“We got us a good ole pomegranate tree out there in back.” Philemon smiled and pointed his thumb toward the back of the house. “She’s been here longer than we have. If not for her, we likely would have starved to death by now.”
Now that we were in the light of the hearth, their hollowed faces and sagging skin were more apparent. “When was your last meal?” I asked.
“Three weeks ago?” Philemon shrugged and looked at Balius. “Perhaps four?”
My breath caught in my chest, and my heart hurt for them. “Would you like to share some of our food?” I asked, and then I looked to Julian, realizing I didn’t know how much we could give. “We don’t have much, but…”
“We can spare two meals,” Julian said, and that was that.
“Well, thank you.” Philemon smiled, and I sat back in surprise at his words. Out of habit, half-bloods didn’t say thank you to each other, despite not being bound by the same rules as the full fae. “That’s very generous of you. May the gods bless you both for sharing your food with us tonight.”
It turned out that while Philemon and Balius had heard of the Faerie Games, they didn’t actually watch them. So Julian and I spent the majority of the meal telling them what had happened in this year’s Games, concluding with how we’d ended up at their door.
“That’s quite the tale,” Balius said as he finished up his meal. He’d savored it, unlike Philemon, who’d eaten as fast as possible. “And it’s true that we don’t know the location of the Holy Wand. However, we do know someone who likely does.”
I sat forward so quickly that my elbow knocked my fork to the ground. I picked it up and asked, “Who?”
“An old friend of ours,” Philemon said, and Balius came around to clear our plates. He must not have wanted to risk any more cutlery. “The Sibyl of Cumae. Although you can call her Sibyl for short.”
“What’s a Sibyl?” I asked.
“A woman able to see everything,” Philemon continued. “The past, the present, the future… all of it.”
“So she’s a prophetess.”
“Yes,” he replied. “An oracle is another common term. But she prefers the title of Sibyl.”
I gripped the edge of my seat. I didn’t want to push our luck, but…
“Where can we find her?” I asked.
His eyes twinkled with knowledge. “Take a pomegranate from our tree,” he said. “Then, go to the center of the Otherworld. There, you’ll find the largest faerie tree in the realm. When you arrive, plant six of the pomegranate seeds at its base to call upon the Sibyl. If she deems you worthy of her time, she’ll reveal herself to you.”
“Is there anything we need to do to prove our worth?” Julian asked.
“Just show up.” He smiled, and then he yawned. “She’ll take it from there. But on that note, it’s been a long day. We’ll get you situated in the bedroom, and tomorrow, you’ll continue on your journey.”
“We can sleep in the living room,” I said. “We have sleeping rolls in our packs.”
“You’ll take the bedroom,” Balius said. “Our beds are clean and comfortable, and you need to be rested for your journey.”
“But—”
“We won’t hear of anything else.” He held up a hand to stop me from continuing. “We may be old, but we’re not broken. We can handle a night in the living room. We’ve certainly handled far worse.”
“I’ve slept in my fair share of interesting places.” Philemon chuckled. “And I’m sure the two of you are feeling tired.”
I sat back in my chair and yawned. My eyes did feel heavy.
Julian also leaned back and fought a yawn, his eyes slits. He never got tired. At least, it never seemed like it. He said that being able to stay awake was a necessary skill in battle, and that he was always ready to fight, even while sleeping.
This wasn’t normal for him.
Paranoia shot through me, and I glanced at the empty juice glasses next to the washbasin.
Did the old men drug us?
I opened my mouth to ask, but the words were jumbled and slurred. Somehow, I forced my eyes to stay open, and I looked at Philemon, then Balius, and back to Philemon again.
Was it just me, or were they changing? Getting healthier, younger, and stronger?
Impossible.
I reached for my magic, but I was wading through molasses.
I barely felt a spark before everything around me grew hazy and faded out completely.
9
Selena
I shot up in bed at the same time as Julian.
Sunlight streamed through the window. A soft feather mattress was beneath me. Julian was in his same traveling clothes from yesterday. I was, too.
I looked around the small wooden room, confused.
Where am I?
My mind was hazy, although it sharpened as the events from last night pieced themselves together.
Julian rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “They drugged us,” he said, his expression cold and calculated.
“Thieves,” I said, and my magic swelled into a storm inside of me.
They’d probably stolen our supplies. Our horses, too.
But how far could two old men get?
Then, I remembered something else. “They changed,” I said. “They weren’t actually old. They transformed into younger, stronger men.”
“Not possible,” Julian said. “Half-bloods can’t use magic.”
“Maybe they got transformation potion from someone who can.” I thought back to when Torrence had made the potion for me. Even though I couldn’t make it myself, I could still drink it and have it change me.
“Fae don’t brew potions. It must have been a spell.” He hopped out of bed and pulled a sword out of the ether. “They’re probably long gone,” he said. “But if they’re still here…”
“Then let’s roast them.” I jumped to his side and held my hands in front of me, balls of lightning igniting in my palms.
He nodded in agreement and kicked down the door. We surveyed the only other room in the house.
