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So much for a restful foray back into civilization.
The friends rode hard until the early hours of the morning, pausing occasionally to see if they were being followed, finally stopping in an alpine valley where they decided to make camp. The horses were reluctantly released—being too easy to track—and instead of spending the night luxuriating on an actual mattress, they found themselves lying once more on the ground.
Not the original plan. But there was something strangely restorative about it all the same.
The boys immediately vanished to check the perimeter and have a frank ‘discussion’ about how the vampire had accidentally broken the fae’s arm. Cosette had gone down to the river to bring up water for the morning. Which just left Freya and Evie back in the tent—alone for the first time.
They exchanged a few quick back and forths, still feeling a pleasant buzz from the whiskey, falling into comfortable silence as they each prepared for bed.
In spite of her best efforts to be angry, the princess couldn’t help but be terribly impressed with what the witch had done. She was incredibly advanced—the kind of pupil who would have made Petra take interest, as the retired general had started training a younger generation of magic in her old age. It was a far cry from the little girl she’d met in the forest so long ago, the one who’d quaked at her mistress’ approaching footsteps and cowered in fear. Although, ironically enough, they’d escaped that wretched cottage by means of a fire.
Perhaps the girl had developed a supernatural specialty. Perhaps she was just a bit of a pyro.
“How did you do it?” Evie asked abruptly. The witch glanced up in surprise, and she cocked her head in the general direction of the village. “How did you learn to control that kind of fire?”
The witch glowed with pride, but she was surprisingly practical at the same time. “Practice,” she said simply. “But I was lucky in that regard. It isn’t easy to break into the mind of a fae. Their kind are especially resilient when it comes to different kinds of magic, and poor Cosette has been my sole test subject for years.”
Evie nodded quietly, realizing the ‘practice’ must have gone both ways.
So Asher was right, that’s how Cosette defeated the wizard.
“What about you?” the witch continued suddenly. “You’re supposed to be the fire-thrower here, not me.” She cocked her head with a curious smile. “Have you ever gotten it to work?”
The princess flushed, shaking out a blanket and laying it on the ground. “Not really.”
Not ever.
She was about to let it stop there—her lack of ability to tap into that part of herself had long been a source of frustration—but a sudden impulse made her keep talking.
“That day we met in the woods...that’s when I shifted for the first time.”
Freya lifted her eyebrows, looking distinctly impressed. “To fight the basilisk?”
To fight the vampire.
“...something like that.”
Both girls fell quiet for a moment, lost in thought.
It was said that children living in the five kingdoms were forced to grow up too fast. That had lessened somewhat, after the friends’ parents had taken the thrones, but the supernatural world had a way of aging a person before their time. Magic had a way of seeping into people, of drawing out parts of themselves that would usually have matured at a difference pace.
It was bad enough when Evie was growing up. She could only imagine the way it was now.
“So you can turn into both, right?” Freya asked abruptly. “A dragon and a wolf?”
The princess nodded slowly, sinking to the ground.
“In theory, yeah. My mom can also use dragon’s fire in her human form, so I could supposedly do that as well. I had all the best tutors—Michael, Petra. My parents worked with me for years at a time. I’ve certainly needed it on the road. But I was never able to trigger it until that day.”
She said it casually, but the words stung her to the core.
It was the one thing she was supposed to be able to contribute. Asher had the strength of a vampire, Ellanden had the powers of a fae. She was a good fighter, as far as mortals were concerned, but in times of trouble the two of them tended to take the lead while she covered them with her bow. It was a good strategy, considering. But what she wouldn’t give to protect them the same way.
“That’s really not so surprising.”
She lifted her head in surprise, to see Freya watching her from across the tent. She’d plopped down in the middle of the remaining blankets and was snacking happily on a strip of dried meat.
“I don’t...” Evie shook her head in confusion. “What do you mean? I should be light years ahead of where I am now. At this point, I basically feel like a liability.”
Freya lifted her eyebrows with a grin. “You should be light years ahead because you pored over books and studied with tutors in the comfort of a castle? That’s not the way it works. These things present themselves in times of necessity. Trial by fire. In terms of a magical education, that’s the only way you grow.”
