Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
A grand arched doorway existed at its base amid the rocky and rough ground. Holes broke through beside, crawling with the brambles tipped with long and dangerous thorns. The air remained thick with the fear-inducing enchantment, the effect clawing at her worse than any level five magical worker from the human world. It felt suffocating, like it was sitting heavy in her chest and constricting her throat.
The dark and forbidding sky overhead boiled with clouds, announcing a coming storm that likely would never arrive. Within it, Celestials lazily sailed through the air, their wingspans larger than any bird’s, incredibly majestic to behold. Gold and tangerine at the base morphed into fuchsia and then indigo and violet, a gorgeous blending of colors on a glittering surface. They almost seemed illuminated when against that dark, angry sky. Ethereal in how they cut through the air gracefully. She watched with her mouth agape, entranced by the beauty.
“Those are the fringe guardians,” Tarian murmured, noticing where she was looking. His tone darkened. “There is but a fraction of what there should be. Someone from the Diamond Throne has ordered them elsewhere.”
“Isn’t that good for you?” she asked as they drew closer to a strange, murky area with dark purple, hazy air that rolled like fog. The sound of the horses’ hooves dimmed, and their voices became muffled, as though they’d entered a vacuum.
“Very.”
His voice sounded strained, as though he, too, were fighting his emotions within this place. Or maybe it was the sight of those Celestials, his nemeses when in the human lands and a blockade to getting her back into his.
None of the Celestials seemed to notice them, even though they were the only creatures dotting this vast expanse of desolate, dusty ground. They didn’t even swoop down to the wall to get a closer look. They remained up high, where only their kind could go. They didn’t seem to care if someone should use the massive, arched doorway or sneak through the various corroding holes and crevices.
“You seem to have a staring problem,” Tarian said with a strange tone she couldn’t identify. Jealousy? Frustration?
“I met one of them, after meeting you on the ledge outside of that apartment. They are…” She couldn’t put words to the impression the male had made. To the impression these were making. “Their kind and what they can do is scary, but they’re just so…”
The horse stopped, and Tarian pulled his leg from its back, hopping down. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her. She twisted and braced her arms on his shoulders, her gaze still skyward.
“Why don’t they come down to check us out?” she asked.
“So you can flag them down?”
“That…or maybe drool while staring, yeah.”
His expression was unreadable as he gently nudged her out of the way. “The fringe is technically in the fae realm. It’s at the very edge, hence the name. We are technically in the human realm, as I explained.” He began to take off the horse’s bridle. “We won’t become visible until we step within the enshrouding magic of the wylds. Then we will have to run because they’ll— They are supposed to descend upon us with their wrath. By the time they come close enough to read your mind, you’ll be dead.”
“What about the humans seeking admittance?”
“They aren’t stamped with wyld magic. Not like you are from the crystal chalice”—he glanced back at her, his eyes flashing—“and my magic. I wasn’t lying when I told you they’ll kill you. I can’t lie to you at all, actually. Not anymore. Not after I claimed your kiss. You give up some of your freedoms, and so do I. Luckily, I have a way with words.” He winked.
“Why are we the only ones here? I thought you said more people come through the Faegate now?”
He made a kissy sound at his horse and began walking toward a spot where the hazy purple air darkened, as if preparing to go fully solid. “This is the waypoint, the place where you return your portal items. Horses, packs, yourself—whatever you either won’t need when moving on or that can’t survive in the wylds. Because of that, it’s magically designed for privacy. There might be someone right next to us and we wouldn’t know it. We’d never feel them, or them us. Once we step out of the haze, everything becomes visible again. That’s when we’ll know if we aren’t alone.”
A jolt of surprise made her look harder at that hazy, shimmering air. She could run into that, and it would grant her passage out of here. She could find a phone and call her family to come and collect her.
But then what?
She’d put her family in danger, because Tarian would almost certainly return to take her and likely harm anyone in the way. Not to mention he could just follow her through and grab her on the other side.