Page 58 of Ulune's Daughter

“I should tell you, I’m more of a dog person,” I say with a grin.

Kellan laughs. She shoulders the backpack and hands me its twin. “Ready for a little adventure?”

“Absolutely.” I set down the overnight bag I’ve brought, slide my arms through the straps on the backpack and adjust them until it sits comfortably on my back, then pick up my bag again.

Kellan holds out her hand. I take it and let her lead me down the stairs and along a stone pathway to the small stream that cuts through her yard. I know this stream better than I’d like to.

“The Veil between worlds is thinnest where the Elements meet,” she tells me.

I grin to myself. She’s such a professor. I don’t think she even realizes it when she goes into teacher-mode. Put all that lustrous black hair up in a messy bun and pop on a pair of black-rimmed glasses and she’s every hot teacher fantasy I’ve ever had in the flesh.

She splashes into the stream without hesitation. I hope Luca’s Docs are waterproof.

“Breathe slow and shallow,” she tells me. “You can keep your eyes closed if you want. If you can’t see through glamor, you may not see much anyway. I’ll lead you the whole way. Do not let go of my hand no matter what. I won’t ever tell you to let go of my hand. If you hear me saying something like that, it’s a trick. Don’t listen. If you feel sick, tell me. I have something to help.”

“Okay,” I say, committing her instructions to memory. She makes it sound easier, and more pedestrian, than my trips through Faery with Luca. I’ve always ended up hurling after them. He’s never mentioned having something to help with the sickness. Maybe he doesn’t know about it.

Or maybe my kit just likes testing me, the brat.

We splash a few steps up the stream as Kellan begins humming. The smell of the pines fades. A high sweetness builds in my nose, like the ripest berries baking under the summer sun. I understand why Kellan told me to regulate my breathing: I’d be tempted to draw that sugary scent deep into my lungs but for her warning.

There’s a soft ripping noise and everything goes black.

A glow builds ahead of me, outlining Kellan’s sleek head. I expect it to grow as we move toward it, still splishing up the stream. It doesn’t, and after walking for a minute, I realize that’s because the glow is coming out of Kellan. It’s a soft, bluish light. The deeper we go into Faery, the more of her it outlines and the more I can see by it.

There are trees on either side of us. Pines, hickory, hemlock, and trees I don’t have names for. I don’t remember seeing any trees when Luca dragged me through Faery. There were stars and an icy wind that made my eyes and nose run, but barely any features. With Kellan leading me, I can see the World Wood, feel the whisper of the Summerlands’ breeze against my cheeks, hear the burbling of the stream.

Kellan raises her free arm. With another quiet rip and a moment of blackness, we step out into bright sunshine. The next breath I take pulls warm, dry air into my lungs.

“We’re clear,” Kellan says. She turns to me with a quick smile. Drawing her hand out of mine, she pulls sunglasses out of her backpack. I take the pair she hands me. Once she has her sunglasses on, she arranges the scarf to cover her hair and the lower half of her face. I follow her lead.

She turns away from me, her head swiveling. We’ve come out of the Fae Ways on a hillside dotted with stunted trees. A rutted road runs down the hill toward a collection of white-walled cottages with red tiled roofs.

“Where are we?” I ask.

“Ayas, Turkey. Less than an hour from Ankara.” She swirls her hand through the air and a hot breeze kisses my face. “There they are. Ten minutes out, maybe. C’mon, let’s get in the shade.”

She leads me away from the dirt road to a stand of trees. She slides down onto the rocky ground, putting her back to a tree trunk, crosses her legs, and pats the ground beside her. I fold myself down, nestling my thigh against hers, and when she shifts against my side, I put my arm around her.

“Is this okay?”

“Absolutely.” She tucks herself close. “How are you feeling? You don’t look green.”

I check in with myself. Stomach’s solid. Head’s level. All good. “Yeah, I feel fine.”

“Good. I hoped walking up the Donnwater would keep you grounded in your Element.”

“The Donnwater.” I whistle. “Faery’s Styx.”

Kellan hums. “Not exactly. The Styx moves between the realm of the living and the dead. The Donnwater circles Faery. It touches all parts of it. It’s every stream, every river, every ocean, every drop of dew. It’s the All-water.”

I’ve taken several courses on the fae and lived with two of them for years. I’ve never heard that before. “I didn’t know that.”

Kellan rests her head on my shoulder in a brush of soft cloth. “Most fae don’t, either. Not anymore.”

“How do you?”

“Blood calls to blood. My ancestor’s a cyhyraeth, a banshee. My Element’s Air, but banshee are Water fae. I have a strong affinity for Water.”

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