Fly Free (Light of Faerie Book 1)

by Allison Rose

  Lex faced Sevelle’s captor with a crooked smile back on his face.

  Please say that confidence is not a mask.

  “Almost too easy.” The slightly bored voice that came from just above Sevelle’s ear sounded somewhat familiar. She racked her brain trying to match that voice to the Night faeries she had had dealings with.

  “Too easy?” Lex put a hand to his chest as if she had wounded him. “My apologies. Now please let the Light go.”

  Sevelle glared at him as her captor barely reacted to her title. A royal, she realized. They are here for me then. If I surrender, no one has to get hurt.

  “I submit to the Night,” she said quickly before Lex could say anything more to get himself in trouble. In the next moment, she realized that being taken away from Lex would cause them both pain—he would have failed to take her to the mountains and then home.

  But we have no other choice right now.

  Lex gave Sevelle an incredulous look. She gave him a challenging stare back.

  Baron was somewhere overhead, the faerie who rivaled her father for his affinity with the land, as well as many other Nym of the Night. They were severely outnumbered. To fight would be foolish.

  Sevelle’s captor gave a low chuckle and Sevelle finally placed her as Kallyn, daughter of Kye and Baron, also endowed with a land affinity, which must have been how she found Sevelle so quickly.

  “The Light has submitted,” Kallyn said to Lex. “Fly away.”

  Sevelle’s eyes widened. She is letting him go.

  Lex didn’t move. “I swore an oath to protect her.”

  “She will not be harmed.”

  Lex waved his marked palm at her.

  Kallyn sighed. “Come or go. I do not care.”

  Sevelle’s eyes frantically found Lex’s, begging him to stay away. He gave her a calm look. And then they were headed off toward the trees of the Night territory, Kallyn’s arms clutching Sevelle’s stomach uncomfortably. Lex followed behind.

  A flash of brown drew Sevelle’s attention to her right. She saw the halkyr, who miraculously seemed to have avoided injury so far. Lex gave a low whistle this time, and the halkyr flew back off toward the far trees. She glanced down and saw the others of the Night attempting to control the crowd, trying to calm them.

  What a mess, Sevelle thought in dismay.

  Chapter 18

  The next morning, Jae sat on her windowsill, listlessly staring out at the trees and wishing she could pull in the winds from Farryn to desperately listen for anything to do with Lex, Sevelle, and the rebels. She hadn’t bothered to put her dark hair up in a bun, and it danced about as the winds teased it.

  What am I going to do?

  Without warning, the life she wanted flashed before her eyes. A life with Lex, somewhere out in the wilderness, most likely up north and far away from the Day Court. They would be part of a happy community, maybe Muren. A place where Jae would not be scorned for once being a part of the court.

  It will never happen now.

  Tears pricked at her eyes, and she closed them, willing the vision away.

  “Open minds are unstoppable,” Lex had said once.

  “And what about the realistic ones?” had been Jae’s reply.

  The corners of his mouth had quirked up. “Open minds are realistic ones.”

  Hearing his voice in her mind only made her feel more desperate.

  I need to find a way out. I do not want to be heir—no matter who my parents are.

  A knock sounded at Jae’s door. She breathed in and then out slowly, then unfolded herself from the sill.

  “What?” she ground out when she opened the door.

  A young faerie stood there, dark circles under his eyes. “The Glorious has summoned you to the Throne Room,” he rushed to say before running off down the hall.

  Jae frowned as she noticed others in the hall. They have been let out of confinement.

  She hastily tied up her hair and smoothed out her garment. After shutting her door, she flew over the courtiers to just outside the wide expanse of doorways leading to the Throne Room. Dropping carefully to the ground, she pushed her way through the crowd of shaky courtiers with dull eyes. As others realized who she was, they made way for her.

  The Glorious gave her a fake, beaming smile from where she stood on the dais. Drake stood beside her. In contrast, his usually friendly expression was dark.

  What is going on?

