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14
BREE
They camped in the village for the night, taking turns to keep watch, just in case any soldiers came looking for them. After several hours of fitful sleep, Bree pulled up some water from the well to wash her face and neck. She rummaged through some of the trunks left behind by the villagers, bundling a pack of clothes, a knife, and a canteen that she filled up with more well water.
The two of them could travel faster in their Redcap forms, but they decided to take it in shifts, as Bree wanted some respite from her beast. They set off through the forest, heading south, away from the castle. At times, Bree charged forward on powerful paws with the packs clenched between her jaws. Other times, they walked, arms wrapped around each other.
When the moon dipped behind the horizon, they set up camp. They’d journeyed far, leaving the thick forests behind for verdant, rolling fields. Stars lit up the sky, and insects buzzed through the chilly air. The cold seeped into her bones, even as the fire flickered warmth onto her skin. Bree huddled against Rafferty.
“How much further is it?” she asked, referring to the ancient library on the southern edge of Underworld’s island. Rafe had filled her in as they’d travelled. There was a city along the coast called Munlin, ruled by a Lord Worm. A nickname, referring to his slimy way of dealing with the other lords across the land. He liked to keep to himself, rarely going to court, and his most prized possession was his library. At last count, it housed a good three thousand books.
If Bree could not find the answers there, they did not exist.
“If we continue at this pace, it will be another two days of travel. It helps that we can spend some time in our Redcap forms.”
Another two days. That was not much at all. “Where is Taveon’s castle in relation to the rest of the island? Do you have a map?”
“In the middle,” Rafe said. “And no, my love. I don’t have a map on me.”
Something gnawed on the back of her mind. “So, Underworld is just an island. What’s beyond the seas all around it?”
“Just water,” Rafe said with a shrug. “We’ve sent many fae out exploring, and they all come back saying the same thing. There is no more land to be found in our world. This is it.”
Bree’s heart thundered in her chest. “So, just like Otherworld, then.”
Rafe’s brow arched. “Otherworld has the same geography?”
“A single island, surrounded by water. Otherworld Academy sits in the center with the four courts taking up the territory east and west, north and south. There’s nothing else.”
For a moment, neither one of them spoke. Bree’s mind spun. What were the odds that both fae realms were exactly the same? She needed to look at a map to confirm it, but…there had to be something in it. She could feel the truth of it in her gut.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, Bree.”
Taveon murmured in the back of her mind. She closed her eyes and turned to him. He pushed an image into her mind. A map of Otherworld, the corners lit up by each fae court. And then that image dropped away, replaced by another.
One that was identical to the first.
Underworld.
It was the exact same shape. Even the mountain ridges were the same, along with the the placement of forests. Bree sucked in a breath and flipped open her eyes.
Rafferty leaned his close, his brows furrowed. “Were you talking to Taveon? Is everything all right back at the castle?”
“He showed me a map,” she said excitedly. “It’s exactly the same. All of it.”
She jumped up to her feet and began to pace around the fire, her hands twisted together. Underworld and Otherworld were exactly the same. Except for one little thing. One was plunged in forever darkness. The other was stuck in seasons.
“Rafe,” she said. “Underworld experiences seasons.”
“That’s right.” He slowly stood. “Most of Otherworld doesn’t.”
“So, you see where I’m going with this, right?”
“Our worlds are opposites.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Otherworld gets light and dark. But some of it is stuck. In seasons. Underworld is stuck. In darkness. But what is stuck here is not stuck there and what is stuck there is not stuck here.”
Rafe watched Bree pace as his brows pinched together. “Bree, I love you, but you’re making very little sense.”
