The Lost Fae (The Twisted Crown #3) - A.K. Koonce Page 0,69

we still find no signs of life. At some point, my skin begins to crawl with the feeling that somewhere out there, eyes were following me. It almost takes me back to the eerie feelings from my dreams of The Shadow Court.

Someone was always watching then. Someone is watching now. I'm almost certain of it. Lincoln has an inkling, that much I'm gathering from his thoughts and the way he wearily keeps spinning to look in every direction. Sometimes when the wind blows, I swear I can hear it carry someone's snicker with it. Sometimes that, or the slightest breath. But it's gone as soon as it comes and I'm certain I'm imagining it.

Dark clouds fill the sky, hiding the sun behind them as they lazily crawl by. I expect rain soon. Possibly a storm too. The air fills with the scent of mud and grass.

A spike of air soars by my face, tossing my hair against my cheek. I gasp, my eyes trying to follow the motion of whatever had gone right by me. "Lincoln!" I blurt.

He's already in motion, his arm reaching for me. Another burst of wind shoots by us. This one lands. Lincoln's fingers barely brush my arm before he pulls away. A small prick of what looks like a twig sticks out from his neck. His eyes go wide. My stomach churns with shock and fear sends my pulse racing.

Then his eyelids flutter. And he falls to the ground.

"No!" I yell turning away to find the source of whatever had knocked Lincoln out. Another whistle of wind, pain blooms in my arm and I look down to find another sort of twig sticking out of my arm. It plants the seeds of numbness that spread from my arm to my chest, and on to my brain.

The fog sets in.

Voices surround me. Some taunting, some cautious in their tone. I know they’re speaking. To me? To someone else? What is that they are saying?

My body sways, gravity pulling me at my waist. Pressure digs into my ankles. Pressure digs under my arms. I become aware my eyes have drifted closed. I want to open my eyes. I try to squirm away from the force of my weight on both of those parts. It’s as if... It's as if I'm hanging, dangling between two things.

I should fight. I should put up some sort of a struggle against whatever is holding me so tightly. Or... or I could go to sleep.... sleep sounds so inviting.

Just for fun, I shift. The voices around me go quiet before they pick back up again. I shift again. Silence. Where am I? That is the question. Where the fuck am I?

Memories come back at me in a flash of confusion. Lincoln's face smiling. Lincoln's rough hands reaching for me. Storm clouds gathering in the sky and whispered voices carried on the wind. A pointed twig sticking out of Lincoln's neck. My arm.

No. Not a twig. A dart with poison or something of that nature. A sedative or a tranquilizer. I'm certain.

It runs rampant in my body now, making me tired, making my limbs lax. I try to open my eyes, catching only the faintest glimmer of light. The voices stop again. One thing remains inside of me, alive and pulsing. My magic. It itches under my skin, reaching for something. So I focus on that.

I let the power inside of me flex, the tinge of something that's so close to the human feeling of... of bliss. Yes, that's it. It feels like bliss. The kind that you can only experience when you're present in a moment, truly present. Warmth stretches out from my stomach, casting goosebumps on my skin. I let the feeling wash over me. Then it narrows in searching.

Searching for the sedative. I let it go from its hold and it springs into my bloodstream. I can see it finding and destroying the toxins inside of me. One by one it chases them down and somehow, I can watch it all unfolding in my mind’s eye. It's... beautiful.

Feeling returns to my body, starting in my hands. It travels up my arms, into my shoulders, and down my back. That's when I realize I'm not tied to anything, not as I'd thought. My back presses into something. My legs are propped before me too. I'm laying down.

With a sharp breath that's quickly followed by a groan, I sit up. My eyes snap open, but my vision blurs for a second. Faces