  Though fear begged her to turn and run in the other direction, she gathered her determination and kept her head high.

  As Jae neared the dais with every eye in the room following her movements, The Glorious raised a welcoming arm toward her. “Honor the true heir of the Day.”

  Jae froze midstep.

  The courtiers’ expressions of fatigue gave way to shock, though some slowly raised their hands to place them over their hearts. Given the circumstances, they probably didn’t care who ruled as heir. They just wanted to be connected to the ara again, to live.

  And The Glorious was taking advantage of that.

  A slow burn started in Jae’s stomach. She briefly contemplated turning around.

  But I still need answers.

  Jae kept her expression blank as she walked forward and up the next few steps. She landed on the step below the one on which The Glorious stood. Then Jae waited, gaze fixed on the crowd, for The Glorious to reveal the rest of this little trick.

  “Blessed, in this time of need, that we have been gifted with such a fortune.” Jae felt The Glorious’s hand come down on her shoulder and bit down on the inside of her cheek.

  “Light comes in many different forms. Some only appear as shadows until you look closer. We will not be broken. Truth will be our weapon. It will set us free. The Light has abandoned us. But the true heir remains, my daughter, Sanjae. Fear not, for we are strong. Rest easy, for all will be well soon,” The Glorious continued, taking Drake’s hand. He plastered a smile onto his face as well. “Faith in the light.”

  “Faith in the light,” the courtiers echoed in a full range of emotions.

  With a smile, The Glorious motioned to dismiss them. Every bone in Jae’s body ached from keeping still, but she managed to wait until the room emptied before storming back behind the dais, knowing The Glorious and Drake would follow. The Glorious at least had to see how well her plan worked out.

  “I didn’t agree,” Jae said with rage.

  To her surprise, it was Drake that spoke first. “They needed to hear that,” he said.

  Jae’s shock at hearing these words kept her from answering back as she stared at him.

  The Glorious’s voice broke into the silence. “We thought you might like to know that, at our request, the Night apprehended Sevelle and that rebel faerie in Farryn yesterday,” she said with a cunning glint in her eye.

  Jae felt a spark of frustration at the subject change, but forced it down with effort. “Will they be brought back to the court?”

  “Eventually,” The Glorious said sharply. “For now, their taint is not wanted here.”

  A sliver of hope formed at her words.

  I could talk to them, get some clarity at least—or I could free them somehow. The Glorious would never expect it.

  The possibilities were there, the chance at reclaiming the future she wanted. If only she could find a way to get them out past the Night.

  “May I go to see them?” Jae tried to keep the hope out of her voice.

  “Permission granted,” The Glorious said simply with a nod as if to say, ‘See what happens when you play along?’

  Jae fled the room immediately, flying through one of the openings in the Throne Room leading east and taking off toward the Night Court.

  Chapter 19

  The walls of Sevelle’s cell were living criss-crossing vines and roots extending up on four sides and joining up above to form a roof. They trembled as she ran her fingers gently over the wall closest to where Lex had been led to, but the vines remained steadfastly bound even as
she tried to pry them open. Her eyes had adjusted to the dimness but not her mind, the lack of light causing her breath to come in shorter gasps if she thought about it too hard. Judging from the coolness and the sheer energy within the stone underneath her bare feet, she guessed they were underground.

  Sun above, she cursed herself. One day and you have already managed to fail.

  But why haven’t they handed us over to the Day yet?

  That thought prompted a whole new level of anxiety. What will they do to Lex once we are brought to the court? Sevelle pictured her mother using him to stop the rebels somehow. Maybe she or Jae could convince her to leave him alone. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration. That would never work. Lex cannot be handed over to the Day Court.

  The subject of her thoughts had been quiet so far.

  “Lex,” she whispered. “Do you think we can get out of here?”

  She heard a sigh from the other side of the vines. “I would say charm them, but the Night faeries are not a particularly talkative bunch.”

