by Alexia Purdy
Shade’s only thought was of running. She let the ground fly under her feet, feeling the dirt shifting with her shoes as they were imprinting themselves into the dark, soft earth. She wasn’t afraid, nor did she have to run. No, she wanted to run. The need to feel the air rush past her with its fingers ripping through her hair, and the bushes and leaves whipping on her skin was overwhelming. The fresh earthy air fed her lungs, and the beating of her racing heart was the drummer of the tempo.
Running in the forest had turned into a soothing meditation for her since returning from the Santiran Fountains. It was funny that the woods seemed to have become her sanctuary, even though her adventures in the great outdoors had been no less than scary. She often wondered; since her powers had grown, did it mean the faery in her now craved the intimacy of nature more and more? Regardless, she enjoyed her daily sprints in the forests around her house.
The solitude gave her time to think. To think about her powers, her life, her future, and her commitments. She had pledged her allegiance to the Guildrin Clan, a Seelie Court of Faeries. Shade hadn’t realized how much allying oneself with faeries would involve, but for now, she was happy it did involve a lot of magical training, weapons training, fight training, and the history of the fey lessons. It was a Fey University of sorts. Her brain was often fried and required her to use her daily runs to recharge it.