13. First Trial

"Wake up, kitten," a hungry voice murmurs in my ear.

I jolt awake and open my mouth to scream, but One smothers the high-pitched shriek with his palm. The heat of his body radiates through his thick black clothes, and my fear melts, my mind crumbling back into place.

The dark Fae is sprawled over me on the bed, so our faces are inches apart. His black uniform swallows the dim light piercing through the curtains. It's been twelve days since I last saw him, and my faulty memory didn't do him justice. The details of our conversations and all the facts I couldn't recall about Faerie stumble back into place now that he's here.

"How did you get in?" I ask, regretting the question as soon as I hear it.

He does me the courtesy of overlooking my fumble, the answer as plain as can be. He walked in. Because he could.

"Did you enjoy your vacation?" he asks instead.

"Yes and no." I press my lips together, searching for the right way to bring this up. "I couldn't recall the details of what had happened in Faerie. Like you'd put a spell on me…"

I watch for his reaction, and he slides even closer. "You haven't taken your vows, yet, so I might have put a small enchantment on you. For the safety of the realm."

I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear and hug the covers to my chest, wondering how I feel about that, but my brain is stuck on more pressing matters. One's breaths are uneven, and he doesn't look in a hurry to give me space.

It's so scandalous to have a man here, in my bedroom. It's completely forbidden, and yet One just strolled in with no regards for the rules. If rumors of a failed engagement with Isaac damaged my reputation, I can't imagine what would happen if the servants caught a glimpse of him in here.

A dark Fae in my bed... The images that come to mind dispense a healthy dose of adrenaline in my veins.

"Well… Leave so I can change." I shoo him away with a coarse whisper.

"You can change in Faerie." He grips the covers and yanks them off the bed with his tongue tucked between his teeth, daring me to follow him.

Startled, I jump to my feet and hold an arm across my breasts. "I'm not going downstairs dressed like this."

He opens the bedroom door wide, unfazed. "Just use your magic."

I catch up with him near the grand staircase. The windows above the mezzanine bathe the halls with light.

"See? There's no shadow."

He points to the thin shadow of the banister. "Shadows are everywhere, and eventually, you'll be able to create your own. Until then, you just have to crawl inside of the ones that are already there."

I check the corridor, but Esme's and Cece's bedroom doors are still shut. Concentrating on the small patches of darkness, I glide across the marble tiles until the skin of my arms prickles the way it does when I sneak around the guards at night.

One skips ahead. He jumps from shadow to shadow and avoids the light like we're children playing a game of "the floor is lava." How many stories have I read in which a trickster Fae played, teased, and sauntered, leading a young maiden to her doom…

It pains me to admit there was some truth to them.

One runs past the guards at the bottom of the stairs and digs his toes in the ground. "Come on, kitten. You told me yourself it's not that hard. Show me what you've got."

I'm breathless and scared to be left behind and discovered, so I put my game face on and follow. One grins when I join him on the landing, and my heart hammers, quick as a wild bird. His proximity must boost my magic because I was never able to sneak past the guards during the day before.

Outside in the gardens, heavy rain beats the paving stones, and the guards cowering under the breezeway to stay dry pay us no mind. The thrill almost balances out my dismay at being jostled out of bed in my flimsy cotton nightgown. Almost.

Rain glistens down my face, and I wipe the fresh water from my eyes, feeling more alive than I've felt in a long time. Maybe ever.

As we reach the cover of the breezeway leading to the basement, I slow down. "This is fun."

One turns around to look at me, and the wide smile on his face disappears. He comes to an abrupt stop, and his entire body goes rigid, like he suddenly remembered something important that displeases him greatly. Something vital, even.

"Is everything alright?" I ask, searching for the source of his anger.

He's not half as wet as I am, the fabric of his tunic and hood water-resistant. My wet nightgown does very little to hide the roundness of my breasts, and I cross my arms over my chest as we continue on to the tall mirror beneath my father's castle.

"Hurry up, will you?" One says.

"Why are you suddenly so angry with me?"

The shadows around him thicken, and he picks the lock to the mirror room open with his magic. "I'm not angry."

"You look angry."

He flexes and extends his fists a few times before forcing them open. "I'm not. Let's go." The dark Fae doesn't spare me another glance, his mask angled to the corner of the room.

With a grim pout, he hands me the blindfold, and I tie it above my brows. "Is it about what I saw the other night in the gardens?"

One freezes in a perfect statue of a predator caught in a snare. "And what exactly did you see?"

The subtle shift in his stance sends my pulse flying. "Was it a nightmare?"

His spine relaxes at that, but his voice remains quiet and dangerous. "Not a nightmare."

"What, then?"

"Something else. Something broken." A dark hint of tenderness laces the words like he's talking about a long-lost lover. He spreads his arms to pick me up for our journey through the sceawere, but I take a quick step back.