There was no sign of the half-bloods.
But our full packs sat on the chairs where we’d eaten dinner last night. They looked untouched. And two large, golden apples rested on the table, a letter propped up against them.
Selena and Julian, the letter was addressed.
We rushed to the envelope, peeled off the wax stamp, and opened it together. Somewhere between the bedroom door and the table, Julian had returned his sword to the ether and I’d pulled my electricity inward. I didn’t want to burn the paper, which from its thickness and rough texture, was actually papyrus.
We scanned the contents of the letter and read it together.
To our chosen champions,
Apologies for drugging you. We assure you that the enchantment in the pomegranate juice isn’t harmful. In fact, it supplies an excellent rest, so you’ll be as alert as possible for the journey ahead.
When we let you inside of this house, it was a test. You see, our names aren’t Philemon and Balius.
They’re Jupiter and Mars.
I looked back up at Julian, my eyes wide. “No way,” I said. “Jupiter and Mars… how… why …?” So many questions raced though my mind that I couldn’t form them into words.
“Keep reading,” he urged.
Not needing to be told twice, I refocused on the letter.
We welcomed you into this house as two poor, starving half-bloods. We offered you what little we had and expected nothing in return. Yet, you gave us more rations than you could spare. By doing this, you demonstrated xenia—the respect shown between guests and hosts that’s regarded highly amongst the gods.
As a reward, we’ve given you a compass that points to the center of the Otherworld, and two apples that have been dipped in the nectar of the gods. Not only will the apples give you all the nutrients you need to keep you strong, but they will always renew themselves after being eaten. And while it was generous of you to share your rations last n
ight, the dried food was difficult to swallow. The apples will taste far better.
I eyed the apples on the table, curious about what they’d taste like. But they could wait. Because I needed to finish reading the letter.
While we lied about our identities, we were truthful about everything else. We don’t know the location of the Holy Wand. It’s been hidden, even from the gods.
This house has been abandoned for decades. But there’s a pomegranate tree out back, as we told you last night. And also as we told you, you need to take a pomegranate and plant six of its seeds in front of the Sibyl’s tree once you reach it. She’ll likely be able to give you the information you seek.
Also, pomegranates can be used as female birth control. The pomegranate juice from last night will suffice for this month. But if you pick another pomegranate from the tree, one seed equals one month of protection from pregnancy. As soulmates about to embark on a quest where you’ll need your full physical strength, we thought that would be important for you to know.
You’ll find your horses where we left them. They’re good, strong horses. We trust they’ll get you far.
We won’t cross paths on your quest again. But we wish you the best of luck.
Forever your patron gods,
Jupiter and Mars
“Wow.” I lifted my eyes from the letter. “Wow.”
“You can say that again.” Julian looked as dazed as I felt.
“We had dinner with Jupiter and Mars,” I said, as if saying it out loud would make it feel more real. “Here. At this table.”
“That we did.”
I gazed over the table, sorting through everything we’d talked about last night. Had we said anything inappropriate? Anything that would have offended them? Apparently not, since they’d gifted us the apples, but still. I couldn’t believe they’d fooled us like that.
“At least Juno was wrong about one thing,” I said, and Julian looked up curiously. “Jupiter’s not trying to seduce me.”
“Good riddance about that.” Julian glanced at where Philemon—Jupiter—had been sitting last night, and curled his hand into a fist. “Because if he’d tried, I would have ended up punching a god.”
I let the letter fall to the table and pulled Julian closer. “I’m not gonna lie,” I said. “It would have been hot if you’d punched a god to defend my honor.”
“It would have been rash.” He trailed a finger down my arm, and I thrilled at his touch. “It would have gotten us both into trouble.”
“Still,” I said with a teasing smile. “It would have been hot.”
“You like seeing me worked up?” His voice sounded rough now. Dangerous.
“I love seeing you worked up.” I kissed him, hard, and pressed my body flush against his.
His tongue brushed against mine, and I melted into his kisses. The anxiety of what we’d be facing moving forward disappeared. All that existed was the two of us together in that single moment, and I never wanted it to end.
“It’s a long way to the center of the Otherworld,” Julian said as he slowly pulled away. “We should get as far as we can before the sun sets.” But he kissed me again, and I could tell he didn’t want to stop any more than I did.
I tilted my head up and gazed into his eyes. “We can spare five minutes,” I said.
He hoisted me up onto the table and nipped at my lower lip. “Five minutes?” He raised an eyebrow. “We’re going to have to spare more than that.”
He picked me up, carried me back to the bed, and finally we finished what we’d started in Ryanne’s villa yesterday morning.
10
Selena
We rode all day and set up camp at nightfall. The aurora danced brightly in the sky, although not as brightly as last night. I could have sworn while looking up at it that I felt the gods watching us.
The night was warm and perfect, and again, I spent it in Julian’s arms. No matter where we were, I’d always feel safe as long as I was with him.
We woke at sunrise, packed up, and continued on. It was a cold, rainy, gray day. But we plowed through, pushing the horses as hard as they could go.
