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Nothing.
She pulled a little more magic and grunted when it tried to twist away and go towards her friends. She knew they were there, she didn’t need her magic going to them. She still found nothing in their surroundings that would explain that feeling of being watched and she didn’t want to let out more magic in case she lost control of it. Especially right before they met the Fae too. Their reception was already likely to be strained with her group being their first visitors in decades. It would do them no good if Claire seemed like she was about to magically explode.
“I can’t find anything. Or anyone,” she said, rising to her feet.
“Is it like in the Forest?” Everett asked quietly, referencing back to when it felt like someone was watching them whenever she used magic in the Elven Forest. Claire nodded, it felt a little bit like that? It was hard to tell. “They might be cloaking then,” he looked at Desmond.
“Or it could be nothing.” Even as Claire said that she knew it wasn’t true.
“It’s not nothing,” Malcolm said. “Everyone stay vigilant. Desmond, you lead the way.”
“It’s not too far,” Desmond said, studying a map he seemingly pulled out of nowhere. Knowing Desmond, it was likely magically hidden. “We’ll have to be careful when we hit the boundary line or we’ll get trapped in the illusion.”
Even with his words of warning, they walked for over an hour before Bethany pointed out that their surroundings hadn’t changed. Desmond frowned and Claire knew he was probably beating himself up a bit for not noticing it sooner. She squeezed his arm and he smiled at her reluctantly.
“So what do we know about the illusion?” Zack asked as the group assessed their surroundings.
“Not much,” Desmond said. “We know that after the attack on that border village, Winona sealed off the Forest. We can probably assume that she and Erick worked together to place this barrier as the Great War progressed to protect the Fae. Part of the magic is an illusion that will have the person walk forever until they collapse if they don’t recognize it.”
Claire shot Bethany a smile for her observation skills and nearly laughed when Bethany shot her a sassy wink back.
“How does barrier magic work?” Holly asked. “Is there a way to break it?”
Desmond frowned. “In theory, yes. The person breaking it either has to be stronger than the ones who cast it or have a key.”
“A key? Like a physical key or a metaphorical key?”
“Depends. It can be either. Or both. Barrier breaking is a complex art form. People spend years studying it.”
As the group discussed possible keys and ways to break the barrier, Claire took a few steps from the group. She lifted her hands and placed them in front of her, closing her eyes, she focused on the magic of the barrier. If what Desmond said was true, her parents created this barrier together. Although the air before her looked empty, the magic that Claire felt when she focused filled her senses, sparking in a familiar way to her own.
The barrier magic seemed to be made up of multiple layers the more Claire focused on it. Biting her lip, she brought a strand of her magic out of her center and allowed it to fill her hands. Focusing on feeling her magic in one hand, she focused on trying to pull some of the barrier magic into her other hand so she could study it. The magic of the barrier felt like… hers? Like a combination of sorts. Which made perfect sense as Claire thought about it. This barrier was a product of both Winona and Erick’s magic and so was she in a way. She was part of each of them, even though she had no memories of meeting either. What if…
Her hands released the magic and fell to the handles of the daggers hanging at her waist. If the barrier was a combination of both Winona and Erick’s magic and the daggers she held were from each of her parents as well, then maybe the daggers were the key to the barrier? Or the daggers activated by Claire’s magic? Was it that simple? Only one way to find out.
Keeping a strict control on how much magic she allowed to fill the daggers, Claire drew them and held them in front of her as she allowed the magic to activate. As an extra measure of precaution, she called Puck to her and made sure his bond along with her Triad bonds were tightly laid over her magic. Even so, it was like her magic wanted to hit the daggers with a force of tidal wave instead of a gentle stream but Claire held it back, letting it build slowly until the daggers glowed.
She let her surroundings fall away as she focused on the daggers in front of her. Puck’s claws dug lightly into her shoulder, grounding her in the present. The sounds faded until all that filled her ears was the soft buzzing of the activated magic. She had no idea if magic was supposed to have a sound or if she just heard it more because of her loss of sight. With the activated daggers, now it was time to cut the barrier.
She had a few options, she guessed. She could try cutting the barrier like scissors or let the daggers try and split the barrier open in front in one cut. If she cut the barrier too, would the entire thing fall or just the part she cut. She probably didn’t want to leave the entire Fae lands defenseless so she imagined just cutting a doorway into the barrier as she brought the daggers above her head and sliced downwards in one solid stroke.
The magic from the daggers exploded outwards into the barrier as Claire sliced downwards. The force had her taking a few steps backwards. Warm hands caught her hips as Malcolm steadied her. She turned to look up at him when his grip tightened. He wasn’t looking at her but instead at the space in front of her.
Claire turned back around and was glad for Malcolm’s steadying presence at her back. Six Fae warriors stood in front of their group, weapons drawn. And they lookedpissed.
30
The six Fae warriors didn’t move a muscle as they assessed their group and Claire felt like no one on her side of the barrier breathed either. She hadn’t really expected that to work on her first try but it had. Now there was a large doorway cut into the shimmery barrier. And some pissed off Fae through the doorway.
Next to her, she caught Holly’s wince out of the corner of her eye. Holly moved her hand to her forehead to rub at her temple and the movement drew the attention of the Fae. Claire tightened her grip on the daggers, ready to defend her friend if needed. Two Fae, specifically, focused on Holly. They looked identical with eerily similar eyes to Claire. Roderick had mentioned she had her father’s eyes so maybe they were a Fae trait?
Next to her, Holly grew ramrod still when she met the twin Faes’ eyes. A flash of longing, so quick Claire almost missed it, passed over all three of their faces. Was Holly…? Were they…?
“Who are you?” One of the Fae, not the twins, barked at them, breaking the moment. “Which one of you broke the barrier?”
Desmond stepped forward like he was going to take responsibility and Claire cut him off. “I did,” she said, proud when her voice came out strong and steady.
“And who are you?” The Fae warrior asked again.
