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  After a steadying breath, Kelty glided straight down into the clearing.

  Chapter 7

  As Kelty glided down, she commanded roots to spring up from the ground to hold the youth’s legs and feet. Kelty landed softly in a crouch directly in front of her.

  The female looked up but didn’t move otherwise. “You should not have come,” she said in a quiet voice. The intelligence in her gaze said she knew what was happening, and she might not be as young as Kelty thought. In fact, up close she looked to be about the same age.

  Unease shot through Kelty, but she shoved it down. “Do you wish to be free?”

  The surprise in the faerie’s eyes was evident, but Kelty thought she saw a glimmer of hope and hesitation in her expression. It was quickly replaced by one of urgency. “There is no time. Leave.”

  So it was a trap from the beginning. But who set it? What kind of trouble am I in?

  Kelty ignored her. “Who lurks back there?”

  A shadow came over the youth’s face. “No one and everyone.”

  A chill settled over Kelty at the words, along with annoyance at the non-answer. I suppose I’ll find out soon enough anyway. The lurking one had Kelty in his trap.

  Kelty’s magic swirled uneasily in her core as the air grew thicker with moisture, the smell of rain, and she heard the voice again in her ear. “I knew you would come.”

  Her potential. He set the trap.

  Go! Find Mother, Kelty mind-spoke to Lakera. The mezra could find her mother faster than anyone else. Kelty only hoped she could hold him off until her mother arrived. Kelty resisted glancing above, hoping that her sister wouldn’t do anything stupid. She regretted letting her come. This potential of hers was too unpredictable and reckless. This was the wrong time for sisterly bonding.

  The trees became suddenly restless, warning her the lurker approached. A coolness washed over the far reaches of her magic, about twenty paces away. He strode closer, but at a leisurely pace. Kelty shoved aside her fear as she focused in on the one who could be saved.

  Kelty met the youth’s eyes again. “Do you wish to be free?” she repeated urgently in an almost whisper.

  The youth was silent for the briefest of moments, her eyes narrowing as Kelty felt the slight prod of spirit magic, the youth assessing whether she told the truth. Then the youth’s expression cleared of suspicion, the magic retreating. She nodded once, whatever her magic sensed convincing her to give Kelty her full trust.

  But Kelty had no time to ponder what the youth saw in her.

  “Stand,” she ordered the youth in a whisper as she let the vines go.

  Once the youth obeyed, Kelty drew her power inward in one fluid motion, gathering it at her core and then sending it down through her feet and into the soil beneath the youth’s feet. There she pictured a seed in her mind, coaxing her power into it. Grow. Roots sprang from the seed and grew. Kelty threw her magic into it then, breath coming a little harder as she urged the tree to develop rapidly. She made sure to give the youth a reassuring look as she pushed one last burst of energy into her creation.

  Within seconds, a new sapling stood in front of her, hiding the youth within it. Kelty took a breath and allowed herself a second of triumph. Whatever happened to her, Kallyn, watching from above, would understand she was to come back and free the youth. This potential of hers, given his affinity with water, would not have the power to release the youth, even if he had seen Kelty conceal her.

  Kelty was at half strength now, but it was worth the risk.

  Everyone should have a choice.

  Chapter 8

  Kelty stepped to the side of the new tree. She stood straight, arms to her sides and magic at the ready.

  Come forth, potential.

  The faerie that stepped gracefully into the light of the clearing was blue-skinned and clothed in black, looking to be only slightly taller than Kelty. His long, dark hair fell over his face and down his shoulders, but was partially pinned back on one side. His black wrappings covered everything other than his arms and feet. The blue ball of energy at his core was visible to her as his potential. It set Kelty’s teeth on edge, like he had some sort of power over her.

  His posture was casual, looking as if nothing unusual was happening, though there was an intensity in his blue eyes as he glanced silently over at the sapling that now stood between them. Then fixed his gaze upon her again with raised brows. He looked slightly amused.

  His silence bothered Kelty.

  “Your name,” she demanded as she readied the woods around her to fight back if he took a strike at her. The trees rustled, and the glow of the flowers intensified.

  He raised his eyebrows, glancing at the flowers as if it was a neat little trick, and a smirk curved his lips. “Who I am does not matter.” His voice sounded strangely normal when he wasn’t whispering taunts in her ear.

  Kelty worked to keep the flash of annoyance from showing on her face. He is not going to make this easy. Her hands clenched into fists by her side.

  “What is it you want, potential?”

  His eyes darted back to the sapling for a moment and then back to her. “The answer to that is complicated.”

  As he tilted his head to the side, his hair fell back to reveal two curved lines over a half-circle on his temple. Half of a sun.

  Kelty’s heart skipped a beat, and she dug her heels into the soil to keep from stepping backward.

  Her potential was one of the Day.

  She clenched her fists harder as her heart raced. The storyteller’s words ran through her mind. Love is where this tale begins, and death is where it ends. Though they were only potential partners, and the word “love” hardly applied to this situation, she suppressed a shudder that threatened to run through her body.

  This is wrong.

  “Why? Why lure me here?” she changed her question, hating the unintended crack in her voice. She strengthened her posture and folded her arms to try to make up for it. Never show weakness.

