Page 88 of Fractured
“I don’t think they can,” Vair said, but he didn’t sound very certain. And before I could ask him again, he continued to walk ahead.
I decided it was a talk for another time.
That night I climbed a tree to sleep in, and Vair got himself comfortable by the trunk. A strong sense of deja-vu hit me when I sat down and prepared to close my eyes, the cloak wrapped around me tightly, keeping me warm. I’d been here before, in this very position—only with a werewolf sleeping on the ground, not a lynx. And when I’d woken up from sleep then, we had already been found by Maera’s pack mates.
Maybe someone would find us here, too, when the sun came up in the sky again.
It still didn’t scare me. I was too tired, too hungry, too thirsty—toofed upto care, to be honest. Those words of the Chronicler spun around in my head together with the memory of Maera. I prayed for her again, that she’d made it back to her pack, that she was where she belonged.
I also wondered if I was ever going to see her again. And with those yellow eyes in my mind, I slept.
In the morning, Vair and I were still alone.
We hadn’t been found. There was nobody around us somehow, no sorcerer and no house and none of those creepy altars hidden between trees. Vair said he’d made sure to avoid them and that the sorcerers would make sure to avoidhim,too.
And, yes—I asked him why, but he didn’t answer the first fifty times. The fifty-first, he said,I don’t know.
We came across a narrow stream just as I thought I was going to collapse from thirst. Vair said it was safe to drink, that the water was clean and pure, and I didn’t even hesitate. Animals knew, didn’t they? Maera’s wolf had, too. Much better than I ever would, anyway.
The water didn’t kill me, but I was still hungry as a horse. Vair still didn’t let me stop for longer than ten minutes to rest every now and again until nightfall.
More than a full day without eating, but he wasn’t concerned. I barely managed to climb a tree halfway before I collapsed against a branch and slept.
Day two.
Vair had found me fruit and nuts to eat when I woke up with the sun miraculously on my face—what a nice feeling. Having spent so long among trees and in the shades, I was thankful for it. I basked in its warmth until Vair called for me to get down and eat—he had figs that didn’t quite look like figs, walnuts, berries that didn’t look like berries, either, though not the same as the ones in the Ice Palace—and some kind of a brown colored vine that looked like it was made of plastic.
“What the hell are these?” I asked, though my stomach was growling and I’d have eaten even without an answer. My God, I was starving, but Vair answered anyway.
“I’ve been going around to pick these for you since dawn. Blushed figs, and those are moon berries, and that is glowroot—the most nutritious root in these forests. Eat—it’s all safe.”
By the time he finished, though, a whole fig was in my mouth, and holy shit,blushedfigs were fucking delicious. Sweeter and juicier than any other fig I’d ever tried back home, and then the moon berries were the perfect amount of sour and sweet, and the glowroot didn’t really have a taste, but the inside of it was thick, like a gummy. It got stuck in my teeth the same way, too, and by the time I ate the handful of walnuts, I could see so much better. Could hear the sound of Vair’s footsteps as he impatiently paced in a circle in front of me. Could hear my own heartbeat, and my hands were no longer shaking.
“Thank you, Vair,” I said, standing up to find that my legs felt well rested and strong, too. Even though I’d been here before, I somehow alwaysforgot what a big difference food made.
“Can we go now?” the lynx said.
I rolled my eyes. “Ayou’re welcomewould be nice.”
Like he cared. “You’re welcome. Now, move.” And he started ahead.
I wasn’t even mad as I followed. “So, you’re telling me I could have found these fruits and berries andglowrootin the forest before, too?”
“If you knew where to look, yes.”
“Damn.” And I’d almost starved myself to death the last time I was running about Mysthaven. “Show me, then. Show me how to find food in this place.” Becauseif I was ever stuck in this place again, I didn’t want to have to go anywhere near the house of a sorcerer.
Plus, it beat the silence, his voice—myvoice—kept me distracted until we found another stream to drink from. Now that I was fed and rested, I could move faster, and Vair had no trouble talking, telling me about the trees, about the magic that helped them grow, the leaves and the animals who used to inhabit these woods before the sorcerers.
He knew the way, never once steered us off course, and before the sun had even begun to set beyond the horizon, we had arrived at the edge of Mysthaven.
I was excited at first. I’d been to the Seelie Court and the Frozen Court, and I thought I had a good understanding of fae courts already, so I was less afraid. The devil you know and all that.
Then, we reached the last row of trees that marked Mysthaven, and we saw the border with the Unseelie Court.
Both Vair and I stopped walking.
This was most definitelynotwhat we’d expected.
