Chapter Eight: Eva

Fear laced her heart. The world around her seemed alien, menacing; too bright, the green of the grass that fluttered upon the hills and the long, rippling plains too saturated, like a green sea swaying. There, carved out of gigantic trees as tall as skyscrapers, was a twisted kind of castle or palace woven from branches coaxed to grow in unnatural ways.

She was here, and she was alone. No one to help, to save her. Her only weapon was little glass vials in a pouch on her leather belt. She was hardly prepared for something as terrifying as this. The sky above clouded gray-black and flicks of purple lightning pierced the scenery. When the sun peeked out, it didn't look like the sun at all but a mockery of one. The storm had come on fast.

Alone, Eva thought, and that single word sent a paralyzing fear through her body, which broke out as clammy sweat. She wasn't supposed to be alone. This wasn't the plan.

Nathan, where are you?

He'd… he'd gotten that creature off her, but then he'd disappeared, and she couldn't think of anything else to do other than run. Now, after splashing through the river, she hid in a tree. She wanted to cross the corrupted land, but she'd be too easily seen.

They still pursued her. She heard the barks of those awful creatures and the chatter of the fae who mocked and taunted her.

He didn't betray me, she thought.

Surely not. He helped. But now he was gone. How did that help her? Outside of a potions lab, she was nothing. She couldn't transform into a tiger, couldn't call anyone, couldn't fight against a bunch of bow-wielding fae and their snapping furry rat beaver things. Maybe she could run back to the dorm entrance, presuming it still existed.

A cold sweat beaded on her forehead. Was this what it was like for her brother when he ended up in that pocket of fae realm? This was what he had to endure?

He had it worse. He'd lost people in that place. She shivered, thinking of Nathan. He'd saved her, and then he'd vanished. Was that intentional? Was he looking for her in the woods even now, or had he run for safety?

She didn't know, and from her vantage point, she couldn't see him. Barks from the dog things below faded into silence. Seemingly, going upwind and upriver had helped throw them off her scent.

The Animal Sense potion enhanced her, and she started traveling from tree to tree, using her enhanced senses and natural agility and strength to do so. While she might not be able to shift, she still had a great physicality to her. It also seemed like the Animal Sense potion did something extra that way, which she hadn't factored in.

It seems to improve my reactions. I was fast when I ran. I climbed up this tree like a squirrel.

Okay. She sucked in a breath and realized she was heading closer to the castle rather than away. The trees were close together, and some of the branches and boughs offered easy walking for her. She ended up climbing higher and higher as she went and even took one daring leap to grab the next tree. She saw a path ahead, one from the trees merging into the castle itself.

It took her about an hour of careful navigation to get there. She paused every so often to listen for the sounds of her pursuers. At one point, she rubbed a sticky plant substance on her skin, hoping it wasn't the corrosive kind but the kind she might use to mask her scent. It was indeed icky and unpleasant, but she knew from hunting trips with her family that you should disguise your scent from the animals you planned to hunt or, in this case, the animals that might be hunting you.

Even with her flexibility, tree navigation wasn't super easy, and it strained her muscles. One more leap, and she landed on a long, thick branch, almost like a bridge, connected to the castle on one side. Her heart rate picked up as she examined it, considering how easy the castle might be to climb.

What exactly would she do there if she did climb it? It looked doable, but she doubted the top of it would be unguarded. Right here, so close to the wall, she didn't think anyone could spot her crouching in the shadow of the leaves and the castle. The sun had wisped out of sight again, leaving the sky dark.

What can I do now that I'm here?

She touched the wall, admiring for a moment the ingenuity of this type of natural engineering. She settled with her back against her chosen tree, staring up at the gloomy wall.

She needed to think logically. She was alone and vulnerable in a hostile fae realm without any real idea of what she was doing. She rested by the castle wall, catching her breath once more. Climbing up, it would serve nothing. She didn't even know what she'd accomplish unless Nathan had somehow gotten in there.

At worst, she'd just be some random human with failed tiger ancestry trying to break into the Unseelie Court, the very place where they made their laws.

She knew Morgryn was planning to meet with the court. She didn't quite know when, though it might be possible if anyone at the academy had noticed the giant fae portal that hit the dormitory and that she hadn't turned up for potion-making – it might interrupt the court's plans.

If the entrance to the castle looked like this, then what other parts of the academy might have been infected? Was it accidental or a deliberate effort by the Unseelie to prevent them from operating? Certainly, they'd been quick to hunt Nathan and her down, though that might be because they did stand in full view of the castle at one point, which happened to be the seat of power. Understandably, they'd have some security.

But the fact that security responded so fast might mean there was a meeting going on. Perhaps they always had meetings going on, or Aelund or whatever the hell his name was lived in the castle while he ruled as the current king.

It was a shame she didn't have any weapons. She was useless against those bows and arrows without some access and space to create potions… She hesitated.

Oh.

She glanced down at her belt, an idea coming to her in a flash of brilliance.

Oh.

What had Morgryn said about this black potion, that it was corrosive to living things. She recalled her experiment that ended up with a ruined apple and bowl. It was corrosive to some nonliving things, too.

What sort of effect would the potion have on the castle? Assuming it would even affect it since it likely had some fae enchantments to protect it from various types of assault.

Was it prepared for something like her two vials, however?

Say that it worked. Probably, it'd take some time to do anything, given the sheer scale of the castle. And if it didn't work, well, she'd know.

If it worked… she pursed her lips. How persuasive might it be for the fae who didn't want to admit anything was wrong?

There was only one way to find out. She was probably placing a death sentence on herself if there wasn't one on her already.

The entire realm would be out for blood, but that was a risk she was willing to take since no other options presented themselves. With bated breath, she popped out the vials with their viscous substances, wondering if this was a huge mistake. She uncorked them both, holding them carefully, knowing she had something highly dangerous in her vials.

Something like this wouldn't occur to Morgryn, who was trying to preserve his realm, though perhaps he might admire the scheming of wanton destruction, or he might be accused of doing this.

Ah well. She poured both vials, dispersing them slowly until both were emptied.

Perhaps I better back away since this tree is attached to the wall.

No sooner had she thought it that the dark liquid hissed and began eating away at the wall bark as if it were paper. The wound widened before her eyes, growing faster and faster by the second.

She'd used exactly one drop and destroyed an apple and a bowl. Perhaps she should have considered what two vials might do.

As the darkness began to spread along the tree trunk she sat on, she leaped backward, deciding to stay in the trees as long as possible and hope she might get a cell signal on her phone and its dying battery or a friendly face might turn up.

She vanished into the trees. The darkness spread, eating into the wall at an astonishing rate.