Page 105 of A Song of Air
She dropped her mouth open, but no words came out. It seemed that Weylyn didn’t want her to speak anyway because he pushed on.
“We need to get moving. The day burns brighter, and we cannot be seen by anyone within the Unseelie Court.”
“Why?”
“It would be... unwise to announce our presence.” There was a lingering in his words that made her wonder if maybe he wasn’t being quite so truthful, but she ignored it. He was right, after all. The Unseelie Court and the Seelie Court had been at odds since long before the war with the humans had ever started. There’d been a classist divide between the two species for as long as Bryson could even remember, longer than the stories her father had told her.
Unseelie would not treat two High Fae with kindness.
“Are there even any Unseelie left, though?” Bryson had to ask aloud. “I can feel so much iron...”
“That ghoul was alive and well.” Weylyn took her hand. “It is best if we don’t assume anything and take necessary precautions against any and all Unseelie traps.” They started forward. She could see well enough to dodge anything in their path and not trip. Despite the burning in her eyes, she could make out shapes, colors, shadows, and light. That was enough.
“What kind of precautions?” she whispered.
She shouldn’t have asked, but it was better to garner any and all information she could. She’d fallen into Unseelie, a court that was foreign to her, and had nearly been devoured by a ghoul. Had it not been for Weylyn, Bryson would be dead at this very moment. And with her vision acting out of sorts, she needed all the information she could about where she was. If only to protect herself. To survive.
“What do you know about the Unseelie Court?”
“Only what I’ve heard in stories. That they are very different from High Fae. They can’t wield magic like we can. They have glamor and magic, yes, but Mana hasn’t gifted them with the same type of powers we possess. I know you aren’t supposed to make deals with them.”
“Never,evermake a deal with an Unseelie Fae,” Weylyn confirmed, squeezing her hand in warning. His tone had taken a low kind of urgency. “It will only end badly for you if you do.”
Unseelie Fae were tricksters. Mischievous. Bryson was smart enough to not purposefully or inadvertently make a deal with anyone no matter what. Unseelie liked to twist words to their convenience and find loopholes within their promises only to fuck you over.
Bryson had enough of that already.
“So how do you propose we get back?”
Weylyn sighed, not an irritated sound because of her questions, but it was something born of worry. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him worried before. It made her gut churn before suddenly it emitted a low growl.
Heat suffused her cheeks, but she turned to him unapologetically. “I’m hungry.”
“Then I shall aim to hunt and feed you.”
“You don’t have to do that. We can just grab a fruit or something—”
“No,” he hissed. “Not everything in Unseelie is safe to eat and drink.”
“Why not?” She vaguely remembered stories, but her culture was long gone, the stories dead and buried. It was hard to sift through what was myth and real.
“There are some fruits and drinks that contain magic. Eat what you should not, and it will keep you tethered to the land, or to whoever offered it to you, for years, decades, or whenever they decide to release you from their service. Eating and drinking in Unseelie is dangerous.”
Her stomach churned; her appetite lost at those words. “The ghoul fed me—”
“You are safe, little mate,” he assured. “It is only some things. I will help you determine what to eat and drink. Besides, the ghoul’s death would have freed you from service, had that been the case.”
Bryson let out a breath of relief at that. At least she hadn’t fucked herself over by eating what she shouldn’t have. At least there was that.
They continued trekking through the Unseelie Court in relative quiet. Bryson allowed Weylyn to guide her. She wanted desperately to ask him where he was leading her too. If they couldn’t jump into mushroom circles, if they had no map, how did he know where he was going? But every step became a pain after a while. Her eyes eventually burned enough that tears slipped down her cheeks. While she could see, the brightness hurt so much that her head had already started to pound and the lack of food in her belly had her stomach twisting with every step.
Until finally, Weylyn sat her down in a shady area. The prickles of perspiration against the back of her neck cooled down with a slight breeze. She swiped her palm against it, but it only came away clammy and uncomfortable.
“I am going to hunt,” Weylyn announced. “The area is safe for now. Do not move from this spot.”
“Trust me, I’m not going to go wandering off in a place I have no experience traveling in. I’m not stupid.”
“I never said you were. Rebellious, but never stupid.”