  “I knew it would be your downfall.”

  The words almost threatened to send her running again. He knows more than he should. He must have watched me for far longer than just today.

  With effort, she shoved the panic down. Help is on the way. All I can do is fight with all that I have. If I have to use my magic, so be it.

  “I do not plan to fall,” Kelty told him in a hard voice, gathering what was left of the magic at her core. “But why do you want me to?”

  She felt the trees around her swell with power; some grew and rustled. She sensed Kallyn’s energy beside her own. As sisters, they could not combine their powers, but they used similar methods to fight. Kelty was simultaneously glad she was here and guilty that she might be dragged into this danger as well.

  He paused, then said in a light voice, “I can’t tell you that. And you will fall.” Suddenly, he took two quick steps forward. Expecting a magical attack instead of a physical one, Kelty did not have time to react before he reached forward and clasped her arm, a hard, flat object pressed between his hand and her skin. A magical heat spread through Kelty before she could react.

  “Forever,” he said softly with a small smirk.

  The words sent a jolt of panic through her. What? No!

  And then he stepped back as suddenly as he had advanced. She caught the glow of a Telk stone in his hand as he did so. The swirl symbol on its face denoted it as one of spirit, infused with some sort of magic that would influence relationships and the soul energy within each of them.

  What in the name of the moon!? Kelty stepped back, fighting to keep the fear from overwhelming her. What did he do?

  She felt different. Similar to when his magic touched hers, but this spread through her body, a foreign warmth she never asked for.

  No. With growing dread, she focused on his core as he crossed his arms and curiously watched her react. The magic coiled in his midsection shone bright for her, and when she focused, it also called to her. She could feel it as if it were he
r own.

  No! It can’t be. I didn’t accept the partnership—

  “Kelty.” A different voice sounded to her left.

  Relief spread through her as her mother and father, Lakera slinking behind them, stepped out from behind the trees. They would take care of this faerie who dared to touch her so.

  She opened her mouth to ask for help, but before any sound came out, another faerie stepped up behind her potential, who still wore an unconcerned expression, though his eyes were now cast down.

  The Glorious, leader of the Day, fixed Kelty with piercing blue eyes. Her wings were folded behind her, but her silver-gray skin and dark blue hair tied up in a circlet of braids were striking enough without the unusual eye-like markings on her wings visible. The gold wrappings she wore only covered the important parts of her tall, slight figure. Kelty bet that in the light it would shimmer like the sun’s rays. The stones fixed to her wrists and fingers bore the marks of the other affinities, as if she boasted to have all of the power at all times.

  “These two seek to destroy us,” The Glorious said in her smooth, powerful voice, surprise and accusation evident in her tone.

  She sees it. The most powerful spirit-user of Faerie sees it. Kelty’s fear came back twofold. There is a real connection between us.

  The urge to run threatened to overwhelm Kelty despite the fact that it would do no good. She closed her mouth and frantically looked to her parents. They stood still as stone, looks of disbelief on their faces, but they did not contradict The Glorious. Fear grew to encompass her entire being.

  Whatever her potential had done, it made them look like the Great Destroyers, the ones who brought on the Silver Dusk.

  Chapter 9

  “I didn’t accept the bond,” Kelty pleaded quietly to her parents, one eye on the faerie that The Glorious called to lead her potential—or whatever he was now—away. He didn’t struggle. The chaos of emotions in Kelty’s mind made it almost impossible to process why and what was going on.

  “You will be examined,” was all her mother said, a tight frown on her face.

  A small ray of hope broke through her muddled fear. This was wrong. Surely a spirit-user would be able to sense this isn’t a real bond. He pressed that Telk stone against her skin for a reason.

  But would it be enough to save the heir to the Night? Would Kelty ever rule?

  Wordlessly, her father motioned back toward the direction of the Night Court.

  Kelty’s thoughts ran in circles during the silent trek, heart still pounding. She walked in front, her parents behind her, and The Glorious, at some point joined by her partner, Drake, followed them.

  How? Even with a Telk stone infused with some sort of spirit magic, how did he create the illusion that I accepted the partnership? We have only met one time before—

  The stunt at the river.

  His magic touched mine. His essence was within me already. The Telk stone must have used that to create the illusion of the bond.

  Now out of the vicinity of him, she couldn’t tell if she felt any different or not. That scared her even more.

  They arrived at the Great Room, her mother ordering the few members of court to leave.

  “Sit, Kelty of the Night.”

  Kelty numbly sat as The Glorious demanded, with legs crossed on the dirt floor of the Great Room. Her mother sat on her throne with Lakera standing beside her, the beast coming up to her shoulder. Kelty’s father and Drake of the Day spoke across the room.

  The Glorious stood before her, spirit power running over Kelty’s skin and through her insides, at once examining Kelty and driving her potential’s influence from her body. Whether or not The Glorious was involved in this plot, the ruler of the Day would not want even the slightest sign of a mixed partnership to exist.

  The victory of freeing the Day youth meant little to Kelty now. Kallyn had whispered down from the trees above during the long walk back to court, “I will remember.” The words were meant to be comforting, but it sounded more like something said at death. She said nothing of freeing the youth from her temporary tree enclosure, but the two were never alone to talk about it.

