Page 37 of Drawn in Blood
“You’ve got to be feckin’ kidding me,” Fen mumbled, as he loosed a breath.
“It’s such a lovely night for a stroll,” Odette said as she walked up to Ember, petting Maia’s snout and between her eyes.
Maia closed her eyes, clicking and cooing into her touch as her tail thumped against the dirt.
“Odette, what are you doing here?” Ember asked, eyes wide as she scanned the tree line beyond.
Odette shrugged nonchalantly as she patted Killian’s head.
The wolf let out a low growl as he huffed.
“Sometimes I come out here at night to think,” she replied. “Sometimes I just enjoy hearing the trees whisper. They have quite a lot to say if you know how to listen.”
“Right, of course,” Fen mumbled. “Let’s traipse into the forest to converse with the trees.”
Ember jabbed him in the ribs as she shot him a pointed glare. She thought back to the year before, how all three of them together hadn’t even been able to control the Cu Sidhe, and she winced as she thought about Odette alone out here at night with no protection. “Why don’t you come with us?” Ember said with a smile.
Fen let out a groan, but Asteria only tilted her head, studying the white-haired girl like she was some sort of a puzzle.
“I think Erevan said—” Fen began, but Asteria cut him off.
“That sounds like a lovely idea.” She smiled.
Fen gaped at her, but wisely said nothing else. “How much further?” he asked instead.
“We’re here,” she whispered. In front of them was a large arch made entirely of trees. Had they been taking a stroll through the woods, they probably would’ve missed it if they didn’t know it was there. Ember squinted as she looked through it and turned her head to the left and the right.
“Where?” Fen asked, a little too loudly. “Is it a door or something?”
Asteria smirked as she walked up to the arch. “Or something,” she replied cryptically. She laid her hand against the bark and began mumbling under her breath. She traced the tips of her fingers against the grains of wood, and glowing runes appeared as if she had written them with ink. Ember furrowed her brow as she watched small wisps of magic fly off the runes and into the wind, clinging to the leaves and bark on the arch in front of them.
“What was that,” Ember whispered, as her eyes widened. The whole tree was glowing now, engulfed in the small wisps of magic that had come off the runes.
Fen furrowed his brow as he looked around. “What was what?” he asked hesitantly, as if something was going to leap out from behind a tree and carry him off into the darkness.
“The glowing,” Ember said, as she pointed toward the arch. “You didn’t see that?” She looked at Killian and Fen, who both shook their heads, staring at her as if she had spontaneously grown antlers and a tail. Odette only smirked, unseeing eyes staring toward the arch.
Asteria whipped her head around, and for a moment, Ember saw the spark in her eyes again. “What did you say?” she asked.
“The glowing from the runes you wrote on the tree,” Ember said, as she pointed toward where Asteria’s fingers had just been.
Killian was standing beside her again, back in his human form, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “What runes, Starshine?” he asked.
Ember pulled her shoulder out of his grasp and crossed her arms.
“You can see the runes?” Asteria asked, as she pointed to the tree behind her.
Ember nodded as she shifted her weight.
“Interesting.” The Fae smirked and seemed to glance toward Odette, then turned back toward the arch. “Follow me, we’re late.”
Ember chewed on her lip as she walked forward, hesitating with each step. Asteria disappeared through the archway in front of them, and Fen and Killian walked behind Odette and Ember. Odette seemed to take in a shuddering breath, like she was holding back tears as they made their way forward. Ember held her own breath, feeling the magic of the ward they traveledthrough wash over her like cold water, leaving her skin feeling like it had satin rubbing against it. Small wisps of bright blue clung to the fabric of her coat before disappearing in the breeze.
Ember decided to keep that to herself.
As they stepped through the ward, Ember gasped. She spun around and rubbed her eyes, certain that this had to be a dream. They weren’t in the forest anymore, not really. They had been transported to another land entirely.
“The first time is always a shock.” Asteria smirked as she tilted her head. “Welcome to Arcelia. Come now, Lord Erevan is waiting for us.”
