Page 15 of Eternal Thorns (The Feybound Chronicles #1)

14

FIRST STEPS

“ O kay, that's definitely not normal,” Kai said, pausing in his methodical packing to watch the magical display. “The paths keep changing every time your magical necklace does its glowy thing.”

Silas leaned closer to the map, fascinated by how the routes transformed. “I don't think they're changing so much as revealing different layers. Look at this.” He lifted the key from his chest, holding it at different angles over the parchment. The paths shifted accordingly, some brightening while others faded. “It's like they're responding to intention.”

“Great. Magical paths with attitude.” Kai returned to sorting through the witch's supplied herbs, his familiar sarcasm barely masking genuine concern. “Because regular paths through a potentially hostile magical forest weren't challenging enough.”

The key pulsed again, stronger this time, drawing Silas's attention to a particular route. Unlike the others that showed clear physical landmarks, this path seemed to follow currents of magic itself - flowing between points of power like water finding its level.

“I think I understand,” he murmured, more to himself than Kai. “The map isn't just showing us how to get through the forest. It's showing us different ways of approaching it. Look.” He gestured to where multiple paths converged near an ancient oak. “This route follows the safest physical path, but this one” His finger traced a more meandering line. “This one follows lines of magical resonance.”

“And that matters because?”

“Because whichever path I choose will tell Thorne something about how I view the forest.” Silas sat back, mind racing with implications. “Taking the safest route suggests caution, maybe even fear. Following the magical currents shows trust in the forest's nature.”

Kai paused in examining a particularly ornate compass. “You're thinking like them. The forest spirits, I mean. Starting to see things from their perspective.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No. Just unexpected.” Kai held up the compass, which pointed steadily toward the Eldergrove regardless of how he turned it. “Like this thing. Agnes said it follows forest magic rather than magnetic north. But you figured out how to use it instantly, like you already knew how it worked.”

“It feels natural,” he admitted. “Like remembering something I always knew but had forgotten. The way the magic moves, how it wants to be worked with rather than commanded.”

“Yeah, that's not creepy at all.” But Kai's tone held more wonder than worry. “You're different since that dream. Not in a bad way, just…”

“More attuned?” Silas suggested. The word felt right, describing how forest magic now sang at the edges of his awareness.

“I was going to say 'more magical and slightly terrifying,' but sure, let's go with attuned.” Kai tossed him a small bag of protective crystals. “Just try not to get so attuned you forget some of us are still normal humans who'd prefer not to be turned into trees.”

Silas caught the bag, noting how the crystals hummed against his palm. Another thing that should have felt alien but instead seemed perfectly natural.

Turning back to the map, he studied the various paths with new perspective. Each route now told a story. Others traced paths of power that predated the separation between realms.

“This one,” he said finally, indicating a route that balanced practical necessity with magical harmony.

“You're really doing this, aren't you?” Kai's voice had gone quiet. “Walking straight into their territory, trusting that your shiny necklace and newfound magical understanding will keep you alive.”

“Not trusting the key.” Silas touched the warm metal through his shirt. “Trusting what it represents. What Thornhaven was meant to be - not a barrier between worlds but a bridge.”

Kai rolled his eyes at him but was still smiling.

“Besides,” he added, trying to lighten the mood, “you'll be there to make sure I don't do anything too stupidly heroic.”

“Oh sure, throw responsibility for your continued survival on me.” But Kai was smiling now, the tension broken. “Just remember what Agnes said about the herbs. Sunleaf for clarity, moonvine for protection, and-”

“Thornroot only in absolute emergencies,” Silas finished. “I remember.”

A soft click came from Marcus's desk. A panel had shifted, revealing a hidden compartment that definitely hadn't been there moments before.

“Okay, what did you do?” Kai asked, peering over his shoulder.

“Nothing. It just-” Silas gestured at the key, which still pulsed with unusual warmth. “It's like it recognized something.”

Agnes materialized from the study's shadows, making them both jump. Kai swore, clutching his chest dramatically.

“For the love of- do none of you magical types know how to knock?” he demanded. “Going to give me a heart attack before I'm twenty-five.”

“Knocking is for those who can't see where they're needed,” Agnes replied, her clouded eyes twinkling with amusement. “Ah,” she continued, as if their near cardiac arrest was entirely expected. “It's responding to its companion piece.”

“Right, because that's so much better than 'hello, may I come in?'” Kai muttered, but fell silent at Silas's warning look.

