shuttering earth sprayed mud into the sky as vines crawled out the ground, evolving into a vast forest. Large flowers clung to massive trees, and butterflies floated around me. Birds chirped overhead.
I stepped into the emerging path, pulling her along beside me, and realized that my cheek was still bleeding. I wiped it, angry now as we climbed over vines as thick as trunks that slithered around trees as big as giants.
The bird song led me deeper into the woodland and we took our time picking over the large tree roots jutting into the path. As we walked, the sky grew darker, the light of the moon blocked by the pressing trees, and I cursed the time it took to travel into Darmere. At this rate we wouldn’t return to the manor within a fortnight, the killer having long fled and the city ruled by another.
Maybe this was their plan all along.
Suddenly, the path under our feet shook again and a long scroll rolled through the thicket, appearing out of thin air.
“Remember, Adelade. Touch nothing, don’t even look at the paper.” I stepped over it, with her close by my side, refusing to read it even though the letters on the ancient page glowed in the dark, calling to me.
Rushing our steps now, I used the softly swelling music of the fae to guide us into a large, open field. As we drew closer, the fae appeared in twos and threes, dancing and flitting about us like magic.
They wore fine clothing and masks of gold adorned their faces and then we suddenly found ourselves in an elegant ballroom.
More fae appeared now, dancing in pairs along the room, while other couples embraced in corners sharing their secrets. The high-ceilinged room was garnished with roughly cut diamonds and ornate hanging chandeliers, carved from the tusks of exotic African animals, lighting the room with dripping candles. I knew I could blink my eyes and in an instant it would all be gone, and I would see the room as it really was.
It was all an illusion, albeit a beautiful one.
I did not need to see the ugliness to know that it was there, as most did, and so I chose to see the glamour of the fae, instead of their reality.
I turned my head, ignoring them to face Orin, the fae King who mysteriously appeared before us. He bowed his head, his fine, stately clothing rustling with velvet and ribbons. “Detrand. You honor me with your presence.”
“The pleasure is mine.” I quickly nodded my head in return, not bowing. The King turned his gaze on Adelade and she quickly moved to curtsy, but I gripped her arm, stopping her. We did not bow or curtsey in this place.
The King’s eyes locked on my fingers tight around her arm but he said nothing. Instead, he snapped his fingers and a silver platter appeared before us: venison dripping with grease and pickled grapes. It smelled delicious and I was temped to taste it.
“No.” I shook my head, refusing the food. The food of the fae was dangerous. Delicious and delectable, and so intoxicating that you spent months in an inebriated state, becoming lost to the real world. I knew this firsthand, and the agony felt afterwards was almost not worth its sensual pleasures. But, I had business to conduct and didn’t have time for the euphoric experience.
I kept my eye on Adelade. She was unaccustomed to the temptations of the fae and I knew I would have to watch out for her, for it was harder for the living to resist the temptations of the fair folk. Surprisingly, she just stared up at me, her nose wrinkled in disgust.
Once it was offered to her, she shook her head politely. “No, thank you.”
The King frowned. “The fae food is purified. You may eat it, you will not develop any illness.”
The golden crown on his head shimmered in the light of the room decorated with golden carvings that rose towards the ceiling. It sat right above his brow and brought attention to how his eyes absorbed the same light. They glowed a soft gold now, curiosity shining through them as he stared at Adelade curiously.
She shook her head again and he acquiesced, and then the food was gone. He gestured towards an ornately carved chair lined with gilded material; its carvings rivaled even my own at the manor. It faced his throne which sat a few steps above it.
He meant to make me sit below him and