Page 26 of The Witch & the Grizzly

“We’ve been doing this for the past decade, and it’s all been fine, more than fine. We have wealth; we have fun. We’re living exactly how we’re meant to. Maybe some destruction is good for us all. Change is needed, and you would allow us to stagnate. You would lie to us about how dangerous it is because you did this for centuries, and we’re still standing, aren’t we? Besides, if the other courts are holding back, then our actions should only be a drop of water in the wide, wide universe.” He grinned, and Nathan heard the murmurs increase. He closed his eyes.

He didn’t see how they’d get out of this one. He didn’t see how they could win. He only hoped that Eva had managed to make it as far away as possible. He hoped that she was safe.

Chapter Eight – Eva

Fear laced her heart. The world around her seemed alien, menacing; too bright, the green of the grass that fluttered upon the hills and the long, rippling plains too saturated, like a green sea swaying. There, carved out of gigantic trees as tall as skyscrapers, was a twisted kind of castle or palace woven from branches coaxed to grow in unnatural ways.

She was here, and she was alone. No one to help, to save her. Her only weapon was little glass vials in a pouch on her leather belt. She was hardly prepared for something as terrifying as this. The sky above clouded gray-black and flicks of purple lightning pierced the scenery. When the sun peeked out, it didn’t look like the sun at all but a mockery of one. The storm had come on fast.

Alone, Eva thought, and that single word sent a paralyzing fear through her body, which broke out as clammy sweat. She wasn’t supposed to be alone. This wasn’t the plan.

Nathan, where are you?

He’d… he’d gotten that creature off her, but then he’d disappeared, and she couldn’t think of anything else to do other than run. Now, after splashing through the river, she hid in a tree. She wanted to cross the corrupted land, but she’d be too easily seen.

They still pursued her. She heard the barks of those awful creatures and the chatter of the fae who mocked and taunted her.

He didn’t betray me, she thought.

Surely not. He helped. But now he was gone. How did that help her? Outside of a potions lab, she was nothing. She couldn’t transform into a tiger, couldn’t call anyone, couldn’t fight against a bunch of bow-wielding fae and their snapping furry rat beaver things. Maybe she could run back to the dorm entrance, presuming it still existed.

A cold sweat beaded on her forehead. Was this what it was like for her brother when he ended up in that pocket of fae realm? This was what he had to endure?

He had it worse. He’d lost people in that place. She shivered, thinking of Nathan. He’d saved her, and then he’d vanished. Was that intentional? Was he looking for her in the woods even now, or had he run for safety?

She didn’t know, and from her vantage point, she couldn’t see him. Barks from the dog things below faded into silence. Seemingly, going upwind and upriver had helped throw them off her scent.

The Animal Sense potion enhanced her, and she started traveling from tree to tree, using her enhanced senses and natural agility and strength to do so. While she might not be able to shift, she still had a great physicality to her. It also seemed like the Animal Sense potion did something extra that way, which she hadn’t factored in.

It seems to improve my reactions. I was fast when I ran. I climbed up this tree like a squirrel.

Okay. She sucked in a breath and realized she was heading closer to the castle rather than away. The trees were close together, and some of the branches and boughs offered easy walking for her. She ended up climbing higher and higher as she went and even took one daring leap to grab the next tree. She saw a path ahead, one from the trees merging into the castle itself.

It took her about an hour of careful navigation to get there. She paused every so often to listen for the sounds of her pursuers. At one point, she rubbed a sticky plant substance on her skin, hoping it wasn’t the corrosive kind but the kind she might use to mask her scent. It was indeed icky and unpleasant, but she knew from hunting trips with her family that you should disguise your scent from the animals you planned to hunt or, in this case, the animals that might be hunting you.

Even with her flexibility, tree navigation wasn’t super easy, and it strained her muscles. One more leap, and she landed on a long, thick branch, almost like a bridge, connected to the castle on one side. Her heart rate picked up as she examined it, considering how easy the castle might be to climb.

What exactly would she do there if she did climb it? It looked doable, but she doubted the top of it would be unguarded. Right here, so close to the wall, she didn’t think anyone could spot her crouching in the shadow of the leaves and the castle. The sun had wisped out of sight again, leaving the sky dark.

What can I do now that I’m here?

She touched the wall, admiring for a moment the ingenuity of this type of natural engineering. She settled with her back against her chosen tree, staring up at the gloomy wall.

She needed to think logically. She was alone and vulnerable in a hostile fae realm without any real idea of what she was doing. She rested by the castle wall, catching her breath once more. Climbing up, it would serve nothing. She didn’t even know what she’d accomplish unless Nathan had somehow gotten in there.

At worst, she’d just be some random human with failed tiger ancestry trying to break into the Unseelie Court, the very place where they made their laws.

She knew Morgryn was planning to meet with the court. She didn’t quite know when, though it might be possible if anyone at the academy had noticed the giant fae portal that hit the dormitory and that she hadn’t turned up for potion-making – it might interrupt the court’s plans.

If the entrance to the castle looked like this, then what other parts of the academy might have been infected? Was it accidental or a deliberate effort by the Unseelie to prevent them from operating? Certainly, they’d been quick to hunt Nathan and her down, though that might be because they did stand in full view of the castle at one point, which happened to be the seat of power. Understandably, they’d have some security.

But the fact that security responded so fast might mean there was a meeting going on. Perhaps they always had meetings going on, or Aelund or whatever the hell his name was lived in the castle while he ruled as the current king.

It was a shame she didn’t have any weapons. She was useless against those bows and arrows without some access and space to create potions… She hesitated.

Oh.

She glanced down at her belt, an idea coming to her in a flash of brilliance.

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