Page 32 of The Fae Lord

Is he talking about Finn? Or Briony? Perhaps Yarrow?

How am I supposed to know when my mind is already so confused?

“It is time we discussed our next steps.” Like this, Finn looks masterful. No longer the court jester but a worthy leader. The past few days, his energy has waned, but now, the spark in his eyes is back.

He puts his hands on his hips and stares out at the others.

“We are not free,” he says, glaring at Briony. “We are out of the castle, but we are still living under Eldrion’s shadow. Confined to these woods. Unable to leave for fear of being recaptured. By him. By Gloomweavers.”

A murmur of agreement goes around in both groups of fae. At last, the Leafborne and the Shadowkind agree on something.

“Even if we flee from here, we will never be free. Look at what happened to the Leafborne...” He turns to them, his voice softening. “You were captured, torn from your village, and brought to the castle. And there is not a corner of the kingdom far enough away that Eldrion couldn’t reach us if he wanted to. Unless we live under a protection shield for the rest of our days. Locked in a leafy green cage instead of a stone one.”

“So what do you suggest?” It is Maura who speaks, crossing her arms and striding forward. “What do you plan, jester?”

“Before I tell you what I plan... I need to show you something. All of you.” Finn’s entire stance has stiffened. His body is coiled tight, fists clenched at his sides. He strides toward the fire. “We all know that the Shadowkind have long been repressed by the Sunborne.”

“And that all other fae have turned a blind eye to it because it doesn’t affect them,” Yarrow adds darkly, looking at the Leafborne.

Pen jerks forward as if he’s about to object to Yarrow’s words, but Maura puts her hand out to stop him. “Let them speak,” she says calmly, assessing them with her glimmering eyes as her wings beat slowly behind her.

At her feet, the ground glows green. A warning? Or a coincidence? The earth responding to her emotions? Or a hint that Finn needs to be careful not to forget that the Leafborne are the only ones here with any actual magic.

Ignoring her, Finn strides towards the fire and reaches into his pocket. “I want to show you all something,” he says. “Because I am afraid we have all forgotten the atrocities our ancestors suffered at the hands of Lord Eldrion and his family. In fact, at the hands of all Sunborne. For generations. For centuries.”

The crowd goes quiet. I move a little closer to Briony. Beyond the fire, I’m certain I see Kayan’s blue shadow moving amongst the Leafborne. Watching, listening.

What is Finn doing?

I try to catch his gaze, to look for reassurance, but he does not look in my direction. Instead, he begins to pace up and down.

“I think some of us here need to be reminded exactly how bad things have been and could be again. For we have been living in relatively peaceful times. Eldrion uses his strength now and then to scare us into submission, but largely we have been left unharmed as long as we do as we are commanded to do.”

A trickle of ice-like fear drips down my spine, spreading through my body. Although my gates are closed, the unease radiating from both groups of fae presses up against them, knocking, pounding, demanding to be let in.

Finn takes something from his pocket. It looks like a small, velvet bag. He opens the neck and dips in his hand, then spins towards the fire and throws in a handful of dust.

It blooms purple, bright, white, then deep, then the flames jump higher.

A tidal wave of heat hits my face. I jolt backwards, and so do the others, but Finn tells us to come closer.

“Look into the flames,” he commands. Above us, despite it still being daylight, the sky is darkening. “Look into the flames and concentrate on what you see. Remember it. Absorb it. For this is the reason we must rid ourselves of Eldrion and his kind. This is the reason running away and hiding will not save us.”

The sky darkens further. Storm clouds gather, and a crack of purple lightning forks down towards us. It catches a tree, and the branches immediately catch light. A murmur passes round the group. Fearful mutterings. A water fae steps forward to dampen the flames, but Finn shakes his head.

“Wait,” he says.

The flames turn to smoke. Deep purple smoke that drifts down from the tree and creeps across the ground. It grips my ankles. It is warm and cold at the same time, sending needle-like pricks of discomfort up towards my knees, my thighs, my hips.

I stretch out my arms. The smoke is enveloping all of me now. I look for Briony. She is gone. All I see is smoke and, flickering behind it in the distance, Kayan’s blue light.

I try to move towards him, but my feet will not budge. I am stuck to the spot.

And then it starts.

Screaming.

So loud it makes me slam my hands over my ears and screw my eyes shut. It is a scream full of anguish, and dismay, like a body breaking from the inside out. Over and over and over again.

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