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With a deep breath, I lift my head to look up at the sky. Taking in the solace of the morning, the cold air stings my lungs as it hits them but I don’t mind. I take off down the path that leads behind the house, deep into the woods there. The animal keep isn’t on the grounds map, so I had to email Mr Skullmyer and ask him where it was late last night. True to his word though, his reply was instantaneous.
“Trying to get away from me already, are you?” The deep baritone of the voice has me stopping just on the edge of the treeline, and Ajax steps out of the bush between two huge trees with a glower.
“I don’t need protection to go and pick a familiar,” I say.
He looks down the length of his nose at me, studying me for something. I shrug, not wanting to have to deal with this before setting off into the forest. I was hoping he would stay on the edge, but I hear the branches snapping under his feet as he follows. Granted, he’s not directly behind me, but I can tell he’s close enough to keep me in his sights.
The forest is eerily silent the whole trek, but then I hear weird noises coming from behind some tree. I push forward and break out into a huge area that is free of foliage, finding Miss Havendoom standing there with a smile on her face.
“Glad you could finally join me,” she says.
“How?” I ask confused, she’s an elf and, as far as I know, their hearing isn’t like a shifter’s.
“The trees told me you were on your way.”
Mind blown, what the…? I look around me at all the trees in the area. I don’t know what I’m expecting but if one of them pops out a face, I’m gone. That is definitely something my brain can’t deal with.
“No, they don’t know what you’re thinking,” she says with a chuckle.
“Are you a mind reader too?” I enquire, moving closer to her. She smiles at me for the first time ever.
“No, but everyone thinks that when I tell them the trees told me.”
I can’t help it, I start giggling. She’s not offended by it which is a bonus for me, but anyone would assume that it could happen considering the world we live in. She joins me in my amusement, her laughter tinkling through the air. The trees sway at the sound and my mouth drops open. What sort of connection does she have with nature?
“All your questions can be answered another time,” she says. “Now is the time to search for your familiar.”
I nod my head at her and pull myself up taller. I feel bad that I’m here wasting her time because I know it isn’t going to work. But at least nobody can say that I didn’t try.
“I want you to walk through the keep and feel for a pull in your stomach, that will be your animal calling you to them,” she says wistfully.
“What if it doesn’t work?” I blurt, her long white hair sweeping over her shoulder as she looks at me.
“Then it doesn’t work, but that means you’re going to have a gruelling time trying to bring your powers under control,” she says with a sad look shining in her eyes. “I know we got off to a bad start but I have a more of an insight into elements than the others. I will help you as much as I can.”
“Thank you,” I say with a soft smile. I will admit I was wrong about her in the beginning. “Can I ask how you ended up here?”
Her face turns to stone, and I step back at the look, everything screaming at me to run.God! You idiot.
“Some of us managed to escape to this realm when the void destroyed Faerie,” she says sadly. My eyes widen as her words hit home, oh my god. “We’ve done our best to make it home but it’s not the same. But I know the Void will come back sooner or later and when it does, I want to be there.”
The fierce look on her face reminds me that I’m not just talking to a teacher from the Academy; all Fae folk are known to be immense warriors when the situation arises.
“Do you think it will come back?” My interest is piqued when it comes to this because recently, I’m noticing it seems to be a topic everyone is talking about.
“Yes, the prophecy is already in motion. When the ground breaks, the void will bide it’s time until one shall rise.When One is born—”
“STOP!”
We both spin to the sound of the voice and my heart hammers in my chest as Kevin materialises in between us.
“Know your place, Nienna.”
