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Lainule was sitting on a patchwork blanket by the water, staring silently into the gentle ripples. She looked up as I knelt beside her.
“Cicely—I did not summon you.”
No pleasantries, but I didn’t expect them. She was as far removed from the Cambyra Fae over which she ruled as were the vampires.
“Kaylin is . . . there’s something wrong and we can’t figure out what it is. I thought you might be able to help.” I gazed up at her eyes and she smiled then, softly, and the world brightened.
“You come for your friend, not for yourself. Bless you for that, child. I cannot come to your house—it is too close to my woodland and Myst. But wait—there may be a way I can help.” She snapped her fingers, and one of her serving girls knelt beside her. “Bring me Astralis.”
The girl silently jogged off. As we sat there, I longed to beg Lainule to reconsider, to find a way to save Grieve from Myst’s clutches, but I knew that might endanger her willingness to help us with Kaylin.
“Lady, may I ask you something?” I might not be able to ask about Grieve, but there was something I could venture to discuss.
“What, child?”
“My father. I’d like to meet him.” I only knew that his name was Wrath, and that he was one of the Uwilahsidhe.
Lainule frowned. “It is not the time, but soon—soon, I think. There are so many things that could tip the scales of fate, Cicely. And I hold many of their threads in my hands. If you meet him, if you find out your parentage, how will it affect the war? And make no mistake: War is upon us.”
I considered her words. Begging wouldn’t work, nor would whining, so I shelved the thought for the time being. “Then tell me, how can I keep out of Lannan’s clutches?”
This brought a cloud across her face. “Oh, my child, I wish I’d talked to you before you made your deal; I could have warned you about how to proceed. But we were worried it might change your mind. And we needed you to take the contract. These are dark days, and darker still to come. The world is clouded with pain, and Myst’s people are not confined to the Golden Wood.”
“You mean there really are others?”
“While the Queen herself makes her home in my lands, her people have spread throughout the world. But if we can strike the heart of the hive, then we have a chance to break all of the swarms. For there is only one Queen; there is only one mother of the race. And make no mistake: Myst would conquer the world if she could, cloak it in an eternal winter, and keep both the magic-born and the yummanii as cattle—one for soul drinking, the other for blood and flesh.”
“What about Lannan?”
She hung her head and for once, she was no longer Lainule the tattered Queen of Summer, but a woman, like me. She reached out and took my hands. “I wish I could help, but oh my dear, there is nothing I can do to stop him. Regina favors him, and if I were to step in, she might break the pact and the vampires need the Summer Fae, even if they don’t realize it. They would not win alone against Myst and her people.”
“So I’m sacrifice to his whims.” I stared at her hands as they held mine. “I made the bargain, I didn’t think. I just was hoping . . .”
“I’m sorry, so sorry.”
At that moment, the girl returned with a silver bowl. Lainule motioned for her to leave, then dipped it into the silent lake, filling it full with the warm water of summer. She waved her hand over it, whispering something, and leaned close. As I watched, she breathed on the water and then closed her eyes.
Her eyes flew open and she looked up at me. “Cicely, Kaylin is in danger. He’s evolving on his path. His demon is trying to wake. Unless he receives the help he needs, he will slide forever into a dark hole in his mind and never regain consciousness. There is no time to waste. You must journey into the Court of Dreams and bring back the spell that will waken his demon.” She placed her hands on my shoulders. “You must journey to the home of the Bat People. It is a long, dangerous path, but there is no choice. It’s the only way if you want to save Kaylin.”
Chapter 4
I stared at the Summer Queen. “The Court of Dreams? You seriously want me to go into another plane in search of the Bat People?”
Lainule gazed at me. “It’s not what I want, child. The journey depends on whether you value your friend’s life. I would not have you go, except Kaylin plays an important part in your future—that much I can tell you. If his demon does not wake, you will never recover him and this will change the course of the war against the Indigo Court. Whether for good or ill, I do not know, but I don’t like playing with the future once it’s told me its secrets.”
A hummingbird, sparkling green with hints of blue, darted around my head, beating its wings furiously. The creature was beautiful, almost ephemeral. A gust of wind could knock it senseless. A year or two and it would probably be dead. And yet still it fed, and seemed happy, and took no notice of the future.
“To be so carefree,” I whispered.
Lainule followed my gaze to the bird. “The hummingbird is no more carefree than you are. She must eat, and eat often. She must build her nest to lay her eggs and hope that predators stay away while she incubates them, and later, while she is off fetching food for the chicks. She must avoid flying into buildings or other stationary objects. She must avoid being caught by birds of prey and cats and anything else that might want to eat her. The world is her enemy and yet . . .” Lainule held out her hand and whistled, and the hummingbird dove for her, perching on her finger, fluttering its wings a few beats every second.
“And yet, she trusts in the way of things. She brings joy in her wake. What lessons can you take from her?” She reached out with her other hand and gently stroked the bird’s head, then motioned for me to do the same.
I felt an odd instinct rise up, one I didn’t like. A part of me—my owl self—wanted to dart forward and snatch up the hummingbird. It was food, prey . . . And yet I was able to control the predator within and, taking a deep breath, I reached out and ran my finger along the back of the bird, reveling in how small and yet how incredible it was.
“You just faced what will become one of your greatest lessons, I think. When we automatically attack those weaker, we lose incredible opportunities. This is a lesson most of the Cambyra Fae must learn—to hunt only when necessary. What else, child?”
Exhaling slowly, I thought for a moment. “To persevere, regardless of the odds. To take joy in what I can. To attempt what seems impossible. To soar, despite the effort it takes.”
