The elderly Fae stood up, her bones creaking beneath her. “I offer you shelter for the night.” She waved towards the house. “I think it’s time you slept, don’t you?”
I woke up with the taste of sunshine and salt on my lips. Tears had dried on my face in the night, my hand extended as I reached for something. My eyes refused to open. Everything was dark.
A scream pierced the night. Echoing through the forest, followed by the eerie howl of a wolf. One cry became a dozen, and soon the night was alive with the sound of wolves.
I was safe enough behind the wooden door of the hut, but I called out for Bríd, my voice barely above a whisper. No one responded, though it was hard to hear as the howls grew louder. Closer.
I hadn’t given much thought to my selfishness until that moment. I had taken her tiny bed, tucked into the corner, and left my host in the cold.
I stood up, groping for the faelight. A candle. Anything. It was dark. I couldn’t see my own hands. My body. I couldn’t see anything at all.
Fear lodged itself in my heart, and my breath came in short, sharp bursts. My teeth chattered and my body shook.
I rubbed my face. My eyes were open, but I couldn’t see. I was blind.
Just like...Bríd!
The older Fae was alone in the forest, without her sight. Surrounded by wolves.
I raced to the door, but tripped over several things on the way. My shins throbbed with unformed bruises, and I struggled to remain standing. I wrenched open the door, met by a wave of heat that was far greater than the dying embers of Bríd’s bonfire.
I extended my hands, but pain nipped my fingertips, quickly followed by the throb of a burn. Everything was on fire. Burning wood had a smell.
A female shriek echoed over the dull roar of the flames.
“Bríd?!” I called out, ignoring the savage snarls.
“My dagger! Get my dagger, God-Child!” She screamed.
“I can’t see!” I shouted back, my face tight with heat as I staggered away from the threshold.“Bríd!”
The elderly woman screamed in fear and pain. Her voice was muffled by the savage growls of the wolves. I knew little of Wolf-kin. They were wild Fae, just as the Selkies and Kelpies were. I knew even less about the Tuatha Dé Danann and Brid’s identity.
I could run. I could save myself.
Yeah, not going to happen.“Bríd!”
Before I could catch my breath, a living wall of fur hit me at full force, driving me to the floor. My back hit the ground as my arms came up to protect my face. Teeth lodged into my forearm, flooding my body with pain and adrenaline. I kicked out, but the beast was too heavy.
Through it all, I was blind.
Warm, wet liquid hit my face. I licked my lips. It was blood and foul saliva.
No water for miles.
I hadn’t felt my magic since waking up in the Tuatha Dé Danann.
The gnashing jaws in my face grew closer as the creature pressed its weight onto my chest.
I couldn’t see it—somehow that made it all the more frightening.
Bríd’s screams drowned out the fire, the howls, and my own panicked thoughts.
Blood. I remembered.
Water and blood.
Teeth gritted, eyes closed, I reached out with the invisible limb I used to control my magic. Ignored, but not gone.