Not wanting to waste a minute of time, we munched on the apples as we rode. They were sweet and delicious, like honey. Definitely much better than the dried, shriveled food we’d had before. They even warmed me up in the rain.
You’re the chosen champion of Jupiter, I reminded myself. He’s the god of the sky. Maybe you can control the weather.
I reached inside myself, and my magic crackled and hummed. I was ready to set it loose.
But then I remembered how drained I’d been after using so much magic in the final arena fight. And even if I was able to get the rain to stop, I wouldn’t be accomplishing anything other than making the journey more comfortable.
I needed to conserve my energy for other, more important things.
Finally, the clouds lifted, revealing a giant mountain range looming in the horizon. The mountains spanned from the south to the north, and they appeared to go on forever. Their peaks were so high that they were bare of trees.
Julian’s eyes lit up. “Once we cross the Eastern Mountains, we’ll be in the central plain lands,” he said.
“And there, we’ll find the tree.” Excitement filled me for the first time that day, and my magic buzzed with energy.
We pushed the horses harder, but they could only go so fast. And while I knew we were moving, the mountains didn’t feel like they were getting any closer.
The excitement from earlier disappeared, and I slumped in the saddle. “We should have asked Ryanne for pegasi,” I said. “Not horses.”
“She doesn’t own any,” Julian said simply.
“How do you know?”
He glanced over at me, as if just remembering that I hadn’t lived in the Otherworld for my entire life. “Despite how it seemed in the Faerie Games, pegasi are rare,” he said. “There are only a hundred or so in the realm. And they’re all owned by the Empress.”
“But Prince Devyn had one,” I said. “It flew me to the nomination ceremony.
“It was on a loan from the Empress,” he said. “She loans them out when she sees fit.”
“And the dangerous quest she sent us on wasn’t qualification enough for us to borrow one?”
“We’re venturing into uncharted territory,” he said. “She likely didn’t want to risk their lives.”
“So their lives are worth more than ours.” I huffed. “Great. That’s just great.”
We rode in silence for what felt like hours. At least the rain had stopped, so it wasn’t as miserable as earlier.
Just as the sun was starting to set, we crossed the crest of a hill, and the mountains stopped looking as far away.
“Not much farther now,” Julian said with a smile. “Let’s get to the base and set up camp. We’ll cross the mountains tomorrow.”
“Race you there?” I challenged, since I was determined to win a race against him one of these days.
He smiled wickedly. “You’re on.”
I kicked my horse’s sides at the same time as he kicked his, and we set off into a gallop.
We were neck and neck, and I actually pulled ahead. But halfway there, fog set in. At first it wasn’t bad. Then it thickened at a supernatural speed, until it was so dense that I couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead.
My horse pulled back, slowed, and stopped. A bird cried out in the distance. Its call echoed eerily through the air. Other than that, all was quiet.
Panic set in my chest. “Julian?” I said, rotating around in the saddle to find him. But the fog surrounded me completely. I couldn’t see a thing.
Breathe, I told myself. It’s only fog. You’re going to be fine.
I took a deep lungful of air—it was thick because of the fog—and screamed Julian’s name.
“Selena!” he answered from somewhere off to my right. “Over here!”
I kicked my horse’s sides and directed her toward Julian’s voice. But she w
ouldn’t move. And gentle jolts of my electricity would likely scare her. So I jumped off her back, took her reins in my hand, and rubbed her neck to soothe her as I coaxed her forward.
Julian and I continued screaming each other’s names. More birds cried out, drowning out our calls. But as my horse and I walked slowly forward, his voice got louder and louder.
Not much longer now…
The outline of a shadow appeared up ahead. Julian.
He’d also gotten off his horse and was making his way blindly toward me. I wanted to let go of my horse’s reins and rush into his arms, but she was shaking. If I let go of her, who knew where she might run?
So I pushed down the urge to run and continued walking forward.
Finally, Julian’s face came into view. He beamed at me, and I breathed easier at the sight of him.
Then a black bird barreled down beak-first from the sky, straight into the neck of Julian’s horse. Blood spurted out in a line across Julian’s face.
The horse collapsed into a fast-growing puddle of its own blood. It whimpered, and its eyes glazed over.
Dead.
I froze.
What just happened?
The bird cries intensified. A large shadow covered the ground.
“Sluagh!” Julian screamed, and then he was right next to me, holding a shield the size of an umbrella above our heads. The reins in my hand snapped tight, and my horse ran. The leather had pulled at my skin and left a blistered line in its wake.
Something that sounded like a stone pelted down on the shield. Then another, and another.
Black ravens were falling to the ground near our feet. Their heads were bashed in, their necks twisted at unnatural angles. I wanted to look away, but my eyes were glued on the grisly sight.
Julian pulled another shield from the ether to protect us from all sides. The hollow echoes pinged from above as more ravens barreled down at us.
The Faerie Wand (Dark World: The Faerie Games Book 4) Page 4