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But…magical trees do exist in my realm, too.
I catch a glimpse of pale blue in the distance. It’s such a surprising color that I slow. “Did you see that?”
“Do I need to revisit the conversation in which all the dangers of this place were detailed out for you?” Maura grabs my wrist. “Don’t slow down, Jules. It’s not safe, and we don’t have time to linger even if it were.”
She doesn’t release me through the rest of the trip through the forest. In fact, she practically drags me up the last hill, her grip so tight, it almost hurts. I’m not about to complain, though. Not when the blue lights in the forest start appearing with more regularity. By the time we clear the trees, one flares to life close enough to the path that I think I see a face in its blue depths. I shudder. As much as I enjoy the adventure of this place, Maura really is right about the dangers.
We exit the forest and walk out onto a perfectly manicured field. It’s so strange that I almost miss a step. “What is this place?”
“Another entrance.”
I’m about to ask what Maura means by that when I see the large metal contraption. Though contraption may not be the right word; it’s a large gray platform that stands at waist height, with an equally gray set of stairs leading from the ground up to it. I frown. “A portal?”
“I don’t think so.” Maura charges past it. She doesn’t let me pause to linger, even when bright colored lights flicker to life on a square pad near the staircase. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I don’t know if that frightens or excites me. Maybe both.
We leave the strange platform behind as we move toward the cliff face overlooking the water, and then I have bigger things to worry about.
“There’s a path that leads down to the water from here, but it’s pretty treacherous. I’ll go first. Same rules as before—you step where I step and move where I move. Do you understand, Jules?”
I take a few steps closer to the cliff’s edge and look over. Vertigo hits me hard enough that I have to focus on planting my feet and not tipping right over the edge. We must’ve climbed higher than I realized, because the water is a long…long…way down. Far below, the waves crash against rocks that look sharp and deadly and ready to catch someone in their fatal embrace. “There isn’t room for a ship to get close here. Not without risking hull damage.”
“I know.” Maura pats herself down, seemingly checking to make sure everything is fastened in place. “We’ll have to swim.”
“Swim?”
“Yes.” Maura takes my shoulders. “The Kelpie is sailing north right now along the shore of the island. We just have to get down to the water, Jules. My magic will propel us to the ship. I won’t let you drown. I promise.”
There are so many things that can go wrong. I could fall, and even Maura’s water magic wouldn’t be able to save me from those rocks. Maura could fall. My chest tightens at the thought of her dying. I shake my head sharply. “No. It’s too dangerous. There has to be another way.”
“There is no other way.”
The wind whips Maura’s blonde hair around her face. It was calm a few seconds ago, but now I can taste the storm coming. Oh gods, we really are running out of time. The longer we stand here arguing, the worse it’s going to be. Either I trust her, or I don’t. I swallow hard. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“Remember—follow me exactly.” Maura starts down the narrow path. It looked harrowing before, but seeing exactly how little room there is for error makes my stomach drop. I’m graceful enough when I need to be, but I don’t have much experience with scaling cliff walls. I’m not a fucking goat.
My skin prickles and I shiver. This wind really is…
Except it’s not the wind my instincts are trying to warn me about. I hear the crunch of boots on rock and spin around to see the Cwn Annwn standing a few feet away. He looks like shit, the lines around his mouth deeper than they were just a few hours ago. There was no kindness on his expression the last time we met, but I didn’t realize until this moment that he wasn’t angry when we fought in the inn room.
He’s angry now.
“Choose, Princess Juliette of Skoiya. I will not ask you again.”
Choose. Death, or a life that may as well be death. I tighten my grip on the dagger. Even if I choose now, there’s nothing to stop him from killing Maura. She’s helpless, too far down the cliff path to attack him and not nearly far enough to make the fall to the water below safely.
