It was well past midnight when Elrik arrived. I had begun to wonder if he would arrive at all. When he finally appeared at my door, dressed in black and wearing a cloak of deep forest green, he tossed me a second cloak of the same hue before pulling the hood of his over his golden hair.
“Come with me, my dear,” he said with a wink before turning on his heel, down the winding pathway. I quickly donned the cloak, camouflage from prying eyes, before hurrying after him into the dark.
Elrik led me out of the palace, down an unfamiliar path of twisted branches, one that became narrower as we reached the base of the tree. He moved like a shadow, and I did my best to match his silent steps. Once or twice my cane hit a bump in the branch path and I nearly fell, swearing under my breath. He only chuckled, a quick, breathy sound. The thief I had once been would have been ashamed.
Once outside, the path wrapped around the mammoth tree, seamlessly becoming a gnarled walkway of roots that led to the lake. I started toward one of the glass boats when Elrik grabbed my shoulder.
I jumped away from the touch, a jolt of fear coursing through me. Elrik smiled, drinking in the power he had, letting his hand linger a moment longer before slowly releasing me. All he said was, “This way.”
I was about to ask what he meant, but he already was dropping something small into the water. I caught a glimpse of a pale piece of sea glass, but it was soon swallowed by the lake.
“What’s going on?” But as soon as I asked, I saw. Where the glass had fallen into the water, it had started to churn, a ripple at first, but soon a vortex that formed a hollow, dry pathway down into the lakebed. The root trail continued into the lake path, winding steeply downward.
My mouth hung open as I stared at the strange magic before me. Elrik walked down the root road, into the newly formed path inside the lake as though it were nothing new. A few paces in, he turned back to me.
“Are you coming?”
I had a momentary vision of going far down the path only to have the water flood over me. I shivered, hating the next steps I had to take. But I thought of Casper, trapped in some dark cell underground, under the lake, and I followed Elrik.
“Nothing is ever simple or ordinary here, is it?” I grumbled.
“Then it wouldn’t be the thing of myths and legends to mere humans,” Elrik said, not turning back to me, but I heard the amusement in his voice. “You don’t have to do this, little Elenora.”
I ignored him, gritting my teeth and walking down the trail cutting into the lake.
The path continued downward, so narrow I had to walk behind Elrik the whole time. The air grew cool and moist as we descended, leaving a bitter, briny taste on my tongue. To either side of the trail were walls of dark water, smooth as glass. I wondered how these uncanny walls would look in the light of day, if one could see the fish and turtles and whatever other creatures resided in the lake. I resisted the urge to touch the water walls, terrified of doing anything that might disrupt the spell and send inky waves crashing over us.
The steep steps made my legs ache and burn. Though I wanted to stop, to take a moment to rest, I knew better than to show any weakness in front of Elrik. I gripped my cane tighter and continued following him down.
The light from the bright moon and illuminated windows of the Forest Court penetrated only the top of the lake, a blurred illumination that created eerie, moving shadows through the water. By the time we reached the bottom of the path, the light from the Forest Court had been completely swallowed by the water. I nearly tripped when the root ended, not expecting flat stone beneath my feet. I landed hard, my cane hitting the rock with a thump that echoed loudly. I inhaled sharply, the air cold and musty in my chest.
We had reached some structure, though it was too dark for me to see more than a large door, quarried of thick, gray stone that still shone with droplets of water. Elrik pulled out a short dagger, making a shallow cut in his palm, murmuring words too soft for me to hear as he pressed his palm to the door. It swung open to a black void. We walked in.
Squinting in the darkness, I surveyed my surroundings. The walls were dark stone, but I couldn’t make out much more in the poor light, even with my keener fay sight. The stones were slick with wet moss when I reached out to them. Elrik pulled an unlit torch off the wall, which immediately ignited in his hand.
“Hurry up,” Elrik said, not looking back as he walked further into the gloom. I followed the glow of the torch, the light from the outside completely gone. I focused on Elrik’s back, his gleaming dragonfly wings, and not the distorted shadows we cast on the walls, grotesque forms that moved and flickered with the torchlight.
The corridor came to an abrupt halt in front of a large, metal door. It radiated a deeper cold, which settled into my bones, making me shiver. Elaborate etchings covered every inch of the door, including a large lock that held it closed. Elrik pulled out a key from around his neck.
