Page 118 of When the Woods Go Silent

I don’t answer him, knowing it won’t. It can’t, unless I somehow lose everything here. My whole life has been a series of forced changes, and the ones I’ve made this year are finally getting me to a place I want to be. I’ve barely had the chance totry on the feeling of stability and control, and here he is, asking the impossible.

“Take me back, Kier. I want to be home with Ruby.” I stand, shaking off the stillness of the night around us. I wanted to sleep in the living room to watch over Ruby, and here I am, wandering the woods.

He sighs, but he listens. His vines form a seat for us, swinging us gently and swiftly up, across the treetops. My fingers trail in the fog that’s rolled in, and I hear the call of night birds. It’s beautiful, haunting.

Magical.

And for the first time, I begin to wonder what I might be giving up if I refuse to let this magic in. The change I’m trying to refuse is already here.

Magic has entered our lives, and deep down, I know nothing is going back to the way it was before.

THE WOODS

The girl and the fae - for tonight we have remembered what he is - are leaving now, and our job is done.

While he taught her to remember the magic we wanted her to take back, we wove together to keep them safe from the woman in white.

We hate the way she sneaks and spies, disregarding the hopeful places in us as her ice needles its way through the earth.

Of all the magical creatures we have seen, she is the worst.

Fire, ice, storms, and even drought have their place in the wheel of seasons. This woman has no place. She forces herself into the cracks and crevices, expanding them into unnatural fissures like an invasive weed. She breaks apart the good in us, trying to replace it with her ice, and we know she will do the same to the girl if she can.

She does not belong here, but we have no power to make her leave.

Now that the girl understands our language, though, perhaps our power can flow through her. We can tell her what to do to save herself from this contorted, too-quick being that should never have entered our world.

Our rings have begun to beat again, the heart of our roots quickening with the belief in magic the two sisters have shown us. Our power increases, and though we are weak yet, we remember.

We remember, and we gain strength as surely as the sun rises.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

KIER

The vines I called up set us down at Rose’s back door, and I remind myself again that this is the time to be patient, not to push.

I’ve found her. I’ve done what I hoped to do and found the changeling - but as much promise as her magic shows, she’s unwilling. If I push too hard now, I know Rose will do what she can to hide from me. She’ll protect Ruby, no matter what she herself wants.

I can’t lose her trust now, and I certainly can’t risk her turning to Ronan.

Getting her consent to return to Aralia and lend us her power is the classic twist of a fae’s bargain, because as soon as I gain that consent, I’ll have to take so much more from her.

But I swallow down all those words, focusing instead on the curve of the waxy flower she holds in one hand, while her other unlocks the door. The blossom is stunning, a manifestation of her pleasure, and so much more than I expected her to be able to create. I took a gamble and won this round, but the excitement feels hollow.

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