Page 39 of Touched

Bypassing.

To bypass the wards of Laric, these ancient words must be recited. An air shield will surround the Laric Fae reciting them. The shield will allow the protected Fae to slip through the wards undetected. Spell can only be used by Fae of Laric descent.

Only to be used for protection of the colony.

Any Fae discovered bypassing the wards for anything other than protection will be brought before the Elders and persecuted for their crimes.

Penalty can be exile. Or death.

Oh, hells…

It’s a crime to use this spell…

But I have no other choice. They’ve given me no choice.

I can do it… I simply cannot be caught.

I must slip out tonight and be back before daylight.

Grabbing a piece of graphite from under a parchment, I quickly jot the spell down.

A sound from beyond the door has me freezing in alarm before crumpling the parchment in my fist.

Someone is coming.

The sentries must be patrolling.

Oh, hells…

Rearranging everything as closely as possible to how I found it, I lick my fingers and swiftly snuff out the candle, hoping to mask not only the light, but also the smoke. I wince as the sparks from the vine burns my fingertips, but I make no sound. I crouch to the floor behind the desk on the off chance they look in this room.

The footsteps get closer to my location; then, they pass it. Holding my breath until my lungs feel as though they’ll explode, I stand up and carefully set the candle back beside the cypress bowl. Reaching down, I grasp a few dried leaves and feel for the bowl in the dark to drop them inside.

There’s no need to reveal I was ever here.

Waiting a few more minutes, I stand. Quickly and quietly, I make my way out of the Protection room, past the other doors, and out of the Archives. Once outside, I fall against the wall and exhale deeply. The light from the moon casts a glow over everything.

Uncurling my fist, I smooth out the parchment and read over the spell a few times. When I’m confident I have it memorized, I whisper the words with a calmness I don’t feel.

A breeze picks up around me, but seeminglyonlyaround me, and I feel air coat my skin. It feels like a…shield.

Uncertain as to how long it will last, I sprint through the sleeping colony, only pausing as I reach the trees that make up the border to the wards. Scanning the border, I see no one on patrol. With one final look around, I sigh and walk through the trees. The moonlight causes the wards to shimmer, and I gasp at the beauty of the colors displayed within them.

It’s like a rainbow… at night. Holding my breath, I quickly step into the shimmering wards and easily walk through them. The electricity that usually dances over my skin is absent.

I feel…nothing. It’s as though nothing is there.

Within a few seconds, I’m on the other side. The night sounds startle me, and since I was so wrapped up in safely getting through the wards undetected, I blocked out everything else.

Laughing aloud with my freedom, I twirl with my arms extended to the sides.

I did it. I made it out.

But I don’t have much time.

I must find Callum.

I must be back before morning. If not, they’ll realize I’m gone, and they’ll come looking for me.

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