Page 98 of Trial of Thorns
Iam home.
Darkness surrounds me. Fills me.
Shadows shift and wind howls past my ears, tossing my hair around in a whirl of power, welcoming me to the world of night and enigmas, where nothing is as it seems. Where power lurks, hiding in the most unexpected places and can be found within every nook, if one is only brave enough to dare.
I open my eyes, studying the forest ahead, trying to get my bearings. I walk forward slowly. It feels as though we’ve lost our pursuers—we are now a world away—but I know better. Drake and Brielle could come flying through the portal behind us at any moment, and we wouldn’t even hear them coming.
Tyadin must have the same thought. “Let’s keep moving.”
We jog half a mile, and the feeling of familiarity continues to grow, the curve of the path feels right somehow. The trees curl over us in a comforting manner. At least to me.
Murmurs and whispers cascade through the blowing leaves growing louder, filling our ears, allowing us to hear little else.
“What is that?” Tyadin asks, his voice mixing with the mysterious whispers filling the air around us.
“Why do you think they call it the Whisperwood?” Rev asks with an amused tone. “The trees whisper to each other.”
“No,” I say quietly. “It’s the shadows.”
As if on cue, a dark mist clings to my legs and shoulders, rippling off of me.
Rev and Tyadin both gasp, looking to their own appendages, only to see them bare of the dark magic.
“Are you doing that?” Tyadin whispers.
“No.” They aren’t my own—my magic is too depleted to cast that kind of power unnecessarily right now. No, this magic is part of the Whisperwood, a type of sprite, technically. “Don’t worry, they’re friendly.”
He swallows. “Maybe to you.”
Whispers circle past my ears, and I stop to listen.They’re coming.
I pull in a breath and listen again. They know much more than I do, and every ally is valuable at this point.This way,they tell me.
I smile and continue my march, shadows and mist sweeping over me and curling into a path ahead.
“Is that...” Rev begins but stops.
“Just follow them,” I tell him.
Welcome home, the dark sprites whisper for only me. A comforting warmth fills my chest. A feeling I’m so unaccustomed to now.
I hadn’t realized how much I missed this place. This magic.
I sigh, following the shadow path to a nook beside the pathway. It’s a dead end.
Hide, the whispers tell me.
I look around the forest, still not quite familiar with our location, but I trust the sprites.
I slip into the little nook, below twisted roots breaking free from the hillside leaving a small dirt and root covered hollow.
“What are you doing?” Rev whispers.
“Following the sprite’s advice. I suggest you do the same. They said they’re coming.”
Tyadin crawls into the hole by me, and Rev waits. The sprites surround us both and Rev blinks when, I assume, we disappear into the darkness. “Wow,” he whispers and then joins us. He shivers as the sprites cover him too.
