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“Tristan!” she screamed.
“I’ve got you,” he assured her, his grip firm. “I won’t let go.”
She exhaled shakily, then nodded.
“Come on. Grab onto me,” he urged, straining as he pulled her up.
Once she was back on her feet, she staggered forward and landed on him, her weight pinning him to the ground. Their breaths came in ragged gasps as they locked eyes, a charged silence stretching between them. Tristan’s hands remained fixed on her hips, fingers pressing into her soft flesh.
Her warmth enveloped him, and for a fleeting moment, he wished he could savor it longer. But then, Aurora blinked and scrambled off him.
“I told you,” she grumbled as she brushed dirt from her pants. “Her traps are based on negativity. She knows that’s my weakness. These traps are designed to keep me from reaching her.”
Tristan got to his feet, patting himself down. “How could traps be based on negativity?”
“I was skeptical of that vine,” she explained. “I doubted it. So, it snapped.”
He looked ahead at the trail they’d been following. “Then how are we supposed to get to the top?”
“You’ll have to lead the way,” she replied. “You’re positive and hopeful, so... the elements won’t turn on you like they will on me. I'll just have to trust you and follow your lead.”
Tristan couldn’t resist a teasing smile. “And here I thought you brought me along because you enjoyed my company.”
That made her smile, and it was like a ray of sunlight breaking through the forest canopy.
“Well, lead the way,” Aurora said, gesturing toward the winding trail.
Tristan took the lead. The hike progressed smoothly until they encountered what looked like a wall of thorns. Large thorns crisscrossed over one another, forming an impenetrable barrier that blocked their path.
Stepping back, Tristan assessed the thicket. “May I use your sword?” he asked, extending his hand toward Aurora.
She handed it to him without hesitation.
With a deep breath, Tristan began to cut and chop through the thorns as if their only way out was through that prickly maze. Thorn after thorn fell at their feet, the sharp edges gleaming dangerously.
“Why would this fairy go through all this trouble to keep you away?” he asked, his voice strained by the effort.
Aurora moved cautiously, tracing Tristan’s steps to avoid the thorns. “Because I’m the reason she’s stuck here,” she confessed. “I needed a fairy who could retrieve the sundrop flower and make the drink for me. She warned me of the dangers, but I didn’t listen. And now she blames me for getting us stuck here.”
“Does she also want Midas’ secret?” Tristan asked, glancing over his shoulder at her. “Is that why she took the parchment?”
Aurora hesitated briefly, then shook her head as if dismissing a troubling thought. “She most likely knows I’m helping you. So, she knew I would come looking for the parchment. She took it to get back at me.”
“Perhaps she took it to reconnect with you,” Tristan suggested. “To entice you to visit her.”
“Trust me, I’m the last person she would want to see.”
“Does she know what his secret is?” he asked curiously. “Perhaps we might not even need to get into the tower.”
“We’ll need to get into that tower,” she said firmly. “There’s no way around it.”
Tristan kept cutting the thorns. “Do you even know what to look for?”
Aurora’s expression grew pensive. “I’m not entirely sure, but I have a feeling it has something to do with his ability to turn things into gold.”
Tristan had heard of the phenomenon and witnessed the aftermath of Midas’ touch in countless destroyed villages. But he had never seen it with his own eyes. “Has he ever demonstrated his power in front of you?”
She nodded gravely. “Many times.”