  Sevelle sighed, her thoughts turning to their predicament. “We didn’t go to the mountains, but I am safe and about to be returned home. Perhaps your oath would be satisfied after all. But then you will be the one in danger.”

  “I do not think so. And I am not so sure you will be safe either.”

  They fell into silence.

  “Do you want to go back?” he asked eventually, sounding carefully casual about it.

  No, the word immediately formed in Sevelle’s mind, startling her. It is still home, she reminded herself. I just cannot go back yet.

  “Sunny?” Lex asked when she did not reply. The nickname still made her feel odd, but it was beginning to grow on her.

  She leaned against the living barrier that divided them. The vines squirmed and then stilled. “I want to stay with you, to continue.”

  Sevelle imagined Lex smiled at that.

  “Then we have to get out of here,” he said. “Any ideas?”

  “Why are you asking me?”

  “You have more experience with courtly matters than I do.”

  “This is the Night Court,” Sevelle reminded him. “I am only allowed here on occasional business and the yearly revels.”

  “What do you know of Kallyn?”

  Before she could answer, a door creaked open at the end of the hall. And then the subject of their conversation stood before Sevelle’s cell, the vines retracting only enough to give her a view of Kallyn’s face.

  Kallyn regarded her with large dark blue eyes. Her many braids of the same shade looked disheveled, the moon symbol on her temple just visible beneath them. Her expression was passive, so much more mature than since Sevelle last saw her at the revels, a celebration that only the brightest of the Night and Day were invited to attend.

  They had exchanged small talk before, but never more than that, as Sevelle’s mother liked them to stand separately from the Night royals as much as possible. Her mother had an interesting relationship with them, regarding them with more respect than she gave any of her courtiers, but it had a tinge of disdain to it. Matters were even more tense this past year after the eldest daughter, Kelty, was banished to the human realm for inappropriate relations with one of the Day.

  All she remembered of Kallyn was that she was usually overshadowed by her older sister, who had been heir of the Night. Sevelle doubted that knowledge would help her now. Though the thought of both the heirs of the Night and Day being failures gave her the strange urge to laugh.

  “What is it you think you are doing?” Kallyn asked in a soft voice that still managed to sound sharp.

  Great question, Sevelle thought wryly.

  “Trying to help,” she answered aloud.

  Kallyn blinked slowly. “Who?”

  “All of Faerie.”

  Kallyn laughed, a short, harsh sound. “All you are doing is causing trouble. I long for the time when the Day faeries get their act together and quit creating more problems for us.”

  Problems for us, the words echoed in Sevelle’s head. She lowered her eyes to the ground. “I am truly sorry for the current state of affairs.”

  Kallyn’s brows lifted. “Well, that is the first time I have ever heard those words from one of the Day.”

  Sevelle waited nervously as Kallyn paused, though a sliver of hope was forming in her mind.

  Maybe she can be convinced to let us out. She has had little to no dealings with the Day Court. Perhaps she will risk crossing them if we can show her we are on the side of peace.

  “But there is nothing you can do about it.” With that, Kallyn turned and strode away.

  Sevelle threw herself forward as the vines started to curl back to their original positions.

  “I left the court willingly, and I do not wish to go back just yet,” she called after Kallyn.

  Kallyn paused, dark blue wings tensed. The vines stopped spreading to cover the hole.

  “You really think you can make a difference?” Kallyn called back wryly over her shoulder.

  Sevelle thought of the pit, of the Gathering, of the rebels she agreed to travel with. “I have to try,” she said softly.

  Kallyn turned back, crossing her arms and cocking one hip. “And what of you, blue one?” she called in a raised voice.

  Lex’s voice floated out from behind the vines. “Our mission is to right the balance. That is all.”

  Kallyn’s expression remained skeptical. Her eyes flicked to Sevelle’s. “This rogue speaks the truth?”

  Sevelle gave her a tentative smile. “He has shown me more truth in a day than I have seen in my life. I believe he may know the way to peace.”