"Something? Or someone? Two said that he had gotten out?—"

"You're stalling. Do I have to remind you of what will happen if you refuse to come?" he says without a trace of humanity left.

"Are you serious?"

Magic electrifies the air, his tone cold and withdrawn. "Last chance, Miss Darcy."

What in the Mother's name?—

The knot in my stomach swells to the size of a small sun, but I lower the blindfold over my eyes. I thought we were having fun. I can't understand what upset him to begin with, but he's clearly not willing to share his secrets—or his feelings.

The voyage isn't as painful as it was the last two times, but my pride aches when One dumps me in the middle of my Fae bedroom. He hustles out without a word.

"It was nice to see you too," I grumble after he's gone.

Baka flies in from the mirror. "Welcome back, Nell. Was yer trip home pleasant?"

"Of course," I bark.

Baka grimaces at the impolite greeting and lands on the bed, her light weight barely making a dent in the mattress. "I was just tryin' to make conversation. Dinnae bite my head off for nothin'."

"I'm sorry, I just—I got an abrupt wake up call." Shame licks my ribs. I peel the wet nightgown off and pat myself dry with a towel.

Baka's eyes soften. "Did ye swim here?"

"Haha. No." The dresser creaks when I pry out what Lori called a sports bra—the new world's equivalent to a corset, but lighter and flexible. "It was raining, and One was in a foul mood."

Baka nods in understanding. "He's not lord of darkness for nothin'."

Indeed.

"Do ye need anything else?" Baka asks.

"No, thank you. I'll grab breakfast and get to work."

It's strange to trade in my traditional clothes for a long-sleeved shirt, jacket, and pants, but to my horror, I think I prefer it.

My heart beats harder with each step on my way down the corridor. Cece berated me for details on the castle all week, and I could barely remember the layout of my Faerie bedroom—let alone the wonders of the gardens or the library. But now that I'm back, it's like I never left.

The maze of corridors that leads to the balcony next to the library feels familiar, and I quickly make my way to the breakfast buffet.

"Hey, girl. Good to see you back." Mara waves me over to her table, her fork deep into a thick omelet.

"Good morning."

She's wearing black tights—leggings, as she calls them—and a matching triangular scarf in lieu of a bra. Once again, I'm taken aback by the contrast between my life in Demeter and my new Fae reality.

"What's that about?" She wiggles her fingers in the general direction of my head. "Is that how you wear your hair in the old world?"

I grip the tight hairnet. I totally forgot to take it off. "Y—yeah."

Mara fluffs her flamboyant mane and gives me one of her ambiguous grins. "Wow. It looks super uncomfortable."

James sits next to us with a full plate. "Welcome back, Nell."

I offer him a small smile.

"Well, I'm off. Two's waiting for me." Mara packs the apple left on the table inside her bag, and I catch a metallic glint on top.

My brows pull together, my mouth suddenly pasty and dry. "You got a mask?"

"White quartz." Mara shows off her new mask proudly, the solid piece of metal fitting perfectly over her face—with no string.

"How does it stay on your face?"

My fellow seedlings exchange a glance, and Mara huffs. "Magic, silly."

"We passed the first trial a week ago. Baka told us you had some kind of arrangement to pace your training?" James says.

"Yes, well…" I lick my lips, unsure how to finish that sentence.

Before I can babble a falsehood, Two sticks his head out of the mirror. "Mara," he summons her.

The redhead jerks to her feet. "I'm off living the dream guys. Wish me luck." She hurries after her mentor, and her polished mask shines in the sun. An inked butterfly decorates her lower back, and the little knot holding the black scarf in place over her breasts is absolutely scandalous.

A hard stone sinks in my belly when she jumps inside the sceawere to meet Two.

I missed out by being gone, and that's true for both worlds. This half-and-half arrangement is a nightmare, my focus neither here nor there. I don't belong in Demeter as long as I still need to come here, and yet I don't truly belong here, either.

What a mess.

James excuses himself, too, and I wait about an hour for One to show up, but he doesn't. Whatever happened earlier, his enthusiasm for teaching me sizzled out. I join Lori in the library instead, eager to hear her take on the last two weeks and apologize for leaving without saying goodbye.

The next day,I wake up with a strange feeling in my heart. A sense of impending doom. After my morning run, I head to breakfast, but Lori, Mara, and James are impossible to find. So, I grab a bite to eat—alone—and wonder for a moment if I'm truly awake.

A low thump, thump, thump pulls me out of my reverie, and I search for the source of the pounding. Faint footsteps echo in my ears, and I follow them to the other end of the balcony, away from the buffet and library. A tight corner around the castle stone walls opens to a round staircase that descends into a small, secluded section of the interior courtyard.

The little nook is almost completely hidden in the vegetation. Morning glories weave around the banister, the bell-shaped yellow flowers drooping toward the earth, and I climb down the steps carefully not to disturb them.

A door screeches on its hinges at the foot of the stairs, leading inside the castle.

