AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What edge is that?”
“I’m… not sure yet.”
“Whoever you think she was,” I said, “She’s not that person anymore. She’s twisted Fate on a grand scale, her magic is quick and sharp, and she can turn into a giant cat.” I touched my hand to my throbbing cheek. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, I could feel it pulsating constantly.
“We also believe she knows what our next move will be,” said Valerian. “She knew where we would be earlier today. Malys was ready for us.”
My grandmothers exchanged concerned glances. Helen then turned her attention to Valerian. “We should be safe from her gaze so long as we remain in this cottage. I am sure she is aware of our presence by now, she likely knew we were here the moment we arrived in Arcadia. But whatever decisions we make here, she shouldn’t know about.”
“Until we leave this place…”
“Well, yes.”
“How does that help us?”
“It doesn’t. Not yet. For now, the best thing we can do is formulate a plan of action that we can then execute in synchronicity.”
“Eloquently put,” said Tallin, nodding at my grandmother’s choice of words.
“We need to find Radulf,” I said, “And my mother and father. We need to get them back.”
“You said Dahlia and Cillian were in exile?” asked Helen.
Gullie buzzed in at this point. “As far as we know.”
“Then they are perhaps beyond our reach.”
“What?” I asked, “That… no, that can’t be right.”
“Dear, Fae exile is…” she shook her head, shut her eyes and sighed. “It is not simply a matter of getting them back. We first need to know where they are, then we have to reach out them and hope they can hear us. Then, and only if we have been able to reach them, they will need to take steps to come back; a task that will not be easy for them.”
“Think of it like…” Pepper paused. “When you came to Earth, and you couldn’t open a portal to bring you back here. You were cut off from Arcadia… you couldn’t reach your friends here, and they couldn’t reach you. It’s kind of like that, but much, much worse.”
I swallowed hard. “Why… why would they have done that?” I asked.
“To protect you,” said Evie. “They must have thought it was the only thing they could do to keep you safe.”
“I don’t see how their exile helps me.”
“Maybe not right now…” she paused and lightly smiled. “Maybe they can explain when we reach out to them.”
“Radulf,” Helen continued. “Radulfcanbe reached. Finding him is of utmost importance.”
“Valerian says he has contacts who may be able to help,” I put in. “That’s a good place to start.”
Valerian nodded. “It may take some time, but I can at least get us some leads.”
“We can get to work on reaching your parents,” said Pepper, her eyes tilted up in a thoughtful expression. “It’ll be difficult, but… I don’t think it’s impossible.”
“Can you actually do that?” I asked.
“If anyone can, it’s us,” Evie said, smiling brightly.
“Andwe can do that from in here,” said Pepper, “So we don’t have to worry about Arcadia trying to gobble us up and spit us back out as monsters.”
I stood up. “Alright, Valerian and I will head to Lysa and try to find Radulf while you try to contact my parents.”
In unison, Gullie and Helen both began to say “Now, just wait here—”
