“I don’t know. You’re a Sprite, they’re Sprites.”

  “Oh, so you just assumed that I know who’s following us because I happen to be a member of the same race? That’s cold.”

  “I’m sorry! I don’t know what I’m doing here, although that was a bit defensive.”

  “Was it? I’m not sure that it was.”

  “Why do I keep having to silence you both?” Silvan asked, with a stern tone that cut through the chatter like an axe through a block of wood.

  Rell and I didn’t speak another word. Instead, I stared at the Viscount, trying to ignore the signs that he was deteriorating—and fast. His skin was already way too pale, and there were green veins crawling up and along his jawbone. They reminded me of the Dagger Vine I had just cut, the way they seemed to be trying to strangle the tree they were crawling all over.

  “There are Sprites after us,” Silvan continued, “I do not know what they want, but I can only assume they are preparing for an attack. We should protect ourselves.”

  “No,” Rell said, “We should keep heading for the black roses. It’s what we came here for.”

  “Nobody says they’re going to attack,” I put in.

  “You don’t know them like I do,” Silvan said. “If the Sprites attack, I’m not sure I can protect you.”

  “Don’t know them like you do? What’s that supposed to mean.”

  “Nothing. It simply means we cannot trust that they will keep their distance.”

  The Viscount pulled up the rolls of furs he had on him and started pulling the smaller one apart. I knew what was in there, and so did Rell. I could already feel him squirming in my arms, trying to get away from the negative aura those dolls radiated; an aura that wasn’t just uncomfortable for Rell, but also seemed to hurt him.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Pre-empting their attack,” Silvan said.

  “Have you lost it?” Rell asked, “If you pull those out now, you’re telling them to attack you.”

  “I need you to take us to the heart of the forest right now. I don’t need you to tell me what I should and should not do. These creatures are dangerous, but I will not let them stand in our way.”

  “He’s going to get us all killed, Avery,” Rell said, speaking to me telepathically. “You have to make him stop.”

  “I don’t think I can, Rell,” I replied. “Are we far from the black rose?”

  “Not if we start running.”

  “Then let’s do that. Maybe we can keep ahead of the Sprites.”

  Rell glanced at the Viscount, then looked up at me and shook his head. “We won’t. Not if they think they’re under attack.”

  “We have to try.”

  With his snout, Rell pointed in the direction we had to go. I didn’t give the Viscount a moment to question what I was doing; I just let my legs work. I walked at first, but then I started running. The Viscount quickly got the hint and followed us, picking up the pace until he was right behind me.

  All I could do was follow Rell, who didn’t seem to be all that bothered by the Viscount’s corn husk dolls. The forest around us, though… had started to rattle and hiss. The Sprites were after us, they could feel the negative energy radiating from those dolls, and they didn’t like it.

  I didn’t, either. The idea that the Viscount was hurting them by brandishing those dolls as a weapon against them left a bitter taste in my mouth. He hadn’t tried to talk to them, hadn’t tried reasoning with them or even asking for their help. He had gone straight on the offensive, and I hadn’t tried hard enough to stop him.

  If we had talked to them first, maybe we wouldn’t have been running from them now. I didn’t really have a chance to question it, though.

  “Go left!” Rell yelled.

  I scanned the path ahead of us, but saw only trees on either side. “Left?” I asked, “There’s nothing there!”

  “Just do it, or we’ll lose it!”

  Grunting, I dug my foot into the dirt and sprang left, into the trees. Amazingly, a path appeared in front of me, as if the trees had been a mirage or an optical illusion. I kept running, despite feeling like I had just walked through cobwebs, like something wasn’t right about all this.

  I couldn’t tell how far away we were from the heart of the forest, and the light around me was starting to dim fast, only that didn’t make sense. We hadn’t woken up more than a few hours ago. It should’ve been around noon, and yet, it felt like night was coming.

  I ran as fast as I could, full-pelt as if our lives depended on it. The forest was moving, branches rustling, whole trunks rearranging themselves. Behind us, and all around us, the cries of angered Sprites began to rise into something wild, uncontrolled, and threatening. I didn’t think I could take much more of it.