The princess stared at her, feeling a stab of hope. “Yeah, but Ash and Ellanden—”
“—are gifted from birth,” Freya finished practically. “Vampires are born with the ability to tear through a brick wall, fae are sure-footed from the time they learn to walk. It must make for some very strange children,” she added suddenly, eyes glassing over at the thought.
Evie laughed in spite of herself, stretching out on the bed. “They were strange kids—that’s for sure. But for a whole host of other reasons.”
Freya flashed a grin, but it faded into something thoughtful. “You can’t hold yourself in competition with things they were born with, things they never had to work for themselves. Cosette’s never shifted into a dragon. And Ellanden is half-Kreo, isn’t he? His mom is a shape-shifter? Has he ever done anything like that?”
Evie shook her head, thinking it over. “No. But, to be fair, I don’t think he’s ever tried.”
The fae embraced one half of his lineage and secretly scorned the other. He had no interest and less patience for the supernatural consortium that made up his mother’s kingdom. The only magic he held sacred was that which came from the stars.
Freya shrugged, as if it could hardly matter less. “These things happen in their own time. You were only out on the road a few weeks before suddenly being able to shift. It just takes practice, that’s all.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “And those occasional bursts of life or death adrenaline can only help.”
Evie laughed again, rolling onto her stomach and propping up her chin. “So that’s the secret? I’ll just get people to shoot at me, or find myself another big snake?”
The witch nodded seriously. “From a supernatural standpoint, it’s probably the best thing you can do.”
Just then, the tent flap was pulled open and the rest of their friends came pouring through.
Cosette had checked and re-checked their supplies until she was satisfied they’d have enough to make it to the next town, and the men had apparently come to some sort of understanding as to the fae’s injured arm. (Judging by the delicate way Asher was holding his shoulder, Evie suspected this ‘understanding’ was merely settling the score.)
“Hey buddy,” she tugged on his wrist to be sure, pulling him down beside her, “did you guys find a way to have a mature conversation out there in the woods?”
The vampire flinched in spite of himself, glancing quickly at the ceiling to hide the pain. “...sure did.”
Ellanden settled himself on the other side of the tent, looking rather smug. “Maybe next time you’ll think before using that unholy strength of yours. Two can play that game, vampire. And I’m a great deal more vindictive than you.”
Asher rolled his eyes, not contesting this last part in the slightest.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Cosette sank down beside him, tilting her head with a caustic grin. “Did he stop you from starting a bar fight that would have gotten a lot of innocent people killed? Is that what you’re talking about?” Freya let out a giggle and the fae princess turned those scorching eyes onto her. “Maybe Asher would have done better to break off bits of that one. That way, she wouldn’t go around setting aflame every place we stop to get a sandwich—”
“Remember when that guy kissed you?”
Cosette fell silent. The conversation quickly dropped.
Even though it had only been a few nights since their liberation from the sorcerer, Evie could already feel the three friends falling back into the same pattern they’d discovered in the weeks before. There was a confidence to the way they moved about the forest, a closeness in the way they curled up together at night, and a fierce determination regarding everything in between.
Of course, that raised a few obvious questions.
“So what’s the plan?”
It was Cosette who asked the question, gazing up at her older cousin. Thus far, they’d done their best not to address the prophecy directly, but with dawn approaching in just a few short hours it was time to start talking logistics. Especially since they no longer had a map.
“The plan was to head across the Falaron Mountains and down through the middle country to the sea. From there, we’d purchase a ship of some sort and sail to the Dunes directly.” He paused with a frown, casting a worried glance towards the woods. “That was the plan, when we set out in the early fall. I don’t know what season it is anymore...”
Cosette shot him a sympathetic look.
“It’s late winter,” she said quietly. “Coming on spring.”
“So most of the snowfall is done already?” Evie asked hopefully. “We could still make it across the Falaron peaks?”
Both fae looked troubled.
“There’s no way to know if another storm is coming,” Ellanden said slowly. “And, just based on the temperature outside, it’s been unseasonably cold. I would imagine the path through the mountains is blocked off in many parts. Maybe it can’t be crossed at all.”
