transported her to Murias in a moment of swirling hyper-reality.
Faye found the transition to Murias was much less exhausting when she was going willingly –instead of being spirited there by Finn –but the spell to summon Levantiana, with its spiralling, all-encompassing power still drained Faye of her energy.
Every night she had vivid dreams that were sometimes nightmares; more than one night she dreamed of Grainne Morgan at the stake.
She had been grateful for the mundanities of the shop in the days in between her lessons in Murias; deliveries, customers, pricing and arranging the window display. It had made her feel almost normal.
Rav had finally replied to her texts, but his tone had been brief.
Glad you’re okay. I need some time to get over what happened. I haven’t ever witnessed anything like that before , he had written. Faye’s stomach had dropped when she’d read that; not that she expected anything else, but it was still hard to read.
Okay , she had replied. I would still like to see you again. When things are back to normal.
There had been no reply. She hadn’t explained much of what was going on: what could she say that Rav would understand?
‘The Crystal Castle is not a kingdom. It is the centre of our realms. Morgana Le Fae herself – Mistress of Magic, the Faerie Queen of the Silver Moon – lives there,’ Levantiana continued.
Today her golden hair was loose and completely straight.
She wore a silver circlet that dipped down in a point onto her forehead, and her gown was diaphanous and black, tethered only at the shoulders with clasps in the shape of crescent moons, jewelled with diamonds.
‘She’s…like an empress, then?’ Faye was confused.
‘No. She does not rule. She takes no side in war; our disagreements are nothing to her, and we do not involve her in our disputes. She is a neutral place of power. She is eternal.’
‘Aren’t you all…eternal?’ Faye asked. Finn had told her he was much older than he looked, but she didn’t know if that meant he was immortal.
‘We do not die in the same way as you, but we can be replaced.’
‘Wait…you say she’s neutral. But you said that I could assume power in the Crystal Castle and then use it to side with Murias.’ Faye frowned.
‘Just because things have always been one way does not mean they cannot turn another way,’ Levantiana said coldly. ‘This is the next magic you will learn. You will speak with Morgana Le Fae and bring back whatever wisdom she bestows on you.’
‘What will I do when I find her?’ Faye asked. ‘ How do I find her?’
Levantiana walked behind the altar table and drew aside one of the long curtains that hung on the walls as in the other castle rooms. Behind the curtain Faye saw a tall door, enamelled with what looked like gleaming white shell.
Levantiana unlocked the door and beckoned to Faye, who followed in wonder at what lay beyond.
‘As you are half fae, you can walk the crystal bridge.’ Levantiana pointed out a glistening, silvery-white crystal bridge that stretched across a deep ravine.
Below, Faye could hear the sea but not see it.
She shivered; the bridge was narrow and had no sides, and it was barely the width of her body.
She realised that the faerie queen had not answered her first question.
The bridge was lit with the glow of a vast crystal castle that sat on its own island in the distance. Faye could see its pink-blue sheen reflected in the water.
‘That’s the…that’s where Morgana Le Fae is?’ she breathed, gazing across.
‘The birthplace of all magic,’ Levantiana answered. ‘I can teach you little else if you do not experience what awaits you there.’
Faye felt her resolve waver, but if this was her way to power, then she was going to take it. Her life, Rav’s life, depended on it.
She stepped onto the crystal bridge, concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, and didn’t look back.
The crossing was perilous. The bridge was so glassy that it was difficult to maintain a grip; more than once, Faye felt herself slip. She only managed to keep her balance by fixing her gaze on the castle and concentrating on her breath.
As she set foot on the island, she heard singing. Faye closed her eyes, and the strange rhythm of the song took her into a light trance; the tune was haunting, and yet it made Faye’s heart soar.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked up at the castle in the distance.
It had seven tall, twisting spires that glowed and pulsed gold, white, pink and blue under a vast moon that hung in the black sky, bigger than it could ever be in the ordinary world.
The walls were high and contained no windows, and jutted out in points to her right and left.
She wondered if, from above, the castle was the shape of a seven-pointed star, and guessed that it was.
The mist melted away as she stepped forward and followed the path uphill.
To her left, the path fell away into a sharp grey cliff that led down to the crashing blue-black sea.
Faye felt no fear of it now, but stayed on the path, nonetheless.
There was a smell of sea spray and, underlying that, the sour tang of seaweed.
It was a steep climb, but there were steps cut into the rough grass and she took them evenly.
At the top, the path gave way to a carpet of pink rose petals, and the fragrance captured Faye in its soft, sweet kiss.
Faye felt the sea breeze on her face and held out her arms in pleasure.
The energy vibration was high here; it was like standing inside a rose quartz crystal, her favourite stone to use in meditation, in healing, in magic, everything.
She liked to have a big piece of it nearby when she made her incenses in the shop.
She thought of it, her safe place, for a moment, but not because she needed to protect herself.
As Faye looked up at the castle, a golden door appeared in front of her where she couldn’t have missed it before. A sudden breeze blew the rose petals up around her feet and cleared a path to the door. This was the way in, then.
She pushed the door and it opened easily.
Stepping inside, the sound of singing intensified.
The space opened up to her as she walked in: a wide, circular palazzo, open to the elements; she could see the seven corners of the castle lead off the main centre.
There did not seem to be any other rooms or floors.
The main courtyard was round, open to the stars and circled with gold pillars. She walked to the centre, wondering what she should do.
As Faye stood in the centre of the palace, at the very middle of the circle, looking up at the moon above her which seemed to fill the whole space, three wide moonbeams bathed her in a silver glow.
A figure emerged, coalesced from the moonlight.
Faye could see silver blood under her black skin.
The shape merged and drifted in the moonlight; first, she was a pre-Raphaelite maiden, then a crone, then a harpy that made Faye gasp a little.
The figure returned to a silver-haired, black-skinned queen with eyes like diamonds.
She stood in front of Faye and held out her hands.
‘My lady,’ Faye murmured. ‘Am I in the presence of the Faerie Queen of the Crystal Castle of the Moon?’
The woman was more beautiful than any human could be; made of moonlight, she was pure luminescence.
‘I am Morgana Le Fae, Mistress of Magic. Blessings on you.’ The queen nodded gracefully.
‘Blessings on you,’ Faye echoed, filled with the overwhelming sense of peace she usually felt when practising magic back in Abercolme; but if that offered a temporary sense of otherworldliness, this was total immersion.
Mistress of Magic. Had Moddie named the shop after Morgana Le Fae?
‘You may ask me a question,’ Morgana said, the moonlight glowing through her silver hair.
What to ask? Faye wondered, then spoke. ‘How can I step into my power as half faerie? Levantiana is teaching me. But I…’ Faye trailed off, holding Morgana’s hands and feeling her power sing through to her.
‘I want more,’ she murmured, as the faerie queen’s power encircled her like perfume, like lust.
‘The fae is in your heart; it is part of you. Relax and let it out. Feel your faerie heart. Hear its song,’ Morgana whispered.
For a moment, Faye heard the singing again; it was louder, coming from the palace itself.
‘You have power. Coming to my realm will help you see it. Navigate the shores and the hills of this place. We are at the heart of the power of the faerie kingdoms: explore and gain your power, Faye Morgan.’
‘Thank you,’ Faye whispered, feeling Morgana’s power fill her; it began in her feet, travelled up her legs and exploded in her body with the power of a kiss, reminiscent of the eroticism of Finn’s mouth on her.
Morgana smiled, and where Levantiana’s smile was cold, hers was fire.