  Up ahead, it felt like the path was starting to narrow, the trees pressing more closely on either side of us. The thin, spindly hands of shrubs and bushes reached out for me from within the darkness closing around me, nipping and biting at my arms, my cheeks, and any other exposed bit of flesh they could find.

  But I kept running, sprinting, panting, feeling more and more like I was about to break through some kind of barrier. The pressure was building, rising, as if I had been underwater this whole time and was close to breaching the surface. Any second, now, I felt like my ears were going to pop, and the water was going to give, and I was going to breathe for the first time.

  The trees ahead of me came to a point, creating what looked and felt like a wall. I shut my eyes, tucked Rell into my chest, and shoved my way through it. There was no resistance, no trees, no bushes. I had been going so fast, my feet started to give out from under me and I staggered, tipped, and fell into the dirt, sliding on my shoulder until I finally came to a complete stop.

  I still had my eyes closed, and I had Rell safely tucked away, but my shoulder felt like it was on fire, my skin was stinging from all the cuts and scrapes I’d received, and I was way, way more out of breath than I would’ve wanted to be.

  Panting, I slowly opened my eyes and I saw… lights. Those plants with the little bulbs on them were everywhere, lending their illumination to the gloomy clearing I had fallen into. I was lying on a bed of flowers, on thick grass. The bright, glowing plant nearest to my face shivered as I looked at it, the light inside of it shuddered and burned out, and its bulbs retreated into themselves.

  “That… was rough…” I groaned.

  “You’re alive,” Rell croaked.

  “Barely.”

  “Good. Let go of my throat, you’re choking me.”

  I loosened my grip on Rell just enough to hear him gasp. “Thanks, that’s much better.”

  Sitting upright was going to take another minute or two; I didn’t think I had the energy. But looking around, I got a better sense of the place we had fallen into. It felt like a sanctuary of some kind, somewhere safe, and protected.

  The trees were pressed tightly together, but they were arranged in a circle surrounding the clearing. Overhead, black branches and dark leaves merged to create a thick canopy where not an inch of natural sunlight would reach.

  Looking at it again, it didn’t feel like a clearing in a forest at all, but a cave filled with gently sparkling light. And at it’s heart, there they were. Black roses, a whole bed of them. They were tall, each of them standing upright, their stems a deep green, their petals obsidian. A soft cloud of glittering dust seemed to gather around them and dance between them, bathing them in light.

  “Silvan…” I said, “We made it.”

  But the Viscount didn’t reply.

  I turned my head to try to find him, but I couldn’t see him from where I was. Planting my hands on the ground, I pulled myself upright and stood on wobbly legs. Rell, meanwhile, came out from under me and checked his wings, his arms, his legs. He was intact, and he was glad for it. The Viscount, though—he had made it into the clearing, but he had collapsed.

  “Silvan!” I yelled, my voice bouncing off the wall of trees around me.

  I raced toward him and threw myself at his side. He was covered in the furs he had brought with him. I had to dig his face out from under them, but when I saw him, I almost recoiled. The moss-green veins had reached his cheeks, his ears. I could see them coming out of the sides of his mouth, as if they’d infected his throat. His eyes were open, but they were rolling into the back of his skull, as if he was struggling to stay conscious.

  I tapped his cheek. “Please, tell me you can hear me,” I said, frantic. “Silvan, wake up!”

  But the Viscount’s eyes wouldn’t make contact with mine, so I did the only thing I could. I slapped him, hard. His eyes suddenly filled with life, and they bore into me. I could hear him breathing heavily through his nose, only he was struggling to do so. “I am here,” he said.

  “Are you certain?”

  He blinked away the daze. “I am.”

  I pointed at the bed of black roses not far from where he was lying on the ground. “Look,” I said, “We made it.”

  “Good… please, help me stand. We have to cut one at the base. I don’t have much time.”