There was a beat of silence.
“By most people, right?” Freya looked from one person to the other, not understanding the problem. “It couldn’t be crossed by most people. But that’s not us.”
A soft chorus of laughter echoed through the tent. Even Ellanden smiled at her enthusiasm.
“No, that’s not us,” Ellanden said. “Even if we do have a trio of helpless women getting in the way and slowing us down,” he added with a mischievous wink. “The problem with taking the alpine pass is there’s no way of knowing the condition until we see it for ourselves. And by the time we get there, even if it’s bad, we’ll be so short on supplies that we won’t be able to turn around.”
We’ll just be trapped.
The others thought this over for a moment before Asher lifted his head.
“What’s the alternative?” he asked.
“There’s actually an abandoned mine shaft nearby,” Cosette said suddenly, oblivious to the chilling effect of her words. “It wouldn’t take us all the way beneath the mountains. but, judging from the length of the tunnels, it might come close—”
“We’ll take the mountain path.”
Evie, Asher, and Ellanden said it at the same time, flushing simultaneously before dropping their eyes. No, they would not be venturing into a subterranean tunnel any time soon. Even if they did remember to feed the vampire. Even if there wasn’t a mythological snake.
“The Falarons will be fine,” Ellanden said quickly, trying to save face. “There will always be water, and there’s also a better chance of us finding game if food supplies run short.”
The others nodded in unison behind him, as if that had been their thought process all along.
Cosette pursed her lips to restrain a smile. “All right, so tomorrow we head off to the peaks?”
The friends nodded, suddenly overwhelmed to be back in the thick of it once more.
They had tried this once before, hadn’t they? And then ten years were stolen. And the world crumbled before their eyes. How were they supposed to make a difference now, when things were even harder? When the stakes had never been so high?
“You have us.”
The friends lifted their heads slowly, looking to where the two girls were sitting across the tent. At this point they didn’t even know which one had spoken—but it was like the words had been taken from their very minds. They stared for a moment, then nodded in unison.
Yes, we do.
In a world where nothing was certain, where light was lost to shadow and it was nearly impossible to find hope, they had somehow found each other. That, at least, they could trust.
“Why did you believe Freya’s story?” Ellanden asked softly, staring at Cosette. “You said there were a thousand useless rumors, that you were chasing a thousand leads...why did you believe the outlandish story of one random girl?”
Cosette pulled in a sharp breath, as if the question had pulled at something deep inside. She bowed her head for a moment before answering in a quiet voice, “When Freya was scared of the dark, you told her that it had to be dark. That without the darkness, we could never see the stars...”
Their eyes met in the shadows.
“...you used to say the same thing to me.”
* * *
ACCORDING TO ELLANDEN, it would take about a week to reach the trail that led up into the Falaron Mountains and over the peaks. At several points during the conversation, he commented on how useful it would be to simply ride a dragon the entire way to the Dunes. At several points shortly after, Evie hit him upside the back of the head.
But his comment about the dragon stuck with her as they packed up what remained of their camp and started trekking through the forest. No matter how hard she tried she was still blurry about the bulk of what had happened in the wizard’s cave, but a few things were somehow clear.
First: she would never enjoy drinking tea again.
Second: she’d been plagued with some very strange dreams.
If the fae hadn’t said the word out loud she might have forgotten the nightmare entirely, how the enormous beast rose up from the sand before dropping her into the sea. It had spoken to her as well, though she couldn’t remember exactly what was said. Some kind of dire warning, a warning amidst mocking laughter. A warning of being too late.
And then there were the voices, calling up to me from the sea...
“Do you think she notices?”
“I don’t see how one could not notice.”
“But she just keeps on walking, like it’s not even there.”
“...Evie?”
The princess lifted her head to see the four friends staring back at her, a mixture of concern and amusement on their faces. It was only then she realized that she was no longer on the trail as they were, but that her cloak had been caught securely in the underbrush alongside.
Caught up in her thoughts she’d continued walking as though nothing was unusual, not noticing that she hadn’t actually moved in quite some time.
