Page 18 of Realms of Shadow and Sun

Emotion welled up in Grayden's throat at his siblings' words. The bond between them, forged in childhood and tempered by hardship, had never felt stronger. Whatever lay ahead, they would face it together.

The trio rode farther into the forest, silent except for the occasional broken branch or bird taking flight. The trees grew closer together, their canopy blocking out what little light remained. When it started to get so dark that Grayden couldn't see his horse's head in front of him, he called for a halt.

“Let's rest here until daybreak,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. The forest seemed to demand silence, as if speaking too loudly might awaken something best left sleeping.

Phillippe dismounted with practiced ease and moved to help Selenia down. She accepted his assistance gracefully, then smoothed her skirt and began unpacking the sleeping roll on Honor's back.

Grayden watched her fiddle with the ties and then move over to aid Phillippe in removing the tent. She helped him pull it off and began assisting him with setting it up, her movements efficient and purposeful. She'd changed in the last month since they left the lodge. It saddened Grayden a bit, knowing Jurel's death was most likely the culprit. He hated to see his sister lose the exuberance for life she possessed, but there was a new strength in her now, a quiet determination that both worried and impressed him.

While his siblings worked on setting up camp, Grayden took it upon himself to prepare for the night ahead. He dragged over some fallen logs and made a pit for the fire, arranging the wood carefully to ensure it would burn efficiently. Then he set off to hunt for firewood, moving farther into the thickening edge of the forest to find some drier wood. He didn't want the fire to smoke and give their location away. That was all he needed, an ambush of Cressida's soldiers before they even left the Twilight Kingdom territory.

As he moved deeper into the forest, the shadows seemed to darken, taking on a life of their own. The air grew colder, and an unnatural silence fell over the woods. Even the nocturnal creatures that should have been stirring seemed to be holding their breath.

A sharp snap of a twig abruptly ended his thoughts. The sound was like a thunderclap in the eerie silence. Grayden's instincts, honed by years of training and recent battles, took over. He pulled his knife from his boot quickly and crouched down low, his eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of movement.

For a moment, all was still. Then, a deep, screeching laugh came from behind a tall, moss-covered tree. The sound sent chills down Grayden's spine, raising the hair on the back of his neck. It was unlike anything he had ever heard before—not quite animal, not quite fae, but something…else.

“Hiding won't prevent me from knowing you, Grayden Snowden.” The voice that followed the laugh was just as unsettling, a raspy whisper that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Grayden's grip tightened on his knife, his palms sweaty despite the chill in the air. “Show yourself!” he demanded, proud that his voice didn't waver despite the fear coursing through him. “Who are you and how do you know my name?”

A figure slowly emerged from behind the tree, the darkness partially obscuring its features. As it moved into a patch of moonlight that filtered through the canopy, Grayden felt his breath catch in his throat. The mysterious apparition was definitely not fae, and resembled no creature Grayden had seen before.

It was shrouded in a green mist, its form shifting and undulating as if it couldn't quite decide on a solid shape. As it solidified, Grayden could see that the creature's skin was a mottled gray, reminiscent of the underbelly of a pale fish left too long in the sun. It opened its mouth wide in what might have been a smile, revealing rows of sharp, pointed teeth that gleamed wetly in the moonlight.

“I know many things, Grayden Snowden. And how I know things is not for you to know.” It gave another cruel smile and Grayden pulled his sword off of his back, the familiar weight of the weapon providing little comfort in the face of this otherworldly threat. Before he could unsheath it, he found himself frozen in place, held by an invisible force that seemed to press in on him from all sides.

“My magic may be weaker than in the past, but it's still a great deal stronger than yours,” the figure taunted, creeping towards Grayden. He couldn't see where the creature's feet hit the ground, and he had a sickening suspicion that it was floating through the air, defying the laws of nature just as it defied description.

Grayden heard rustling behind him, and his heart sank. He knew Phillippe was approaching, no doubt coming to check on him after his prolonged absence. He tried to shout a warning, but his paralyzation was full-body. He couldn't even move his lips to form words, couldn't so much as blink as the creature drew ever closer.

He felt Phillippe brush against him, sword drawn, before he too was frozen. A few seconds later, Selenia emerged and was caught in the creature's hold as well. Grayden's fear doubled, no longer just for himself but for his siblings who had walked unknowingly into this trap.

“Ah, it's all three Snowden siblings. I was hoping I'd get the chance to meet you. Your father was an interesting character, so I've been longing to meet his offspring.”

Grayden was shocked to his core. This creature met his father? His father obviously lived past the encounter, so Grayden was instantly confused as to the beast's intentions. Was this some kind of test? A rite of passage? Or something far more sinister?

He watched Selenia struggle against her invisible bonds, and he was shocked when he saw her move her fingers and open her mouth. How was she able to resist the creature's magic when he and Phillippe were completely immobilized?

“A powerful one, we have here. Yet you don't use your magic, princess. You could control it, you know. I could tell you how.”

Selenia managed to free herself completely, shaking off the last vestiges of the creature's hold. Her eyes blazed with a mixture of fear and determination as she faced the strange being. “I don't know who or what you are, but I don't need any help from you.”

“You might change your mind, one day. You're young, after all...and I know everything that lies ahead of you.”

The creature's words sent a chill through Grayden. The idea that this being could see their futures, could know what lay in store for them, was both terrifying and tempting. What if it knew about Renya? About how to save her?

Selenia looked at Grayden and Phillippe, her concern for her brothers overriding her fear of the creature. “Let my brothers go!”

“I will...for a trade. A small trade, and you shall all go on your way.”

Grayden was released from his bonds instantly, stumbling slightly as control of his body was suddenly returned to him. He heard a soft thump as Phillippe fell on his knees next to him, as he had been frozen in mid-leap.

“Don't make any kind of trade, Selenia!” Phillippe scrambled to his feet and put himself in front of his sister and the taunting figure. His voice was urgent, tinged with a fear Grayden had rarely heard from his usually composed brother. “She's a Murcurial!”

Grayden and Selenia looked puzzled, the term unfamiliar to them. The Murcurial laughed, the sound like nails on slate. The rags it wore shifted as her diaphragm moved up and down with her movements, revealing glimpses of gray, mottled flesh beneath.

“Phillippe Snowden knows of me, he does? If I could blush, I would.”

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