  “Stay here, I’ll do it.”

  Grabbing my knife, I got up and moved toward the flowers. There were many to choose from, easily two-dozen or so. I decided to set my sights on the biggest one, and with my knife in my hand, I went to kneel near the roses… when Rell got in my way.

  “Don’t…” he said, watching me from behind burning, golden eyes. “We can’t help him.”

  CHAPTER 22

  The cold hand of dread moved through me, freezing my insides. “Rell?” I asked, “What do you mean?”

  “I’m sorry, Avery,” Rell said, “We can’t help him. If we do, we’ll die.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t understand. We came here to help him.”

  “He came here to help himself… but they warned him he wouldn’t come back, and they were right.”

  “But, we’re here. The roses are right there. We can just cut one, and—”

  “—no, Avery. We can’t just cut one. I can’t let you.”

  My eyes narrowed, and I felt my hand tighten around my knife. “Rell… please explain yourself, and do it quickly.”

  “Allow me,” came a soft, feminine voice from somewhere around us.

  Looking around, I wasn’t sure where the voice had come from, but one thing I knew… we weren’t alone in here. There were eyes between the trees, watching us just as they had been near the stream last night. Only this time, I saw a little more than just eyes.

  Hugging one tree was a short creature, with long, thin, brown arms, and an angular, cracked, broken face that looked like it was made of solid bark. It peered around the tree and looked at me with eyes the color of bright jade. Near it, another creature stalked into view; a creature that looked like animated water, frothing, and swirling, and silently circulating around a pair of brilliant, white eyes.

  They weren’t the only ones, either. Up in the trees, small, winged creatures perched themselves on branches. Some looked like colorful moths, with rough, textured skin; others like butterflies with large, translucent wings. All of them had distinctly human eyes, though. Eyes that were filled with intelligence, and cunning.

  All of a sudden, it felt like, the clearing was full of these things. Walking balls of water; burning embers with eyes, and mouths; clumps of rocks and dirt that could roll, and move, and probably talk, for all I knew.

  I had entered the domain of the Sprites, and it felt like I had just walked into a trap.

  “Who said that?” I asked.

  “There is no need for alarm, child,” came the voice again, only I couldn’t find where the voice was coming from. “All are welcome here.”

  I spun around on the spot, my eyes rapidly scanning the trees around me, from their bases to their tips. Nothing. The voice was nowhere, and everywhere. “I don’t like talking to the air.”

  “Perhaps not in your world, but in ours, the air can hear you.” A gust of wind raced past me, brushing lightly against my cheek.

  I turned in the direction the wind was going, and I thought I saw a face take shape as it moved through the glittering clouds of dust rising up from the black roses. “Who are you?” I called out. “Rell, what is this?”

  “My name is Asreth,” came the voice, “And you need not speak to Rell anymore.”

  “What? I can talk to Rell if I want.” I looked down at Rell, only he wasn’t there anymore. I had to look around to find him standing by the trees, near some of the other Sprites that had emerged. They were touching him, stroking his head, his wings. “Rell?” I asked.

  “I brought them here,” Rell said to the air, “I did my part. Now, do yours.”

  “Rell?!” I insisted. “What is this?”

  “You have done well to bring him here,” Asreth said. “We are all so very proud of you.”

  “I didn’t do it for you… tell me where my mother is.”

  “Oh, what the fuck?!” I yelled. “Are you seriously double-crossing me right now?”

  “Avery, I know this looks bad, but I need you to keep quiet, okay?”

  “Like hell I will!”

  “Silence, human,” Asreth said. “Come forth, children. We must extract his noble blood before the corruption reaches his brain.”

  There was movement in the trees. Some of the Sprites were starting to move in on the Viscount, who lay flat on his stomach, covered in furs. He had been carrying the dolls in his hands, which meant they were probably squashed under him. That was why they weren’t working on the Sprites; he had probably crushed them, and even if he hadn’t, they were well out of view.

  Without even sparing a second to think, I rushed to the Viscount’s side and brandished my blade. “Stay back!” I yelled.

