Page 93 of Night Fae
The shadow path entrance. It had to be.
Malikneededto get through that door.
Malik stared at the guards, mind racing. He'd never get past them without help or a distraction.
"Of course you'd come here," came Leon's voice from behind him.
Malik spun around, heart leaping into his throat. Leon and Lyrian stood there, arms crossed, looking more irritated than concerned.
"I'm not going back," Malik said, keeping his voice low but firm.
Lyrian stepped forward. "The paths are going to tear you apart."
"I have to try." Malik met their gazes. "You didn't see what I saw. Those tendrils are consuming him. They're using his memories of Rhys to keep him trapped while they feed."
"And throwing yourself into the same trap helps how?" Leon asked.
Malik straightened. "I can manipulate the paths. I felt it in the vision—the tendrils responded to me."
"Even if that's true, your connection to Zev is killing you," Lyrian pointed out. "Going deeper would only accelerate the process."
"Then I'll die trying," Malik said, his voice breaking slightly. "What would you do if it were someone you cared about? If it were Knox trapped there?" He looked at Lyrian, then turned to Leon. "Would you abandon your friends to the Fields?"
Both men fell silent, exchanging uneasy glances.
"Listen to me," Malik continued, desperation making him bolder. "I know it's dangerous, but I also know I'm the only one who can find him. The connection is draining me, yes, but it's also guiding me to him."
Leon's expression shifted subtly. "And if you do find him? What then? You have no offensive magic, no weapons, no training."
"I have something better," Malik replied. "I have the truth. Those illusions are powerful because Zev wants them to be real. But I'm real too, and unlike Rhys, I'm still alive."
The bluntness of his statement seemed to catch them off guard.
Malik knew he had to press on. "I love him," he stated, "and nothing will stop me from going to him."
Something in Lyrian's expression softened. "Going into the paths unprepared is suicide."
"Then prepare me," Malik challenged. "You both know things about the shadow paths. Tell me what I need to know to survive."
The two of them studied him for another moment, both clearly uncertain what to do.
Finally, Leon sighed. "The shadows will target your worst fears first. Whatever nightmares you face, remember they're not real."
"Move quickly," Lyrian added. "Don't linger in any vision, no matter how compelling. The longer you stay, the harder it becomes to leave."
"And the connection between you and Zev," Leon said, "use it like a lifeline. When everything else fails, follow that thread."
Malik looked from one to the other, hardly daring to believe they were actually helping. "Thank you. Now about those guards..."
Lyrian grinned. "Drawing attention is what I do best. I'll sing them a little song to lure them away from their station."
Before Malik could comment on that, Lyrian strode down the corridor with confident steps. The guards stiffened, hands moving to weapons until they recognized him.
"Gentlemen," Lyrian called, his voice carrying a strange undercurrent that made Malik's ears tingle. He went on to describe a disturbance in the west wing that required their assistance, and as he spoke, his voice shifted into something more than speech—a melody that wound through his words, almost shimmering in the air.
The guards' expressions went slack, then alert with purpose. Without question, they abandoned their post, following Lyrian as he led them away.
"Now," Leon whispered.
