Page 5 of Faerie Trials

Let me in.Let me in.

Rising on stiff legs, I moved to flip the latch and push open the window, letting in a blast of wintry air as I did. A black crow perched on the ledge, beady eyes staring up at me. It clacked its beak once. Squawked. Then hopped down onto my desktop.

“I didn’t think anyone was going to show up this late,” I told the bird. “Talk about bad timing.”

A flash of magic filled the small chamber and when I recovered from the reflexive blink, a small-boned girl sat on top of the dresser with her legs dangling over the side. With a round face, a splash of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and slightly curling pine bark-colored hair, she was absolutely adorable.

“I know, I’m sorry. But I had to come and get you,” Bronwen Minuti told me in a sweet voice. “An emergency meeting’s been called.”

My stomach dropped and I glanced back at the textbook. “I can’t go.”

“What do you mean you can’t go? It’s anemergency.”

“Whatever it is, I’ve got classes starting tomorrow and a new tutor to meet. I have too many things to do tonight and then I’d like to get a little sleep if possible.”

“Tavi, you made an oath. Youhaveto go to the meeting. You have no choice.” At least Bronwen sounded sympathetic.

“But—” I broke off with a sigh and knew I’d be running on fumes tomorrow, because she was right. Another choice I didn’t have. Arguing would get me nowhere.

I’d definitely made an oath to the Claw & Fang Society the very first night Bronwen showed up to take me to a meeting, stating there were others like me, like us, she wanted me to meet. I thought about the wolf pendant currently nestled between my breasts where no one would see it.

The society met monthly. A silly social club to me, but it did serve a good purpose. It united the half-shifters who had taken refuge in Faerie, those of us who weren’t supposed to exist in the first place because Fae and shifters notoriously hated each other thanks to a centuries old prophecy. Contact between the two races was pretty much forbidden, let alone interbreeding. And yet here we were. There were more of us here than I had originally thought. However, it was kind of nice having a support network nearby.

With a handful of shifter friends and confidants, people like me, I felt less alone.

Bronwen snapped her fingers to get my attention. “Come on, we’ve got to go. The club is waiting for us,” she said.

I shook my head, biting the inside of my lip and trying to order my thoughts. “What on earth could be so important they’re dragging everybody out of bed in the middle of the night?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Selene just sent me to fetch you.” Bronwen hopped down off of the dresser and stared at me. “Are you ready to go?”

I slowly closed the book I’d barely been able to read because my eyes were too blurry to make out the words. I sighed. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

We had to be careful no one noticed us leaving the castle. Even though the ankle monitor had since been removed, the king still kept a close watch on me after the disaster in the summer regarding not only my kidnapping but the rather mysterious death of the carnival gypsy. If he knew what I could really do with my powers, exile would be paradise compared to what he’d do to me.

Making sure no one outside the window saw us, and with a barrier in place to keep the guards in the hall from feeling the swell of magic, Bronwen and I prepared to transfigure into crows to fly to the meeting site.

I closed my eyes. I stood next to her, away from the open window, and breathed in a deep breath filled with ice and power. The image of the crow filled my mind until I envisioned every detail down to the individual feathers. I had to believe in the change to make it so.

Only half Fae, half shifters were able to manifest the power of transfiguration. According to most sources it was rare and didn’t often show up. For me, it had manifested during my last semester at the Halfling Academy during my inherent power test. Right alongside my cognitive manipulation. Which meant I could make people believe anything I wanted them to believe.

Another scary thought.

As it was, I knew of only one other half-shifter here with the same transfiguration power, besides Bronwen. And he happened to be the son of my fated mate.

It really was a small world. Or, well,twosmall and interconnected worlds.

The magic took hold and my body slowly shrank down into a smaller form, my arms folding in and black feathers bursting through my skin. The pain didn’t bother me anymore. My receding consciousness didn’t bother me anymore.

I knew how to take control of the crow’s mind, thanks to Onyx and his teachings, despite the last few months of me being unable to transform. With the king tracking my magic, it was a risk to do anything outside of school besides learn. At least Onyx had taken the setback in stride and switched his lesson plan.

The moment Bronwen and I finished changing, we took off through the open window. The snow-covered ground stretched out around us, the town covered under a blanket of pure crystalline white. We soared high over the buildings in the village, the castle behind us and the Elite Academy in front. The twin buildings flanked either side of the valley, with the school built into the mountainside and the town spread along the swell of land between them.

Instead of heading toward the peaks of the sleeping academy, Bronwen and I banked to the right. Heading for the forest and beyond. The huge meadow beyond the castle melted into a line of darkness, the tree trunks thick and old and rising into the wintry sky. Though no moon showed through the thick clouds, we didn’t need one to light our way. I drew on the crow’s keen eyesight and animal instincts tonight, drew on the inherent intelligence guiding me toward our destination.

The Claw & Fang met in a secret place high in the mountains outside the king’s town. The geography rolled in a way that naturally hid the small clearing of outcropped rocks from view, and unless someone was a serious hiker—with a crazy amount of magic to break down protection wards—they wouldn’t be able to reach or see us.

Bronwen and I crested the last hill before we saw the stone circle begin to take shape. Naturally cut from the top of the mountain itself without any magical aid, the boulders speared into the sky like the teeth of some great beast. There in the center gathered my people.

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