“No magic to open it?” I asked, surprised that the prison was protected by something so mundane.
“This door is made of iron,” Elrik said, the key clicking in the lock. “There have been fay prisoners before. My queen ensured no magic could be used here.”
“And Queen Marasina gave you the key?”
Elrik snorted. “I am merely borrowing it.”
The door swung open, and I gasped. I had expected cells similar to the dungeon at the Rose Palace, but this was far from that. There was only one room, and it was vast, an underground chamber, dimly lit by several glowing orbs. Stalagmites rose from the floor and stalactites dripped from the ceiling, which itself was as impressive as it was strange. Where I expected a ceiling of stone or even dirt or roots, there was a clear dome, as though made of glass. I could make out sleek schools of silver fish and large black rays swimming above us. The entire cavern was cast in a sickening greenish sheen. I felt a mix of awe and dread at the terrible splendor before me.
I wanted to ask how it was possible, but at that moment I saw Casper. Wrapped in a tattered blanket, he was in the far corner of the cavern, sitting on a large, flat stone. He was staring at Elrik and me, his expression wary, not saying anything.
“Little kingling, I bring you a visitor.” There was cold glee in Elrik’s voice. Before Elrik moved aside, he added, “Now, remember our deal.” I heard the threat in his words, though he was staring at Casper instead of me.
“I know,” I said, pushing him away from me so I could get to Casper. “Casper, it’s me,” I blurted out, unable to stop myself as I made my way toward him.
Upon hearing my voice, Casper rose, straining to see me and rubbing his eyes as though he couldn’t quite trust them. “Nor?” My name sounded uncertain on his lips. He started toward me. Ignoring the pain, I raced across the stone floor. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst. I was almost at him, when he halted, a horror filling his face. “What did they do to you?”
I froze.
“So, the rumors are true. You’re not human,” he said, stepping back, putting distance between us.
For a moment, I could only stare at Casper, too shocked to do anything, the joy at seeing him seeping away. Hurt and resignation warred within me. I reached out to him, only to watch him flinch back. His face was chalky in the dull light, his chiseled features now gaunt, with dark circles under his eyes. I looked down, my own hand glowing slightly from the faerie blood in my veins.
“I’m still me,” I insisted, but the words felt more like a plea. From the door, I heard Elrik laugh.
Casper took a tentative step toward me. He reached his hand out, gently brushing my cheek. His fingers were so cold. I placed my hand over his, hoping to warm him.
“Careful now,” Elrik said behind me. I ignored him, but Casper yanked his hand away, leaving me aching for his touch.
“This is what the poison did to you?”
I nodded, unable to speak as tears pricked behind my eyes. I blinked hard and bit my lip.
Casper frowned, as though seeing something especially unpleasant. He looked away from me then, stared at Elrik with sharp, dark eyes. His hands clenched in fists by his sides, and I could feel the resentment radiating off him. “Elrik told me that you are a faerie princess now, a great fortune and destiny ahead of you.”
I whirled on Elrik, who remained motionless by the door, a statue of a faerie in a forgotten, underwater world. His eyes glowed in the gloomy light, reminding me of something predatory. He stared at Casper with blazing amber eyes, but did not say a word.
“What did you say?” I demanded.
Elrik shrugged, slowly looking away from Casper, focusing on me. “You see how he feels about who you are now. About who you truly always have been.” Elrik’s voice was soft and dark. “Your little king looks at you as though you are a monster.”
Elrik’s words hit my heart, harsh because I had thought the very same thing. I wanted Elrik to be wrong, wanted Casper to contradict him, to convince me he still loved me, still wanted me, but Casper said nothing.
“Do you see a monster?” I finally asked Casper, bracing myself.
“Your home is here, Nor.” Casper’s words ripped out a piece of my heart. Last time he spoke of home, it was the Rose Palace, and it was the two of us going back there, together.
“I don’t belong here. I don’t want to be a faerie princess. I want to be with you.” The words spilled out of me. But stuck in my throat was what I really wanted to say, tell me you still love me, even as I am now. Tell me it doesn’t matter and that we will find a way together. I silently pleaded with him, praying my eyes could say what my mouth could not.