  Her mother kept her eyes on Kelty as The Glorious worked her magic. Her face was stoic but for the worry in her expressive eyes. Lakera eyed The Glorious like she wanted to eat her.

  It’s only an illusion, Kelty chanted to herself as she tried to keep her breath steady. Having The Glorious’ magic searching her being, her feelings and motivations, was unnerving. But The Glorious would see the illusion. It just depended on what the punishment for being a part of that illusion would be.

  Kelty returned her mother’s stare, hoping to convey many things by saying nothing; that she was sorry and that she was innocent, and that she had faith that her mother would find a way out of this. Her mother was the second most powerful faerie after The Glorious. She had to find a way to have her excused from this misunderstanding.

  The cooling magic seeped out of Kelty, leaving her chilled and surprisingly hollow. The Glorious turned away from her.

  “Traitor,” she announced to the few faeries in the room, making Kelty jump. “This one conspired with the other to become one and threaten the peace of the land as the Great Destroyers did.”

  Kelty’s heart dropped. Liar! It wasn’t real! Unable to form words, she met her mother’s eyes again and begged her silently to see the lie.

  “She must be cast out to the human realm,” The Glorious spoke the words as if they weren’t designed to end someone’s life.

  Kelty’s insides turned to ice, every muscle in her stilling in fear. The human realm. The place where their ancestors came from. The place they left because the humans turned their backs on magic. The place that was the subject of cautionary tales, where contact with humans would drain faerie magic.

  Kelty swallowed and rose from the floor, opening her mouth to protest, but her mother’s glare stopped her.

  Rising as well, her mother gave The Glorious a dark look. “She has been cleansed, Shayna.”

  Kelty wanted to scream, but she swallowed the words down forcefully. Shouting at The Glorious would not do any good. She forced her feet to remain where they were and anxiously watched the standoff.

  The Glorious and her mother faced each other as they spoke, postures stiff. By now, Kelty’s father and Drake had walked over to stand by their partners. They remained silent, though. The females ruled the faerie; and the males ruled in matters of the land. The Glorious and her mother would make this decision.

  “A cleansing cannot erase this,” The Glorious said calmly and firmly.

  “And what of the other one?” Kelty’s mother threw back at her.

  “Briar of the Day is being dealt with. And he is nothing anyway.”

  Kelty took mental note of the name, though it didn’t make it any better. She was going to suffer regardless.

  Her mother continued to speak in a low, challenging voice Kelty had never heard her use with The Glorious before. “You are only inspecting the Night’s side in this—”

  “She is the heir to the Night,” The Glorious cut her off.

  Kelty’s mother took a steadying pause, irritation showing on her face. “She is the heir to the Night. So why would she do this?”

  “Love can make us do terrible things,” was The Glorious’ cool response.

  Kelty wanted to gag. “I do not love him!” she burst out.

  Both her mother and The Glorious turned to give her sharp looks. Kelty bit off another retort.

  The Glorious arched her thin, dark eyebrows as she turned back to Kelty’s mother. “You would have someone like the Great Destroyers rule your kind?”

  Kelty’s mother stared at The Glorious. Her father didn’t protest either. Their silence spoke volumes. There was no good reason for allowing her to stay. Threats to the peace of Faerie were not tolerated. The threat of another Silver Dusk was even worse. And now that The Glorious announced it, it would be the recognized truth in all of Faerie.

&n
bsp; Perhaps The Glorious was right and the world was divided into those who prosper and those who suffer. I guess I truly am a special kind of faerie, truly fated to suffer alone, like the stars I was named after.

  No! I did not betray anyone. I did not do this! Why are you trying to banish me for this?

  But Kelty took her cue from her mother this time. She remained silent. Protesting will not help. I will have to find another way. She thought fast. She knew that saying those words would never convince the rulers of the Day, the ones who held the true power in Faerie.

  Kelty recalled the words of the storyteller. Balance of opposites keeps the land bountiful and the ara whole. Duty calls to each of us differently to keep this balance. Remember your place and embrace it, for defying that is what caused this tragedy.

  Her mind rebelled against being cast as one of the players in that horrid story. No, this can’t be the end. It can’t happen like this. Mother and Father may not be able to speak against The Glorious, but I can, now that I am less than nothing.

  Kelty stepped forward, drawing her shoulders back. As they all turned to regard her, she looked The Glorious in the eye, as not many dared to do. “Even one such as me should be allowed to say farewell.”

  The Glorious’ eye twitched almost imperceptibly, but a smile spread across her face, her look daring Kelty to cross her, welcoming the challenge. “Until the sun rises, outcast.”

  Chapter 10

  Kelty had expected more fight from The Glorious. Maybe she is just that confident that she already won.

  Outcast. The word echoed in her mind, making Kelty uncomfortable. The Glorious wants me gone. But did she have a hand in this, or was it just a coincidence?

  Do the Day see someone who will not stand aside when they look at me?

  And the most terrifying thought: Do they somehow know about my abilities?

  There were so many questions she may not get the answers to.