  She thought she saw a flicker of something warm in Kallyn’s eyes, but she blinked and it was gone. Her expression remained cool and almost bored as she said, “It is a shame the Night agreed to hand you back over to the Day.”

  Kallyn turned on her heel and strode out of the room.

  Sun above! Sevelle fought crushing disappointment.

  The next second, the vines that made up the front of the cell quickly fell to the floor with a soft rasp.

  Sevelle’s elation was short-lived. Though the vines that made up her cell had fallen to the ground, the ones surrounding Lex remained intact. She ran her fingers over the living cell trying to try to pry them open. The result was dismal.

  What exactly is Kallyn trying to accomplish?

  “Sunny?” Lex called out in a low voice. “What is going on?”

  “Uh—” Sevelle whipped back and forth to check that the hallway was still clear before she answered. “I am free, but I do not know how to get you out.”

  His answer was a laugh.

  “I do not think this is funny,” Sevelle hissed.

  “She has given you time to run, if you choose it.”

  Sevelle’s efforts halted. “I do not wish to run from you.”

  The vines fell from beneath her hands to reveal Lex. He was sitting on the floor with a satisfied smile on his face. Sevelle’s cheeks heated, and she looked away. “We should be quick,” she said hastily.

  Lex walked the few steps out of the cell and peered down the hallway. “It appears we are not free yet.” His voice had an odd tone to it, guarded but almost excited.

  She peered around him to see a pair of glowing eyes in the dim light and froze, nervous energy coursing through her to replace the fatigue born of many hours spent in unfamiliar territory. She inched back a little more behind Lex.

  The slick black beast stood on all fours, and had huge paws the size of Sevelle’s face. Sevelle could barely see an outline of sleek muscles and a long tail. Its intelligent yellow eyes set back into a round face and muzzle sized them up.

  Mezra.

  The court’s writings claimed that they were intelligent and among the beasts to watch out for during the night. They liked to stalk and toy with their meals, which every once in a while included faerie if they were angry. Outsmarting one was rare. Kye, the female leader of the
Night, was known for befriending one. It was probably one of the reasons she had earned Sevelle’s mother’s respect.

  Lex touched his hand to his heart as he gazed at the mezra.

  The beast suddenly lifted its lip and emitted a low growl at Lex. Sevelle flinched. Lex gave her an expectant sideways look.

  “Oh.” She hastily placed her hand over her heart. It was an odd thing to do before a beast, but she supposed if this was Kye’s mezra it would be the equivalent of saluting the leader of the Night.

  Unsure of how to proceed, she glanced sideways at Lex.

  “Lakera is the familiar of Kye and leader of the mezra. It is an honor to be in her presence.”

  That explains the lofty expression.

  Lakera stepped closer, her head towering over Lex’s. Lowering her gaze, she looked straight into his eyes. He did not even flinch. Sevelle stood in awe of his confidence around beasts twice his size.

  Lex nodded once, and with one pointed glance at them, Lakera sauntered off down the hall.

  “We are to follow.” Lex grabbed Sevelle’s hand and pulled her after him.

  “Where?” she asked.

  He only shook his head.

  Before she knew it, they were up a stone stairway and out into the Night territory.

  Luckily for them, there was not a soul around as far as she could tell. Perhaps they were all out tending to the land or Kallyn had given them orders to clear out. Sevelle sent a silent thanks to whatever forces were at work here.

  Though Lakera kept them at a steady pace, Sevelle managed to stare up at the tree canopy in awe. The Night mostly lived in trees instead of raised portions of the ground like the Day commoners. The dense forests of the Night territory kept the whole area pretty dark even in the daylight. The effect was a little disorienting for one of the Day, but not an unpleasant one. It was almost a sleepier, calmer atmosphere, contrasting with the brightness of the Day territory. The dim light of nighttime that threw off her tired eyes was helped somewhat by some of the plants and flowers that glowed faintly. The effect was beautiful, and she wished she had enough time to enjoy it. She longed to run her fingers over a particularly bright orange flower. The color reminded her of the dawn.