voice rumbles up to me, but I can’t make out what he says. By the time I walk downstairs, satchel over my shoulder, he has a weary but genuine-looking smile.
They wish me well and hold me so tightly my bones pop. I tell them that I might be back in ten minutes. But it’s also possible I’m not back for a week, a month, or a year. I’ve no idea what changes my return may cause in Midscape. I’ve no idea if Eldas will even let me stay, or if the coronation will make me one with that world to the point that I can’t return. The magic has changed, and I’m gambling with the results.
For the first time in my life, I’m acting without a plan and without a duty to guide me. All I’m listening to is that frantic beating of my heart.
I now stand at the edge of the Fade once more. I’m risking everything here. But what else is new?
I take a deep breath and step into the Fade; a finger of ice runs down my spine. Bringing my fingers to my lips, I let out a whistle that echoes in the unnatural silence.
“Hook?” I call and call again. Just when I’m about to give up, Hook’s golden eyes blink at me from the darkness. “Hook!” He bounds over to me and I fall to my knees. The wolf licks my face and I waste no time. “I need to get back. I need to get to Eldas. Can you take me there?”
Much like the first time in the Fade, Hook tilts his head left and right before finally stepping away. He trudges off into the darkness and I gather my strength to follow behind, hoping he’s not going to lead me back to a keystone. The moment I see soft moonlight yawning into the mouth of a cave, I begin running.
Hook bounds at my side with a happy bark. I give him a grin and he seems to almost skip around me. Welcome back! his movements seem to say.
I skid to a stop and overlook Quinnar. The spring air is warm now, even at night, and is almost sticky compared to the chill of the Fade. Flowers hang on the breeze, rustling on the trees. They complement the streamers and pennons that have been splashed across the city.
Music soars through the air. People are in the streets, dancing, laughing, and drinking. Sparks of magic are flung about and I see paper beasts and birds come to life and rejoice among the revelers. I smell the cakes Rinni and I tasted. I see acrobats spinning on hoops suspended impossibly midair over the lake.
I see a city in celebration—as if they somehow knew I was about to return. The world I first saw as dead and gray is now in full bloom. It’s magical, and looks like something I could call home.
Hook’s warm muzzle presses into my hand and I crouch down to scratch him behind the ears. “Thank you for leading me through the Fade. Go off and play, I don’t want attention right now.” He whines. “I’ll whistle for you again,” I promise.
Hook sits, insistent.
“Oh, fine. Come along then.” I laugh, part nerves and part a joy I didn’t expect to know again.
I start running down the staircase, nearly tripping over myself. Luckily, I changed into my trousers so that when I do nearly tumble face-first at the bottom, I don’t end up with my skirts around my ears in front of nearby revelers.
“Wait—” an elf woman says “—you just—”
I don’t wait for her to finish. I begin sprinting. Hook knows, like always, where I am running toward. He charges through the crowd, barking and howling people out of the way, and I try hopelessly to keep up.
We make it to the tunnel entrance of the castle, blocked off by a row of knights. I skid to a stop before them. Hook rounds my back, keeping the encroaching crowds at bay.
“I…I need…” I wheeze and reach into my satchel. I didn’t leave the shop unprepared. I take a swig of fortifying drought I brought and stand straighter, breath caught. “I need to see the king.”
“You’re—”
“But you’re a—”
“Aren’t you?”
All the guards seem to talk amongst themselves at once. They’re silenced by a familiar voice.
“Let me through!” Rinni barks, pushing her way forward. She stops, blinking at me until a sly grin works its way across her cheeks. “You’re almost late.”