Inside the compartment lay a leather bracelet, its surface marked with symbols that perfectly matched the key's engravings. The leather looked impossibly well-preserved, as if time had somehow passed around rather than through it.

“Go on,” Agnes encouraged when Silas hesitated. “It's meant for you.”

The moment his fingers touched the bracelet, magic surged through him like a struck bell. The symbols began to glow with the same silver light as the key, creating harmonious patterns between the two artifacts.

“What is this?” His voice came out rough with wonder.

“A marker of trust,” Agnes said softly. “Once worn by human guides who worked alongside forest spirits. It identified them as allies, bridges between realms.”

Kai whistled low. “And it just happens to activate for Silas?”

“Nothing 'just happens' with old magic.” Agnes moved closer, her clouded eyes fixed on the glowing symbols. “The bracelet responds because something in him has awakened. The same power that once allowed humans and fey to work together in harmony.”

Silas slipped the bracelet onto his wrist. The effect was immediate and overwhelming. His awareness of Thornhaven's magical currents sharpened dramatically, as if someone had suddenly brought a blurry image into perfect focus. He could sense how power flowed through the manor's very bones, how different types of magic wove together to create something greater than their parts.

But what truly staggered him was his new awareness of the Eldergrove. The forest was no longer just a wall of mystery and potential threat. Through this enhanced perception, he felt its true nature - a vast, complex consciousness composed of countless smaller awareness. Ancient trees carrying centuries of memory, younger spirits bright with possibility, all connected by currents of power that sang with life and purpose.

“Silas?” Kai's voice held equal parts concern and fascination. “It's incredible.” He struggled to find words for the experience. “It's like seeing in color after a lifetime of black and white. The forest, it's not just trees and spirits. It's this whole interconnected system of life and magic and memory, all working together in patterns I can barely comprehend.”

“That's what the bracelet was designed for,” Agnes said. “Not just to mark trusted allies, but to help them understand forest magic on its own terms. To see beyond human limitations.”

The combined resonance of key and bracelet created new awareness with each passing moment. Silas found himself picking up impressions from the forest. Ancient contentment from the eldest trees. Bright curiosity from younger spirits. And threading through it all, a deep current of watchful power that could only be Thorne.

“This is both amazing and seriously fucking weird,” Kai declared, watching his friend's expression cycle through wonder and overwhelm.

Agnes touched Silas's arm, her grip surprisingly strong. “We need to talk. Now, before you're any more deeply connected.”

She drew him away from the desk, leaving Kai to continue sorting supplies. Her clouded eyes had taken on an unsettling clarity.

“The sensitivity you're developing is both gift and terrible danger,” she said without preamble. “That shadow entity I warned you about? It feeds on exactly these moments of recognition and connection. The very things you'll need to establish trust with Thorne and the forest.”

“Then how am I supposed to”

“Listen carefully.” She pressed her hands together, forming a quick series of gestures. “This is a grounding ritual. When the memories and magic grow too intense, when you feel yourself losing track of where you end and the forest's awareness begins, use it. Like this.”

She guided him through the movements. The bracelet's glow dimmed slightly as he practiced, bringing his enhanced perceptions down to manageable levels.

“The entity's favorite tactic is perspective manipulation,” she continued. “It shows partial truths from different angles, creating misunderstanding where none need exist. A single moment viewed from two perspectives can seem like betrayal to one and necessity to another.”

“Like whatever happened between Thorne and Marcus?”

“Exactly.” She reached into her bag, pulling out a small pouch that smelled of strange herbs. “Most critically, remember this, every moment of betrayal began as a moment of trust. Your task isn't to avoid trust entirely”

“But to understand how it can be maintained,” Silas finished, the knowledge rising from somewhere deep inside him.

“The old magic awakens quickly in you.” Her smile held both approval and worry. “These herbs will help you see through glamours without dispelling them. The distinction is crucial. Forest magic responds better to understanding than disruption.”

The bracelet pulsed in harmony with the key, creating ripples in his magical awareness. Through their combined power, he felt the forest's attention shift slightly, focusing more directly on Thornhaven. On him.

“Remember,” Agnes said, pressing the herb pouch into his hand, “what you're attempting hasn't been done in centuries. The shadow entity will try to weaken you through revelation itself. Every new understanding creates potential for manipulation.”

The bracelet had settled into a steady warmth around his wrist, matching the key's pulse against his chest. Together, they created a new kind of awareness - not just of magic and memory, but of possibility itself. He could feel how things could be, if trust was given and maintained. How human and forest magic might work together again, creating wonders neither could achieve alone.

