by Alexia Purdy
Bibette gripped Shade’s arms as they flew over the treetops. Shade glanced up to observe her savior. The faery’s outline against the dark of night was more shadow than anything. All Shade could see was her thin outline, the blur of her iridescent wings and long hair rippling in the wind. She glanced over toward Soap, who dangled from the black-winged woman’s arms. She looked much like a black-haired angel. Amazed, Shade smiled. She was relieved to be alive and having escaped from the massive army of dark creatures.
They had flown for a short time more before they came upon a large mountain range of high, barren cliffs. Once they reached a flattened plateau, the flying faeries set them down gently and came to stand next to them. Camulus and Andraste stepped toward them, grinning from ear to ear as they gave each other gripping hugs, all relieved to see the others alive.
Bibette stepped toward them. Her light brown hair was flowing around her shoulders in straight wisps. Her skin almost matched the color of her hair, a soft, golden brown. She reminded Shade of a Filipino woman. Bibette’s see-through wings hung behind her and glistened in the moonlight. She smiled at Shade as she reached her hand out to her.
“I’m Bibette, and that’s Queen Aluse of the Black Ravens. Those who helped Andraste and Camulus are Naja and Ren.” She waved over to two other black-winged faeries who nodded their greetings and waved. Ren was the only male among them.
“How did you know we needed help? And thank you for helping us, of course,” Soap said as Naja started rubbing ointment on his cuts. He smiled at the attention but pressed his lips together at Shade’s raised eyebrow. “Hey, they had impeccable timing!”
Shade rolled her eyes and sat down on the cool stone of the mountain, turning toward the direction of her grandmother’s house. She was grateful to be safe, but the faint glow of the fire reflecting off the clouds of the night sky could still be seen from the mountains. She felt numb and exhausted at the same time. Ren came over to help her apply balm to her own cuts and bruises. She let him fuss over her but felt empty and forlorn as she stared at the orange glow in the far off horizon.
Soap plopped down next to her, giving her a friendly nudge. He followed her eyes and watched the burning forest. It was so far now, it was just a faint glow.
“Hey, she died well. She knew she was going and chose the perfect time to do so. You know, Lana sent Queen Aluse to help us, as if she knew we would need them. Even in exile, she still had strong allies. Lana loved you so much, Shade. Don’t ever forget that.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer. Shade fell into the embrace and let the tears spill out. The weight of her pain poured out as a light rain slowly sprayed down on them. The same rain had been falling in the forest and had extinguished part of the raging fire. Shade loved the feel of it, like heaven was crying with her.
“Shade….” Soap loosened his embrace to point at the clouds. “It rains when you cry. Did you know that? Like you’re controlling the weather!” He tilted his head back, enjoying the cool splashes soaking his face and running down his sopping wet hair. “At least, we’re clean now.” He winked at her as he shook out his golden-brown hair which looked almost black while sopping wet. Shade sniffled back her sobs and smiled while watching him enjoy the downpour. Soap always had a way of looking at the brighter side of things.
Chapter Sixteen