Chapter 7

Following a strange shadow figure in a faerie realm I knew little about probably wasn’t my brightest plan, but it occurred to me that perhaps Violet’s portal could have allowed more to slip through.

What if she had let in one of the vampires? Or something else?

I was still a Dragonrider. The safety of the realms was something I had vowed to protect, no matter the circumstances.

Plus, I couldn’t just sleep in a fluffy faerie bed while Killian was out there somewhere confused, lost, or possibly hurt.

Maybe this shadow figure knew something.

I followed it to the edge of the Academy until it paused at the boundary. I knew what to look for now. The path still continued, but flowers and vines grew inside the barrier.

Outside of it, there wasn’t any sign of life.

The figure pulled a flute from his pocket. Now that I was closer, I noticed that it was a male who wear a hood; the shoulders were too broad to be a woman. After a moment, the instrument disappeared into his cowl.

A mournful note sounded and a shimmering light glittered, just large enough for the figure to step through.

I sucked in a breath and followed him before the exit closed.

It occurred to me that I might not be able to get back in, but I was invested now. And I had one of the faerie flutes, too, so maybe I’d just have a crash course in how to use them.

I worked best under pressure, anyway.

The barrier closed behind me, cutting off some buildings as if they hadn’t even been there before.

The magic is some kind of camouflage. That’s interesting.

“It’s impolite to follow someone,” he said without turning around, making me freeze.

My heart jumped into my throat as I frantically glanced around… as if I could actually find a place to hide.

There was nothing on this side of the barrier. Just ruins and rubble. Some of the broken towers and buildings were a good ways out, leaving this area completely leveled.

The male turned, greeting me with bright red eyes glowing from within the shadow of his cowl.

“Kai?” I asked, confused as to why he’d be sneaking out of the faerie’s Academy. “What are you doing?”

“The same as you,” he said with a wry grin, but he seemed different now that I had him alone—his demeanor being more like when I’d first met him.

Or maybe this was just what he was like when he wasn’t around a female he was interested in. He’d been much more annoying with Violet.

“Looking for answers?” I asked bluntly, because that’s why I was here. I didn’t know about him.

His grin turned into a smile. “Looking for something.” He turned, sending his cloak billowing behind him. I noticed that his wings weren’t out, so that he could dismiss them into his body just like I had. “And I’m trying to score some more floral points. I’ll share them if you don’t tell anyone I went out after nightfall.”

Because there was a curfew? That explained a few things.

“Deal,” I said, still eyeing his back where ruby wings had been earlier. He probably knew how to make them emerge again. I remembered how strange and light my own had felt along my spine, like a tingle or an itch I couldn’t quite reach.

The moment I thought about that, my wings appeared, sending a sharp zap of pain up my spine.

Kai glanced around his shoulder and chuckled. “Good thing all the clothes at the Academy are spelled to allow wings through, or I’d be getting an eye full right now. You’re not really used to those yet, are you?”

“Not even a little bit,” I admitted, catching up to him as I joined him on a walk into the darkness.

The faerie realm had been beautiful in the day, but it was creepy at night. The moon had a hazy look to it, probably courtesy of those purple clouds that seemed to always exist on the horizon.

Without much light to go by, the shadows consumed the ground, giving me an unsettled feeling and unsure footing.

Kai reacted when I stumbled on a rock I couldn’t see, immediately steadying me.

I gave him a raised brow as his fingers squeezed me a bit too tightly. “Uh, thanks,” I said, then reclaimed my arm. I knew that Kai was the flirtatious type. Going on a moonlit stroll together was probably giving him the wrong signals. “I have a boyfriend,” I blurted.

He paused, then blinked at me before laughing. “I know,” he said easily.

“You do?” I asked.

He nodded, then gave me a wink that probably made other girls melt. “No one as pretty as you is single.”

“Uh huh,” I deadpanned. I wasn’t the least bit impressed, mostly because all of the faeries I had seen were breathtakingly gorgeous. Violet’s magic had done what it could for me, but I’d always been the plain girl with wild red hair with a mousey personality. I preferred to be holed up in a library somewhere rather than out and about. Even just talking to Kai was about to give me hives.

Some things never changed.

I bit the inside of my cheek at that thought, knowing that Killian would have immediately corrected my thoughts about being plain or harboring a lack of social skills. I had blossomed around my friends, but I’d met them under unusual circumstances and had been fighting for my life. The adrenaline had been pumping too hard for me to think about my nerves.

And after facing death together, I was pretty comfortable around Killian and the others.

But now, I just felt tired. Killian would have reminded me that I had friends because of my bubbling personality, and I had him because of my lips. Teasingly, of course, but it would still make me laugh.