The potential was intoxicating. And terrifying.

“One last thing,” Agnes said as she moved toward the door. “Trust your instincts, even when they seem to make no sense. The old magic didn't choose you randomly.” She paused, her expression turning distant. “Sometimes the best way to heal old wounds is to remember how they felt before they were wounds at all.”

As she departed, Silas felt the forest's attention sharpen further. Through his enhanced awareness, he sensed something vast and ancient considering him with new interest. Not hostile, but intensely focused. Evaluating.

Late afternoon sun cast long shadows across Thornhaven's grounds as Silas stood at the forest's edge. The boundary between manor and Eldergrove stretched before him like a physical line - not just where cultivated land met wild growth, but where two worlds touched without quite meeting.

“We can still turn back,” Kai said beside him, adjusting the pack of supplies for the tenth time. “Maybe write a strongly worded letter to the forest instead?”

But Silas barely heard him. Through his enhanced awareness, the border thrummed with centuries of accumulated magic. Wards layered upon wards, each generation adding new protections atop old barriers. The combined weight of all that division pressed against his senses like a migraine waiting to happen.

“Right,” Kai muttered. “Magical trance time it is.”

Silas performed the grounding ritual. The sharp gestures helped focus his scattered awareness back into his own body. “Ready?”

“Not even slightly.” But Kai stepped up beside him, loyalty winning out over obvious fear. “But someone has to make sure you don't get turned into a tree.”

Silas took a deep breath and stepped across the boundary.

The forest's reaction was immediate and overwhelming. The key erupted in brilliant silver light while the bracelet grew almost painfully hot. But those physical sensations paled compared to the magical response. The very air seemed to freeze, as if the entire grove held its breath at once.

Through his enhanced perception, Silas felt multiple awareness snap toward him. Smaller spirits peeked from behind trees, their curiosity bright and immediate. Guardian entities stationed along the border radiated alarm, their power shifting into defensive patterns. And somewhere deeper in the forest, something vast and ancient stirred with a complex emotion Silas couldn't quite read - recognition mixed with wariness, hope tangled with bitter memory.

Thorne. It had to be.

“Okay,” Kai's voice shook slightly. “The trees definitely just moved. Trees aren't supposed to move.”

The forest was rearranging itself around them, branches shifting to create what might be barriers or passages, depending on their next actions. The map in Silas's hands pulsed with answering magic as its paths adjusted to these changes.

“This way,” Silas said, following a route that glowed more brightly than the others. But after several steps, the path faded, rerouting itself in a completely different direction.

“That's not disturbing at all.” Kai eyed the shifting markers. “The map's having second thoughts?”

“Not exactly.” Silas studied how the paths realigned themselves. “Look, it changes based on how we approach it. When I tried to just push forward, it redirected us. But when I stopped to understand the new pattern”

As if to prove his point, the path brightened again, offering a clearer route through the trees. The bracelet warmed encouragingly around his wrist.

“The old stories were true,” Silas realized. “About the forest having shortcuts for friends and long paths for enemies. It's literally adjusting its geography based on our intentions.”

“Great. Magical roads with feelings.” But Kai's sarcasm couldn't quite hide his wonder as a nearby branch shifted to avoid hitting his head. “At least it's polite about it.”

They continued deeper into the grove, learning to read the forest's responses. Paths appeared clearer when approached with genuine interest rather than determined purpose. Dense undergrowth parted more readily when they took time to appreciate its natural patterns rather than simply expecting passage.

Small spirits began emerging from hiding, drawn by the key's steady light and the bracelet's familiar symbols. They flitted between trees like living sparks, growing bolder when they realized Silas could sense them. Their tiny awareness brushed against his magical perception like curious fingers testing unfamiliar textures.

“We've got company,” Kai whispered, spotting movement in his peripheral vision. “Lots of company.”

A particularly brave sprite darted closer than its companions, its form reminding Silas strongly of Briar from his dream-memory. About the size of a child's hand, it glowed with patterns of light that shifted like constellation maps. When it spotted the bracelet, it let out a high-pitched sound of excitement.

More sprites emerged, chattering in voices that seemed to exist somewhere between sound and light. Through the bracelet's power, Silas caught impressions of their communication - not quite words, but clear meaning. They recognized the symbols he wore. More than that, they recognized something in his magical signature itself.

“They're talking about the key,” he told Kai. “And something about old alliances? The meaning isn't quite clear, but they're definitely excited about it.”