  “Avery, what are you doing?” Rell hissed.

  “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m trying to stop them from killing him.”

  “You cannot stop us,” came Asreth’s voice. “We require his blood for a very specific purpose, and we will not stop until that purpose is fulfilled.”

  “And what purpose is that?”

  “With his blood, we can devise a poison that will rid us of the Fae infesting our lands for good.”

  “You’re… going to kill them all?”

  “These are our lands!” the wind howled, “It is not theirs, and now is the time to show them. We will stand by and let them tear down our forests no longer. The time has come for us to rise and turn against those who have hunted us for millennia. The time has come for revenge.”

  I shot Rell a harsh look. “I suppose you want revenge, too?”

  “All I want is to find my mother,” he said. “They know where she is.”

  “So, you knew we were going into a trap, and you lied to me?”

  “I didn’t exactly lie. I just didn’t tell you what was waiting for us. I couldn’t.”

  “You knew they were going to do this to him… you knew what it meant for me to make sure he got better.”

  “You don’t understand, Avery. You don’t need him! The Sprites can send you home! They know where the natural portals are. All you have to do is put the weapon down and let them do what they want to do to him.”

  “Oh, it’s that simple, huh? I’m glad you cleared that up.”

  “Avery, right now isn’t the time for heroics, okay? What does that guy even mean to you? He and his people have hunted, enslaved, and killed our kind for thousands of years! He’s evil, and devious. They all are. You’ve seen it for yourself.”

  “You’ve been pretty devious too, Rell. I didn’t think you’d lie to me like this.”

  “You want to go home, and so do I. Let them do what they have to do, and we can both get what we want.”

  I held my knife firmly aimed ahead of me. I wasn’t sure where to look exactly, where to point it, or what to stab first. The Sprites were closing in on me; the one that looked like a tree, the water elemental behind it, another one that looked like a weird snake covered in flowers. Up above, the moth and the butterfly had taken flight. They were circling the clearing, but descending slowly.

  I was outnumbered, outclassed, and outmatched, but the worst part was, Rell was right.

  The Viscount and his people were monsters. I’d been saying as much for ages. I had witnessed their cruelty, I had seen proof that they were slavers, and I had felt the sting of their betrayal. I didn’t have any love for the Fae, who they were, or what they stood for.

  And yet… the Viscount—Silvan—the part of me that breathed, and wanted, and felt, couldn’t help but feel for him. Letting them take his blood and turning him into the first casualty of their war against the Fae was wrong. He was unconscious, and weak. He couldn’t defend himself, couldn’t put up a fight.

  But there was more than that.

  I didn’t have to dig too deep to find feelings for him. My own feelings. Yes, he had stolen me from my home and brought me to this mad place. And yes, he and his people had imprisoned me in their home and forced me to take part in their stupid Fae rituals. But there was something about him that drew me to him.

  Maybe it was the danger of being near him, or maybe it was the sensitive side of him I knew was in there because I had seen it before. Or maybe it was because he could be a dick sometimes, and my track record proved I was unfortunately into that kind of thing. I couldn’t deny the attraction, the pull, the want to explore more of him; and now, the urge to protect him from harm.

  “I can’t let them hurt him, Rell,” I said. “I can’t.”

  “Please, Avery,” Rell said, “There’s no other way. We don’t get out of this if you don’t cooperate.”

  “I won’t cooperate if it means letting your people murder him. It’s not happening.”

  The forest shrieked, the wind howled, and I felt it whoosh past me so fast it stung my cheek. It felt like I had just been slapped by a gust of air. “Then you both die!” Asreth hissed, “Rell, kill her if you want to see your mother alive again!”

  The movement in the forest amped up. My hand was shaking. The Sprites were everywhere and moving in on me faster than before. At first, they had looked like weird, woodland critters; shy, meek, and kind of cute. But I realized now that the moth floating overhead had sharp teeth and claws, and the thing that was made of bark had a look on its face like it wanted to eat me.