Page 20 of A Court So Dark
Her cheeks grew brighter still. “It will be my honor.”
“And mine, you’re an amazing pixie. The best friend I could’ve asked for.”
She fluttered to my shoulder and hugged a strand of my hair. I wanted to hug her back, but she was so tiny I was afraid to crush her or damage her fragile wings.
“Will you come with us to Nerethien?” I asked. “I know it’s selfish of me to—“
“I will,” she blurted out without hesitation. She let go of my hair and fluttered back up. “I want to help as much as I can.”
“Thank you, Larina. I may be overstepping but…” I stood and straightened to my full height.
The pixie hovered right in front of my face.
“I declare you a member of The Sub Rosa,” I announced.
Larina blinked, looking taken aback. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, andwhenKalyll is back, I will make sure he makes this official.”
Even though I didn’t know where I was going, I kept getting ahead of everyone, marching down the road with firm steps.
“Dani, this way,” Arabis said, pointing to the path leading to the left, which I’d just passed.
I backtracked and, undeterred, marched ahead again.
They had to keep calling me back to the correct zigzagging alley, but I couldn’t help myself. There was too much restless energy in my muscles to do anything else.
I was dimly aware of the beauty that surrounded us: the starlit sky, the moss-covered paths that felt like walking on lush carpets, the swinging bridges connecting tree-like homes and illuminated by fairy lights. Not once had I been able to walk the streets of Elyndell and enjoy its beauty. It seemed I was condemned to skulking around at night like a thief.
As we got closer, I recognized the way and hurried ahead with more confidence. This time, Arabis didn’t correct me when I took a sharp right and found myself in a narrow corridor. I stood in front of the thick tree trunk that acted as one of the flanking walls.
The others caught up with me. Only Larina and Jeondar had stayed behind, the former ensuring everything was ready for a swift departure, and the latter doing his best to leave a firm chain of command behind.
My stomach turned with nerves. We had agreed that Arabis would go in with me. I was terrified of entering by myself, and when she offered to accompany me, I immediately seized the opportunity. The others had only looked relieved that all they had to do was stand guard outside.
“What now?” I asked.
Arabis stopped next to me and whispered in my ear. “Say the following,anolen lathwen.”
I nodded, then repeated the words.
“Anolen lathwen.”
The texture of the tree changed, growing transparent.
Arabis gestured encouragingly. My heart started hammering. Arming myself with all of Dark Dani’s courage, I stepped into the dark circular space. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees as the Envoy’s lair swallowed us. The same oil lamps as before rested inside small crevices in the walls and cast their dim, wavering light.
My hands tingled as a dark pool materialized on the floor. It shone like a puddle of oil, absorbing the light from the lamps. Circles rippled outward from the center, growing larger. The hair on my arms and neck stood on end. The ripples continued, and then the Envoy’s impossibly clean head rose slowly.
The atmosphere around us changed, and it became harder to draw breath. I didn’t know if the air had grown thicker or if my lungs were refusing to work properly.
When the Envoy’s head finished appearing in the center of the well, I clutched Arabis’s hand. For a moment, I was embarrassed until she squeezed back, needing my support as much as I needed hers.
The rest of the Envoy’s body surfaced and hovered, her bony feet inches from the pool. She was spotless—same as her white gossamer dress—despite the fact that she’d just climbed out of a foul pit.
As I stared at her face wrapped in all those pieces of fabric like a mummy’s, I remembered how her face changed every time she spoke, and the armor I’d donned earlier felt ready to slip off. Gritting my teeth, I held on to my courage. I was grateful to Arabis for being here with me and giving me the added strength to ask my first question.
“I would like to know if King Kalyll Adanorin is in Elf-hame,” I said.
