Page 83 of Vale of Dreams

Behind me, the gentle snapping of a twig makes my heart jump, and I turn to see a stag standing between the trees, his breath misting around his face. He’s pale white, almost ghostly. I go still, and the stag stares back at me, nostrils flaring. He runs off into the wintry woods again, kicking up snow behind him.

I shiver and turn back to watch the fortress from the shadows.

My stomach rumbles. I didn’t pack nearly enough food, and now I keep thinking about the buttery salmon and wildflower salad meals the Fey make.

My thighs ache, and the cold wind bites at my cheeks. My stomach growls again, and I can only hope it’s not loud enough for the soldiers to hear with their keen Fey ears.

I need to make a move soon.

From behind a tree, I survey the stone walls that surround the fortress. Dark, thorny vines climb up spiked parapets that are at least sixty feet high. I also have a view of the main entrance, a bridge that juts over the river. There’s a stone gatehouse on the other side, heavily guarded, and a line of fierce-looking soldiers standing before the portcullis. They’re not wearing the blue uniforms of most of Auberon’s soldiers, but rather black clothes with silver breastplates and helmets. All of them are armed with swords at their waists, a bow, and a quiver of arrows. I suspect they’re under orders to shoot anyone they see without question.

Going through that front gate is not an option, but I never intended to scale the walls or go through the portcullis.

Beneath that bridge, at the base of the castle, an arched stone passage runs underground. Just as I saw on the map, the river flows into that stone tunnel beneath the fortress. That’s my way in.

Not that it will be a fun ride. The water churns, and sharp rocks protrude above its surface. When I’m between the forest and the castle, I’ll have to stay beneath the surface if I don’t want to get spotted.

I unshoulder my bag and open it, pulling out the suit that Jasper made for me. It’s a shimmering silver-blue with gossamer that reaches my ankles, designed to look like a dress. The color should help me go unnoticed as I swim, but the darkness will help disguise me, too.

Ducking behind a tree, I strip off my clothes, teeth chattering wildly as the winter air bites my skin. Once I slip into the suit, I immediately start to warm up.

Next, I reach into my bag and pull out the tincture that Jasper bought for me. I pop the cork and take a long sip from it, grimacing. It tastes like fish oil mixed with bitter herbs. But then I feel something strange, a tingling on my neck that quickly changes into a burning sensation. I touch my neck gently and feel them, just like Jasper had said. Gills.

Finally, I retrieve the silver orb he gave me. I’m glad that he thought of this. Seeing the churning river water, dark as the night, I’m relieved to know that I have a source of light.

I stash the bag behind a tree trunk and cross to the river. I step in, and my muscles go rigid.

Fuck. It’s cold. Even with the suit on, it’s fucking freezing. The suit clings tightly to my body like the wetsuits humans wear. It insulates me and traps the heat to keep me warm, but the river is still just barely above the temperature of ice, so the chill gets through. The suit can only do so much with ice-cold water. My bare hands sting.

I look around one last time, wondering if I’ll ever see the surface again, then dive in, submerging myself in frigid water. I kick my legs, moving as fast as I can, but the river is doing some of the work, too. It drags me along toward the castle, and I hold my breath. For a few moments, panic floods me as my lungs burn. But then I force myself to exhale, and the gills start working, and I stop feeling that terrifying drowning sensation. I can breathe underwater. And it’s weird.

It’s murky and dark beneath the surface. Without the light, I’d be lost. I run my hand over the silvery orb, and it begins to glow faintly, revealing my surroundings. The bottom of the river is a few yards below me. I swim as close to the bottom as I can so the soldiers won’t see the light from the orb.

The current is pulling me into its churn. I’d started in the river’s bend, where it was calmer, but as I dive deeper, I’m getting swept up by the swirling current, and soon, I don’t know up from down. The inexorable force of the river slams me into a protruding rock. I let out a gasp, bubbles floating up from my mouth. I try to swim higher again, but the undercurrent is keeping me down, tumbling my body over rocks. I cover my head as best as I can. My hand hits a rock, and my frozen fingers fumble at my silver orb, losing it.

Fuck.

Aghast, I search for the light. There it is! It’s slowly sinking in the water a few feet away from me. Swimming with all my strength against the current, I make a desperate grab for the orb and grasp it, though barely.

I’m pulled along again—there’s no up or down in this darkness. I can’t see the surface, just glimpses of rocks. Have I gone under the fortress yet? Then, at last, something slams into me, and I nearly lose the orb again.

No, it didn’t slam into me. I slammed into it. Metal bars block my way, a grill to prevent intruders from the river. Like me.

The problem is, I can’t swim back against the unrelenting force of the current. Unless I find a way through, I’ll be trapped here until the tincture effects dissipate. I’ll either drown or freeze to death.

My heart is hammering in my chest as I lift the orb and shine it on the bars. There are four of them jutting from the rocks below and extending to the tunnel arches above me.

They’re not spread evenly, though. There’s a slightly larger space between two of the bars. A large intruder could never get through the gap, but I’m smaller than a normal Fey.

I maneuver myself between the bars and get my head through first. But then my shoulders get trapped between the bars, and the cold water rushes over me. As the seconds go by, I start to panic. I’d scream if I could. I thrash and try to wriggle loose, my mind blank with terror.

Kicking wildly, my foot finds a hold on a rocky outcrop of one of the walls, and I use the leverage to shove myself through. My shoulders go through the bars, and with a bit of squirming and twisting, my hips do, too. I’m exhausted, and I let the current pull me along the tunnel on the other side.

A thought nags at the back of my mind—what if I’d read the map wrong? What if the river doesn’t actually open up in a courtyard? I’d only had a quick glimpse at the map…

But just as I’m about to lose hope, the current starts to weaken, and I see a light below me. It takes me a few seconds to realize that I’m looking at moonlight dancing over the water above me. I’m upside down.

I spin and kick my legs, swimming to the surface, nearly crying with relief. I grip a rocky ledge, pulling myself into the air. Nearby, a massive wooden wheel churns the water, and the light of the two moons pours down from above.

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