Asher bent his head with a gentle smile. “Got something on your mind?”
At this point, denial was impossible. A diversion would have to suffice.
“Look,” she pointed eagerly, “there’s a village just at the base of the hill.”
The friends exchanged a grin.
“Yeah,” Ellanden answered, “we’ve been talking about that for quite some time. It was your idea, remember? To load up on supplies before we reached the mountain trail.”
The princess blanked, then nodded soundly—leading the way down the hill.
Five days had passed since they set out from camp. Five days of near constant walking and careful rationing of food. They’d made excellent time, even better than the fae had thought they might, but temperatures had dropped dramatically and game was no longer as plentiful as it once was. A quick shopping trip seemed prudent. One supply in particular weighed heavily on their minds.
“This is so embarrassing,” Asher muttered, determined not to meet anyone’s eyes. “You don’t need to stand here with me.”
While Cosette and Freya had been commissioned to locate rope and basic medical supplies, the princess and the fae had escorted Asher directly to the butcher shop. Watching carefully as he knocked on the window and placed his usual request.
“Really,” he insisted, flushing as much as his pale skin would allow, “I can do this myself.”
Ellanden nodded distractedly, then tuned back in. “Hey, Asher—don’t forget the blood.”
Evie fought back a giggle as the vampire rolled his eyes.
“That joke wasn’t funny the first few hundred times you said it...” Asher groused.
Considering he’d almost given his life for a misplaced pint of sheep’s blood, the woodland prince was entitled to a certain bit of leeway. That being said, he’d really upped his game the closer they got to the shop. The princess was quick to join in, having almost died herself.
“I think this is the last place,” she murmured, scanning her list. “We’ve got food, flint, blankets, the girls are getting some medical supplies...”
Ellanden craned his neck, squinting over her shoulder. “What’s that thing written at the bottom?”
The princess held it up with a frown. “...don’t forget the blood.”
They burst out laughing as Asher threw up his hands.
“Yes, it’s just hilarious!” he snapped. “You’re a testament to your kind!”
Unfortunately, that only made them laugh harder.
“It’s only funny,” Evie panted, “because we almost died.”
“That’s absolutely true,” Ellanden agreed, raking back his hair. “If you hadn’t gone mad and tried to exsanguinate the both of us, we wouldn’t be laughing at all.”
The vampire clenched his jaw and turned away from them, folding his arms tightly across his chest. He’d inherited infinite patience from his father and could usually roll with the punches, but the guilt of this particular incident was a little too much to bear.
“It’s a shame I didn’t just finish the job,” he said stiffly. “If I’d had my way the both of you would be just another pile of bones in that accursed tunnel, never to see the light of day—”
He cut himself short as the butcher appeared suddenly in the window, holding out a paper bag with a look of true terror on his face. The vampire gulped and tried to smile.
“Uh...thank you.”
The others were still cracking up when they met up with the girls on the other side of town.
“So they didn’t have that kind of rope you wanted,” Cosette summarized, rifling through the bag, “but they did have some goldenseal and a hatchet to replace the one that was taken. Between that and all of the meat we dried earlier, we should be in fairly good shape.”
Freya’s eyes twinkled as she turned to the vampire. “Did you get the...you know...”
He clenched his jaw and waved the bag in the air.
“Good,” Ellanden declared, “then we’re ready. I’d suggest that we stay the night in town, but we’re already so close and it’s almost midday. There’s a chance we can make it to the base of the trail by nightfall and set up camp.”
The others instantly agreed. The prospect of a bed was tempting but, given what happened the last time they tried to stay in a tavern, it was probably best to get on their way.
With a final glance at civilization, they slung their packs over their shoulders and headed on their way. It wasn’t until they reached the fork in the road that Ellanden stopped suddenly.
“Hey, Asher—”
“Enough, all right?” the vampire snapped, waving the bag once more. “It’s RIGHT here!”
The fae shook his head with a grin. “Not what I was going to say.”
“Oh.” Asher repented with an immediate flush. “Sorry, what is it?”
There was a lengthy pause.
“...don’t forget the blood.”
