Page 18 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

I feign a cough, and they quickly look away from each other.“Kil, you’re my older brother, it’s natural that you feel responsible for me and my safety. The magic probably recognized that somehow and made you feel like you were destined to fail by making a wrong choice.” He nods thoughtfully, processing.

“For me, I didn’t even realize what was happening until my anxiety was spiraling out of control.” I close my eyes to shut out the hopeless feeling that’s bubbling to the surface as I remember how scared I was.“When I couldn’t find you guys, I had all but convinced myself that you were both dead and I would never see you again. I didn’t grasp that the magic had a grip on me until I heard a voice.” I brace myself for their reactions, and sure enough, their eyes widen with interest.

“A voice?” Briar asks.“What kind of voice?”

“A female voice,” I answer, annoyed that the details of my interaction with the woman seem to already be hazy in the aftermath of the trauma.

“What did she say?” Killian asks.

“She told me I would die if I didn’t calm down; said that you two were perfectly healthy and that the magic was tricking me,” I tell them.

“But you didn’t see anyone?” Briar asks, and I shake my head no.

“Did she say anything else?” Killian adds another log to the fire.

“She told me to open my senses and listen, and I would find what I seek.” I shiver slightly at the memory.

“And?” Killian’s eyebrow quirks.

I elaborate.“I could hear your heartbeats, and somehow I just knew where you were.”

They both remain silent for a few moments before Killian chimes in once again with his perfectly timed humor.“So not only are you a princess, but you’re a princess with supernatural hearing and an internal heart map?” he jokes, instantly making me feel lighter, despite the unexplainable event.

I shake my head but struggle to contain the smile tugging at my lips.

“Who do you think she was?” Briar asks.“The voice, I mean.”

“I have no idea,” I answer.“She sounded familiar, but in a distant way. Like how a voice sounds in a dream.”

Briar nods, seemingly contemplating something.“You should try again.”

I cock my head.“Try what again?”

“Listening. See if you can hear something far away and then go and find it.”

“I’m not really up for a round of hide and seek right now Bri.” I scoff, dismissing her theory.“I’m sure it was just another side effect of the mist.”

“Just humor me.” Briar stands and looks down at me.“I’m gonna go hide, and you see if you can find me… with your eyes closed.”

“What?” I argue.“That’s not fair!”

“The mist in the pass was basically blinding. It’s essentially the same thing.” She smirks, knowing her argument is sound.

“This is ridiculous,” I mutter.

“Count to ten!” She yells as she walks away.

I close my eyes and start counting juvenilely, but I am curious to see if the super-hearing, as Killian called it, was just a one-off. As soon as I reach ten, I focus on what I’m hearing.

At first, I once again only hear my own body, but then I can hear Killian breathing a few feet away from me, his pulse slightly slower than mine. I push past him in my mind and search for other sounds, trying to find Briar. I can visualize the sources of the noises I’m hearing so clearly in my mind, it’s as if I’m actually seeing them.

A chipmunk stuffing an acorn in his cheek.

A bird flying through the canopy of trees.

The wind shaking the branches of a mighty oak.

I continue searching until I hear my best friend, her heartbeat pounding loudly in her chest, her breathing slightly quickened.

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