CHAPTER ONE
Iwhirl around, not recognizing any landmarks. My pulse spikes as a mild panic rises in my veins.
I’m lost in the forest, which is odd since I know every inch of it. I twist and turn, looking, trying to determine where exactly I am. Where I’d come from.
Was it this way?
I take a single step before I doubt myself.
How do I get home from here?
Whereverhereis… Everything in this place is unnaturally brighter than it should be. The leaves and the grass aren’t just green, they’re vibrant and vivid. The peeks of the sky I can see through the treetops is a cerulean blue that makes me wish I could fly so I can study it up close.
I’m so lost in thought staring at the sky that I almost miss the rustling sound from behind me. By the time I spin towards it, there’s nothing there. The back of my neck prickles with an awareness of someone watching me. A presence behind me. I whip back around to see a woman standing across the clearing. She’s ghastly pale and dressed in a threadbare dirt-stained nightdress, face obscured by stringy waist-length maroon hair. Her cracked lips are moving, but I can’t hear the words.
I take a few tentative steps towards her, the grass cushioning my bare feet. As I grow closer, her faintly muttered words become clearer.
“Shall cross… darkness… depths of endless night.” I miss every few words so everything I manage to pick up is senseless. “Light… darkness… stars aligned… hearts…” I stutter to a stop. Something about the words freezes the blood in my veins and causes my pulse to race. But I can’t for the life of me comprehendwhy. It’s an inherent fight or flight reaction my body seems to understand, but my brain can’t catch up. None of the words I’ve heard her speak even fit together in any sort of logical sentence.
“Are you okay?” I take another step closer, reaching out my hand. But right before it connects, she lets out a sharp, keening wail and I jump back, startled, nearly tripping over a nearby tree root that protrudes from the ground in the process. She lifts her head, and I’m granted a brief glimpse of her face. Her eyes are nearly pure black and bloodshot from tears. Dark smudges present under her eyes, indicating a lack of sleep. She gives me a wicked smile that only further cracks her lips and the deep red of blood starts to seep through. She opens her mouth on another scream?—
I shoot up, gasping for breath, hand clutching at my racing heart. I take in my surroundings and relief sinks in at the familiar sight of my bedroom.
Just a dream. Well, more like a nightmare. The same nightmare I’ve had for the last ten months without fail.
Every. Single. Night.
You’d think by this point my dream self would have figured out it was a nightmare. Except, it feels more real than a normal dream. Which I know sounds absolutely crazy and if I ever dared say anything about it out loud, I’d likely be shipped off to the nearest asylum. But I can’t explain it. Something about it feelsimportant. Like it’s supposed to mean something, only I stillhave no idea what. Or what the woman is trying to tell me. I only get a few words from her every time. Last night was the most words I’ve ever been able to get out. But what does ‘shall cross darkness depths of endless night. Darkness stars aligned hearts’ even mean? The current working theory I have is a whole lot ofnothing.
The shuffling and clinking of a body moving around in the other room tells me Aunt Fleur must already be up and getting a head start on the preparations for tomorrow.
I collapse back into my bed with a sigh as I remember tomorrow’s date.
It’s Samhain.
I blink up at the ceiling. It’s weird to me that we celebrate one of the Fae’s biggest holidays of the year as humans. But for whatever reason, these traditions transcend the division between our two realms. Sometimes I wonder if everyone even knows that this is historically aFaeholiday and that it’s not something we came up with on our own. I only found out the holiday’s origins after a traveling merchant set up shop in our market one day and had an absurd number of contraband texts that he alleged were from‘the Faerie realm.’
Did I believe him? Absolutely not.
Did I buy them anyway and smuggle them into the house before my aunt could see? Most definitely.
As I drag myself out of bed, my eyes flick to where I know my latest read is stashed under the mattress. According to the book, Samhain marks the end of summer and the harvest season, which the Fae celebrate with abundant feasts, bonfires, and parties across the entire realm. It also mentioned that it’s one of two times a year when the veil between our realms is the thinnest. The mischievous Fae tend to take advantage of the thinned veil and cross into our realm. Allegedly.
Do I believe that? Not really. I’ve lived in this same village for all twenty years of my life and have yet to see any proof or existence of the Fae.
There were rumors a few years back that traveled through all the nearby villages that a group of Fae crossed into our realm and went on a spree wreaking havoc. Thieving, trickery, and overall causing a ruckus.
Truthfully, I think it was only a story made by some parents trying to frighten their children into behaving. Something like ‘if you don’t clean your room, the evil Fae will snatch you away in your sleep.’ That, or it could’ve just as easily been one of the village troublemakers and there are certainly no shortages of them. No one has any proof one way or the other and therefore the Fae become the great scapegoat.
The human version of Samhain on the other hand is significantly more low-key. We’ve held onto the feast tradition, but it’s not nearly as extravagant as what the stories say of the Fae’s. We also use the day as a time to reflect and honor the loved ones we’ve lost.
A familiar pang hits me in the chest as I think about?—
“Livi? Are you up yet? I need your help!” Aunt Fleur’s voice pulls me from my solemn thoughts. It’s almost as if she knew the dark path my thoughts began to tunnel into.
I shake off Samhain and the lingering anxiety around the nightmare and pull myself out of my thoughts. I stumble over to my washbasin and splash some cold water onto my face in hopes it will further wake me up. Catching a glimpse of my face in the mirror above the basin, all that stares back at me is exhaustion. There are dark circles under my dulled emerald eyes that have all but taken up residence there since the nightmares began. My usually bronzed skin is pale and leeched of color. My dark, golden hair is tangled into the perfect depiction of bed head and looks dull, lackluster.
I drop my face into my hands and press the heel of my palms into my eyes. I need a good night’s sleep foronce. I can’t even remember the last time I slept through the night without interruption, and I realize now how much I took that effortless sleep for granted.