“I can’t be—” Casper trailed off, scrunching his eyes closed as though in pain. “I no longer wish to be with you, Elenora.”
“I don’t believe you.” But even as I tried to convince myself, tried to push away this new truth, I knew it was too late. Here was the terrible reality that I had feared from the moment Pel handed me a mirror, showing me what an unnatural thing I had become.
“It’s for the best,” Casper stared at the floor, unable to meet my eyes.
I swallowed hard, feeling the sharp pain sink into my heart, more agonizing than anything the sitano could ever do to me. But I owed Casper his freedom, and that was not contingent on his love.
“I’m still getting you out of here. Let’s go.”
“No,” Elrik said.
I turned to him, my feelings out of control. I was desperate and scared, and I knew Elrik would take advantage of that, use that against me, but I was out of options. I had no brilliant plans, no clever deceptions. All I could do was pay my debt to Casper and get out of his life. I no longer cared about the consequences. I no longer had a home to return to.
“Let me free him. What is it to you if he rots under your lake or if he is gone? I will offer you another trade.” The words were bitter on my lips, but I didn’t take them back.
“I would love to make another deal with you, little bird, but you have not even fulfilled our first bargain.” The corner of Elrik’s lips lifted in the hint of a smile. “And besides, it is not necessary. The little kingling has already been promised his freedom. If you were to release him now, my queen would certainly think treachery was at work, and likely drag the kingling back here.”
“Is that true?” I spun back to Casper, feeling suddenly lightheaded. Had Casper been promised his freedom this whole time? Was he already counting down the weeks and days till he could leave Magnomel? Till he could leave me?
Casper continued to stare at the floor, though his jaw was clenched tight. “Everything Elrik says is true. I will leave Magnomel in the winter. Alone. Please Elenora, if you care for me, do not get involved.”
I stepped back as though hit. I felt my pulse in my ears, though I was sure my heart was broken beyond repair. I wanted to fight, to tell Casper that I needed him, that I loved him, that I wanted to build a life with him. But the devastating truth was that he did not want any of that, not with me. I was a liar and cheat. I had betrayed him and cost him his freedom. And now I was a broken monster. He had every right to despise me.
I pulled his signet ring off my finger. The gold was warm, the only piece of home I had in this strange world, but like Casper, it was not mine to keep. I offered him the ring, but he only stared at the floor, refusing to take it. I wanted to scream, to yell at him that he had no right to refuse this ring if he was taking away everything it represented. Instead, I gently set it down by his feet and turned away.
In several hasty strides, I was out the door of the Aqueno Prison. Pain flashed up my legs as I forced them to move quickly, but I refused to slow down. I was keeping myself together by the barest thread, so close to the edge, but not wanting to lose my composure in front of anyone, least of all Elrik. I started through the watery pathway, no longer caring about the danger. I heard the lock click, and Elrik’s steps beside me. I refused to look at him.
“I am much better for you than him.”
I turned, pulling my arm back to slap Elrik when his own shot out, grabbing my wrist.
“We are liars Nor, both of us. We lie and steal and cheat, but we can be honest with each other. You don’t need someone who will be so cruel to you. I see you and I want you exactly as you are. I know your lies and your deception, and I know what it’s like to deceive for a living. I understand you in a way he never could.”
“Let me go.”
“You will come around to my way of thinking.” And to my relief, Elrik released my wrist.
I ran the rest of the way out of the water pathway, only stopping when the pain made it impossible. I stumbled up the Forest Court hallways to my room, tripping as tears blurred my vision, and falling as the sitano burned in my bones. I tried to focus on my throbbing limbs, wishing my physical discomfort was enough to block out the agony in my heart.
I threw myself onto my bed so my face was deep in the pillows, their stuffing of leaves and moss muffling my screams. I screamed till I was hoarse. The pillow was soaked with tears and snot and my silent screams.
Long after my voice had left, I continued crying into the pillow. Every time I moved my hand to wipe at my face, I saw my glowing fay skin and sobbed again, cursing my body for betraying me, for becoming something that wasn’t human. I cursed Elrik, the sitano, Pel, Marasina and the whole fay court. Casper telling me he no longer wanted me was a pain that ate me away from the inside, breaking me in a way even the sitano had not managed. I had lost my brothers, Casper, my home, and even my humanity. I felt empty. I had lost everything.