The first sprite performed a complex series of movements around Silas's wrist. The bracelet flared in response, and suddenly he could understand more of their light-speech.

Trust-marker! The sprite's communication came through as a mixture of image and emotion. Old-pact-symbol! Been so long, so long since human wore properly!

The other sprites swirled in patterns of agreement, their excitement creating tiny eddies in the forest's magical currents. Some darted back into the trees, presumably to spread news of their discovery.

“I really hope this is a good sign,” Kai said, watching the magical light show with a mixture of awe and concern. “Because otherwise we just announced our presence to the entire forest.”

Others coming, the first sprite confirmed, radiating both warning and encouragement. Deep-grove guardians want to see. Shadow-walker wants to see. All want to see human who wears old trust properly.

“Shadow-walker?” Silas asked, but he already knew. Thorne. The forest spirits had their own name for him, one that captured his ability to move through shadows as easily as light.

The map's paths shifted again, responding to this new understanding. Routes that had been hidden now revealed themselves. The forest wasn't just showing them ways forward, it was offering choices about how to proceed, each path representing a different approach to crossing the divide between worlds.

“We're being tested,” Silas realized, watching the sprites react to their every movement. “Not just by Thorne, but by the forest itself. Every choice we make, every way we interact with our surroundings, sends a message about our intentions.”

The friendly sprites led them deeper into the grove, their light-speech creating trails for Silas to follow. The magical current they traced felt promising, harmonizing with both key and bracelet. But something about the deepening shadows ahead made Silas's skin prickle with warning.

The first intrusion came so naturally he almost didn't recognize it as foreign - a memory of walking these same paths, but with different purpose. Young and eager to learn forest magic, trailing behind a silver-haired guardian who moved like shadow given form.

“Wait,” Silas stumbled, pressing a hand to his temple. “That's not my memory.”

The foreign images intensified. Marcus's first lesson in forest magic, but viewed through a lens of suspicion. Every gesture of trust now seemed calculated, every shared secret a potential weapon. The remembered Thorne's patient teaching took on sinister undertones, as if each lesson concealed hidden dangers.

“Silas?” Kai's voice seemed to come from very far away. “The forest just got really dark. Like, unnaturally dark.”

Shadows gathered around them, deeper than natural light could explain. The sprites scattered with chirps of terror, their light-speech broadcasting clear warning before they vanished.

Danger-shadow! Truth-twister! Run!

Agnes's herbs burned in Silas's pocket, cutting through the emotional fog of borrowed memories. The grounding ritual helped him recognize the manipulation, but couldn't completely block the shadow entity's assault.

More memories crashed through his defenses. Marcus discovering his talent for forest magic, but now the joy of learning carried bitter undertones. Every achievement seemed tainted by growing ambition. Every moment of connection became a potential point of betrayal.

Through the haze, Silas caught movement at the edge of his vision. Thorne stood among the trees, but not the bitter spirit who'd confronted him at Thornhaven. This was the guardian from his dream-memory, watching the shadow's display with an expression that perfectly mirrored Silas's internal struggle - recognition warring with suspicion, hope battling fear.

“Not real,” Silas gritted out, fighting to maintain his sense of self. “You're showing me what you want me to see.”

The shadows twisted closer, their whispers sliding between thought and memory.

Are we? Or are we simply showing truth from all angles? See how trust becomes betrayal, how hope breeds disappointment.

The key flared suddenly against Silas's chest, its protective magic pushing back the unnatural darkness. The bracelet pulsed in harmony, creating a sphere of silver light around them. In that illumination, Silas saw clearly for the first time where the shadow entity had led them.

An ancient oak rose before them, its massive trunk bearing marks that exactly matched those on his bracelet. Power radiated from it in waves that made both key and bracelet resonate like struck bells.

“Holy shit,” Kai breathed, clutching a protective charm. “Please tell me we meant to find this.”

The shadows retreated grudgingly, but their whispers lingered.

Choose carefully, young Ashworth. Some truths break more than trust.

Through his enhanced awareness, Silas felt certainty bloom - the second journal waited within that oak. But claiming it would mean more than just retrieving an object. It would mean facing whatever truths the shadow entity feared him discovering.

The key pulsed warmly against his chest, while the bracelet hummed with recognition around his wrist. Together, they offered protection against darker influences. But they also promised something else - the power to understand those ancient truths on their own terms, uncorrupted by fear or suspicion.

Now he just had to decide if he was ready to face them.