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“I’m not sure hiding out is the best play, Valerian. We have thirteen days to fix this mess… maybe less, now.”
“I know how much time we have, but we have no magic, no weapons, and no allies. We aren’t going to accomplish anything in this state.”
Colbolt snorted.
“You’re right,” Valerian said, “We do have allies. But I’m not about to ask you to go to war for us.”
Another grunt.
Valerian smiled to himself. “Your friend is stubborn. Like you.”
I couldn’t help but admire the connection he and Colbolt seemed to have. It almost looked like Valerian understood exactly what Colbolt was saying, even though the Maukibou couldn’t actually speak. It was an impressive feat, and thinking about it allowed me a moment of distraction; a happy thought to chew over instead of all the doom and gloom unfolding around us.
It was then that I felt something, a strange tingling sensation at the very edge of my senses. I wasn’t sure why, but that feeling reminded me of my grandmothers. It smelled like cinnamon, like old books, like perfume.Like Tallin, who had given up his immortality so that I could make it to Arcadia at all.
I was thankful for them all.
Pepper, Evie, Helen, Tallin.
Without them, Valerian and I wouldn’t be here right now. We wouldn’t even have survived on Earth. Where would we have gone upon stumbling out of that portal if my grandmothers hadn’t been able to remember who I was? Maybe the bonds of family were stronger than I had been originally told.
Which meant maybe, just maybe, my mother, father, and brother still knew who I was; all I had to do was find them.
Valerian tapped me on the arm, and nodded up ahead. Colbolt was slowly trotting down a curved hill, at the base of which, nestled against the rockface, was something that looked a little like a cottage. It was built right up against the wall and made of the same dark wood common in the forest of the Moon Children.
A small, warm firelight glinted by its door, lending a little illumination to the otherwise covered area.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Valerian said, “But Colbolt has brought us right to it.”
Colbolt came to a stop a little way away from the cottage. I perked up, took a deep breath, and caught a scent in the air that made my eyes widen. I turned my head, glanced at Valerian, and unwrapped myself from him in an instant.
“Amara, what are you doing?” he asked, as I slid off Colbolt’s back.
But I couldn’t reply. Frantic, I let myself fall to the floor next to Colbolt, and I dashed toward the door to the cottage, letting that warm, sweet, almost flowery scent fill my nostrils. My heart was racing, my mind spinning out of control.
When I reached the door, I started pounding on it with my fists. My nerves had gotten the better of me, and I had lost almost all control. When the door opened, the aroma I was bathing in bloomed, as did the smile on my face.
“Gullie…” I breathed.
The Pixie stood before me, fully as tall as I was, her green hair held in a tight ponytail, her translucent butterfly wings tucked behind her back. She was beautiful, a sight for sore eyes. Seeing her made my heart surge, but it also made my entire body freeze.
I wasn’t sure whether to leap into her arms and hug her or get ready for one hell of a telling off. Gullie wasn’t in the scolding mood, though. She reached out to me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and pulled me close.
That powerful Pixie scent was all I could smell right now. It was such an intoxicating smell, a scent that reminded me of warmth, of care, ofhome.
“You’re here…” Gullie said against my shoulder. “You’reactuallyhere.”
I pulled back and stared at her. “Did you think I was dead?”
“No, just gone.Exiled. We all thought that.”
I frowned at her. “Who’s all?”
From a room in the back of the cottage came another woman. Lithe, tall, her hair the deep blue of an icy lake. Unlike most Fae, she didn’t have antlers on her head, but her canines were sharp, giving her a wolf-like look. “Both of us,” said my auntie Melina, her voice husky and low, “And Colbolt, of course.”
My eyes watered. “I’m so happy to see you both,” I said, shaking my head. “What… what are you all doing out here? And how do you know who I am?”