"Nell…"

A warm breeze blows past my legs.Whoever is calling out for me—whether it's One or the Shadow King himself—I wouldn't know. Contrary to the other night, this sudden wind isn't cold, and the rustle in the vegetation isn't alarming.

Is this the first trial Mara and James spoke about?

I wrench the hood of my tunic over my head and follow the pulse of magic. Instead of a neat expanse of tunnels, the narrow passage is uneven and entirely made of rock.

The door seals itself shut behind me, and my heartbeat spikes. I'm trapped.

"Nell! Nell, it's me! I need help."The faint voice now sounds like Cece…but how can that be?

My blood turns to ice, and I cry out. "Cece?"

"Nell!"

I hurry along the pitch-black hallways, terrified and disoriented. Shadows nip at my heels as the passage slants downwards.

Condensation glistens down the walls, the tepid ploc, ploc, ploc of water becoming louder and louder. A small lake ripples to an unfelt wind at the bottom of the natural cave. The algae that grows in neat patches over an array of water-covered rocks lights the cavern with a teal glow, and a series of rusted pipes are encrusted in a rock wall.

Cece stands drenched to the bones in the middle of the lake, the water up to her hips.

The sight of her blue lips and pale skin turns my stomach. "Cece? Is it really you?"

"Please hurry, Nell. I'm stuck." A painful grimace twists her features, and she tugs on her right leg, her foot apparently stuck under a heavy rock. The wet gown weighs her down, the thick dress heavy with water.

"Stay calm. I'm coming." I reach the end of the path and climb over a slippery rock, my knees bent for better balance. A steep pile of hard rocks and rubble leads down to the lake.

"Hurry. There's something in the pipes," Cece whispers.

Halfway down the hill, I lose my footing, and pebbles careen down to the surface of the water. I grip the nearest rock with shaky hands to keep myself from toppling over and force myself to slow down. This cavern is at the heart of the infamous shadow realm, where dreams, nightmares, and fantasies flourish. I've got to keep a clear head.

A low hissing sound echoes from the depths of the cave, and my muscles tense. A golden snake slithers into view on the opposite side of the underground lake, crawling out of a large pipe. Its scales gleam, its long body three times as thick as my upper arm.

Its general appearance is similar to that of a living reptile, and yet radically different. A spark of magic burns in its red eyes, and its body is almost see-through, like it's made of dark clouds instead of flesh.

A nightmare.

A burst of nefarious magic booms through the air, and I feel strangely drawn to the monster. The serpent pauses at my approach and tastes the air with its bicuspid tongue, the length of it partly hidden in the water.

"Nell!" Cece cries out, straining to break free.

I look around for a weapon, a sword, a bow—anything I could use to kill it, but even the biggest rock at my disposal wouldn't make a dent in the creature's scales.

The snake doesn't look twice at my sister but weaves to the edge of the lake instead. When it reaches the rocky bank, it stops with a sharp tail lash, waiting.

One more step forward, and it'll bite me. I feel it in my bones.

"Please, please, Nell. Don't leave me here," Cece whines.

Leave you here?I squint at my sister. I'd never leave her here, and she should know that.

"What's your middle name, Cece?" I ask quickly.

"What?"

My eyes narrow. "Your middle name."

Cece is supposed to be safe at home, in Demeter. There's no reason why she'd be here. No reason why she wouldn't answer my question.

The snake darts out, and I flatten myself to the stones at my back. A familiar tingle of power prickles my fingers, and the shadows around me thicken. Instead of merely hiding within them, the darkness takes tangible form, and I reach for it like a knight would brandish a shield.

I'm no longer a girl or a princess. I'm more than Nell in this moment, quick and untouchable as smoke.

Someone without magic can't begin to grasp the feeling of it being unleashed. Not molded into a tool or called upon for a specific task, but truly unleashed.

It's not like blood or water. It doesn't pulse or drizzle. My magic feels hot and heavy, like a dark stone under the desert sun. It's cold and uncontrollable, like an icy stream tumbling down the mountains.

Magic drums. Magic soars. Magic lives.

You think you're using it, but it's really using you.

Shadows move under my command and shield me from the monster. They are thick as fabric, but swift and pliable as water. A moment later, the beast gives a low hiss and angrily returns to its lair, allowing me passage.

I stare at the spot where the fake-Cece was, but there's nothing left of her, and I sigh in relief. I've hidden from Esme or the guards a dozen times, but never in such a formidable—and deliberate—fashion. The magic dims after a few seconds, and a hint of longing ties up my tongue. The power I just used wasn't all mine. I drew it from the stone, the underground lake—even the beast itself.

I drew it from them and had to release it, but a tiny fleck of it, barely a spark, blended with mine. It warms my hands and tickles my breast bone, and though it's as delicate and frail as a butterfly, it's also certain as the night sky.

The magic inside me burns brighter.

Joy expands my chest, and a smile tugs at the corners of my mouth until a larger, thicker shadow looms over me.