He had a way of boosting a girl’s confidence.

“What’s this something that you’re looking for?” I asked, changing topics so I didn’t think too hard about Killian. A sting had formed at the edges of my eyes, threatening to release tears if I kept wandering down that train of thought.

Kai hummed as we ventured into a thicker part of the ruins. This time, I was more careful when stepping over rocks that had fallen onto what was left of the cobblestone path.

“I sensed another disturbance,” he said, pausing to consult a device he’d just pulled from his pocket. At first glance, it looked like a compass, but I realized it didn’t have a needle onto it. When Kai released a soft whistle, a burst of magic unfurled into the air and left a sparkling trail down one of the branching paths, vanishing after lingering for a moment.

“Someone else used a malfunctioning portal?” I guessed, unable to hide the hope in my voice.

Maybe it was Killian.

He hummed again. “No, this is a different signature.” He pocketed the device and swept into an easy gait down the path the magic sparkles had shown us. “It’s my job to investigate disturbances outside of the Academy. If I find something, I get bonus floral points. It’s how I have so many.”

“Um, so, what are floral points, anyway?” I asked.

He stopped mid step and gave me a raised brow. “What village did you say you were from?”

Crap.

I released a nervous laugh, then rubbed my head. “I can’t say I remember. Bumped myself pretty good, yeah?”

He narrowed his eyes, but then gave me an easy smile. “Yeah.” He resumed walking and I scampered to keep up. “Everyone knows about Fae Song Academy, at least faeries who haven’t recently nearly knocked themselves out. Floral points are a form of currency and can be used to buy things from the market or to send back home in case…” He cleared his throat after seeming to slip up on the last bit as his words trailed off. That information had revealed he had a home and a reason to send money there. “Anyway, the Academy is important. It’s the last stand against invading forces from other realms—something that’s somewhat of a new problem for us, at least at this scale. It started in our parents’ generation and has only grown worse. I don’t remember a time without the threat, but it’s never been this bad before.”

“What kind of invading forces?” I asked. “Is that what you’re looking for now?”

He hummed again as he tilted his head, sending his red hair curled around his chin now that he’d pulled back his cowl. “It’s probably not anything dangerous, as long as its found early. Usually the signal comes from an artifact or stone causing an issue. If the wrong faerie picks it up, they tend to go mad after a while, or rarely faster than that. I return anything I find to the Maestro and she takes care of it. She gives me floral points in return and I haven’t gone mad.” He gave me a friendly wink. “Yet, anyway.”

What Kai was describing sounded a whole lot like Corruption, or even Malice, which was just a different form of Corruption. Perhaps the faeries had their own brand of darkness to deal with.

“Do you have a name for it?” I asked, trying not to sound too interested.

This could be why I was here.

Corruption had rooted in this realm and it was my job to make sure it saw its way out.

“Wrath,” he said, lowering his voice as if it wasn’t a word to be spoken too loudly.

“Why’s it called that?” I asked.

He paused to consult his magical compass again, staring at it for a moment. “Because the gods have abandoned us. We must have wronged them, somehow. They send their wrath to destroy everything they have created because they don’t want us anymore.”

The sadness in his tone made me rethink the image he presented to others. “I know of a story where something like that happened,” I said, remembering the teachings from my upbringing. “It’s one about the entire realm being flooded.”

Kai hummed. “Sounds pretty wrathful to me. How does the story end?”

I tilted my head. “One ma—uh, faerie, was told to build a boat and make room for two of each anim—er, familiar, that was chosen to be saved by the, uh, gods.” I bit the inside of my cheek before taking a deep breath to continue. “The faerie did as he was told, even though the others made fun of him for building a massive boat in the middle of nowhere. It worked, though. Civilization started over after that.”

I’d left out a lot of the story, but it was enough to convey its meaning.

Kai hummed. “I can’t say I’ve heard that folktale. It’s interesting, but that sounds pretty lonely to be the last faeries alive.”

I glanced back the way we had come. “Yes, it does,” I agreed.

Kai was silent for a long moment and I realized that the story was probably one he could empathize with. Whatever had happened to this realm, it seemed more and more of them were drawn toward the Academy as the last remaining safe zone in a world that was slowly dying.

Drowning in darkness.

Kai glanced at me with a reassuring smile before whistling. The compass activated, then sent out a stream of magical sparkles that trailed down a dark path, disappearing into a pile of rocks.

“The disturbance is this way. Since you’ve followed me this far, tag along and make yourself useful. I’m getting a reading… one that has never been this strong before.”