Page 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

The next few days go by in a blur of boredom as we hike through the forest, but the threat of fae never really leaves. Other species will claim we’re in their territory as the werewolves did, but thankfully so far all have run after seeing my glowing palm.

That’s another thing—my weird glow always lets us know when someone dangerous is nearby. It hasn’t let us down.

I found a large branch on the first day we set out after swimming in the spring. I’ve been carving the top to make it sharp, but it makes a fine weapon as it is. One whack sent a fae flying, and landing knocked the wind out of him.

I killed another by running him through with the filed limb. Even though I didn’t use my glowing mist ball, I unfortunately still absorbed his magic.

Now I know it isn’t only using my power when killing that makes me take in their magic, just as I know any time I do that it makes me sick for a while. I swear even after half a week, I can still feel the magic of all the fae I’ve killed. None of this makes any sense to me.

I just hope I can find my father when we get to the fae city. If not him, then someone like us. He abandoned me, so it makes sense he wouldn’t want to help. It’s possible he’d even actively hide, or worse, come after me. I’m ready for any possibility, but it’s the not knowing that drives me crazy. I have to plan for any possible eventuality, and there are likely several I haven’t even considered. Probably more.

Even if no fae like me will help, somebody has to know something . Anything would be better than trying to figure all this out on my own.

Harek stops walking, and so do I. We’re at the edge of the woods.

In front of us is a sprawling city unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It seems to glow in golden and silver tones, sparkling in the bright daylight. The sun is behind it, as it’s late in the day, and that gives it an even more intense appeal.

I finally catch my breath. “Have you seen this before?”

He slides his fingers between mine and squeezes—he’s been doing a lot of that over the past few days. “I’ve only ever heard rumors, but I never imagined it was so…”

“Magnificent?” I offer.

“Exactly.”

We stare at the sight for what feels like a few more minutes before Harek turns to me. “Are you ready?”

My throat closes. I glance down at my dirt-caked clothes. They’ll never let us inside. The golden city must not have a drop of dirt or dust in sight.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Look at us.”

“You look amazing.”

Normally, that would embarrass me but now I want to throw something. “We’re going to stick out! Nobody’ll take us seriously, and that’s assuming we’re even allowed inside.”

“We’re both fae. It won’t be a problem.”

“Even though they’ll think we’re beggars?”

He shrugs. “We’ve been camping. Who cares?”

Usually, I love his optimism but not today. I wave my hands toward the glimmering city. “We don’t belong in there! Not even close. This was all for nothing.”

“We’ll get in there and get cleaned up. Nobody will give us a second look.”

I glance down at my clothes again. “Look at that place!”

“Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Ever?”

Harek pauses. “Okay, fine. I’m sure I have at some point over the course of our entire lives, but I got you here. We made it—this was your goal. Do you want to find your father, or look like royalty?”

“I just want to fit in. That isn’t a lot to ask.”

“How about this? We dust ourselves off, perhaps even change into something cleaner, and then go in looking as presentable as possible? I’m sure we can figure something out once inside.”

Suddenly, all of this seems like such a bad idea. We don’t have any fae currency, we look—and smell—like we belong in the forest, and even if my father is in there somewhere, what are the chances we’ll find him? We could spend weeks exploring and still have so much longer to go.

Turning around and going back to Skoro won’t work either. Not with Gunnar furious at me and wanting to line his pockets by marrying me off to someone like Vog.

Harek rests a hand on my shoulder. “What do you think?”

I stare at the glorious city with a sinking feeling. “We came all this way. It wouldn’t make sense not to try to enter.”

“Exactly! Do you want to change clothes or march in as we are?”

“Change.”

We spend a few minutes hitting our coats against trees to get as much dust and dirt off as possible without washing anything. Then we hide ourselves and change into clothes from our bags. We do look better, but we still have streaks of dirt on our skin and through our hair. My fancy braid lost all fanciness days ago.

“You don’t look convinced yet,” Harek says.

“Is there any water to wash our faces and hair? I’m not saying we need a full bath, but I’ve got to do something about this.”

“I have some water in my bag. It might be enough for our faces, but I can’t help with the water. I don’t think it’s going to be worth our effort to try washing our hair.”

Says the guy who could cover his hair with a hat. I keep the thought to myself. “Okay, let’s do that.”

While he digs into his bag, I undo my braid and shake my hair out. Tiny remnants from the woods fall to the ground.

He hands me his water bottle. “You look amazing. They’ll definitely let you in.”

“I’m a halfling, so there’s no guarantee.” I take some water and rub my face and hands. Without a mirror, I can only hope I’ve made myself look better instead of worse.

Harek and I help each other until we look as presentable as possible given our journey.

He returns his bottle to his bag. “You ready?”

I take a deep breath. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be, but let’s do this.”

“That’s the spirit!”

My heart hammers as we start toward the sparkling city. We have to make our way down an incline, and dust ourselves off again at the bottom. The gates are now visible—daunting and intimidating. A lump forms in my throat.

I never imagined I’d even see a fae city, much less try to enter one. But I’m half fae, as evidenced by everything I’ve experienced over the last week. I can’t believe it’s been that long since I’ve seen my mother or siblings. Surely Mother’s memorial is over now, and life has moved back to normal.

The closer we get to the walls, the more noises reach us from inside. Machinery, music, and other sounds I can’t place—things that must be normal and humdrum for the fae but are a complete mystery to me.

“Relax.” Harek rubs my shoulders. “It’s all going to work out.”

If only I had his confidence.

We reach the gates. Two enormous fae stand on either side.

Everything in me screams to run.

The bulky men look us over, one with a deep scowl, but neither says anything. No protests or questions. They simply let us walk inside.

I glance at my palm, which is normal, and throw Harek a bewildered expression, and he returns it with an I-told-you-so one.

Inside, the streets really are paved with gold—or at least a golden color. Tall buildings loom everywhere, and something in the air is sweet and pleasant. Finely dressed people walk around, all appearing to be on a mission.

Now to see if we can find my father. If we chose the correct city, he was here before I was born, but who’s to say he’s still here? Time to find out. If I’m lucky, we might even learn something before nightfall.